Mallard TrevorHon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn): Mr Speaker thank you. Look I want to just reflect on the fact that we are entering into what will be—I think without doubt without dispute in this House—the biggest financial and economic crisis of our lifetime. It is at times like that that the measure of any Government really comes to the fore. When you're in a crisis that the Reserve Bank is telling us will be the biggest in 160 years people need support and that support is about having a job and is about managing their cost of living. On those two measures this Government is proving itself to be an abject failure.Jobs—let's talk about jobs. Grant Robertson likes to pretend that New Zealand is in a good position because we went into this crisis strong but here's what he doesn't want you to know: actually before COVID the number of jobless in New Zealand was the same as at the peak of the global financial crisis (GFC) more than 150000. By the way when this Government took office that was at just 120000. So over the economic good times that Grant Robertson and Labour inherited we saw unemployment climb back up to the same number as the peak of the GFC. Since COVID that has gone up by another 50000-plus already and that number is going to get worse. That's playing out in a very real a very human way.Hon Willie Jackson: Negative negative negative.Hon AMY ADAMS: Well Willie Jackson might like to say this is negative but I think caring about whether New Zealanders have jobs and can pay their bills matters Mr Jackson. We are going to talk about the fact that there are record numbers of people now needing food grants there are record numbers of people now needing emergency assistance there are a record number of people—in fact three times as many as when they took office—waiting for State housing under this Government. Despite all of the talk about supporting their people we heard from the last speaker Carmel Sepuloni the reality is there are more people out of work who don't know how they're going to pay the bills who don't know how they're going to feed their family. And what is the answer from this Government? More tax—more tax and fewer jobs. I'm going to come back to taxes because that is the reality of life for New Zealanders. Can they pay the bills? Well today they find that filling up their car to get to work just got more expensive thanks to this Government. So in the time of a record financial crisis this Government's response: let's put taxes up. Let's make it harder and more expensive to fill the car. Let's make it tougher for businesses to employ people. I want to just quote a letter that I got just today actually from a businessman in my part of the world who employs eight staff has got a business that he's been running for 25 years as an owner-operator. He has had to so far put $120000 of his family's money in just to keep it afloat and he's written today saying that runs out in six weeks. He's also told me that he has written to numerous parts of the Government pleading for help and has not even had a response. So this is a Government that talks a great game—and we know what great talkers they are but words are hollow. Words don't create jobs. Words don't pay the bills. What we've got is businesses being ignored jobs being lost and the response from Government is Let's put up taxes. Let's make it harder and harder to pay the bills."We know that post the election if Labour gets returned it is going to be a Labour-Green Government because we're seeing New Zealand First really show their true colours in recent days. We're seeing more and learning more and more about who influences that party and when they are gone at this election as every single poll tells us they will be it will be a Labour-Greens Government and the Greens have already made their price of power very clear. And that price is even more taxes on any New Zealander who has had the audacity to work hard to save a bit and to try and put a bit aside. Now the message will be very clear. It's clear from the Greens—and the Government won't rule it out; the Prime Minister's made that clear again—if you have the audacity to try and get ahead and build something for your family to build that business that I just talked about 25 years of slog to employ eight staff this is a Government that will come after you. They will come after you because they fundamentally believe they can spend your money better than the earner can. National doesn't believe it. National believes in hard work. National believes in reward for hard work and success for those who are prepared to work hard. We will be a Government that will stand up for New Zealanders that will make sure they have jobs that will make sure they pay their bills and we won't tax them to death.SPEAKER: Order! Order!"