Mahuta NanaiaHon NANAIA MAHUTA (Minister of Foreign Affairs): Fa'afetai tele lava Mr Speaker. It gives me great pleasure to be able to speak in this Budget debate. Listening to the member prior the Hon Michael Woodhouse how quickly a memory fades because during the height of the COVID pandemic this Government did act to ensure that those who were affected most could be supported.Firstly we ensured that a health response was going to be at the centre of everything that we did and secondly we made sure that workers and businesses could be supported. We ensured that businesses through the height of the COVID pandemic that we experienced here in New Zealand—that 1.8 million workers could be supported through the wage subsidy and we're investing billions in infrastructure training and creating jobs because we know the alternative if we had to look back at the global financial crisis was an austerity approach and that's the approach that members on that side of the House took. We knew we couldn't do that. We needed to lean in and invest in infrastructure so that jobs could be created and that we could continue to ensure that people were being trained into these industries we were investing in.We've seen a huge increase in apprenticeships: 100000 people are now in free trades training since we introduced it in July 2020 and that's got to be good for the economy because if we are training our own people into jobs here in New Zealand then we are less reliant on importing a workforce when we need to continue to invest in the areas that will serve us well long term. This Budget is about securing our recovery. Now the Hon Grant Robertson our Minister of Finance during his Budget speech said that there are three key challenges over this three-year term that we will respond to and that they will be addressed in every Budget of this term: to keep New Zealanders safe from COVID-19 to accelerate our recovery and rebuild and to tackle our foundational challenges. We've always said that the best economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic is a strong public health response and we stand by that approach. In fact we are in a situation where while many other countries are experiencing their third and fourth lockdown and community transmission outbreaks we have the luxury of debating the issues in a very different way as has been experienced in other countries. We're focusing on a vaccination roll-out to build our resilience and to continue to ensure that we remain in the position that we are in a very fortunate one. Our focus on a vaccination roll-out will continue to build our defence and ensure that we can keep our people safe keep the economy going and look towards our recovery. There is $1.5 billion allocated to the COVID-19 vaccine—and we know Pfizer is the vaccine of preference here in New Zealand—and our immunisation programme including just over $1 billion for our advance purchase agreements for vaccines and $357 million for the immunisation programme. We're also pleased to support a vaccination roll-out programme to Realm countries and working alongside Australia to other countries across the Pacific. This matters to us. We're now enjoying to some extent a trans-Tasman bubble as well as a quarantine-free bubble to the Cook Islands. And if we want to continue to ensure that by our actions other countries across the Pacific will also benefit then we're going in the right direction. We've made a great start to progressing our goal of vaccinating New Zealanders who wish to over the age of 16 receive their vaccination and there is more to do. I am worried about vaccine hesitancy so it is beholden on many of us across our communities to ensure that we participate in the uptake of the widespread roll-out that will occur in the third quarter of this term. But let's turn to our economic recovery. We're tackling inequality and child poverty. We're raising main benefits to lift more children out of poverty to tackle inequality which will also provide much-needed stimulus for our economy. We know that when funding goes into low-income families that will go towards putting kai on the table shoes on the feet of our kids so that they can go to school and also to heating homes. We're managing the economy responsibly by keeping a lid on debt. Our net debt remains lower than Australia on a comparative basis and we start to reduce it sooner. By 2024 to 2025 Australia's measure of debt is forecast to still be above 40 percent while in New Zealand our corresponding measure is forecast to have fallen below 25 percent. Members on that side of the House in this debate continue to compare us to Australia and their approach. Look Australia's approach is for Australia. We stand by the way that we're addressing our economic recovery in this period of a COVID pandemic. We're investing in infrastructure as I said before: $57.3 billion in infrastructure over the next five years to drive economic growth and address the long-term under-investment in infrastructure in New Zealand. I know that only too well with the work that I'm doing in the area of three waters to make sure we have a more resilient network to ensure that all New Zealanders no matter where they live have safe drinking water and that we have a more efficient system where everyone benefits. We've got the opportunity to continue to build more houses and I take my hat off to the Hon Megan Woods. There is a challenge there but our commitment to increase the public housing stock is unwavering because we know that for years and years and years members on the other side eroded the public housing stock. That's why rents have gone up because there are many more people low income who are dependent on the private rental market as we build this public housing stock up. We're also investing in schools. How many members around this House have visited their local schools and there's been an extra building—Hon Member: Extra classrooms.Hon NANAIA MAHUTA: —yes extra classrooms there? Because we through the New Zealand Upgrade have said We should be doing this. We can create local jobs for local people by doing this and it's made a huge difference." We continue to ensure that infrastructure in many ways is a core part of our economic recovery and it will make a difference. We know that alongside that investing in training and trades training in particular will support that and we also know that regional economies will benefit from that level of investment. We're taking further action on housing as has been raised by members on this side. It's important to note that in the area of Māori housing I'm particularly pleased with the amount of investment that will go towards ensuring that papakāinga become a part of a system-wide response to addressing housing needs across our community and relieve pressure in the areas where it's most needed. The other thing is repairs and maintenance retrofitting homes so that they're warmer. That is fundamentally going to make a huge difference to many families. There's a couple of small things in the Budget too that might not get the light of day in terms of the big ticket items of investment that we've made and I want to talk about one of them or a couple of them in the time that I have left. It's reinstating the training incentive allowance for higher level study. You know what? This will enable single parents to be able to get higher degree qualifications earn a higher income and then support their family. Previously that avenue was cut off to them. And I'm so proud that this small change will have such a fundamental impact on a number of people single parents across the country. And if I think about the way in which it will allow people to study higher degree level - type training it's estimated that will be able to support around about 16000 people to retrain. Now that's got to be good—a small change but a valuable one. The other one is in the area of making homes warmer. About 47700 more Kiwi homes will be warmer and more energy-efficient as a result of the investment of this Government into insulation and heating retrofit. Now I think about many people who will not turn the heater on because they are fearful of the energy bill. Again a small but valuable change that will go a very very long way. This Budget is for the many and it's about recovery. It's about a Government who will not take an austerity approach but will lean in in the areas of investment that will create the most opportunity back to the country to the region and to people participating in a successful economic recovery. Finally my small but humble investment in ensuring that Scott Base can be redeveloped I think will go a long way towards ensuring that science and conservation and biodiversity activities in that research area can continue and I'm very proud of that particular investment. Kia ora rā."