O'Connor Simon; Tisch LindsaySIMON O'CONNOR (National—Tāmaki): How fortuitous that National trumps New Zealand First just like that—fantastic and I love it! I am very pleased to take this unexpected slightly early call—Todd Barclay: Premature.SIMON O'CONNOR: Absolutely—absolutely. Look there is so much to celebrate in many ways in this Budget. It will not be a surprise to the House that I will focus primarily on the area of health but I do want to start by in a sense echoing what my colleague David Bennett—the Hon David Bennett now—had to say which is that we have had an Opposition that is almost catatonic in its inability to know how to react to this Budget. As many have noted even after the Budget speech was delivered the Leader of the Opposition was not even able to speak for 20 minutes to attack the Government—not even able to fill 20 minutes to fulfil the role of Her Majesty's loyal Opposition which is to attack the Government. It tells you of a Labour Party that has lacked energy lacked vision and in fact I would make the argument is actually in agreement with a lot of what this Government is doing around the inability on the Opposition's part to actually be able to launch a sustainable attack. It is further illustrated by the likes of the Green Party members who while they challenge the Government actually supported some of its key measures.One of the most ambitious elements of this Budget has been a $6.5 billion package to support New Zealand families—$6.5 billion extra spending in this Budget across three sectors. One is Working for Families. We have changed the rates there to ensure that families with children get more money. We have changed the accommodation supplement—in effect providing more money for those most in need around their housing. And of course there is a tax package that is delivering tens of dollars every week into the pockets of New Zealand families. The Opposition members as I said had no idea—no idea—how to react against that and I have seen the disappointment on the faces of my colleagues from Labour across the House. They knew that they should have supported this bill that they should have supported those measures.Look I give kudos to the Green Party members. I am sure it was not always easy but they actually stood and supported those measures. I know that they want more and that is a principled position for them to take but they actually had the gumption to stand and support $6.5 billion of extra spending to support New Zealanders and I think that is absolutely fantastic.Turning quickly to my own electorate the great seat of Tāmaki my people are incredibly pleased with this Budget. In fact it is sometimes misunderstood when people think of the seat of Tāmaki—they immediately identify the likes of Ōrākei or St Heliers and feel it is actually a very wealthy well-to-do electorate and of course there are elements of that. But my electorate also takes in quite a high proportion of very low-income people. In fact one only needs to turn their mind to the likes of Glen Innes or parts of Ōrākei where we have quite a number of State homes and families in need. The reason why I mention them in particular is that people right across the electorate from the very well-off to those least well-off have acknowledged the benefits of this Budget—that this Budget actually delivers right across. In fact it has often been put out you know the call for more tax cuts. In fact the suggestion that has been put out is that National is just about tax cuts for the wealthy. One of the things I have always been struck by as I have gone around the electorate is the number of my constituents—and primarily National Party voters seeing it is the safest seat in the country—who have been clear that they actually wanted to see more money put in to families into infrastructure into health and into education before there is any further talk of tax cuts and that is what this Government has delivered.Just today one of the great announcements has actually come from right on the border of my electorate in the fine suburb of Stonefields. My colleagues Nikki Kaye and the newly minted Associate Minister of Education Tim Macindoe—and if his mother who is my constituent is listening he is doing a great job—announced $20 million for further development at Stonefields School. Anyone from this House who has visited that school will know what a remarkable facility it is—what a marvellous modern learning environment. They have been handed $20 million to continue development basically of that school which is going to see about another 450 students housed. That is actually quite important in my electorate. This Budget is I think foretelling what is coming in future Budgets from this Government as we continue to spend in education as more and more people come to live in electorates like Tāmaki in the central Auckland isthmus.I said at the start that I want to focus a little bit more on health. What an amazing story there is to be told about the New Zealand healthcare system—first and foremost because of the amazing people who work in it. I always take these opportunities to acknowledge the doctors the nurses the care workers the vocational support workers and others who tirelessly work—tirelessly work—to support our New Zealanders. We as a Government do what we can to invest more and more money every year into health.This Budget sees a record $16.8 billion—$16.8 billion—invested into health. That is almost $4 billion extra over the next 4 years. We have absolutely got to ram that home and make that absolutely clear because we hear from the Opposition time after time a misleading figure that this Government is somehow underspending in health. One of the great fallacies in logic is that when you are spending $4 billion extra over 4 years somehow you are underspending. I have looked over the figures many many times to try to understand where it gets this claim from. It turns out that Labour has its own projection if you will—its own sense utopian or otherwise—of what the health spend should be. So in other words when it claims we are underspending it is not a matter of fact; it is just in terms of a belief of what it thinks should be spent. What surprises me from the Labour Party is that when it attack us for underspending by something like $1.7 billion it is not higher. Why is it not an underspend of $10 billion seeing as it is just making up these figures? It is just not the case—it is just not the case.We are putting an extra $1.76 billion into district health boards. They do a remarkable job. They are the primary funder effectively in this sector—$1.76 billion. The select committee at the moment—the Health Committee that is—is considering a $2 billion settlement for home-care supporters. These are the people who go into people's homes often doing those hard—often difficult—jobs supporting people. There is a $2 billion package to see their wages increase and I want to acknowledge quickly all of the members of the House who are sitting on that Health Committee at the moment working hour after hour through this week and last week and the week to come to make sure that that legislation goes through because on 1 July this year over 55000 Kiwis are going to see their incomes significantly rise because of this piece of legislation.There has been an extra $224 million—$224 million—going into mental health. This Government is responding to an area of need and really importantly mental health is one of three areas across the world where Governments are seeing—and I am talking primarily about the Western World and within the OECD—real pressure being put down. So chronic obstructive pulmonary disease—we are looking in the area of chronic diseases infectious diseases and mental health and we are responding to all of those.I am sure my colleague the Associate Minister of Health and the Minister for Disability Issues the Hon Nicky Wagner will be talking further around this but I just want to acknowledge the great work that she has led in terms of getting $205.4 million for disability services—an increase I should state of $205.4 million over 4 years to support the disability sector. This is remarkable—absolutely remarkable—not only the level of support that the Government is providing but the level of increase. I hope that when she takes a call she will stress the work that she has done through the Enabling Good Lives programme. I am not sure how many New Zealanders have followed it. It is a relatively small pilot as I understand it. It has been in Christchurch and Waikato which is empowering. It is a pilot that is going to be rolled out across the country but it empowers people with disabilities and their families to take control if you like of their own lives. One really small example of that is that they are actually able to have some choice and flexibility around how they spend their money. This is a transformative project and it is a project that has been led by this Government. It is a project that has been supported and led by Nicky Wagner and supported by her other ministerial colleagues. It is making an incredible difference.And so if there is only one element of all the dollar values that I have thrown out here this evening I would suggest to people not to hold on to the big ones of the $6.5 billion around the tax and Working for Families and family support. That is remarkable but it is the $205.4 million over the next 4 years to support those in the disability sector that I think is just tremendous. Thank you Minister.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): The next call is a split call. Denise Roche—5 minutes.