Seymour DavidDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT): Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise on behalf of ACT to welcome the Government's initiative today. Humanity is being ravaged by a virus that has three particular characteristics: it is spreading fast it potentially has a high death rate and it has an incubation period which is quite long so it can spread undetected. And that is creating enormous uncertainty for people around the world. Every school I've visited in the last few days every business every household is facing uncertainty and COVID-19 is the only topic. But it also creates uncertainty for our Government. I don't know if they've made the right decisions through this crisis but what I do know is that they've had to make critical high-stakes decisions with limited information in a fluid situation.The role of Parliament in these circumstances is to be supportive to offer constructive criticism and helpful suggestions where applicable but in that spirit it is also important that the Government does not take political advantage of the situation. I heard the Minister of Finance trying to use this crisis as an opportunity to shout from the rooftops about the Government's economic credentials. He said We're in a strong position." Well actually the truth is this Government has taken the future forecast from a $6 billion surplus to a $1 billion deficit. It would have been more honest for him to say "Lucky the virus got here in time before we spent all the money." but we don't actually need to have that kind of political squabbling in these circumstances. I would say—[Interruption] Well the Government started it and I just responded and they don't like it up 'em. But the fact of the matter is what this country actually needs is some certainty and some principle and I would say that this Government first and foremost should not introduce permanent policy changes under the guise of a crisis. I talk to schoolteachers and principals and I look to the Minister of Education and I say that it would be wrong to significantly change the curriculum and the NCEA while the education sector is busy bracing for this crisis. That should be delayed. I think it would have been helpful for this Government to have put a 12-month moratorium on new regulatory initiatives that add cost to business. I think it would have been helpful to give tax relief to businesses at the same time as the Government is giving money to businesses. I support the relief package—I think that those businesses do need the relief—but it seems illogical to be introducing a minimum wage increase at the exact time that the Government is giving money to businesses to pay wages. We could make comments about the requirement for testing. We heard the Prime Minister say to medical professionals that they should test if they want to. If that is the new Government's policy that is wonderful news. But I hope that the Prime Minister will clarify that that is truly the policy because what international experience has shown us in the last few weeks is that we need to test more. We are going to see the private sector take a hit. We're going to see people go to four-day weeks. I suspect we're going to take pay cuts throughout the private sector and I don't know if I can become any less popular amongst some of my parliamentary colleagues but I suggest that we parliamentarians should show solidarity and take one too. If the private sector's going to do it I think Parliament should do it for the period of this crisis. I think that would set an example where Ministers can go to their senior executives and say that those civil servants who are earning over $100000 should also do that because the private sector businesses and households in New Zealand are going to be hurting. The only way we get through this is if we all as New Zealanders pull together and that includes parliamentarians and that includes the public sector. As other speakers have said we are a nation that has faced uncertainty and adversity before. But we are also a nation of people who have travelled further to be here and have a better life for ourselves and our children than any other people on earth and with that pioneering spirit of entrepreneurship and resourcefulness I believe we will come through this crisis strongly. Thank you Mr Speaker."