Bennett DavidHon DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East): Thank you Madam Speaker. The Budget is a crucial part of any Government's political year but especially this year when we face the crisis that we do in our country. The COVID crisis has really made this country reflect—[Bell rung]ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Ruth Dyson): Oh sorry. My apologies.Hon DAVID BENNETT: I think that's another 10 minutes—it's another 10 minutes. Michael Wood: We've had enough too Madam Speaker.Hon DAVID BENNETT: Yes—ha ha!Michael Wood: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I think members of the House possibly unanimously support the Speaker's decision.Hon DAVID BENNETT: Ha ha! For another 10 minutes yes thank you.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Ruth Dyson): The Hon David Bennett—nine minutes 44 seconds to go. My apologies. Hon DAVID BENNETT: Thank you. It's normally the other Speaker that interrupts me. But no the Budget's a crucial part of any political agenda for any year and especially this year when we're looking at the crisis that New Zealanders encountered in the health sense and now in an economic sense. And it's been fascinating to see the reflection that we've seen through the Government and possibly through the community as well on the role that agriculture's going to play in the future of New Zealand. You know the agricultural and horticultural communities represent the heart and soul of this country. They represent people that get out there and do the hard work in whatever weather and under whatever financial conditions there are to make the most for their future and their families' future and for New Zealand's future by delivering the hard export earnings that we need to enable our country to function and effectively pay its debts going forward now. They need to be valued and respected and I think that in the last few years they haven't felt that and it's time they are given the message that farmers are valued they are respected and this country needs them more than ever now. That is the message that I want to portray today in this Budget speech because we're hearing the right things you can say from the Government about the need for agriculture to deliver the economic prosperity for the country. But at the same time we see that there are imminent dangers in the sense of the legislation that the Government wants to put in front of farmers to make sure that they aren't as productive and they are challenged when they shouldn't be challenged to that extent as they go about their business. So I want to do a big thank you to New Zealand's farmers and growers that are the future direction of the New Zealand economy. They always have been the base of the New Zealand economy and the days that we forget that are the days that we take for granted the people that made this country so strong and now will make the country stronger as we go forward.I just want to acknowledge Todd Muller as well who's done a brilliant job in leading the National Party in the agricultural sector in the last year or so. He's got around the country and really delivered to farmers the message that there is somebody that cares there is somebody that understands and there is somebody that's going to work in their best interests and not just come to this House and take advantage of their role. So thank you Todd for the leadership you've portrayed in agriculture.Hon Willie Jackson: Oh it's too late—too late.Hon DAVID BENNETT: And it would be good if members like that member over there actually did something for his portfolio other than stand there and just yell at other people in this House—actually do something.I think that we need to thank farmers for what they actually do. You know how many people actually go out there and put their whole family investment on the line every day? They borrow they work hard and they are challenged by the weather by the finances that they have to keep and by Government rules and regulations and yet they still do that. Generation after generation of people come through wanting to be farmers and wanting to succeed.Agriculture has got a huge part to play in our future especially for Māori. It's one of the strongest parts of the Māori economy and will get even stronger in the future and it's an important part if we want to build a stronger country.Hon Willie Jackson: You don't support the Māoris.Hon DAVID BENNETT: We support agriculture and Māori in agriculture are one of the strongest ones there Willie Jackson so we do support them. So that is an important part of the future of New Zealand as well. So it's about employing people and taking that chance on their business which actually means that they employ a lot of downstream people as well. Now it's those people in manufacturing and those people in the service industries that are all directly as a result of the farmers' efforts. At this time when we have got major drought going on in parts of the country never has it been more difficult for some farmers and the stress that they are under is truly immense. The drought hit the Waikato. It hit Northland earlier this year. Now it's still in the Hawke's Bay and other parts of New Zealand. We need to go out there and think about those farmers because we're asking them to pay the bill for this country and we're asking them to do that in the toughest of conditions and we're not thanking them. We're not acknowledging them and we're not giving them the respect that they deserve. That is what this House should be doing because we're all in this together. The farmers know that and they want to work and help and build the success of this rebuild of the New Zealand economy.When you look at the Budget—you know this—there's some expenses in there in the agricultural sector that—I'm going to give credit to the Minister. I think he did a good job around the bovis system. You know that eradication programme is a costly affair. It's not only costly for the Government but it's extremely costly for the industry as well. It was a partnership between industry and Government to do that eradication programme. OK it's had its ups and downs and there'll always be some people that feel that the programme hasn't worked as well as it should have for them but in essence we are moving in the right direction in that way. If New Zealand can continue to do that I think that's a good sign for our farmers that there is support in this room. That is one thing that is in the Budget. It's been in the Budget last year and again this year and I do congratulate the Government for their support in that because that is vital for the primary industries going forward.But they need more than that. They need the infrastructure investment that's vital to grow their products and their distribution chains. They need to see that there is that regional infrastructure investment not some Minister coming into their areas once in a while and giving them small amounts of money for nothing that's really going to make any difference. They need the hard-core solid infrastructure that's needed in their communities. Water storage for example was something that was canned by this Government and it plays an important role in the future of agriculture and horticulture going forward. We've had a few little plays in that area by the Minister in recent months but they took away that future of water storage from the rural community. They've taken away a lot of the big commercial investments in infrastructure and roading in many of our rural communities. They've said that they're hidden behind the roads that they don't need and they're only going to present most of that money in Auckland. No most of the money was going to go in transport to Auckland projects. It wasn't going to the regions and they get little handouts and told be satisfied when the Minister comes and gives you a little handout. Well we need more than that.If we really value the people that are going to turn this country around then we need to invest in them. We need to make sure that investment's strategic and that investment is long term and it's what they need for their businesses not what people in this room determine is the best investment for them. We see that in forestry where the hand of the Government is in that industry all the time making it an inefficient industry. We need the efficiency of farmers to make the right decisions and Government's role is not to tell them what to do. Government's role is there to be able to support them. If we really value them and we really want them to pay the bills then let's go out there in this Budget and give them some support. Is there anything like that in this Budget to look after the farms that are going to pay the bills? No there's not. There's nothing. Not one iota. If anybody was running a business and they knew that this was the most profitable part of their business going forward that had to hold the other parts of the business that weren't going to do well you would invest in that profitable part. The Government should have invested in farming and the infrastructure of it if it really was genuine in wanting to support them. Rather the only signal that farmers can take out of this Budget is one that they will become the cash cow for this Government that this is a Government just sitting there waiting hoping that it can then inflict on the community the cost structures that will take away their efficiency that will mean that they—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Ruth Dyson): The member's time has expired.