Utikere Tangi; O'Connor GregTANGI UTIKERE (Labour—Palmerston North): Kia orana Mr Speaker. It's a pleasure to take my first call for the year on the Prime Minister's statement. As has been alluded to by colleagues around the House this afternoon the Prime Minister identified in his statement—right from the get-go—the situation in terms of the recovery for those in Northland for those in Te Tai Rāwhiti but also in the Hawke's Bay and of course Auckland and my neighbouring electorate or nearby of the Tararua District. I want to just acknowledge the devastation that those communities have faced; the local community groups marae local members of Parliament who have been on the ground supporting their communities in an absolute desperate and dire time of need. We know that the Prime Minister in his statement confirmed the commitment to those communities in terms of the ongoing support that the Government will provide to them. This utter devastation is one that is heavily felt by folks on the ground and the relentless nature within which our communities have responded—and I use the word communities" in a very broad sense—is obviously something that is desirable and supported as well.In terms of the reference to the Auckland floods I want to acknowledge those emergency personnel also who have been involved. On the morning of the January Auckland floods I was visiting Mount Wellington—visiting the St John's 111 emergency operations centre that morning. Little was anyone to know that they would be very busy in the evening so I do want to acknowledge the work that they've put into supporting their communities. I also want to acknowledge the many community groups and schools around the motu who have pitched in to support nearby neighbours. I know that many of the schools in my own electorate of Palmerston North have been fund-raising—because that's what the call is about; providing some pūtea—by having mufti days in black and white the colours of the bay with sister schools so I want to acknowledge the work that they have been doing in that space.But this is a Government as referenced in the Prime Minister's statement that has focused on tackling the infrastructure needs of our country and is also keen to ensure that it continues to provide the strong leadership responsible leadership to support the resilience that is evident in our communities around Aotearoa New Zealand. It was in my assessment a cracking statement from the new Prime Minister and his new administration in terms of outlining the plans for New Zealand in the year ahead. There are opportunities that were addressed in terms of identifying the response that he and his Government intend to take to relieve the pressures around the cost of living that we all know about. And we have in terms of referring to the track record of the Government in the lead-up to that taken a range of actions across many areas actually—groceries transport housing health and education just to name five. I want to use my opportunity in the House this afternoon to canvass those five areas. When we look at groceries yes seeking to address the increasing price of food. The new administration has a new Minister in the Hon Dr Duncan Webb who is going to lead out on that to address the duopoly to tackle that issue which is facing many whānau in the pocket. So that's something that the Government is very keen to ensure it continues. But also ensuring that it continues to tackle the excess of $1 million profit per day currently that those in that particular game are receiving in their own back pocket. So groceries is something that the Government is seeking to address. The second one is transport and in terms of referencing the track record that the Government has already taken in terms of the continuation this year of half-price fares—and I notice that my colleague Steph Lewis cited this in terms of her trip recently. I know previously in the House I have referred to the Bee Card which is something that is used in many regional authorities—that will continue to address some of that subsidy for the public transport needs of our community. The road-user charges reduction—which is something that the House is familiar with in terms of legislation through the House recently—is another; a continuation of cutting the duty or excise tax on petrols will continue to alleviate some of the pressures that families and households are facing around New Zealand. The upgrade and investment—continual upgrade. This year we will see new carriages for the Capital Connection service between Palmerston North and Wellington a very very dear-to-my-heart service that meets an absolute need. That is something that has existed by way of Government funding. It is something that we will see halfway through this year rolled out alongside some other infrastructure adjustments to some of the platforms along the way. I have to say I was pleased to see that many of the products actually that were used in the upgrade were sourced locally including fibreglass from the Manawatū district as well.Moving on to housing. Housing is something that the Prime Minister has confirmed is going to be a continued area of focus for this Government. I am proud to be part of a Government that is for the first time in decades delivering public housing opportunities for the people of Palmerston North. It's something that I make no apology for in this House because as the local member it is something that I keep a keen interest in. I am keen to ensure that progress continues to be made and that is certainly the case as we have our target of delivering 18000 additional public and transitional houses or homes by 2024. Kāinga Ora are continuing to deliver in my community and in many communities and that certainly will be something that the Government is expecting moving forward—that Kāinga Ora would continue to meet those needs that they would continue to acquire land where possible and they would continue to engage with stakeholders in their community. Area number three is health and much has already been said around health. We will see a continuation of the roll-out of the National Health Service known as Te Whatu Ora and the particular investment the significant investment that this Labour Government has made in health in over a generation—if not generations plural—that would continue to support the work of community organisations on the ground who were attuned with the COVID response that have continued to roll out their support for our communities. Just within the last few weeks I was delighted that there was central government investment of $9.8 million for our local hospital that will see shorter stays in the emergency department—the emergency department observation area extension—but also the medical assessment and planning unit which will allow for GPs to effectively make direct referrals to the hospital and it will see an increase in bed capacity in Palmerston North for the first time in many years. But alongside that the Surgical Procedural Interventional Recovery Expansion project that will see stents and catheterisation lab opportunities being delivered in Palmerston North rather than people having to travel regionally or beyond. In the area of education: just within again the last couple of weeks an ongoing investment of this Government through the Universal College of Learning and Te Pūkenga of $10 million for Te Whai Oranga which is just across the road from my electorate office. So I've been able to see the progress of this health and community service facility being developed over recent months and the Prime Minister has signalled a continuation in this statement of ensuring that the investment in public service that New Zealanders rely on continues. This is yet one example again of this Government delivering for people of Palmerston North but also in our communities. Much has been said around health—the change in terms of the equity index the move to ensure that attendance is a real focus. I acknowledge the work that our Minister of Education is doing in that space. As a former teacher I know the importance of students being at school and I also know that under National there were opportunities to remove attendance as a focus and it was actually landed on other school staffing provisions to ensure. So a change in that direction is something that is absolutely going to be welcomed by the community. I also wanted to acknowledge the support that the Government has signalled a continuation for for our Pasifika community. I want to acknowledge my colleague and friend the Hon Barbara Edmonds who has recently taken up a new role in the new administration as the Minister for Pacific Peoples. When we talk about ongoing opportunities for STEM academies—that focus around science technology engineering and mathematics—where our Pasifika communities our Pasifika ākonga are able to focus in that space that is really really important. So it was a delight to see that Government ministries such as the Ministry for Pacific Peoples were able to continue to support communities on the ground. We had a fantastic festival in Palmerston North over the weekend the Vaka Festival and it was great to see that the ongoing focus of this Government in terms of ensuring that the Ministry for Pacific Peoples is supporting communities on the ground is an ongoing focus alongside Fire and Emergency New Zealand Corrections the local council health community providers and much much more. I am proud to support a Prime Minister who has outlined a very clear line of sight and direction for our Government and for the community of Aotearoa New Zealand. We on this side of the House are determined to support him and his new administration in delivering on that focus because it will ensure that resilient communities are able to go about their business knowing that they have a Government in Labour that will continue to support their needs to provide for them in their time of need and that is a good thing that all members of this House should be acknowledging and celebrating.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Toni Severin. This is a split call—five minutes."