3. Question No. 3—FinanceHon BARBARA EDMONDS (Labour—Mana) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 3—Finance3. Hon BARBARA EDMONDS (Labour—Mana) to the Minister of Finance: Meitaki maata Mr Speaker. Does she agree with the Prime Minister's statement This is a country where our economy is in real trouble. This is a country where we cannot deliver health and education services as well as we need to"; if not why not?Hon SIMEON BROWN (Minister for Energy) on behalf of the Minister of Finance: Yes. We inherited an economy in recession a broken health system following a botched merger and an education system that has been failing too many children for too long. But good news: we have got a plan to turn things around. We're fixing education we're fixing health we're growing the economy we're reining in wasteful spending and we're reducing the amount spent on external consultants unlike members opposite who seemed to outsource—SPEAKER: No that's enough thank you.Hon Barbara Edmonds: How does stopping the construction of schools hospitals and houses when 6000 people in the construction industry have lost their jobs help the economy?Hon SIMEON BROWN: on behalf of the Minister of Finance we're not stopping the construction; we are actually getting on and fixing the fundamentals in this economy. We inherited an economy that was in recession interest rates that were at record highs and inflation was well outside the bounds. The previous Government was addicted to spending. We are turning this country around unlike the mess we got left behind.Hon Barbara Edmonds: What estimates has she received of the cost to New Zealand businesses and the economy of the loss of rail capability on the Interislander ferries given those ferries currently carry over half a million metres of train freight per year?Hon SIMEON BROWN: On behalf of the Minister of Finance I'm not sure if she has realised but the ferries are still operating providing freight services between the North and South Islands. What we are doing is going through a process to secure their resilience into the future but as KiwiRail has made very clear those ferries are safe to operate until at least 2029.Teanau Tuiono: Meitaki ranuinui Mr Speaker. What steps is the Government taking to address the critical funding shortages faced by Hato Hone St John ambulance service which have led to the impending national withdrawal of labour of over 2500 ambulance officers?Hon SIMEON BROWN: On behalf of the Minister of Finance I encourage the member to put questions on specific issues like that in writing but what I would say though is that we've inherited a really tough situation in our health system left behind by a previous Government which decided that the best time to reorganise a health system was during the middle of a pandemic.Hon Barbara Edmonds: Are they not delivering in health because her Government is leaving clinics like those in Dargaville Wellsford Kenepuru Napier and Rotorua unstaffed overnight?Hon SIMEON BROWN: On behalf of the Minister of Finance we have inherited a mess when it comes to our health system and this Government has a plan to turn it around unlike the previous Government who decided the best time to reorganise the health system was during the middle of a pandemic. It's unbelievable the mess that was left behind and the challenges that this Government is having to clean up but unlike them we've got a plan.Hon Barbara Edmonds: Does she believe that Tākai which has shut down because of her cuts after 20 years of social service is a cash cow and what does she say to the tens of thousands of parents who have benefited from their support?Hon SIMEON BROWN: Again on behalf of the Minister of Finance we have inherited a number of challenges as a Government which we are having to clean up with the mess left behind by the previous Government. They were spending like drunken sailors they were borrowing they had interest rates and inflation through the roof and this Government has been elected to fix this economy to ensure our public services are delivering on the front line for New Zealanders but we have a huge mess to clean up.Hon Barbara Edmonds: How does giving the tobacco industry a $216 million tax break leaving less money for health help the economy?Hon SIMEON BROWN: Well on behalf of the Minister of Finance there was a range of assumptions in that particular question but what we are very focused on is reducing smoking rates. We've got a plan to address that on this side of the House but we've also got a range of challenges that we need to sort out and we've been elected to fix it. If that last Government were still in charge they'd be spending more they'd be taxing more and delivering less.Hon Dr Duncan Webb: Point of order. That member in his answers has largely attacked the former Government and I have tried not to intervene to try not to interrupt and disturb the dignity of the House but he's continued to do it and you've said repeatedly that it's inappropriate.SPEAKER: Well I think the point is that the member himself took a point of order before to say that words matter and they do and I've also in the past said it's not unreasonable—and other Speakers have said this before me—for Governments to refer to previous administrations. It's a matter of how that is done and I think saying that a circumstance was inherited hardly breaches that particular provision. But I would suggest the Minister makes his answers slightly briefer or offers them more briefly than he has been at the moment. Have we got any further questions on that? No? Good. We move to question No. 4—Vanessa Weenink."