Sepuloni CarmelHon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development): I just want to start by saying happy birthday to Willow-Jean Prime. We're not singing it because that would take up too much time from my speech and I've got too many important things to say here today.I just really want to start because I have been part of this process with the Families Package by acknowledging our finance Minister who has done a fantastic job. So Grant Robertson our finance Minister can I just acknowledge you for the work that you've done on this. It's fantastic to have a finance Minister who is focused on the well-being of New Zealanders and on making that a priority. It's great to have a finance Minister that understands the economic benefits of New Zealanders being well. That's what we've been lacking for the last nine years so I do want to acknowledge Grant.I also want to acknowledge the rest of the team because working alongside Grant have been myself Minister Tracey Martin Minister Stuart Nash and Minister Phil Twyford. We have been supported by some very able officials from the different relevant Government departments and I want to acknowledge the work that they have put into this.Unlike what the previous speaker said—that speaker being Barbara Kuriger—I'm going to disagree with her. She said that today is not a positive day for New Zealand. Well actually it is a very positive day for New Zealand—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I will ask the member to address the member—I accept that it's a misunderstanding as to the member's name rather than deliberate. It's Kurijer".Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: "Kurijer"? Apologies Barbara.Brett Hudson: It's Kuriger. Hard "g"—Kuriger.Mr SPEAKER: Kuriger? Well I apologise if I got it wrong as well but I think the member was worse which is a pretty—Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Thank you Mr Speaker. Can I just say that it is a very positive day for New Zealand and I want to point out a number of reasons why.Today we have announced our Families Package. It is a transformational families package and one of the biggest most positive aspects of this Families Package is that 88000 children will be lifted out of poverty. How can the Opposition say that that is not positive? I guess after nine years with the fact that they did nothing—nothing—to actually address the issue of child poverty in this country they are in a position now where they're looking across the Chamber with envy that now we have a Government and it's not them who is actually capable of doing something to address that.I want to say that it is also positive that we're going to have 384000 families in this country better off. These are 384000 families with children better off in this country by an average of $75 a week. How can that member say that that is not positive? We have had families on Struggle Street coming to us over the last nine years increasingly with issues around housing and with issues around food security. We live in a First World nation and yet we have people living in our country with issues around food security. Now we are putting more money into those families' pockets and that side of the House says that that is not a positive thing to do.I want to touch on some of the changes that we're making and introducing and to talk about the positive aspects to those. And I want to start with the Best Start tax credit. This is an evidence-based policy. We didn't pull this out of thin air. Those first three years of life are crucial and making an investment into one- to three-year-olds is essential for us if we want to make sure that moving forward we have a positive future as a country. So today we've introduced the fact that we will be giving an additional $60 per week to families—to every family—in this country that have a zero- to one-year-old. How is that not positive? Then after that we will make it more targeted for the two- to three-year-olds. That supports low to middle income families and that supports those one- to three-year-olds whom we should be investing in for the future of this country.Working for Families—we've made crucial changes. We've lifted the abatement threshold. Before you could earn only I think it was 37000 and something or other before it started to be abated. Now families are going to be able to earn $42700 before that threshold kicks in. That's positive. We're opening up Working for Families to more people. When in question time I was asked how what we're doing will make things more sustainable for work for New Zealand families it's because actually when you take into consideration the cost of childcare when you're working and the cost of transport when you're working supporting families to be able to work is actually a really positive starting point. They want to care for their children. They want to work. We as a Government need to support them to do that and that's exactly what we will be doing.Some of the other changes we've mentioned are the winter energy payment. People have questioned—well that side of the House is questioning—why we would do that. Why would we not do that when we have something like I think Minister Martin was telling me 9500 senior citizens admitted with pneumonia or bronchitis every year? Actually that was just in the last year. So why would we not want to help them heat their homes? Brett Hudson: You took away their increase.Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Why would we not want to help them heat their homes Brett Hudson?Can I also say that we've talked about the fact that there will be a million households that benefit from this but I need to also point out the fact that there will be 184000 children who live in households that will be receiving the winter energy payment. That is positive. It is positive that we are going to have heated homes and be less likely to have senior citizens and our children admitted into hospital over those winter months for respiratory problems because they are warm. How is that not positive?Can I also point out the accommodation supplement changes that have been implemented and I do need to acknowledge that they're the same changes that the National Government were also going to implement. It is just unfortunate that we've had to make these changes because of the housing crisis. They are one way—it is not the most desirable way but it is one way—in which to support New Zealanders with the high cost of housing that they're experiencing after having been under the watch of the National Government for the last nine years who did nothing to address the housing crisis. Hence why we are in this position.I'm not going to continue on because I think I've made my point along with my colleagues but I do want to say that today is a very very positive day for New Zealand. The Families Package is incredibly significant and will make a huge difference to thousands of New Zealand families and will lift—again I have to say this—88000 children out of poverty. And I for one and I'm sure everybody else on this side of the House—that side of the House should be—are very proud of what we have in front of us today.The debate having concluded the motion lapsed."