Radhakrishnan PriyancaPRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Labour): Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. It is truly an honour to rise in support of the Families Package (Income Tax and Benefits) Bill. It is however incredibly disappointing that the member who has just resumed his seat the Rt Hon David Carter thinks that it's stupidity to lift families—entire families—out of poverty and to invest in education.I've been reflecting on the changes that this bill will have on so many lives: people that I've met young mums who are just managing to support their families who work multiple jobs and still struggle to put food on the table who have to make choices like taking their children to the doctors or putting food on the table. I appreciate that it's free for those under 10 but it still costs to take them there and in some cases if the parents are unable to pay for their doctors fees it gets taken out on the children. So there are multiple issues there: wages not keeping up with inflation as we've seen they haven't; rising house prices in rentals; families that are just managing until they suddenly have to replace a tyre or the warrant of fitness is due or Heaven forbid they have to go and see a doctor and then it's Struggle Street. There are elderly people whose living rooms I've sat in whom I've spoken to—people who tell me that they wear layer upon layer in winter because they don't have the money to pay for heating.He aha te mea nui o te ao? What's the most important thing in the world? He tangata he tangata he tangata. It's the people it's the people it's the people. Throughout this campaign—and for years in fact—we've talked on this side of the House about the kind of Government that we would be if we were given the chance and now we have been. People have voted for change. We're a Government that puts people first that puts people at the heart of policy making; a Government that cares; a Government that brings justice and compassion back. In the first few weeks of this Government in less than—what was it?—six weeks we voted and passed the paid parental leave bill to extend paid parental leave to ensure that parents can spend more time with their baby so that families are benefited.We passed the Healthy Homes Guaranteed Bill—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): No. The member needs to come to the bill. This is not a general debate.PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN: Absolutely but all of this impacts families as will this Families Package. So now this the Families Package will lift 88000 children out of poverty as a direct consequence—a bill that will boost the incomes of low and middle income families with children; a bill that will introduce the Best Start payments which will give every child in this country the best start in life possible. The winter energy payment will directly impact those people I talked to in their living rooms those people who couldn't afford to pay for heating. We will implement the accommodation supplements and I think we've already talked about that at length.We will do this by reversing tax cuts that would have put an additional thousand dollars a year into the pockets of people like me and members in this House people who don't need it; $400 million per year to the top 10 percent of income earners—the most benefit to those with the highest incomes while taking away resources from those who need it starving vital public services starving the education sector the health sector while we have a mental health crisis and a housing crisis so that they could ensure that there was a surplus. That they now put it into the pockets of those who don't need it doesn't make sense. What we are proposing to do—what we will deliver—will actually deliver prosperity while we grow the economy.On this side of the House we talk about economic growth not as an end in itself but as a means to an end—as a means to ensure that we improve the well-being of all New Zealanders. And I am proud to be part of a Government that makes things fairer for the many and not just the few at the top.We've heard speakers or members from across the House say that Labour's not the party for people without children. I have no children; the tax cuts would have directly benefited me and I'm proud that we are actually putting our money where it is needed the most.