Sio Hon Aupito WilliamHon AUPITO WILLIAM SIO (Minister for Pacific Peoples): I don't know whether you or members of this House will recall a song of the 1970s that begins with Have I told you lately". Now I have no intention of singing that song nor do I have intention of completing the latter part of that line but it's often a line that members of our communities would say to me from time to time. In the role of Ministers we had the opportunity of travelling the length and breadth of our country face-to-face and now of course with online connection. But every now and then somebody would say "Have I told you lately how glad we are that you guys are in Government?" or "Have I told you lately that it's a blessing to have the leadership that you have in this Government?" That's a fact. It is a blessing to be a member of this side of the House. It is a blessing to be a member of a Government that is strong that is positive and that is forward-looking. I had the opportunity the other day with one of our colleagues—Priyanca here—to meet with politicians and trade unionists and other people from Indonesia. They were all asking us about our experience of how we've been able to keep everybody safe and one of the fundamental factors that I was able to share with them is that we have good strong positive leadership in our country. That's a fact. We often forget that but it is a fact that has to be adhered and acknowledged and it's always a privilege when people respond to that in our engagements. But more importantly I think you'll find that by and large the team of 5 million recognise that this is a Government that is forward-looking that has a plan and that is implementing that; we are keeping people safe. For example the five-point plan that the Prime Minister has spoken often about is about valuing people. It's about our focus on jobs it's about preparing for the future it's about supporting businesses and it's about positioning us globally. As Minister for Pacific Peoples I have to say when we say "people" that conjures up values of life values of why it is important to protect our communities right across the whole country. But as a Government we've provided the wage subsidy to make sure that the day-to-day welfare needs of people are protected and they can have some confidence about the future. But for us as Pacific as a Minister it's been a privilege to be a part of a Government that values languages and cultures and those things combined make up what we would define as Pacific wellbeing. This is a Government that has invested. It has demonstrated its commitment by investing significant amounts of money into the Ministry for Pacific Peoples that was never there before particularly in the last nine years of the previous Government. A couple of weeks ago we managed to announce that we were providing certainty and confidence to the Pasifika Education Centre of $3 million over four years so that they can continue providing Pacific community languages because under the previous Government that money was taken away. In terms of jobs this is a Government that is relentlessly focused on jobs and it's not just about protecting existing jobs but it's also looking to the future and preparing people with the educational qualifications that they need so that they can have jobs—good high-paying jobs. We have a saying in Samoa: without a job you can't support your families and the village. So jobs are so fundamental.The Ministry for Pacific Peoples through the investment of this Government is now able to provide a programme called Tupu Aotearoa that provides support nationwide and has removed the barriers of age limit there but provides pastoral care so that Pacific people who lose their jobs or are unsure about the future have support towards better educational pathways or jobs—preparing for the future. Today I'm talking with some of our church leaders. I've said to our church leaders when we're preparing for the future we must take advantage of the $400 million that this Government has put aside so that we can progressively move people into homeownership. Homeownership provides confidence and support for the future for all of our communities. In terms of supporting business it goes without saying that the future requires us to embrace all the opportunities of the digital economy."