Andersen GinnyGINNY ANDERSEN (Labour—Hutt South): Thank you Mr Speaker. I would like to take note in the House today that no New Zealander likes to see the scenes currently out the front of Parliament right now. It is sad and distressing to see. However the actions of the so-called protestors which we have seen over the weeks have been illegal in the sense that they have intimidated and at times assaulted members of the public. Constituents of mine have regularly contacted me out of sheer frustration that those New Zealanders that have been part of a team those New Zealanders that have chosen to play their part to get us through one of the most difficult times in modern history have worked so hard and feel sheer frustration at the actions outside the front of Parliament now. At the same time I would like to acknowledge the men and women of the New Zealand Police who are working incredibly hard in unbelievably difficult circumstances right now. I acknowledge the time they've had to spend already the risks they've put themselves under—and they continue to do so—in order for New Zealanders and Wellingtonians to go about their daily lives safely and for people to get to work and to get home again. I would like to acknowledge all of those people who have written to me and expressed their frustration over the last weeks and I'm pleased that action is being taken to resolve what's been occurring.This Government has taken action at a time when it has been unprecedented. We have provided stable united leadership through one of the most challenging events New Zealand has had to face in modern times. And throughout this pandemic the Government has worked to save as many lives as possible and also to protect jobs and to cushion the blow to our local and our national economy. We've acted early and decisively to prevent the worst impacts we've seen in other countries around the world. Our approach has worked. We've seen the lowest number of deaths in the OECD. The front page of the Dominion Post today is projecting that possibly 3000 lives have been saved through the actions taken. Also we've seen at the same time unemployment at record low rates being able to cope at a time when there's huge pressures on our economy. These efforts and these results are a powerful confirmation of our collective effort as all New Zealanders. The measures that we have taken have saved lives and the policies that we have put in place have protected the lives and livelihoods of New Zealanders. We have done all this while continuing to make progress on the long-term challenges New Zealand faces: housing child poverty mental health and climate change. I have paid recognition to front-line Government workers such as police but I'd like to acknowledge teachers as well. As I send my kids off to school each day in times when numbers are increasing in terms of cases they go into a calm caring and well-planned-out environment every single day. I'm hugely grateful as a parent for the effort that our teachers are doing every single day to put the best interests of our children forward. In order to do that we want to be able to protect our school workforce by making medical-grade masks freely available. One of the best things we can do to keep front-line staff and students safe is to isolate—we know that—and that's why positive cases are at home along with their family members. However we also recognise that there is a need for rapid antigen testing (RAT) and that is why the Ministry of Education is ensuring that all of its regional officers have a supply of RATs on hand for schools and early learning services to access as needed. There are almost 700000 RAT kits available for schools and early learning services. This has been a hugely trying time for New Zealand but what we know is that we have worked to look after our people. We have worked to protect lives to protect livelihoods and to make sure New Zealanders as a collective are in the best place possible. We have a plan and it has worked to date and we know that it will continue to work. This has been achieved through a Government with strong leadership and a strong plan that is able to make sure the people in New Zealand are safe and looked after in one of the most challenging times we have seen in modern New Zealand history. Madam Speaker thank you.