Webb DuncanDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central): Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā. Well that was the same old stuff we've come to expect from a tired old Opposition but what I'm excited about is the fact that we are doing something different something challenging something innovative and in fact something which leads the world. I have just heard that the last Government tried to address family violence tried to address—so they say—housing tried to address this and tried to address that and made what? No meaningful progress. So we're not going to do it the same; we're going to do it differently. We're going to do it a way that no one else has done it before. The Minister's going to present a Budget which looks across all of a New Zealander's wellness—not just asking how do we make sure that incomes are good or that tax is brought in but asking a whole lot of questions that to be frank no Government before this Government has asked. I don't apologise for asking questions about community connectedness about civic engagement about life satisfaction and about cultural identity. I don't apologise for that at all because a meaningful life a life which is flourishing a life which we can value and respect includes those things. In fact it would be remiss of us not to have a system which takes into account those really important values. Well this Budget is called the well-being Budget because it's more than just an absence of malaise an absence of sickness and an absence of failure. It's actually an aspirational Budget—a Budget that says no matter how good things are we can do even better. It's wellness because it's not just about one thing. It's not just about a part of the body; it's about the whole body—body mind and soul. We can look at some physical and some tangible measures as indeed we should. We mustn't forget and we will not forget the importance of a thriving productive sector: the rural sector the intellectual property sector. We've been examining research and development and the need to stimulate that and the Minister is doing a great job in making sure that we have a vibrant innovation sector. That is a critical part of the economy so that we generate the important wealth that can be used to support and enhance other aspects. But we also need at the same time to be looking at other measures—not only looking at what we earn as a nation but how many hours do we spend earning that? Far too many. We're one of the least productive. We might be generating a respectable GDP but at the expense of time doing other things things we love—being in the outdoors spending time with family. We need to focus on our productivity as well. We also need to look at the spread of that income. The fact is that many of our people—people who are doing highly valued jobs caring for our elderly working in our warehouses driving those forklifts—are being paid a wage which cannot support a family and we need to address that as well. I'm very proud that we're raising the minimum wage and aiming high. We're aiming for an income upon which a family can be supported—a genuine living wage. So that's an equity issue. It's not just about how much; it's about where it goes as well. It's the same with the housing market. We need more houses—we all know that. We know that we've got 1100 more State houses already. We know that KiwiBuild has over 10000 houses under contract already. We know we need more houses but we also need good housing stock. It's about quality. That's why we've got the healthy homes guarantee—why we want to see renters in homes that are warm and dry. It's simply not good enough to say That will drive up the rents. You should be living in a cold draughty house with bronchitis and freezing cold so you can't sleep at night because you want a house at a low rent." That's just not good enough. Firstly there's no evidence for it and this is an evidence-based Government. Secondly everyone is entitled to a home which is warm and dry and safe. All this needs to be done with an eye on the future. We can talk about intergenerational equity and we need to recognise that we have not done right so far to future generations—that there has been a slipping. We look at our rivers our fresh water and the quality that has been falling behind and we should be ashamed. We can look at how we deal with waste and recognise that there is a burgeoning problem here in New Zealand as to the amount of waste we generate and we look at our carbon profile and the fact is something's got to change. Again some brave decisions have been made. The fact is that in the future there will be no further offshore exploration for oil and gas and I don't apologise for that either because it's time we started thinking of some new ideas. If we are going to be zero carbon in 2035 we've got to make some important decisions in a just way in a way which recognises that change is necessary and that change in particular is an incremental one. There are permits and exploration permits out there which extend into 2050. So let's not pretend that that's going to happen overnight. It's being undertaken in a very careful managed fair way. So I'm very proud that that decision's been made and that there's a whole lot of work being done to make sure that that transition is just and fair to everyone that jobs are protected and that indeed with the Provincial Growth Fund—which is a great example—further jobs are created. We've seen some fantastic grants right across the country including Taranaki which to be fair is where our oil and gas industry is primarily located. So that Provincial Growth Fund is really looking after the regions and we know that when prosperity is driven in the regions New Zealand as a whole does well. So we need to absolutely recognise that and recognise the intergenerational aspect of that. But I want to also focus on those less tangible things—the things that to be fair are more difficult to measure. But we need to not shy away from that and to get out there and start measuring them—things like the connectedness of our communities our cultural identity. How many of our children can speak Te Reo? It's something I wish I'd been taught at school. How many of our children can communicate across all of our many and diverse cultures? How many of our immigrants have preserved their own language their own cultural identity? We need to learn that they are taonga. They're treasures that we need to hold dear so that people can feel connected within their own special community but also across communities. Let's start looking at that examining it. Let's also recognise the connectedness of all of these things. One thing we do know is that when a society is educated it is prosperous. It is prosperous and its health improves. All of those things need to be addressed so let's recognise further that all education is worthy. Let's not focus only on a narrow band. Let's respect and promote and protect scholarship in the arts scholarship in the humanities—those things which enhance and preserve all of our traditions—and recognise the important skills learnt in the trades. The fact that craft is a fantastic skill to have the idea that we need to respect and value those people that do physical tasks: the carpenters the plumbers—all of those people who support us with highly skilled trades with a technical background. I'm really proud of what the Minister of Education is doing looking at the trades and the polytech sector and saying "Not good enough." That sector is really important to enhance our community as we go forward. We are going to look at that. We are going to not be afraid to make significant structural change if needed and to enhance and improve that sector which is a critical part of our community. These are all brave decisions. This is a new way of looking at things and that is exactly what's needed. This wellness Budget is a world first. It's a great Government to be part of and I'm very proud of it. Thank you Mr Speaker."