SpeechHon ALFRED NGARO (National): Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa. It's Samoan Language Week. I want to honour and acknowledge our Samoan community its history its heritage and how language plays such an important part. So I acknowledge the week and the theme for this week as well and to all of our Samoan communities as well.The Budget debate is a debate in which many in the House and over previous years have always stood up. Often and as has been heard this afternoon people will make a pitch about what was and what wasn't done in previous Governments and what is being done in the current term of a Government as well. Let's just say I'd like to put on the record that if we all own up the fact is that there were things that we did in our terms of Government from the past to the present that we got right and things that we got wrong. I want to just put that and lay that out there.But it is time for the Budget speech. It means that whoever is in the hot seat they now get to be held accountable and that's what the speech is all about. That's what this debate is all about. So today is a debate in which we can talk about the Budget for the Government of the day to hold them to account to the things that they've said to things that they promised and what significant difference that they have made. If I stand in this House I can pick out a number of things and then begin to talk about them from my own perspective. I think that being the House of Representatives and as a member of Parliament I'd like to echo the voices of our community. What do they say when they reflect about this Budget and what does it mean to them? So in some of my portfolios I'd like to then speak from that perspective.First of all I want to talk about children and in regards to child poverty. When we look at the Budget it is the first of a Budget in which there have now been recordings of the fact of the Budget implications in regards to child poverty. That's been clearly stated in page 17 of the Budget report that was released. So we know what the indicators are; there are measures. There are three key primary measures and six supplementary measures in that regards.But I want to bring the words from the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAC). Now we aren't always supporters and I don't always support everything they say and do but I do support the fact that there are significant areas that they have highlighted. One of the areas that they've talked about in their comment to the Budget is this: COVID-19 has shone a light on the glaring inadequacies in our welfare system we already knew have long existed since 1991. So that's long term.So what we would say is that in my speech I want to talk about the systemic changes. When we look at the changes we have parts of our Budget which deal with a number of key areas. But what key people in regards to what we're providing to our community are looking for is: are there any significant systemic changes in the system that will make a long-term difference? As I look through this and as I read through the reports I want to come to the conclusions that have been made by the Child Poverty Action Group and they start with the comment in their conclusions with this: The risks which COVID-19 recession pose for children's welfare is of concern for CPAC as it is no doubt for many other New Zealanders." Regrettably there is little in the 2020 Budget which addresses these risks. And then there are many examples that they give from that.So when we're talking about systemic change when CPAC themselves have looked through that yes there are things that we've done to mediate and to deal with the current issues before us. COVID-19 has presented a number of them. But are there systemic changes? Can we track and trace the ability to say that this will significantly change the outcome in the long term for our children for our whānau for our families and for our communities? So CPAC are telling us there aren't. So again I bring these words from the community itself.If we go further then to look at some of the other responses and particularly to children. You would have known that there have been four different inquiries in regards to the uplift of children especially in regards to Oranga Tamariki. That comes under my purview as the shadow spokesperson. When I look at the Budget and I look at what the Budget indicates I want to point first of all to the work and the inquiry around Whānau Ora entitled "Ko te Wā Whakawhiti" which is "It's time for change". Inside of that the community came together the Māori community and they indicated four key areas. These are four key years of systemic change. Here's what they asked for: they asked for the key principles of a whānau-centred approach; they looked for a systems-focused kaupapa Māori - aligned mātauranga Māori - informed—these were the words again that came out of Māori looking for a systemic change. Did we see that in the Budget?If I look at the Budget in regards to Māori development on page 22 and in the era of identifying and developing whānau-centred approaches to healthcare to improve the wellbeing of Māori and Pacific whānau: no budget. No budget at all. So that indicates to us again our community have spoken. There is no systemic change that's happening. Yes we can stand up in the House; we can declare $900 million towards dealing with the issues of Māori—Māori children Māori whānau. But when they say this you can do that for a time but will it make a difference? Again I speak from the words of our community. Here's what they say when they're talking about this. Some of their words are: just spending and borrowing won't fix our economy or our communities. I want to quote because it has been written; it's actually in press here from Te Rūnanga-Ā-Iwi O Ngāpuhi CEO Te Rōpu Poa. Here's what he says: the Budget increase "looks okay on paper." But he was unsure if it would help families in the long term—in the long term.Again people are looking for systemic change. They're not unhappy; they're not ungrateful. Please don't get me wrong when I put these comments out. They're not ungrateful for the support that they're giving. But again I ask the question: in the long term what is there being done to increase changes? Here's what else they say: how do you assess a whānau that lives in the country as opposed to a whānau that lives in a household or in a town? Again there is no systemic change here. There is no systemic change. These are the words from our own community that they're speaking out there. I then bring other words. Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu—here are the comments that are coming from them: "We [are] looking for a budget that would enable opportunities to address hardship to nurture aspiration and to foster innovation—it is unclear at this time whether this budget will deliver on our expectations."—on our expectations.The Government is in the hot seat of responsibility. What the community are looking for is systemic change. I would have to say the comments that are coming up—and these are not my comments; these are comments from the community. So the Government can turn around and they can argue. They'll only be arguing against the very people who they're wanting to serve. There is no systemic change and that's what's becoming clear to us here in this House as well.I want to acknowledge the Hon Aupito William Sio and the work that he's done and his announcement that he made: $195 million. That's significant. That's gone out into our Pasifika community. When I look at the list of those things that have been announced down here I first of all go back to the work that was done—and I was there at Eden Park in which we had the announcements of significant work around looking at some key planks around systemic change. One of them was around economic development for Pasifika—economic development for Pasifika—and the areas that we think that could make a difference. The community were engaged they were consulted; they were asked for what would make a difference. But when I look down at this list of what the $195 million will do I'm not seeing a systemic change. If anything there's the support of some of the work that had already been started under a previous Government. First time I've mentioned it; don't want to go too far there.But I just want to say that my whole speech in this debate is the question that the community is asking that you can meet the immediate needs—thankful and grateful—but in the long term are you really making a difference for the life of our whānau of our children of our communities? And they're asking this. Yes in the Pasifika Culture and Heritage Fund we've got empowering Pasifika participation expansion of Tupu Aotearoa programme across New Zealand Pacific Aotearoa Community COVID-19 Recovery Fund Pacific skills. We see all these things; they're immediate. But there is nothing in here that tells us that there is systemic change.So in my final minute here's how I propose that this Budget would be. It is all purpose but no plan. There was all purpose—Michael Wood: Good speech. You should be on the front bench.Hon ALFRED NGARO: —in meeting the current need of COVID-19. It's all purpose. That's right Michael Wood. All the sense of what it has. But what the voices on the community say is this: where is the plan? Where is the plan? We've got a plan. Give me another 10 minutes and I'll tell you what that plan is. These are the words by the way from our community not my words. These are the words. Yep. You can hassle and haggle because why? Because it hurts; because what I'm saying rings true to you. That's why in your community when they turn around and they say this that it's purpose but no plan—all purpose but no plan. So you're in the hot seat now. You get to make the decisions—SPEAKER: Order!Hon ALFRED NGARO: Not you Mr Speaker but to the Government of the day it is your turn at the hot seat of responsibility—SPEAKER: Order! The member's time has expired."