Ngaro AlfredHon ALFRED NGARO (National): It's been a great weekend. I managed to survive the Sky Tower challenge: 1103 steps in 52 flights and for a great cause.Along with that in the weekend I had a number of different interviews from different journalists and the question that they asked me was Alfred we want you to sum up the Budget in your own words but you cannot use the word 'broken' and you cannot use the word 'promises'." So I called it first of all a no-frills Budget but the other thing I called it was a "bubble and squeak Budget". I know many members in the House who have been around for a while will know what bubble and squeak is. Bubble and squeak—that's right in the puku—was from a time when actually it first started with a bit of cabbage and a bit of meat. It was the leftovers from the meal the day before and then after the 1950s it changed. It became more about sort of leftover potatoes and a bit of cabbage and peas and so forth. So in other words it's a refry—a rehash—of what was before.They said to me "So why is it that you're turning around and actually using bubble and squeak as an example of this Budget?" and my reply was this: "Because all they've done is rehash all the things that National had been doing in nine years. It was just a rehash." In other words they took all the good things. It was a great meal the night before—the nine years of a National-led Government—and then it was left in the fridge and instead of going out and cooking something new they decided to take out the old potatoes and the cabbage and they refried it.If you make those statements you've got to back it up and I would back it up by the fact that Rod Oram who many people will know is an economist was writing about the Budget speech and here's what he said. He said that this Budget is "more of a patch-up job for the past than a … transformation for the future." He went on to comment in his article on the fact that all they've done is taken all the old things that were done before—the things that were done under a National-led Government—and they've just rehashed them. That's all they've done. So that's why I call this the "bubble and squeak Budget".But let's get a bit of fact in there so that we can prove the fact that this has all been rehashed. So let's go to children—right—let's go to the children's aspect of it. This is from the Prime Minister's press release—the headline policies that the Prime Minister was declaring were really important for vulnerable children and for children in our society dealing with issues of poverty and so forth. Here's the first thing—the first bullet point that's been put out in the Prime Minister's release—"extending free doctors' visits and prescriptions to under 14-year-olds"—under-14-year-olds. Now we know that's not earth-shattering. Why—because under a National-led Government we'd already done that. We'd extended it from zero to 13 which included prescriptions and also included after-hours care as well. So nothing new; just a little extension. Yes it's 56000 newly eligible children but again that's the old mashed potatoes and a bit of cabbage coming back out again OK? It's just a rehash of what we had done before.Let's take the second bullet point from the Prime Minister. Remember we're waiting for some earth-shattering issues. The second bullet point is "expanding school-based health services to cover decile 4 secondary schools"—decile 4 secondary schools. Under National we had already extended school-based health visits to cover decile 1 to 3 secondary schools so again it's a refry. It's a little extension from what has already been established. It is the second bullet point by the way—the second bullet point so it's nothing earth-shattering. Here's the third one—surely there's got to be something new. We're expecting that this is going to be amazing this is going to be something new. The third bullet point is "increasing the number of children in early childhood education" (ECE). Now that sounds important. That's important. We all agree with that. But under National we had already increased the number of children in ECE to 96.6 percent—96.6 percent. So I'm not sure what's going to be earth-shattering what's going to be great news about this. Again it's another refry from what had already happened under a National-led Government.But we carry on because we've got to get those bullet points out. The fourth bullet point is "increasing access to additional learning support and the amount of support each child gets with an additional $284 million investment over four years". Well that sounds interesting. Again it's extending it out. It's nothing really extra-new under the ongoing resourcing scheme funding but here's the thing that I think is really important—and I'm glad that others have seen this—for just 1 percent of that funding if we're talking about children that are in need the Government could have saved the Stand Children's Services camps in Roxburgh.If we're talking about caring for the vulnerable talking about those in need we know that the community has already come out. They've rallied together. They've made a petition. They've come down here to Wellington. They've met with the two different Ministers—the Prime Minister and the Minister for Children—and even the chief executive of Oranga Tamariki. They petitioned to them and yes it was $3 million to keep those two camps Ōtaki and Roxburgh but they were greatly disappointed because they didn't get anything. In fact what we do know is they've included the ad twice again in the Otago Daily Times and here's what it says by Tremain: "The talk: 'When we are the Government children's welfare will be a priority!' The walk: Roxburgh children's village—closed." And here are two little children saying "Well we've missed out in the general lolly scramble unlike the America's Cup Pacific Islands and everyone else." That's what our community are judging this Budget by. It really has to say to you that there are a lot of very disappointed people as well.Let's talk about the fifth bullet point—again on the Prime Minister's list of targets—"grants for low-income home owners to insulate and heat their homes". We know that Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart was initiated by the National-led Government. Over 500000 homes have been warmed up with that subsidy. That's right across the whole of the nation. That's got to be impressive. So what are we going to do? They're going to refry it again. They're going to introduce it again. There is nothing new inside this Budget that says to us actually it's making a difference. Here's the fifth bullet point: "providing $105 million over four years for a clothing allowance for children supported by an Orphans or Unsupported Child's benefit which was previously limited only to children in care". I was part of the working group that came together. It was a very small group and the Hon Tracey Martin was on that group as well. Together we worked together around the equity of the allowance. This work had already been done. It had already been costed under a National-led Government. So here's another announcement—nothing new.Hon Ruth Dyson: Show us the money.Hon ALFRED NGARO: The money was already in there. The $105 million was already there Ruth Dyson. It was already allocated. But here's the thing: it's the fifth bullet point from the Prime Minister—nothing new. It's the same old thing. It's a refry. It's a rehash. It's the mashed potatoes. Let's say it's got a bit of kūmara in there and cabbage. It's the same old thing over and over again. Nothing new. We have to say there's a real concern.I have to say that I've been out and about and there's been a lot of disappointment. So we can talk about what we judge the Budget by but there's nothing like the getting the view of the community that's out there. So who is disappointed? The teachers are disappointed. As soon as the Budget was released the PR that went out was clearly this: teachers are disappointed with the Government's Budget. They say it has failed to address the key problems that are facing schools. That's from the teachers' union: people are disappointed. "More could have been done"—this is the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers—"to tackle [the] urgent social challenges." Again they are not always too friendly towards a National-led Government so here are they saying that it's not good. The midwives—I love this word "devastated"—are absolutely devastated because more could have been done. In fact many of the midwives said that actually at that announcement it's time to quit. They've had enough. They're not going to do it.But here's the one that's really got to hurt and that's in regard to Whānau Ora. I know that that's got to hurt because they have even said it themselves and these are straight from the words of Merepeka Raukawa-Tait for Te Pou Matakana. Here's what she said: it was "a kick in the guts". It was "a Budget of broken promises." Why—because they'd been promised $20 million. It has become a political football and—excuse the pun I didn't mean to; this was the only brown football that I had—it had become deflated. Whānau Ora was a promise that was made to Māori in regard to what they would do and here's what they said to me even today. Go and ask: "Was there a Budget bid? Was there a Budget bid? And if there was what were the reasons why it was turned down?" Twenty million dollars was actually asked for. It's what they promised. Nothing actually happened. Why—because New Zealand First has said this: "You've got to get it right before we can support it." That's right. It is a political football and the people are saying actually that's not good enough. [Places football on desk]SPEAKER: The member will take it down to the bench now—the football.Hon ALFRED NGARO: Oh—the football down? Thank you Mr Speaker. It just gets better in the sense of what people are saying. I want to finish off in my few moments actually going again and this is what Rod Oram has to say in finalising his views on the Budget which I think actually sums up what we feel on this other side and many people out there in the community feel. Here's what he says: "Judging by our current Government's performance to date and its first Budget it has yet to summon up the courage creativity and political will to rise to the even bigger challenge of change we face today." For all the talk for all the aspects of wanting to do something new all the bullet points that the Prime Minister put out in her press release about this Budget there is nothing new. It is bubble and squeak—a rehash a refry of the old stuff into something new."