Russell DeborahHon Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL (Minister of Statistics): When it comes to integrity how does integrity go with a party that has investigated one of its members but refused to release that report to the public? Glass houses to the Opposition—glass houses; just think about it for a little bit. However I don't want to engage in too much what aboutism"; what I want to talk about is the challenges that this Government has faced and what it has done about them. This Government since it has come to office has had to deal with three major crises—three really major ones. The first was the COVID-19 pandemic which affected the entire world and had a dramatic effect on the world economy and of course on New Zealand's economy. It stopped trade worldwide. It stopped travel worldwide. It changed our way of life. This Government has had to deal with this crisis that affected the entire world and of course had an enormous effect here in New Zealand. This Government has had to deal with the war in Ukraine which has had an extraordinary effect on energy prices and which has pushed along with the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide inflation to quite high levels. This Government has had to deal with that problem that has been a worldwide problem—felt in particular ways in New Zealand but nevertheless a worldwide problem. On top of that this Government this year has had to deal with the intense weather events in the Auckland anniversary weekend floods and in Cyclone Gabrielle—three enormous challenges that have had an extraordinary effect on our economy.The good thing is that this Government has been up for it and has dealt with them in a really effective way. Let me give you the evidence of that. Net debt is sitting at 19 percent of GDP; that's well below OECD averages. Unemployment is sitting at just 3.4 percent; that's one of the lowest rates of unemployment ever—and actually it's been below 4 percent since 2021. This Government knows how to get people into work and how to keep them there. Our economy continues to grow. Our economy continues to be on a path for growth. So instead of facing recession we are actually looking at continued growth in our economy.Now of course we are dealing with inflation—we are dealing with inflation—and it's really hard to deal with that. It's at higher levels now than many people remember. The last time inflation was higher was way back in the 1990s. However it is at levels which have not been seen for a while but the good news is that it is on its way down. In fact the Governor of the Reserve Bank said in his latest Monetary Policy Statement—said around it—that this Government's Budget had been a friend to the Reserve Bank in its efforts to control inflation. The predictions are to be back on the 1 to 3 percent band by the end of next year.So this Government is managing the economy extraordinarily well. In the face of those challenges I say the Minister of Finance Grant Robertson has done a remarkable job. Of course ordinary people don't feel that all right? Those are just numbers and stats about the economy. So we can say it's going well—and it is going well—but for the person trying to balance their household budget things are tough. This Government has addressed that in our Budget as well too. That change to the $5 prescription charges a change that the Opposition rejected will make a difference to ordinary families' budgets—no longer having to pay for prescription medicines; twenty hours of free early childhood education for children aged two and up. We think that that will make a difference of about $130 a week to families with young children. On top of that we have free public transport for children aged under 13. That will make a difference to families' budgets and it will enable families to make greater use of public transport for getting children to and from school instead of using cars. Half-price public transport for people aged under 25—that helps students and again it just helps families to manage their daily living costs.So in this Budget not only is the Government running the economy well but we are also addressing the cost of living for ordinary everyday New Zealanders."