Henare PeeniHon PEENI HENARE (Minister of Civil Defence): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. He tirohanga Māori tēnei: Ka ara mai a Puanga ki te rangi". [This is a Māori perspective: "Puanga rises to the sky".]I want to put a very different spin on the debate that's happening here today and I want to talk about where I come from Puanga or to the rest of the country Matariki. The first star in the Matariki sky are essential workers—essential workers who worked hard during the time of the COVID lockdown; the kaimahi who in Māori terms would be classified as ringa rōpā. They did the hard work while people stayed at home to make sure that we have the opportunity to come together again after the lockdown—that's the first star in the sky.The second star is the health services. Those who work in the health services right across this country: Māori health providers hospitals primary health organisations many of them who got involved to make sure that (1) people were safe (2) people were tested and (3) those who were found to have COVID were cared for. Sadly we lost some whānau during the COVID lockdown we lost some whānau to COVID-19 but I want to acknowledge the second star of Matariki in the sky and that is our health services.The third star—and I'm quite proud of this—is Whānau Ora. Now the first speaker in the debate today the Hon Judith Collins talked about: what have we delivered? I can tell you that Whānau Ora during the time of COVID-19 this is what they delivered: over 120000 care packs to whānau right across this country. They delivered services to well over 74000 families in this country. They delivered those services from the Cape all the way to the Bluff and including Wharekauri / the Chatham Islands. That side of the House is asking us: "What has this Government delivered?" The numbers speak for themselves. Whānau Ora did that—Whānau Ora did that. What I can say is on the other side of the House during the time of the COVID lockdown all they delivered was 24 committee meetings—that's it. I'm really proud of the third star in the sky which is Whānau Ora.The fourth star of Matariki in the sky is of course the 5 million New Zealanders—each and every one of us who worked hard to make sure that we stuck to the rules and we stayed home. We gave ourselves every opportunity to make sure that in the future—now we're reaping the benefits—people from far and wide can come together to celebrate to work hard and also to plan for the future.The next star in the sky—and while I know the right honourable Prime Minister will be shy that we heap praise upon her I do want to acknowledge her. Her ability to communicate with Aotearoa during a very difficult time makes her at least according to my view part of the pantheon of stars of Matariki.The next one is of course the infallible Dr Bloomfield who I understand is going to be strapping on the boots in Wainuiōmata in your home town sir this weekend. I challenge anyone to tackle him. I dare say that when that gentleman touches the ball he'll have a clear run to the line—SPEAKER: I wouldn't trust the Weepus.Hon PEENI HENARE: Ha ha! The next star in the sky of course is small businesses. Small businesses right across this country have done it tough. We've tried our very best to make sure that we can invest in them to make sure that they can continue to look after their staff; that after the lockdown they can come out of it strong and resilient. We acknowledged from the beginning we weren't going to be able to save every business but I want to acknowledge small businesses right up and down the country.The next star in the sky of course—I've already spoken about Whānau Ora. I was about to name them twice. But of course the next star in the sky is our future generations. I say that because Matariki gives us a time to strategise and plan for the future and this is where we find ourselves. We need to create a country that is far more resilient into the future and this Government knows how to do that. We know we must invest in jobs. We know we must invest in our people. We must start preparing for the future. We've got to start once again continuing a package of support for small businesses. Finally we've got to position ourselves globally so that we can bounce back after COVID-19.Just finally with my civil defence hat on I want to acknowledge the communities of Tai Tokerau and Tai Rāwhiti who have been impacted by the floods of recent days. The community resilience—and I mentioned it yesterday—our matua Mike Butler and the hard work that they do in the communities to make sure that whānau are safe during times like this. I hope that Matariki shines brightly upon them and their futures that they plan progressively for and I want to acknowledge all of them and the whānau doing it tough during these times. Tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare."