Bayly Andrew: General DebateText is subject to correctionBayly Andrew: General Debate[Sitting date: 29 April 2015. Volume:704;Page:2977. Text is subject to correction.]ANDREW BAYLY (National—Hunua):Yesterday I started to talk about how I have recently been taken to task in the National Business Review for asking the Minister of Finance a question about what this Government is doing for New Zealand families. Mr Hooton thought it was strange that someone with my financial background should be asking such a question. He was wrong and is wrong. Looking after our families is absolutely essential to New Zealand. Not only is it fair and just but it is also good business. As a society we need to have an equitable society and having strong families is a crucial part of that equation.As I noted in my maiden speech the biggest conundrum that New Zealand faces is how to continue to grow this economy in a way that everyone has the potential to benefit from it. That does not mean that everyone becomes a freeloader but unless we continue to upskill New Zealanders and enable them to get meaningful well-paid jobs the chances of lifting our GDP on a per capita basis are limited. We can take no pride in the fact that there is a group that feels disenfranchised. The causes are many and this is one of the issues that we need to face and it is one that actually drew me into politics.I think that putting the individual and the family at the centre of the issue rather than focusing on Government processes is a great way to go and I commend it. I am proud of the initiatives that this Government has announced to strengthen our families and at the heart of it to deal with and help our children. Specifically I am talking about the initiative to increase paid parental leave to 16 weeks and this time next year to increase it to 18 weeks. There is also extending payments to caregivers recognising that there are 12000 children in New Zealand who are looked after by people other than biological parents and increasing the paid parental tax credit from $150 to $220 per week. All of these initiatives give children the possibility of a better start in life by allowing parents to look after them for longer before they have to return to the workforce.Every one of us wants the best for our children. This Government understands that. That is why we are focused on educational outcomes health outcomes and also housing and security outcomes. Starting with educational outcomes since this Government came to office we have doubled the investment in early education up to $1.5 billion and the participation rate is now 96 percent. We have set ourselves a target of ensuring that 98 percent of all children prior to going to primary school are going to some form of early childhood education. Secondly we are continuing to improve the school learning environment through great initiatives like Network for Learning where we connected just over half of the 2500 schools in this country with great digital access.Thirdly we are going to invest $1 billion in new schools. My own electorate has benefited from that. It has got a brand new school at Mission Heights that fast-growing area beside Flat Bush. I have also got Ormiston Primary School. And I have got another school being built nearby as well.We are also investing $350 million in the community of schools. That is a great way to get our teachers—to help them and equip them—to be able to get better educational outcomes by collaborating. In my own electorate I can already bear witness to some of the leaders the principals working together in a collaborative approach and I commend them as well.In terms of health outcomes we all know that healthy children learn better engage quicker and get better results from schools. So I welcome the initiative to increase free access to education and GP visits for children under 13 from 1 July this year. Also we are targeting 90 percent of all infants and toddlers to be fully immunised. They are two great initiatives to help our children.But it does not stop there. The Government is also working on our housing initiatives. Every New Zealander knows that a family home is the foundation of a secure home and also the launch pad for children. Our $280 million Homestart loans package is an important ingredient in that.The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.