Robertson GrantGENERAL DEBATEHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): I move That the House take note of miscellaneous business. Today I want to talk about success and leadership; two matters I know that are very foreign to our members opposite but I ask them to stick with us. Firstly I want to acknowledge the success of our amazing Silver Ferns the world champions in the Netball World Cup. They are a tribute to planning; they are a tribute to leadership. I want to acknowledge Noeline Taurua Laura Langman and the entire team who set about a year ago turning around a big disappointment—I hope my colleagues are going to understand the theme in this speech. They came into that leadership having to face a few years where things hadn't been going so well where some of the important things had been neglected. The team turned that around and we are extremely proud of them for showing that success and that leadership just as we are with the Black Caps with their excellent performance on making the world cup final for the second year in a row and they had a great tactician and leader in Kane Williamson who was able to read the game see the movements and take his team with him.While we're on the subject of success and leadership can I acknowledge the Parly Ferns netball team as well for their success internationally. There were some superb performances in that. I'd also like to acknowledge the parliamentary cricket team but I can't. All I can say is that their lessons on success and leadership may well have come from the Opposition where using a Simon Bridges - like approach participation was more important than winning on that side of the House.I'm not completely convinced that Simon Bridges' future lies as a leader or indeed as a diplomat because as many of us were on our way in he was asked to describe Boris Johnson the new Prime Minister of the UK and this is what the chief diplomat of the National Party said: he said that Boris Johnson had buffoon-like qualities. If there's one thing I know about leadership in this House abusing the Prime Minister of one of our major trading partners and one of the countries with our biggest and longest-term historical ties is not a great start. So if we're talking success and we're talking leadership lessons are not going to be taken from Simon Bridges.But it's all right because as Judith Collins has said he's doing the best job that he can. Now if that's not the ultimate in praise from members opposite I don't know. I would note that actually Mr Bridges in talking about Boris Johnson went on to say he's someone who gets a bit of marmalade on his chin who sometimes doesn't say quite the right things and whose personal life can be interesting." I'd avoid using that description of the British Prime Minister and save it for Shane Jones.But that is not the actions of a true leader or somebody who is defining success well. But this is no surprise because the National Party have appointed a finance spokesperson in Paul Goldsmith who has a very unusual definition of success because his entire political career has been built on asking people not to vote for him asking people not to let him succeed. So it's no surprise that the National Party is struggling with this idea of success and what leadership is. But the National Party hit on it because there is a bit of a saying in politics—that you should try and turn your weaknesses into your strengths. Now they've taken that probably a little bit far with Simon Bridges by placing him in a used-car yard because if you really do want to convince people that you're a used-car salesman trying to dress up some old tired vehicle that ran out of its warrant of fitness I don't know about mid-2017 then the best thing you can do is stick your leader in a used-car yard. That's what the National Party have done with Simon Bridges while on this side of the House we know all about leadership and success because in our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern we have a leader who knows what it is to take New Zealand forward in a way where we include everybody else where we do show compassion and kindness and we set ourselves ambitious goals.We are taking on the big long-term challenges of child poverty of climate change and of homelessness. We on this side of the House are making sure that every New Zealander will get the chance to be included in success because we know that the definition of "leadership" and the definition of "success" is every New Zealander getting a fair go—and that is what we are delivering."