O'Connor SimonSIMON O'CONNOR (National—Tāmaki): The funny thing about virtue signalling and why people like myself use it as a derogatory term is that those who are virtue signallers demonstrate neither virtue nor the ability to actually signal; it's just empty words. When I reflect on the Labour Party and not just on recent scandals virtue signalling is very present because good and right actions do not occur. They're talked about. They're talked about at the UN they're put through on Twitter they're talked and discussed with their media mates and slogans and hashtags follow. Virtue signalling sounds great but when the tyre needs to hit the road and virtuous and good actions are to be signalled and undertaken they have failed.We know in recent days that the Labour Party has virtue signalled but also retreated. It's on the topic of retreat that I will focus most of my attention. So we've had the virtue signalling around how we should handle abusive people—inappropriate relationships. What we've seen unfortunately—particularly around the allegations in the Prime Minister's office—is a retreat from actually helping the victim sufficiently. We've had a retreat from what is actually a human and decent action to support the victim. But we've also seen a retreat in the last few hours of the Labour Party president—has retreated from his role. An attempt—and I stress the word attempt"—to provide some cover. But the things about disorganised retreats—from those who know military history—is they don't end well for those who are supposed to follow the leader.But what we've also seen is a great retreat in recent days around KiwiBuild. And it might be a slight relief to the other side of the House that I will not continue to prosecute the issue of how the sexual abuse allegations have been so woefully woefully handled. But in that vein of retreat and around KiwiBuild it is just yet another example of utter utter failure by this Government. In fact if I was to link it to that word "virtue signalling" as I did at the start KiwiBuild was put forward as this great action to be signalled and actioned. It was meant to deliver 100000 amazing houses in 10 years glossily put through at election campaign. Labour pushed it as hard as they could. I mentioned in an earlier speech they bribed effectively New Zealanders by saying "We're going to do this." Here we are just over half way through the term of this first Government and on top of multiple failures and non-delivery we now have the biggest bribe—I know I keep using that word; it's probably slightly inappropriate. But the biggest promise put forward by this Government has fallen by the wayside—has completely and utterly failed.Hon Amy Adams: Imploded.SIMON O'CONNOR: So much so—in fact I hear a colleague of mine Amy Adams say "Imploded." It has imploded in such a way that I'd suggest it's like a black hole. Because when something implodes that badly it sucks other things out. And what we're going to see in this Government is more and more fail. In fact the new supposed target put forward by the Government in KiwiBuild is "We're going to build as many homes as we can as quickly as possible." That's not a target; that's just fluffy words. That's what every Government every person attempts to do. It has been an utter failure.With the few hundred homes that have been built no one really wants to live in them. There's a whole pile of these supposedly amazing KiwiBuild homes—well as I say tens of them really—that no one wants: an utter utter waste. It was actually the good and hard work of this side of the House that drew the attention of the New Zealand public somewhat the media and others to go "Actually these are just basically highly subsidised homes." And even though they're highly subsidised by the hard-working money of other Kiwis people still don't want to buy them. I raise that because I don't think that bodes well for whatever the Government's plans are for any future housing.In fact one of the great risks I see—and including with some of the work they're now trying to develop through a Kāinga Ora bill—is that more houses are going to be built purely to achieve a target to tick a box but not actually provide the housing that New Zealanders need. And the need is huge. Not only is KiwiBuild a massive failure not only has this Government retreated in disorder but the housing crisis just gets worse—12000 New Zealanders are waiting for a State house. That's twice as high as what National was dealing with. In 18 months it has doubled to 12000 New Zealanders. That is a statistic of shame and I predict when the next quarterly results come out it will be even worse. The retreat will continue but so will the virtue signalling and virtue signalling as I say: no virtue no signal."