Williams ArenaARENA WILLIAMS (Labour—Manurewa): Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. All politics is local so let me speak to the ways that we are protecting our progressive gains that the Government has made since it took office in 2017 for the local people of South Auckland and those in my electorate of Manurewa. May I first start with an acknowledgment of the incredible celebration of Matariki. For South Aucklanders this was a special moment because it represented not only a day which is unique to New Zealanders not only a day which brings us closer together whether we are Māori whether we are Pākehā whether we are tauiwi to this country. It also represented a time in which we could celebrate those things which have been going on in South Auckland for so long at our marae and within our Pacific communities in the recognition of Matariki or Matali'i and those brilliant traditions that mark this time of reflection and rebirth in the new year. It was really special for South Aucklanders to be able to share that with the rest of our country. Now let me first turn to health and environment because at a local level in South Auckland these two things are very closely connected. In the last Budget the Government announced a million-dollar project for the clean-up of the Puhinui Creek. It's an important one to me as a local MP because I see the stream as an emblem for our community's experience with the health system. When you have a health system which is funded through our traditional models of funding with limited funding that is not prioritised by need you end up with a system like the Puhinui Creek where in leafy green suburbs like Totara Heights the stream runs through unimpeded. It is clean. It is beautiful. Children enjoy it. Neighbours appreciate it and it raises house prices. Then in areas like Rata Vine it is a breeder of rats the size of cats. It is a catchment for local trollies being dumped. It is a place where teenagers go to smoke marijuana. It is not a nice place. And because that funding has been limited in scope and has not looked at the whole system of the stream investment hasn't been able to clean it up because there are areas of dire under-investment. That is the situation for South Auckland and our health system. I am pleased that parts of that health system reform are coming into effect within days and I'm proud of a Government that is investing in a health system which is going to serve not only South Aucklanders who desperately need the end of the postcode lottery but our Māori and Pacific populations who have been desperately under-served by those traditional models of health in the same way that the Puhinui Creek in our areas has not been something we could enjoy. We need a system that works for all New Zealanders and that's what this Government is building. Budget 2022 delivers more for medicines and treatments. It delivers dental grants for low-income eligible families tripled from $300 to $1000. There are 48 more ambulances on our streets and 248 more paramedics allowed for in this Budget. Many of those will come from South Auckland through our Auckland University of Technology paramedicine programme and I'm proud that we're responding to the need in our communities for that service.The ability of the new health system to take a bird's-eye view of our public health needs is also going to be critical for the people of Manurewa. I acknowledge the Green member Chlöe Swarbrick for her advocacy for a public health system which deals with things like alcohol and drugs. I hear from people on the doorsteps in Manurewa that there are too many bottle stores on every suburban corner and that we need evidence-based health responses to curbing alcohol harms which is what the investment in this new public health system allows. Why do we need that? Why do the people of Manurewa need that? Because Manurewa's population is disproportionately affected by alcohol harm especially Māori women like me who suffer more adverse effects as a result of other people's drinking than anyone else. These investments also allow us to build upon the Government's work in 2019 to move towards a health-based approach to other addictive substances. I'm proud of this Government's commitment to a continued focus on harm prevention. Just in the last week the Green member mentioned that we're seeing fentanyl—a powdered drug that has caused tens of thousands of deaths overseas—enter New Zealand and sold as cocaine. I want to take this opportunity to thank the first responders who were carrying naloxone and were able to prevent deaths of the people who consumed it. We need a health system that is built so that it can respond to new threats like these. That is why we are investing in a public health system which can do that and I'm proud to stand with a Government that is making those investments. I am proud that since coming into Government in 2017 we've worked hard to tackle some of those long-term challenges facing people in South Auckland like under-investment in our health system and in our local environment. I'm proud of the progress we've made on those big issues but I know there's more to do and that's why we committed to building on our progress and protecting the gains we've already made. Tēnā tātou.