Robertson Grant; Mallard TrevorAPPROPRIATION (2021/22 ESTIMATES) BILLThird ReadingIMPREST SUPPLY (SECOND FOR 2021/22) BILLSecond ReadingHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): I move That the Appropriation (2021/22 Estimates) Bill be now read a third time and that the Imprest Supply (Second for 2021/22) Bill be now read a second time. It always surprises me when this current Opposition decide to vote against making sure the Government's got enough money to pay for all of the things that they ask for every single day in this House and then they come down here and they vote against actually having the money to do the things—to pay the nurses to pay the doctors and to make sure Mr Bishop's got all of those people who he constantly encourages to get out there and do the vaccinations. Then they come down to the House and say No no we're not going to vote for that." Today I am immensely proud to be in this House with the Appropriation (2021/22 Estimates) Bill at its third reading. What that is for those who follow along at home is essentially the initiatives in the Budget that we presented in May. I want to start this part of my speech by acknowledging the very hard work done by select committees to take the Estimates process through to analyse the spending that the Government has in place and then to make their reports back to this House and indeed to members of this House and while I was less than charitable at the beginning of my speech I can be more charitable now and thank the Opposition for the agreement at the Business Committee to undertake the process that we are now undertaking here in the House today and to assure members who feel that they might have missed out on the committee of the whole House process that the Business Committee has agreed that that time will come again a little later in the year for those who haven't had the opportunity to have input. The bill in front of us today puts in place a Budget that focuses very tightly on the Government's three priorities. They are the recovery of New Zealand from COVID-19 and building on that they are making sure that we continue to reduce inequality they are making sure that we get on top of a housing crisis that we inherited and fundamentally they make the first and very important steps in what will come in the next few Budgets around the area of climate change. In the interests of time obviously I can't run through every single initiative in the Budget but one thing I want to indicate is the importance that I put on the fact that this is a Budget that has increased main benefits by the greatest amount in a generation. This is a very much overdue initiative. It's one that the Government is very proud to have put in place and we did so knowing that we needed to make a difference quickly so we brought forward part of that benefit increase to 1 July and then we have got the remainder of it coming in as would normally be the case on 1 April. This will make a demonstrable difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders and as I say it is not before time. We are very well aware that there are further recommendations from the Welfare Expert Advisory Group that we will continue to work through over time but this does represent a very significant and important shift in giving some dignity and respect to those of our lowest-income earners. Another very important part of this bill in terms of the response to and the recovery from COVID-19 is the significant investment in the area of infrastructure. That totals across the Budget period a $57.3 billion programme. That covers everything from our transport budget through to health through to what we do in our schools in our hospitals and in making sure that we actually have a long-term plan and pipeline of work for infrastructure. This has been asked for time and time again by both the industry that does that work for us and the sectors in which we will spend it. It is a significant investment in certainty but it's also a significant investment in the productivity of New Zealand and it is a very important element within this Budget. As you would expect there is a significant focus on the area of health. Not only is that important in terms of what we do for the COVID-19 response but also to make sure that we invest in the significant change programme that the Government has in the health sector and it keeps the health system running. The total expenditure on health in this next financial year is some 45 percent higher than what was spent by the National Government in its last year in office and it is a continuation of this Government's commitment to making sure that we look after New Zealanders their health and their wellbeing. As I also mentioned climate change is an important element and within this Budget we have quadrupled the amount of funding available for New Zealand Green Investment Finance Ltd (NZGIF). That is around $300 million extra to do what I believe is a vitally important role and that is not only to recognise the obligations we have around climate change but also to look to the opportunities that exist for New Zealanders to be able to develop technologies that will help us reduce our emissions and that is the role of NZGIF—that's what they do. They crowd and private sector finance and they help make that happen and that is a very significant part of this Budget. As I said there are many many other elements of it that I don't have time to go into today. But what the Budget also speaks to is the fact that the New Zealand economy has recovered extraordinarily well from the shock of COVID-19 to the point that we find ourselves in a position where net debt is significantly lower than where it had been forecast to be in both Budget 2020 and also—as we see from the Crown accounts to the end of the month of May—in Budget 2021 as well. We have seen an economy that has unemployment falling to 4 percent and also has growth back to where it was going into COVID-19. This is a sign of the hard work done by New Zealanders over the last year and there are many initiatives in the Budget that continue to support this work. What we do know is that any Government operating in the COVID-19 era needs to be nimble and flexible and as we put this Budget together we were aware that there were risks that there could be a further outbreak of COVID-19. The COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund that we've created is a notional fund to guide our expenditure in response and recovery hence some $5 billion remaining in it at the point at which the Budget was put forward. Obviously since that time we have now seen the outbreak of COVID-19 and so that money will be well utilised as will some money that had already been allocated but had not actually been used and together that money is helping support us as we support New Zealanders through initiatives such as the wage subsidy scheme and the resurgence support payment.In the time remaining I do want to talk about the second imprest supply bill that is in front of us today and I know that Mr Woodhouse—given that we've now gone through this at the select committee in the committee stage here in the House and in questions there is still more energy and hunger among the community of New Zealand to talk about the technical aspects of the Public Finance Act. So as with every Government since 1989 when the Public Finance Act first came into force there is now a second imprest supply bill. That imprest supply bill covers off for the Government the authority for expenditure that is required up until the Supplementary Estimates are put in place which usually happens with the Budget next year. For the benefit of everybody else obviously the Estimates that we're passing today are the Government's expectation for what it would spend but there is also another eight months to go in the financial year. So therefore it is important that we have the authority to be able to spend as indeed all Governments have had in the past. That second imprest supply bill includes around $24 billion worth of authority of expenses $15 billion of capital expenditure and a proposed $2 billion capital injection authority. This is an envelope of funding. It is not a target. In the past two years we have seen the imprest supply drawn down to the tune of around 36 percent of the authority last year—in the 2020-21 year—and 63 percent of the authority in the 2019-20 year. So can I just reiterate that for the benefit of members: this is an authority. It is an envelope of funding. It ensures that if unforeseen circumstances occur the Government has the authority to spend. That money then has to be appropriated by Parliament. Just as the first imprest supply bill ends today the second imprest supply bill ends when we pass the Supplementary Estimates. Members of Parliament have the opportunity through the financial review process and through the process of next year's Estimates to be able to analyse the initiatives that would be funded from this. But to confirm and to conclude in the last two years 36 percent and 63 percent of the authority has been spent. This ensures that the Government has money on hand to deal with the unexpected circumstances. Yes that will include responding to COVID-19. It also includes tagged contingencies and general between-Budget contingencies. It also includes the demand-driven aspects of the Government's support such as through the social welfare system. This is what every Government has done since 1989. Clearly in COVID we are in unique circumstances and the amount within the imprest supply bill is much higher but this Government will continue to support New Zealanders through COVID-19 by providing them with the response and recovery that is required. I commend the bill to the House. SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to."