Radhakrishnan PriyancaHon PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector): Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Whare. I want to begin my contribution with a little bit of a reflection and a word of thanks to all those who put themselves forward those who worked on the frontline—individuals and community organisations—across all of my portfolios to support those who needed some extra support through some very challenging times. I want to thank them. In my electorate of Maungakiekie we had a managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facility and when I met with those running that facility and those who were working there I heard some of the stories of the hardships they went through and the challenges they faced through all those years and what they went through just by virtue of working in an MIQ facility I want to say thanks to all of them as well. There have been globally turbulent times and we haven't been immune here in Aotearoa New Zealand. It's been turbulent times with the pandemic but also with war supply chain disruptions energy shocks and inflation spikes. Through that I'm proud of the way that our Government has carefully managed and navigated New Zealand through those times. Where we are today is not by chance; it is by design. Through the last 2½ years there weren't really any easy choices to make. There were just tough and tougher decisions that needed to be made but we managed that plan on this side of the House through supporting lives and livelihoods supporting businesses—and we will continue to do this—to grow jobs and wages while also continuing to mitigate the impact of the cost of living increases on our people.The proof points are there: near record low unemployment at 3.1 percent; incomes that have grown at the highest rate since records began; an economy that is larger than it was pre-COVID following what was a one-in-100-year economic shock; more homes built in the last year than since records began; and more people coming off benefits and into work.I wanted to reiterate some points that our finance Minister made recently in a speech. He said that our goods exports are near record highs because even though the global economy's struggling what we offer to the world is something the world needs. We have statistics from our ski season in Queenstown that show it's up to 80 percent of pre-COVID times. International student enrolments are nearly at 50 percent of pre-COVID times just one month after reopening and months before the academic year begins. Our strong action on climate change is in part what is getting free-trade agreements over the line with the EU and the UK and what is underpinning the $53 billion record in agricultural exports. Our green credentials are growing stronger. We now have some of the highest rates of electric and more fuel-efficient hybrid cars in the world now making up 20 percent of new imports. Tech companies are investing in New Zealand for our renewable energy sources. This includes the likes of Amazon which is setting up a multibillion-dollar cloud investment here following in Microsoft's footsteps.I know as I've gone out and talked with business owners that many talk about the labour shortages that many are experiencing and I know that that is of significant concern. But there are opportunities here as well. As the world grapples with skills shortages we have a reconnecting strategy and an immigration rebalance that is designed to attract the people that we need to give them more certainty and fairness. More than 7200 job-check applications have been approved allowing employers to go out and recruit internationally for over 48000 positions. More than 25000 working holiday scheme applications have been approved since March and thousands more working holiday-makers are expected to arrive in the coming months.The point that I want to make in terms of the fact that we are moving towards summer both literally and metaphorically is the fact that we have invested in our people and this is what diversity brings—a strategy that shows that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work. The fact that we've invested in our young people in our women with employment action plans that are dedicated to meeting specific needs is showing that it's working and that's what we on this side of the House will continue to do—invest in our people and manage our economy in the months and years to come in the same careful way that we navigated New Zealand through the pandemic.Finally I just want to mention 129 years of women's suffrage and acknowledge the women who have gone before us on whose shoulders many of us here in the House stand. Kia ora.