Webb DuncanDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central): Thank you Madam Speaker. It's a real pleasure to speak to this Budget; just pause for a moment and recognise what a thoughtful and strategic Budget it is at this really critical juncture. We have come through the biggest economic shock in 100 years and yet here we are still with low unemployment with low Government debt and with GDP which is growing where around the world we see large economies falling into recession. But we can't take that for granted. It's great to see our Minister of Finance thinking about that and putting it into context and recognising the importance in New Zealand of the things that really matter. The thing that matters the most is our people and that's where the most money is going to go—into education into health and into getting better outcomes for our Māori and Pasifika communities to make us a stronger and more resilient community. For those people who sometimes say that funds spent on those that need it most are wasted I say to them that helping people out of poverty is never funds wasted. It is funds wisely spent on building a stronger and more equitable community and I will never apologise for that and neither will any of our colleagues. That's why we're very proud of our cost of living payment a payment that meant that people who were struggling people who couldn't make ends meet—it was targeted to exactly those people. We've heard from the other side of the House the quibbling the pettifogging around a few payments that went astray. But we weren't going to sit on our hands and devise a perfect system while kids went hungry. We stepped up and did what was needed. We have shown throughout COVID and throughout this cost of living crisis that we will react quickly and effectively. We won't bandy about ridiculous tax cuts that give the Leader of the Opposition $18000 while people desperately need assistance. What's more if you look at what else we've done around cost of living in this Budget it's been very proactive. One of the things I'm most proud of—it's not a huge Budget spend; I think about $270 million—is the half-price public transport. That has shifted the needle on the use of public transport and that's a change which I think will stick. I know the other thing it's done certainly in Christchurch and Canterbury is to show that if we change the cost structure usage goes up and when usage goes up we can invest better into bus lanes better buses better public transport networks and that means long-term change which is climate friendly.That's the other key aspect of this Budget: getting a genuine lasting and just transition from the high-carbon environment and economy we're in now into a low-carbon economy. We need to invest. That's another significant part of this Budget: shifting our economy away from a high-carbon economy including transport mode shift including looking at alternative fuels and including looking at rail solutions for our regional networks. That's really important stuff. Shifting industrial heat—encouraging and supporting our industrial users to move away from coal to renewable sources whether that be woodchip or other sources. And we can't forget the important agricultural sector a sector that this Government has supported and continues to support including funding research. I've got a lot of support for the work that Todd Muller did in the climate change space getting the zero carbon Act across the line. He did a lot of good work there and he should be recognised for it. He doesn't get the credit he deserves on that side of the House for the collaborative work he did with James Shaw getting the zero carbon Act and He Waka Eke Noa across the line. Well done to that man. Of course investing in our people means investing in health and we have done more than any other Government for many years in funding health properly. We came into Government with a decrepit and demoralised health system and we've turned that around and we continue to do so; $11 billion is a lot of money to spend but when something is as broken as it was in 2017 we can't just patch it together. We've got to rebuild this system from the ground up. That includes health infrastructure but it also includes years and years of accumulated debt that we have had to pick up. We must wipe that slate clean because we cannot cripple the health system going forward with the burden of debt that the National Party left it with through a broken system. So we are taking a proactive approach one that puts the wellbeing of people first and isn't some penny-pinching system which was what we had before.Pharmac—another $141 million. We know the heartbreaking stories we see around Pharmac. Pharmac though is recognised internationally and somewhat looked at sideways by some of the large drug companies in countries that have large drug industries. But we know it's the right thing to do to have a single drug-buying agency; to have good market power a good knowledge base a good skill set to go out there and get the best deals we can for New Zealanders. They do it well. We know it's always going to be hard when there are decisions made about what's funded and what's not. But another $141 million for Pharmac will go a hell of a long way there. What's more is the work we're doing around housing. Housing is a challenge. It's been a challenge for a while and we know that for many years we were building about 20000 houses short in terms of what we needed. But you know what? We've turned the corner. This Government has turned the corner. It took a long time to turn that tanker round because what had happened through the global financial crisis? All of our building industry apprenticeships were wiped. We had an industry that had no capacity. So even our work around apprentices and trade training is supporting the construction of warm healthy homes for people to live in. We continue to do that including increasingly subsidising warm and healthy homes including an infrastructure fund to make sure that councils can create the infrastructure that is needed to support the housing developments we need: good compact housing developments; housing developments which are great to live in. I do give credence to the National Party for joining with the Labour Party in the housing accord and having a plan to go forward to make sure that we have a good supply of houses 10 20 30 and 100 years into the future. The other thing we're interested in—and it's really important; I emphasise this—is we're a party that is committed to equity and we know that there are some parts of our community some sections of our community that haven't done well historically for all kinds of reasons and have been let down. The Māori community is one of those and the Pasifika community is another. We are facing up to that fact. We are targeting funding into Māori housing initiatives Māori wellbeing initiatives Māori mental health and the same with Pasifika. I'm very excited about the stuff that's going on in procurement. This Budget identifies that we should be looking to encourage Māori business Māori innovation and Māori entrepreneurs by having procurement guidelines and procedures which say let's buy from Māori business let's grow Māori business in this way not by propping it up but by lifting it up. That's a fantastic initiative as well. So this is a Budget which is well-thought-out. It's a strategic Budget. A Budget that first of all says we need a just transition a transition that brings everyone along not just those at the top but everyone. One that puts the physical and mental wellbeing of New Zealanders at the front and foremost in all of our thinking. One that recognises that parts of our community Māori and Pasifika in particular need help but they need to be empowered and lifted up not propped up. That's what's going on in a lot of these initiatives. And of course child wellbeing—they're the future. We're going to put that first. We've got a lot of work to do and we're going to get on with it. Kia ora.