Ngaro AlfredHon ALFRED NGARO (National): Thank you Mr Chair. Talofa lava. It's great that we've got Samoan Language Week. One of the joys of being inside the Social Services and Community Committee is that when officials come to visit us and we do a round of introductions—our chair introduces us—when they get around to Ms Anahila Kanongata'a-Suisuiki it often surprises the officials because they're not sure about how to address her because it just seems such a long name. But we often laugh a lot. We've got good collegiality inside our select committee and I want to acknowledge our chairperson as well and the team there.I want to start off my contribution by being a little bit more positive than that last contribution that was just made because there are some good things that have been had. Actually when you look at the annual report there's some good things that are here and I just want to highlight some of those good things that are in there.If I go back to the Tāmaki Redevelopment Company what a great opportunity in which a company is not only—and by the way this was the transfer. It wasn't a State sell-off; it was a transfer of stock of over 2000 homes into the Tāmaki Redevelopment Company so that they could have a community-based approach of wraparound services. If anyone wants to go there—we've been there—you would've seen that not only did it create employment for local people but it also created an opportunity to have a community-led development approach. It's a great project. We thank those who are currently there and—that's right—it was started by the National Government. It's a great initiative doing very well.Let's keep positive. We had the Social Workers Registration Board come through and what did they talk about? The mandatory registration of social workers. We know that there were only 3000 registered social workers around about over 7000 in total. There were 4000 social workers that needed to be registered. It was something that was needed and it was the time to do that. That was positive. That's right: again it was started by the National Government—a very good thing that was done.Let's then talk about Oranga Tamariki in particular. In fact let's wait for that. Let's go back to housing. One of the big issues that has been a concern for the whole of the country has been homelessness. I know that the current coalition Government talked about homelessness—that they were going to fix homelessness. When we heard at the annual review when they talked about it the key plank initiative was Housing First. What a great initiative because again it was a community-led development approach where providers came together. They dealt with the intensive care and needs of those in a homeless situation and again—oh that's right—it was started by a National Government.All the good news that we're hearing in this annual review has all been by a National-led Government and its approach. So fancy that. Thank you National for all the work that you've been doing. It just seems like on the other side they didn't come into Government with any new ideas so that's a real concern. They can crow all they like—in fact they're silent as the lambs now. Why? Because they know this is the truth. It's in the book. It is in the annual review. This is what people have been talking about. Give us one new idea—something of difference something of importance that they have come out with. But it's a bit of a sad story.I'm not a baker but here's what they say out there in baker land: the proof is in the pudding—the proof is in the pudding. In other words if you're going to put up you've got to be able to show that you've made a difference. So let's talk about the proof in the pudding. One of those areas is that they said they're supporting core poverty—Poverty reduction: we're going to make a huge difference." But when you've got some of those people who were in the bakery helping to bake the cake—and here's what they said. They said that the current target by the current Government by the child poverty reduction Minister the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern is underwhelming. This is Alan Johnson from the Salvation Army. He was there baking away mixing away hoping that they could make a difference. When it came to it: underwhelming.Here's why it's underwhelming: because the target was 23 percent. That's right; they said they were going to reduce it by 23 percent. Well hello another failed target—another pudding that's flat. In other words there's no yeast in there. There's no substance; it's just a flat pancake. So that's what they're selling on the other side. It's not cakes; it's pancakes. In other words it's fallen flat again. So-called lifting the poverty reduction of children by 130000 children in poverty won't happen so what have they come to do? Right before Wellbeing Budget week they've turned around and said "Look we're sorry; we didn't quite make it." Why? "We forgot the yeast. We didn't put the yeast in there." So what's going to happen? It's just a pancake. It's underwhelming and when you get Susan St John who is actually from the Child Poverty Action Group we expected more—we expected more.In my final 20 seconds the Welfare Expert Advisory Group—42 recommendations and how many did they introduce? Three. So I have to say with this annual review the only good news is all the things that were committed by a National-led Government. Underwhelming—a bunch of pancakes."