Watts SimonSIMON WATTS (National—North Shore): Thank you very much Madam Speaker and I rise on behalf of the National Party and as the member of Parliament for North Shore. I firstly want to acknowledge our deputy leader and finance spokesperson Nicola Willis for her contribution earlier today. The National Party strongly supports long-term planning and acknowledges the importance of long-term planning in terms of the future of this country. Over the next 40 years—and we're talking forward to 2060—we're obviously going to work very hard to grow our country and ensure that it is both fiscally and environmentally sustainable. And in 40 years I'll be in my 80s so I might not still be standing here in this House but my children will be in their 50s and in 2060 there'll be other MPs no doubt standing in this House—maybe at this pillar right here—and we need to ensure that the decisions that we take over the next 40 years put those individuals in the very best position that we can do to make sure that they can take advantage of both the challenges and opportunities that they will face at that point in the future.I want to acknowledge if I may those who have come before us because I think that is the point of what this long-term plan is and in particular my grandparents who fought in World War II—in the Pacific and Africa and Europe and in the medical corps in Japan during World War II—and I wear my poppy today in pride and remembrance of them and other people who have served our country.So the people within this House and those in this room right now are in a unique role in order to make decisions around the long-term future of this country and in effect our role is to ensure that we are guardians in terms of the prosperity and protection of this country. But we are at an important point and crossroads right now in terms of our country's future. In this report on the long-term fiscal position that Treasury have put together—and I want to acknowledge the work of Treasury because I think they've done a good job in terms of this report. But we have a cost of living crisis in this country and middle New Zealand are being squeezed. So that is the current challenge that they are faced with right now. And we also have inflation that is running at very high levels and so what that simply means for Kiwis out there today is things are more expensive and their ability to be able to afford those elements within their lives that are in effect nice-to-haves" are just simply becoming out of reach.The other aspect in terms of what will impact us in terms of the next 40 years is that the interest rates have nearly doubled in the last two years. And so what that means in terms of the affordability for Kiwi households is that the ability to repay that mortgage is going to take longer for a home loan and it also means that household budgets for Kiwis that are out there today are going to get tighter and tighter and that is real pressure.So the importance of decisions made off the back of this plan are critical and sadly under this Labour Government what we have seen is a doubling of debt nearly in the term in which they've been here in the last five years. And this debt is forecast to increase as well.So we've got a significant burden and issue building in the background that we are going to need to resolve and mitigate to be able to set up those that come after us in the future to be able to deal with the challenges that they will face. Because the reality of what we've been through with COVID in terms of that economic shock is that it has had economic and societal implications—we've got to be clear—on our population such as the low attendance at our schools which has been an implication in terms of the COVID element. We've seen a decline in the mental health of our population. Those impacts are going to be felt over the next 40 years and we're also seeing increasing crime and increasing family violence. These factors all will impact the implications of decisions that we will make over the next period of time.The other aspect that's going to impact this is the large-scale reform that this Government is embarking on particularly around health and in local government. The real issue there is that it is built on benefits that are unsubstantiated; they're not going to deliver the outcomes that they talk about. And this is the burden that this Government is leaving for future generations and that is a great shame.The other reality is that we're going to face economic shocks or natural disasters according to Treasury every seven to eight years. So the reality is by 2030 we in this House are going to have to deal with and respond to another significant event and it may be before 2030. But these events will and do continue. And so our ability to deal with what's in front of us today—respond but also quite rapidly begin to start setting ourselves up for what comes down in the future—is also critically important.So I think what Kiwis are really looking for out there is a Government that's going to put in place a practical and competent plan in order to deal with it—a plan that deals with the short-term implications that we're faced with but also a plan that delivers long-term outcomes. And what we see from that side of the House is a lot of talk but not delivery around the outcomes that Kiwis need in this country. They need a Government that's going to get results not just talk and make promises and do what every Kiwi household does today: they live within their means. And this Government has lost focus around that.This Government is on a trajectory of higher spending and it's reinforced in this Treasury report. The higher spending is becoming baked in and that is only adding to the fact that our debt levels are increasing and Treasury have stated that this trajectory is not sustainable. So we need to have an adult conversation with the country. Kiwis are sensible and they understand that this Labour Government can't continue to spend like there isn't any tomorrow. They need to be prudent and considerate but they also need to be accountable for what they promise and balance the books and make sure that we have a programme to repay debt.What we definitely know from the finance Minister over on that side is that this Government will not repay any debt while they're in the seats over there. They keep referring to percentage of GDP as a measure. They will not repay the debt like every other household in this country needs to do and that is a great shame.So New Zealand needs a plan to address the level of debt that we face and the Treasury actually provide a number of recommendations and options within their plan. This Government had their heads in the sand in terms of dealing with this issue. They can't keep kicking it for touch. They can't keep buying time and not dealing with this issue. And we've heard that across on the other side in regards to superannuation. It is loud and clear. They are ignoring the advice of officials that our population is living longer we are more healthy in old age and if we do not deal with the issue around superannuation which is increasing the age of eligibility the trajectory of debt is unsustainable.On this side of the House we understand the reality that impacts Kiwis; on that side of the House they've got their head in the sand on the big significant fiscal issues that will have implications on my children and future generations and we need to see some leadership and some competent fiscal management around that.The other aspects that are raised in this report that are really concerning is the Minister has not asked Treasury to prepare analysis on what it would take to balance the books. How is it possible that he has not asked that simple question he being the Minister around how you would balance the books? That shows that there is no forward look around how we're going to deal with the issues that these guys are building up.And the other aspect as I mentioned is around the superannuation trajectory. These are unsustainable and they ignore the reality that is going to hit Kiwis. So Treasury have said the way in which you deal with superannuation is increase the age of entitlement. On this side of the House we agree with that and that's something that we've committed to. Why? Because that is the sensible thing to do.They have also recommended that you reduce spending particularly around new spending. Well we've talked a lot today around the fact that we need to focus around quality of spend and we've got a number of examples as my colleague Andrew Bayly mentioned before—a long list of examples where we've seen poor quality of spend.Lastly Treasury in their wisdom say that we should increase tax rates. Well I tell you what: on that side of the House it's the one thing they're good at aren't they? They're great at increasing taxes that impact Kiwis and households but they haven't talked about the fact that we need to grow the economy and that's what on this side of the House we will do. We will mitigate the impacts of the cost of living crisis we'll focus around growing the economy and we'll make sure that we are investing in health and education and law and order and also addressing climate change. But also in addition to that we'll make sure that we are preparing for the future and the next economic shock that will impact us. Only under a National Government under Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis will they be able to deliver these outcomes for Kiwis and for New Zealanders. Be accountable for getting what needs to be done done. I tell Kiwis that are out there at the moment: hope is coming to a town near you soon. National will get it done."