Willis NicolaNICOLA WILLIS (National): National is supporting this bill the Taxation (Budget 2021 and Remedial Measures) Bill and we're supporting it for the simple reason that we believe in the principle that work should pay. This bill provides financial support to low-income working families who are not receiving a main benefit and ensures that those working families are always better off than they would be should they choose not to work and instead be on the benefit. That is a principle that we think is important and so it is for that reason that we're supporting this bill: because it maintains that gap between those who are not working and are receiving a benefit and those who are working. So we support it for that reason.We have noted that this is a change that has been made every year since about 2006 in order to allow for changes in benefit rates benefit abatement and minimum wage changes. In this case we've been informed by the Minister that around 4800 families will be impacted to the tune of approximately $10 a week. We have noted on this side of the House that that is a small number of working families and we know that the number of working families across our country who are doing it tough is much larger than that. We acknowledge those families in this House because the context in which this bill is passing is one in which New Zealand families have faced some of the biggest hikes in living costs that some of them will have ever experienced. A particular aspect of the debate tonight has been around housing costs because we know that rents have gone up under this Labour Government $100 a week. So even for these families who as a result of this bill that we're passing tonight will have an extra $10 in their pay each week that will in most cases not go anywhere near far enough to cover off the huge hikes in rent that they have faced and may continue to face. My colleague Mr Woodhouse spoke about the reply from the Minister on this issue and I do want to mention it in this third reading speech because it was quite extraordinary when the Minister in explaining this Government's housing policy said that housing policy is now working" and then went on to explain that actually everything's fine because houses are being consented and because he's read a Treasury forecast that house prices won't increase so much in the next year.These were incredibly heroic comments in one sense because they betrayed an optimism that I would suggest is out of keeping with the facts. But in another sense they were actually quite tragic comments because for a Minister to stand in this House and claim that housing policy is working when at the same time there are more than 4000 families raising their children in motel rooms seems a little bit rich—for the Minister to say that housing policy is working when we have families up and down this country whether they're receiving a tax credit whether they're receiving a benefit or whether they're just receiving wages who have faced such huge hikes in their rent that there is very little left at the end of the week or who have been completely locked out of what used to be a commonly held aspiration of owning their own home. But that Minister and the members opposite say "Don't worry; it's all working now. We're perfectly content with the situation." We on this side of the House put on the record in this bill that we are not content with the situation and we don't think that housing policy is working.The other area that we have canvassed in this debate is the other costs that working families face. It's pretty relevant because of course what we're doing here with this piece of legislation is we're acknowledging that when you adjust one thing other things get affected. You need to be worried about incentives. You need to look at the interaction between income costs benefits the way the State impacts on a family's pay packet overall. We note that this Government has taken policy action after policy action that has had callous disregard for the impact on a family's costs and therefore the amount of money they have to make choices with each week. So while this bill is a small step in the right direction we'd suggest that some other steps when it comes to things like caring about the price of electricity caring about the price of fuel and considering the impact of actions on costs across the economy are also necessary. The other matter that has been debated as this bill has progressed under urgency tonight is that concept of making work pay. What we on this side of the House have said is "Yes let's make these threshold adjustments. Let's make sure there are those gaps. Let's acknowledge that actually supporting people's incomes supporting their choice to be working supporting them to have dignity in that and to have enough income for their families is a good thing." In doing all of that let's also acknowledge—and I'm sure members opposite would agree with this concept—that yes it's one thing to lift benefits and we acknowledge that for families on benefits it is tough. It is very tough. But I wager that if you were to say to a typical family on a benefit "What would you prefer: an increase to your benefit or a good-paying job?" the answer would be nine times out of 10—maybe 99 times out of 100—"I want a good-paying job and I want the independence that comes with that. I want the dignity that comes with that. I want the aspiration that comes with that." And so it is always incumbent on every Government not to simply prioritise increases to thresholds increases to benefit payments. That in itself is not enough. What Governments must always do as well is prioritise job creation prioritise ensuring that we have the productive base within our economy not only to create more jobs today but to ensure that there are good-paying jobs for the future and to ensure that we are putting our economy in a state that means it can compete with the rest of the world because the world does not owe New Zealand a free lunch. The world isn't sitting by and saying "Don't worry if you guys don't want to compete that's fine." No. The world is going after it and we need to go after it too so that our kids and the children of today's beneficiaries have better opportunities than today's beneficiaries so that they have the opportunity not only just to get a job but to get a good-paying job. What we have pointed out is this bill is all fine and good but we are alarmed by the absence in their Budget today and in this Government's agenda of a pathway to prosperity. What we're seeing from the Minister of Finance is a much more passionate desire to look backwards 30 years—to look backwards 30 years at past grievances. They are much happier to do that than to look ahead 30 years and think of a vision for how this country can be many many times better. We on this side of the House say Governments need to focus on making sure that our country has a pathway to productivity to prosperity so that every New Zealander no matter what circumstances they are born into can be confident that this is a country that will give them a job that will reward them for hard work that will reward them for achievement and that will ensure they can meet their aspirations that they will be paid well and that they will have lives of dignity. And it will take much more than the Taxation (Budget 2021 and Remedial Measures) Bill to achieve that."