Russell DeborahDr DEBORAH RUSSELL (Labour—New Lynn): I want to pick up on something which the speaker immediately before me Andrew Bayly has said. He said that we have never before seen spending on this scale. He's correct. We have never before seen Governments having to spend on this scale. I say Governments" because it's Governments around the world. Of course Governments around the world including our Government are spending on this scale because we are facing a situation which we have never seen before. We are facing the extraordinary situation of a global pandemic and not just a pandemic like the previous great one that we experienced the 1918 influenza commonly known as the Spanish flu. This is an illness different in nature from that but it is still just an illness. The difference is our interconnected world. The difference is the speed with which this virus has spread around the world affecting virtually every nation. It is an extraordinary situation and it has called for an extraordinary response by our Government and by Governments everywhere. So our Government has with courage taken the steps to do the best we can for New Zealand in this time.Just bear with me for a moment while I tell you a little story because it's going to bear directly on the Supplementary Estimates that we are speaking to. I was out doorknocking on Saturday afternoon as one does when an election's coming up—and very enjoyable it was too; it's always fun. I knocked on the door of one house and there was a couple there and they said "Oh we're a bit busy; no we'll talk." and they said "The thing is we're going through CVs at the moment because we're looking to hire someone." I said "Oh that's great news. You're hiring someone." And they said yeah yeah they are they're working through the CVs. They're a truck rental company and they were looking to take on another staff member. I thought "Well that's marvellous. You've obviously come through quite well." They said "When you see Jacinda could you say thank you—thank you because the wage subsidy saved our business." Those were their words. I haven't got their names right here because I was going off a call sheet but I can dig them out if needed. But that was their response: "Thank you for the wage subsidy it saved our business."Now the previous speaker said that there had been a lack of support for business. What an extraordinary thing to say. If I go to page 8 of the extra Supplementary Estimates which we've had this year because of the COVID crisis I see that there is an allocation there of—let me just find it exactly—$15.2 billion—$15.2 billion—it's called the business support subsidy and it is the wage subsidy—the wage subsidy that has saved businesses. That is direct support for businesses to help them keep their valued employees on. So when you say that there is no support for businesses that is the support for businesses.The previous speaker spoke of the worry about the cash expenses that businesses have to carry at the moment—the cash that they have to come up with in order to survive. He talked about the issues around rent and the like and then he said "Well where is support for this?" Well if we go to page 7 of the Supplementary Estimates document that we have here—the additional Supplementary Estimates—we see that there is funding right there for the Small Business Cashflow (Loan) Scheme. Sitting in there is $5.2 billion allocated in order to support small business. "Where is the Government and the business support?" the Opposition have asked. It is right here in this document—right there because this Government on this side understands the need to support business and it has acted to do it.Now sure along the way there will be some mistakes perhaps some people who could have got the wage subsidy when they shouldn't have; perhaps some people who have taken out the loan when they shouldn't have. But by and large it has gone to the people who need it when they need it fast and early so that businesses survive. That's what's sitting in this addition to the Supplementary Estimates.Then in terms of actually spending seriously to make sure that things work sitting here on page 5 of this addition to the Supplementary Estimates is an allocation of a further $495 million for the COVID-19 health response. That's the money that's setting up the campaigns around uniting against COVID-19. It's purchasing extra equipment. It's getting the contract tracing going. It's getting going on supporting quarantine. Money that is supporting the COVID response and through that supporting all of us.We are highly desirable now. People want to come here. We are seeing more and more people coming back to New Zealand because we are safe—because we are safe. Again those borders are by and large holding up. Sure there have been some hiccups along the way and that's understandable. No one has tried to put in a quarantine like this elsewhere in the world—it's us and Australia. We are working it up as we go along. Why? Because it has been such a sudden event such a quick response has been needed. Yes there will be things that go wrong along the way but by and large we are getting that right. Do you know how we can tell that? There is still no community transmission in New Zealand. We have got it right—we have got it right. That's why New Zealanders are coming home because they are coming home to safety. That's the story that we can tell in the Supplementary Estimates.I wish to pick up on one further point from the Supplementary Estimates. The previous speaker was concerned about the amount of debt that New Zealand is getting into. But sitting here in the report from the Finance and Expenditure Committee on the Supplementary Estimates—and I take you to page 3 of that report—is some discussion of the debt that's going on. It says "With fiscal spending levels reaching historic highs New Zealand's debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to climb to 50 percent." New Zealand's debt-to-GDP ratio is 19 percent but it's going up. It does say that it represents a large increase in Government debt. But then it goes on to say—and this is a report that the previous speaker signed off on as well because it came from the committee that he sits on as well—"However we note that the increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio is comparable to the increase that occurred between 2008 and 2013 after the global financial crisis. We have also previously heard from the Treasury that the Government's debt position will remain sustainable even if the debt-to-GDP ratio were to reach 50 percent."—in a report that the previous speaker signed off on as well sitting there; you can read it for yourselves.So we've heard a lot of carping and criticism from the Opposition bench but when you look at the numbers we are getting it about right. We're doing well. This Government has worked hard and fast to get it right to support business to support individuals who have lost their jobs to support our economy and to make our border safe. It's working."