Hudson BrettBRETT HUDSON (National): Thank you Mr Chair. Just before I get on to talking about the reports from the Governance and Administration Committee in this sector I'd just like to help the member who was wondering why it was that personal tax receipts might be rising in the period ahead. Well I'd just like to remind her that the reason there might be a bit more personal income tax coming into the Government's books over the next few months is because they legislated away the tax relief that the National Government put in place for hard-working Kiwis. Not only did they legislate that away but they've already imposed additional taxes on those people through things such as the regional fuel tax so that Dr Russell helps to explain why the books might be looking a little bit better for a short period of time.But moving on to our reports a number of my colleagues on this side have spoken about what this Government is doing with the surpluses it has inherited. The spending choices they are making such as the $2.8 billion on fees-free to only deliver 900 fewer students—900 fewer students—than would have been achieved if they hadn't spent that $2.8 billion at all; the $3 billion on the Provincial Growth Fund which seems to be dispensed at Mr Jones' largesse; a billion dollars to the Rt Hon Winston Peters in his foreign affairs portfolio—and that is flowing through I would argue in what we heard in our Estimates hearings in the Governance and Administration Committee. Firstly for instance as my colleague the Hon Jacqui Dean pointed out the Department of Internal Affairs a department that touches the lives of all New Zealanders multiple times in their lives appeared before us and confirmed that they see themselves as struggling—struggling in their baselines to meet the commitments of their services. They are struggling for instance in passports to be able to recoup through the passport charges sufficient charges to meet the increasing costs over the coming years and with no relief or extra funding from the Government to offset that or indeed other parts of the portfolio of services that they deliver. That is a symptom one could argue—certainly the public may see it as a symptom—of a lack of funds to fund the machinery of government because of the spending choices the Government has made in other areas. That is a point that my colleagues have impressed upon the committee tonight and I am saying I think we heard it show through very strongly in the Estimates hearings that we conducted. Another one was the State Services Commission and this is remarkable for a couple of things. One is that they are clearly being charged with doing more or taking even a greater leadership role but they have not had additional funding to help support them to do that—yet again a sign that the Government has placed its priorities elsewhere and does not have the funds left over to actually fund its agencies in their core services or indeed the initiatives it's tasking them with undertaking. But it was interesting actually for another point one would argue because the State Services Commissioner came to talk to us about a change—or the Minister talked to us about a change moving from focusing on outputs to outcomes which is remarkable because I recall that for nine years under a National-led Government it was all about outcomes not outputs and certainly not inputs. He also talked about a joined-up Government—remarkable again because for nine years the National-led Government talked about breaking down the silos. It talked about clustering agencies in common areas of responsibility such as the justice cluster which included the Ministry of Justice police and corrections. It also included to a degree education and the social welfare department as well. So that's hardly a new idea but at least one could commend this Government in one small way for at least not getting rid of that very sound idea. The public might very well look at that and say If only they'd adopted the same rational thinking with respect to better services targets and indeed to health targets."—then they might actually appraise the work of the Government in these first few months somewhat differently. But certainly the State Services Commission in doing that role has not been given any greater funding to achieve its desired outcomes.The area that did achieve a bit more funding and was under the Internal Affairs vote is racing but even in racing where they've got a few million dollars for good-looking horses all the Government is actually doing we were told is undertaking a review. More talk not much in the way of action but the Government has spent a lot of money—the surpluses that the National Government left them."