Allan KiritapuKIRITAPU ALLAN (Labour): What a delight to be able to close out this general debate this week and it's a delight because do you know what this side of the House is delivering for New Zealanders. This side of the House is delivering for kids. This side of the House is delivering for rural and regional New Zealand. I want to make a few remarks about I guess why we are feeling so upbeat. On this side of the House we're feeling pretty damn upbeat because I think for most of us when we came into this House we came in with a real purpose and a passion to make transformational change for those people that had been long forgotten by those folk who sit there in the Opposition benches. Now there's a reason I didn't become an artist. There's a reason I didn't become an artist but I do want to show you the mighty East Coast. It's an area—OK it's not a great picture but I drew it myself. But I had to draw this picture for myself because when I look at a place like this the East Coast geographically it's a really dispersed area. And you know what? Under the last lot I remember just thinking year upon year how we were never at the focus at the centre under their gaze. So when I come and look at what this side of the House has achieved for little electorates—well pretty large electorates but great electorates like mine in the East Coast—I want to talk about the investment that we are making in our kids and in our schools. I want to thank the Hon Chris Hipkins because he's sitting in this House right now. He just made the big call to invest $400 million into up-doing the capital infrastructure of our schools. But $12 million of that is being invested into my wee electorate in the East Coast. We have over 18000 students. There are 90 schools in the East Coast electorate and I'm going to take you on a little trip around my very very fantastic drawing that I've done here. I'm going to start over in Murupara. Murupara was a town that that lot neglected for far too long; $210 million is going into the local school there to up-do their buildings. Let's come along over to Edgecumbe. Edgecumbe has just been flooded. These guys they came in for a few photographs but then they kind of left it behind. Well my Minister of Education he's investing $150000 into the college. Let's come along a little bit further into Whakatāne. Allandale School: I know Drew Manning will be watching the speech with glee because those buildings there at Allandale School they're a little worse for wear in some corners. Well Allandale School a wee decile 2 they're going to get $250000 of capital investment. Let's come along up the coast a little bit: Ōpōtiki College $228000. Let's go over—oh we're going to flip back to Kawerau $291000. We'll go up the coast Horouta Wānanga $118000; Tologa Bay $162000; Te Teko Primary School where my daughter will go $127000 investment for that school. Look the list goes on and on and on so I don't want to take all my time with all of my fantastic goals but watch an announcement for small rural provincial towns and communities like ours.But let me turn to another ray of sunshine in the Hon Minister Shane Jones. Well when he comes to the East Coast sometimes it's good sometimes it's not. Don't talk about Wharekāhika this week Minister Jones or a few other folks. But what I can say is that because of the collaboration on this side of the House we are focusing on investing in our regional economies. Now I want to talk about what the East Coast has received under this side of the House. All right from the Provincial Growth Fund alone it's about $200 million just over. But that means nothing to laypeople sitting at home OK—big number big numbers. Well I want to talk to you in real terms what it means. All right so most of us who work there we have four-wheel drive trucks because we can't even get around the coastal roads. What you see all up and down our coastal roads right now is because there's been over $10 million in investment back into our rural roading well we've got roadworks everywhere—the first time in ages. Over $200 million dollars has been committed to those regional and rural roads and it stimulates our regional economy. Let's go to a little place called Waiapū—$5 million has been invested into the river catchments up there. Minginui again another little place long lost and forgotten over there: over $5 million for a nursery development. Te Kaha irrigation scheme—$13 million stimulating that regional economy. Come down to Ōpōtiki—$20 million in aquaculture. And may I say there just may be more around the corner. Who knows? Who knows? And it is the same down in Whakatāne. This is a Government that is delivering for rural and provincial New Zealand and I'm incredibly proud of what we are doing to rebuild Aotearoa New Zealand.The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.