Sage Eugenie; Tolley AnneHon EUGENIE SAGE (Minister of Conservation): Mr Simpson spent two minutes of his time grumbling about the fact that I didn't turn up at the Environment Committee. That again shows how bereft the National Party is of ideas. All they have done in this debate today is criticise criticise criticise. Negative National—negative National. This Government has a plan for a sustainable inclusive and productive economy. This Budget is about backing nature in the conservation space because nature is at the heart of our success as a country both in the primary sector and in the tourism sector—our biggest export industry. So this Budget did in conservation what National utterly utterly failed to do over the last decade. It put in the biggest increase in conservation funding since 2002—the biggest increase in the last 16 years. And the bulk of that—$81 million as Angie Warren-Clark noted—is going toward landscape-scale predator control in order to ensure that our native species can thrive.Now Ms Dowie talked about conservation being something across the parties and yet she spent all of her time in attack mode too. What I said at select committee—and it's a pity Ms Dowie didn't talk to the former Minister of Conservation the National Party Minister about his National Parks and Conservation Foundation. Denis Marshall was the founding chair of that foundation. It was set up to provide an independent agency for corporates wanting to donate to conservation to give their donations to the foundation and to hold that at arm's length. Under this Government unlike under National we want independent Crown agencies not at the behest of the corporates. Yes there are partnerships with business but when businesses are giving donations you want to ensure that the policy function of the department is robust and is independent. So take a lesson Ms Dowie from a former National Minister Denis Marshall in setting up that foundation.The conservation budget has got a raft of initiatives which involve partnerships. I've been delighted to announce in Taranaki Towards a Predator-Free Taranaki—the partnership there with iwi and with hapū the eight Taranaki iwi. It's working with the council working with Wild for Taranaki the conservation groups and the environmental groups up there to work outward from the maunga of Taranaki and control predators around the whole of the ring plain. Similarly in Hawke's Bay we're seeing a huge partnership with the regional council there—with iwi with hapū with landholders—to actually trap on private land to increase the benefits that you get from the landscape scale the department is able to do on public land because of the increased funding that this Government has made available.Regarding waste the previous speaker Mr Simpson has totally opposed any increase in the waste levy. National failed to use that levy for all of the nine years that they were in Government and yet local councils are calling for an expansion of the levy. This Government has a plan on waste. You can't fix nine years of neglect in nine months Mr Simpson. We have a plan. We are close to announcements on single-use plastic bags. There is a whole raft of work being done in responding to the National Sword initiative. That is an enormous opportunity for New Zealand not to send our waste to China but to actually deal with it onshore to reduce the waste we generate here. We are seriously acting on waste not like the last Government. We're working with the sector. We are working with councils to reduce the waste that goes to landfill.So the failure of the last Government to deal with waste—Tim van de Molen: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. Look there have been multiple instances in this member's speech where she's referred to the previous Government's expenditure. I would draw your attention to Speakers' ruling 128/3 which confines this Estimates debate to current spending plans only and previous performance is to be debated under the annual review debate. This is clearly not that.Hon EUGENIE SAGE: I was simply providing context.CHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe): Taihoa I'm going to make a ruling. Members they are debatable points and members can compare to the records of previous years. So that's quite appropriate.Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.Hon EUGENIE SAGE: This Government with this Budget is going to work to turn the predator crisis around. It was the National Government that had the ambition of Predator Free 2050 but they weren't investing in conservation to do that. We know that when the department does large-scale predator control it does get numbers down and it does ensure that in areas like the Landsborough bird numbers like the kākā the parakeets continue to increase. So this Government is backing nature. This Government is investing in conservation unlike the former National Government.Todd Muller: Madam Chair.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): Um—Hon Members: Todd Muller.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): I call Todd Muller. Thank you.Dr Duncan Webb: A new MP.Kieran McAnulty: Yeah—maiden speech.CHAIRPERSON (Hon Anne Tolley): It's been a long week.