2. Question No. 2—Prime MinisterCHRISTOPHER LUXON (Leader of the Opposition) to the Acting Prime MinisterQuestion No. 2—Prime Minister2. CHRISTOPHER LUXON (Leader of the Opposition) to the Acting Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government's statements and actions?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Acting Prime Minister): Yes particularly the introduction of the Spatial Planning Bill and Natural and Built Environment Bill today. After decades of frustration from developers and councillors farmers home builders and environmentalists the Government is now proposing a new system that is cheaper faster and better. As the Minister has just indicated resource consents have become far more costly over recent years and time taken for them and infrastructure projects has been completely unacceptable. In contrast the new resource management system that we will deliver will cut costs and deliver economic and environmental benefits. It will reduce the number of plans from more than 100 to just 15 regional-level plans across the country halve the time taken to prepare and generate improved environmental standards and as the Minister has said between $2.58 and $4.94 every dollar spent will come through in benefits. This is one of the most important changes that the Government can make to enable much-needed development and to protect and restore the environment for the wellbeing of current and future generations. I'm proud that our Government has introduced this legislation.Christopher Luxon: How can the Government spend an extra $5 billion a year in education hire over 1400 more ministry bureaucrats but deliver declining attendance and falling achievement?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As has been covered many times over the course of the last couple of weeks in this House the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the issues that the member raises. What I can say is that on this side of the House we value teachers the people in classrooms that we have helped build over the last few years. The previous National Government didn't hire enough teachers didn't pay teachers well enough and didn't build classrooms; we got on with doing it.Christopher Luxon: Does he accept that there is a relationship between 100000 students being chronically absent from school and a 500 percent increase in ram raids since 2018?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: There are many reasons behind the number of ram raids that we have seen in New Zealand and the Government is committed to addressing those. But having an education system that is properly funded that makes sure that we have quality teachers in classrooms and that we have classrooms that are warm and dry and safe is something this Government takes seriously; it's something that that member's party failed to do over nine years.Hon Chris Hipkins: Can the Acting Prime Minister confirm that the people just referred to as bureaucrats" include speech and language therapists occupational therapists educational psychologists and a range of other specialists—Erica Stanford: Lawyers comms staff PR.Hon Chris Hipkins: —who work directly with our most vulnerable children?SPEAKER: Order! Questions are heard in silence.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Mr Speaker I got the gist of that and indeed the Minister is correct. The National Party continue to insist that some of the people who work with the learners in our classroom who need the most assistance who make sure that everyone gets to participate are somehow or other bureaucrats. That says far more about the National Party than it does about those people.Christopher Luxon: What impact does he think ads on the back of buses telling kids "Every School Day is a Big Day" will have on the young people driving cars through shop windows every other night?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: What the member fails utterly to understand is that the issues that our education system is facing today do not just exist inside the school gate. We know that—[Multiple members interjecting]—calm down calm down—and we've acted on that by providing free school lunches by making sure that period products are provided in our schools by making sure that we've lifted support for low and middle income people. All of that—all of that—opposed by the National Party.Christopher Luxon: Does he agree with official advice that putting nurses on the residence fast-track would lead to "rapid growth in nurses coming here." and if so why on earth is the Government still refusing to do this when hundreds of people are waiting more than 24 hours in emergency departments?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I'm proud of the fact on this side of the House we've increased the nursing workforce significantly by about 20 percent since we've been in office. We've increased the pay for nurses by more than 20 percent since we've been in office. We are the people who've invested in making sure there are more nurses in our health system. That's not what the member's done and I'd invite the member to answer the question: how will he pay for that if he's giving tax cuts to the wealthiest New Zealanders?Christopher Luxon: Does he accept that Kiwis waiting hours for treatment just want a qualified nurse no matter where they are born and by refusing to abandon its anti-migrant policy this Government is prioritising ideology over access to healthcare?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: There's only one person in this House prioritising ideology over action and that's that member over there who's prioritising tax cuts for the wealthiest New Zealanders when we need to invest in our public services. Christopher Luxon: Can he explain how despite spending a billion dollars more each and every single week and hiring an extra 14000 more bureaucrats this Government is still failing to deliver in education health housing and crime?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Over the course of the last 2½ years New Zealanders have had it tough. What they've had is a Government that has delivered 3.3 percent unemployment; one of the lowest levels of debt in the world; growth of over 4.8 percent since before COVID began. New Zealanders know that this has been a challenging time for everyone but they have a Government that's got their back not a Government that's got the back of the wealthiest New Zealanders.David Seymour: Does the Acting Prime Minister agree with the Education Review Office who said in their recent report on school attendance it's important to "Understand the attendance of every learner in a school and act early when concerned" and if so does he think it's acceptable that the Ministry of Education released its term 2 attendance data on 11 November four months after term 2 finished?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: In answer to the first part of the question yes and schools every day are working to make sure that their pupils are attending. Hon Michael Wood: Does he think that the Government's reopening of the parent visa category which went for its first draw today is an example of anti-migrant policy or does he think it was more of an anti-migrant policy for it to be closed in 2016?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Indeed I think today is an important day for many migrant families to see the parent category reopened. I think actually all members of this House would want a Government that respects those who want to come to New Zealand and works with them. We know that our migrants and our refugee communities contribute enormously. I wouldn't like to see them used as a political football that way.David Seymour: Why was the data for student school attendance in term 2 of this year put up quietly on a Government website on a Friday afternoon—was it because over 60 percent of Kiwi kids are no longer regularly attending school?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No it's because that's how it's been done every single year including when the member was in Government.David Seymour: Does he believe that this Government has a public education system and can it really say that with its hand on its heart when the majority of students are not regularly attending school any more?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: We absolutely do have a public education but I tell you what—if he's in Government we won't.Hon Chris Hipkins: Can the Acting Prime Minister confirm that those who were claiming—repeatedly claiming—that the majority of students aren't attending regularly are counting those who have been isolating at home because they have COVID-19 in their statistics?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I absolutely can confirm that. In fact the people who had to isolate in line with public health protocols are exactly the kind of people being included by the member in his statistics.David Seymour: Is the Acting Prime Minister seriously saying that we don't have a serious problem with school attendance in this country because "there's nothing to see here they were just isolating because of COVID-19"?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: What I'm saying is that it's important in this House to get the facts right. The facts as articulated by the education Minister are what they are. Every single member of this House would want to make sure that all children are attending school on a regular basis. We have had an issue with that in New Zealand since the mid-2010s. We are working on making sure we rectify that.David Seymour: Why did the entire Education Review Office report not think of the reason the Acting Prime Minister just gave at all?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The Education Review Office report covered a much longer period—a period during which the National Party and the ACT Party were in office when these issues first arose."