Upston LouiseHon LOUISE UPSTON (National—Taupō): I'm very pleased to round off this general debate today for the National caucus and what we've heard is a party or actually a combination of parties that started with big promises that have now moved into backing down on their promises and have quickly moved into broken promises. So what do they do? They manufacture a crisis to distract the New Zealand public from their lack of action their lack of ability to govern New Zealand and that's exactly what's happened.One of the things I guess they've realised in the last six months is that it takes more than talk to lead a country. It takes more than talk to respond to whatever challenges come a Government's way. I'm interested in the member that spoke before me Louisa Wall. If she was the member of Parliament responsible in the area of Middlemore Hospital why didn't anyone at Middlemore raise it with her? And if she did know why is it only coming to the attention of this Parliament in the last month? That would be a question I would ask.One of the other comments that was made by an earlier speaker was about delivering for New Zealanders. Well actually that speaker suggested that the last Government focused on the top 10 percent so I want to focus my time on what our Government did for low and middle income New Zealanders. One of the first things that that Government did when they came into office was to scrap the pay equity legislation which would have increased incomes for lowly paid women workers. We delivered $2 billion for women on low incomes. They scrapped it.The other thing that members opposite have wanted you to focus on or wanted the public to focus on is anything other than what the Government did for low and middle income New Zealanders. So I want to go through some of those things because that side just wants to leave some fake news out whether it's in education where we actually increased early childhood funding—Kieran McAnulty: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I know I may be making a fool of myself up here but I'm struggling to understand how one of our members was told that they can't suggest or imply that one member is making something up and then in this House it's OK it seems to accuse the Labour side of giving fake news. The connotations of fake news are pretty serious.SPEAKER: OK the member can resume his seat. I'm listening carefully to the member. She's skirting up to the line but not going over it like members did on this side.Hon LOUISE UPSTON: Mr Speaker thank you.Hon Gerry Brownlee: One's true; the other's not.Hon LOUISE UPSTON: It's interesting. They want facts—SPEAKER: Order!Hon LOUISE UPSTON: —so I'll give them facts.SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume her seat. Mr Brownlee you are well aware that you don't comment on my rulings from your seat after I've made them. The member will stand withdraw and apologise.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I withdraw and apologise.Hon LOUISE UPSTON: So in the areas of income what's important is the delivery of new jobs. We delivered 180 a day—10000 new jobs a month—which provides families with incomes. Reducing the number of people who live on benefits—60000 fewer children are living in benefit-dependent homes.So what does that side do for low-income families? Oh they don't give them the winter energy payment—Oh no no we won't give it to them. They don't deserve that."—whereas if it had been a National Government they would have got to have kept more of what they earned.What else do they do? Oh they're not going to put any taxes in—definitely not before they go back to the 2020 election. What's one of the first things they do? Increase the petrol tax. Who does that hit the hardest? Some of the low-income families that you purport to represent—SPEAKER: Order!Hon LOUISE UPSTON: —and you hit them hard.SPEAKER: Order!Hon LOUISE UPSTON: Sorry Mr Speaker—that the Government purports to represent.This side of the House increased benefits for the first time in 43 years. I'm sorry if that side of the House don't like to hear the truth of the results that this side of the House delivered for low and middle income families whether it was free GP visits whether it was focusing on rheumatic fever whether it's lifting educational achievement and increasing early childhood education participation whether it was reducing the number of youth crime across the country or whether it was reducing the number of victims of crime—38000 fewer victims of crime—and reducing the number of assaults on children.But what that Government is priming this country for are cuts and I want to give the House one example: the rescue helicopters in Rotorua and Taupō. That Government is proposing to cut a vital vital service because they've finally figured out they haven't got enough money to deliver the big promises that they started off with. So they're just getting the territory right to cut services and to cut programmes and it's a myth that that side of the House is delivering.The debate having concluded the motion lapsed."