Sepuloni CarmelHon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development and Employment): My speech is of a different tone to the previous speaker's but I do acknowledge everything that he says is right.In 1964 my own father migrated to New Zealand from Samoa. He was part of the wave of Pacific migrants who entered New Zealand during the 1950s and 60s invited to come here to Aotearoa New Zealand to address the workforce shortages that we were experiencing here. He came here he moved to Taranaki he worked on the railways and he occasionally helped with haymaking. He played for the Taupō rugby and cricket teams. He met a farmer's daughter and he had three daughters born in 1974 1977 and 1980. He then went and settled in Waitara and worked at the freezing works. It's really hard for this daughter of a migrant to comprehend that the backdrop to that history and to the history of so many other Pacific people that came at the same time or within those two decades was a history where they were traumatised and terrorised where they were chased down by dogs where they were arrested unlawfully and where they were harassed on the street. They were traumatised. So I am very proud to be part of a Government who on Sunday reached out to our Pacific community to heal the wrongs of the past to officially apologise for what we have all known for a long time was wrong and for mistreatment of the Pacific community of that time. We were really clear that an apology is not just about the words to that community; it is about what we do moving forward. So it was appropriate that part of that included the extension of gifts in the form of educational opportunities for the Pacific community. Appropriate because when our Pacific community migrated to New Zealand on their minds was ensuring that they could work that they could support their families back in the Islands that they could get access to better opportunities for their children so that their children could have more than what they had access to growing up and whilst working those factory floors. That extension of gifts those gifts that were offered do not sit alone; they sit alongside an agenda a Government's agenda that is very much focused on ensuring that all of our communities including the Pacific community get the opportunities that they deserve the opportunities that they came here for: to get ahead. So I was relieved today to see that we have seen an improvement in the unemployment rates for Pacific people of 2.6 percent—a bigger jump than for any other group with regards to the latest unemployment figures. It's important because we know that whenever there is an event of this type a pandemic a global financial crisis there are particular groups in this country who are disproportionately impacted: Māori of course and Pacific being the other group. To see that we have not reached the lows that had been originally forecast is another relief. But to see that we are improving the situation for New Zealand broadly but particularly for Pacific communities for me as a Pacific Minister is important.It's not just about the educational offerings that were given out at the apology. It is about our whole Government programme and what we are doing to support our Pacific community now and moving forward. Many of you in this room will know and our community will know that the programmes and the initiatives that we have put in place to respond to COVID have been targeted and we don't apologise on this side of the room for that. Our programmes Mana in Mahi Flexi-wage He Poutama Rangatahi and the supports on the front line at the Ministry of Social Development offices are all targeted towards supporting those who are most likely to be disadvantaged in a tight labour market and during an event like we are experiencing at the moment.Those actions and the fact that we have invested in those places with a focus on those communities including our Pacific communities are indicative of the fact that our Government takes inclusion participation equity fairness and opportunities for people to get ahead in Aotearoa New Zealand seriously. We look forward to continuing that work in many different forms whilst we have the privilege of being in Government.