Brown SimeonSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): Well thank you Madam Speaker. And that is just a perfect example of a Labour Party Minister who thinks that by putting out a press release by making announcements you get things done. Well actually just saying you're putting in $88 million into doing something doesn't actually mean that you're going to get better results. And the real problem with truancy in New Zealand over the past five years is that this Government's been absent completely absent when it comes to the issue. They have been ignoring the issue while thousands and thousands of students have not been turning up to school and that problem has only got worse. So another announcement but again no delivery. We're now coming up to the Budget in only a few weeks' time and so far what we know is two things: under this Government spending has increased by 68 percent since they came to office—68 percent since they came to office—and the second thing we know is that in this year's Budget we are going to have the biggest ever one yearly spend in the New Zealand Budget history—$6 billion more spending. And we hear from members on the other side Well this Government we are having absolutely no impact on inflation at all. It's all Ukraine. It's all America. It's all supply chains." It's always someone else's problem. Well a 68 percent increase in Government spending and now the biggest ever increase in spending in the New Zealand Budget history is going to have an impact. The reality is it is the biggest inflation New Zealanders have faced since 1990. And when you're facing inflation like that the Government needs to start actually looking at its own expenditure—getting Government expenditure under control and making sure the Government stops wasting money. This reality of this Government is that they make announcements—$10 million here; $100 million there; $88 million there; a few billion there; $29 billion for Auckland light rail—and they don't actually care about the consequences or what's actually getting things done. I just want to bring to the attention of the House one incredibly clear example of this. Now we've all heard about the cycle bridge across the Auckland Harbour: $51 million—$51 million—and you'd think with $51 million you better do a thing or two in this country. Well $51 million—guess what happened? They just spent it on consultants before cancelling that project. But wait there's more. They signed a lease for an incredibly expensive office in Wynyard Quarter downtown Auckland. For those listening at home that is some of the most expensive real estate in New Zealand. Guess what? They signed that lease three weeks before they cancelled the project. They signed an 18-month lease and it's still sitting there.Here's a picture of an empty office. [Holds up picture] That is a picture of the empty office which is down the viaduct in Auckland. That is an absolute clear example of the Government's wasted money cancelling projects spending millions of dollars not actually getting anything done and no one's at home. It's just a bit like the other problem there. The Government is completely absent. And the most worrying thing is this is just one small example—$51 million here; $51 million there; $100 million for the Te Huia train which is an absolute waste of money. You've got $35 million on consultants for Let's Get Wellington Moving where nothing's actually been delivered. And then you've got the absolute growth in the bureaucracy—14000 more bureaucrats; 14000 more Wellington bureaucrats. And where are the outcomes? What we heard today: another working group to try and make sure that people can get their operations done faster. That's all we get—a working group more bureaucrats without actually any delivery and getting things done. And what worries me most of all is that this Government doesn't care about who's paying the bill at the end of the day. They don't care about who's paying the bill at the end of the day. They think this is actually their money. Well actually it's not their money; this is taxpayers' money. It's the taxpayers of today and it's the taxpayers of future generations who have to foot the bill of this Government's poor decision-making wasted spending and the absolute bloating of the bureaucracy that we're seeing under Labour.So my challenge to this Government is: respect every single dollar like it was your own. I imagine that if they did that some of those decisions would be very very different. And as we come into the Budget in a few weeks' time respect every dollar like it's your own. This Government has got a track record of wasting taxpayers' money."