Barry Maggie: Budget DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBarry Maggie: Budget Debate[Sitting date: 04 June 2013. Volume:690;Page:10667. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]MAGGIE BARRY (National—North Shore): Budget 2013 is Bill English’s fifth Budget and it is indeed building momentum. It confirms that New Zealand is back on track with more economic growth more jobs rising wages and a return to surplus by 2014-15. That is all great news for New Zealand and very bad news for the Opposition which is bereft as we have heard this afternoon of any fresh ideas or policies. Both Labour and the Greens are of course—and have proven it time and again—anti-growth parties. They are opposed to any and all initiatives that would create jobs and boost the economy. The Opposition’s policies of borrowing more and spending more would takeour economy backwards at a great rate. And when no one would lend us any more money what is its solution? It is to print more of course. That is the sort of madness that the unholy alliance of no ideas would deliver. It is the tired old tried and failed policies of Labour and the “Watermelon Greens”—those individuals who are green on the outside and socialist red at heart and who think they are doing so well.This Budget 2013 is a defining document from a Government that is spending prudently not spending up large which is all Opposition members can come up with. So I am not going to waste any more time this afternoon on them. Instead I intend to focus on the very positive measures that were introduced in the Budget in the vitally important areas of health housing and welfare. As our very competent and successful health Minister Tony Ryall outlined at the start of today’s Budget debate this John Key - led Government is investing more in health than ever before. The Minister outlined the number of green prescriptions and the strong focus on investing in preventative care. To recap we are making a $1.6 billion investment available over 4 years. That has boosted the total health spending to a record level of $14.7 billion.Let us look specifically at where that is being targeted. As our population is healthier and we are living longer it is projected as the Minister indicated that by 2045 or 2050 there are going to be 150000 New Zealanders with dementia. As I and many New Zealand families know only too well the painful reality of living with dementia is a terrible struggle for the sufferers and for their families who have to watch as the people they love gradually decline and need more and more high-level support. My late mother’s 10-year decline with multi-infarct dementia was not untypical. It was very sad to see a once independent successful businesswoman and vibrant personality struggling to do the simple things like making tea and toast and desperately wanting to stay independent and in her own home for as long as possible. To help people in these difficult situations we are investing an extra $70 million in aged care and dementia services. That money is being very carefully targeted into the areas where it will help most.As my mother Agnes lost her ability to recognise people and places it became even more important to her to stay in her own home because it was a safe place and it was a place where she was familiar with all her surroundings and her garden. She was a happier and calmer person there. But as that eventually took its toll on her Mum needed more and more support to stay at home. Although I was able to pay privately for much of the assistance that she needed it is a very difficult thing to manage long term. I know that the $20 million that has been allocated in this year’s Budget targeted specifically to be invested in home support services will be invaluable. Some things are priceless. It will provide practical help so that people can stay in the familiar environment of their own home for as long as possible. With an ageing population we need to ensure the best possible quality of life for dementia sufferers and for their families. It is very clear to me that it is important to detect dementia as early as possible. I know of many families who were in denial for a long time and who were just not aware of the onset of dementia and its early signs. So they experienced I am afraid to say heart-breaking misunderstandings and family rifts actually until they understood what was happening.Overall as a society we need to have a much better and earlier awareness of dementia and its inevitable pathway. When the time does come for more expert intervention and residential care options we need a workforce that is equipped with the right level of training. There is no question in my mind that caregivers need to be compassionate and they need that quality in abundance. I believe it is basically a vocational guidance—it is a calling really to look after people who are losing their minds to dementia. There is also the need for better training and more specificallyskilled people to meet that growing demand. To meet that we have allowed $3.2 million towards training for health professionals and towards awareness programmes and also for early detection assistance for the clinical teams. These kinds of conditions require that high level of skill as well as that high level of compassion. Believe me I and people who have experienced it think that is money well spent. It will make a huge difference to the quality of life for the person suffering from dementia and for their families. With the best will in the world it is very difficult once the condition has reached a certain stage for most New Zealand families to look after dementia sufferers at home. That is why the $12 million increase in funding for bed subsidies and the vital encouragement for further investment in dementia beds are essential. So over the next 4 years we are also funding through the district health boards an additional $33.2 million on aged residential care subsidies.In the vital area of housing the Minister Dr Nick Smith is as determined through his portfolio as the health Minister Tony Ryall is with health to help the vulnerable in our society. We know that crowded cold and damp conditions contribute to dismal health outcomes. So making homes warmer drier and healthier is one of his priorities. It is the right thing to do. And unlike the waffle and the weasel words of the Opposition Dr Smith is not leaving that to chance. An extra $100 million investment in the highly successful home insulation programme is going to boost the number of homes insulated to 230000 by September this year. That is a clear and measurable thing. So all State houses that are capable of being insulated will be. It is a measure of the standard of our State housing stock. He is developing and trialling a Housing Warrant of Fitness to apply to all 69000 Housing New Zealand Corporation properties so that over the next 3 years this Government is making a record investment of $2.9 billion in State housing. It is also making very bold changes to the way that we deliver housing assistance and it is targeting it to the people who really need it.The shift from State dominated housing to community housing has been very successful in Europe in North America and in Australia. So in Budget 2013 our Government has announced that we are also going to extend income-related rent subsidies to community housing providers. Churches charities and other NGOs often integrate housing with other wraparound services to people with disabilities to people with mental health issues and to people with drug and alcohol problems. These sorts of wraparound services can often do let us face it a better job of meeting their clients’ complex needs. This Government is determined to create the right environment to grow the community housing sector.Quality affordable housing is good for the economy and it is also very good for communities. High housing costs ultimately raise debt and increases demand for social assistance. Under this Government the Kiwi dream of owning your own home will again become a reality and within reach of low and middle income New Zealanders. We have announced a raft of measures to make housing more affordable. We are looking at increasing land supply we are streamlining consent and compliance costs we are looking at better delivery of core infrastructure to support that new housing and we are also getting on top of the costs around building materials and construction. We are not just sitting back and leaving it to chance; we are doing something about it. We have concrete measurable things.As my colleague Jonathan Young said in his earlier call we are not just aiding people we are enabling people. That is why I come to our welfare reforms. They are increasing and under Budget 2013 low-income families will be receiving greater support. It is really a combination of what we have been doing—extending proven programmes and also introducing new initiatives targeting resources and targeting support. This is complemented by the Government’s $139.3 million investment throughthe Social Housing Fund which others have detailed. Helping people to help themselves is what is at the heart of this Government’s Budget. This is a Government and this is a Budget with real heart and measurable outcomes that will really help people because it is targeted it is precise it is measurable and it is going to work.This Government has put another $1.5 million to support budgeting services as well for people who have not ever really been taught how to grasp the reality of budgeting and making sure their cheque books work and making sure they are not overspending. Those are lessons that perhaps the Labour colleagues across the way could well benefit from.To end I will say that the people in my North Shore electorate have given me very positive feedback on this Budget 2013 and all its measures. Measures relating to ACC were some of the things that they have been looking for. They wanted to have some better provisions there and what we are doing there with the reduction in the levies has been outstanding. They have told me that they love the significant levy reductions of around $300 million which will extend to $1 billion the following year. Thank you.