Luxton JoJO LUXTON (Labour): I'm honoured to take my first call in the Budget debate this afternoon. I commend—absolutely commend—our Minister of Finance the Hon Grant Robertson for this fabulous Budget. This is a positive future-focused and outcomes-focused Budget and it lays the fundamental foundations for the future of this country and I am really excited by that. This is a reassuring Budget that focuses on strengthening the fundamental pillars of this Government's work programme from rebuilding critical public services promoting economic development and supporting the regions to taking action in child poverty housing and homelessness. This Budget values these foundations and their place in providing a secure prosperous and reassuring future for New Zealand.Today I want to focus my speech on education which is something that I am incredibly passionate about. With that I would also like to commend our Minister of Education the Hon Chris Hipkins for the hard work and advocacy he has put into Budget 2018.Budget 2018 recognises the importance of ensuring every child and young person gets the best education. In fact this coalition Government's three-year work programme for education places a high priority on lifting and sustaining achievement for every child and young person through championing a high-quality public education system. Despite the rhetoric of those on the Opposition benches Budget 2018 delivers a funding boost for our education system that it not only needs but deserves.Firstly I would like to pay particular attention to the increase in funding in building new schools and hundreds of additional classrooms. With this expected to take place in 2018-19 and 2020-21 there'll be a capital investment of $394.9 million. Whilst we are having to play catch-up this vital piece of investment aims to bridge the disconnect between the spaces in which our children and young people learn and lifting and sustaining achievement. What is even more exciting is this coalition Government's consideration to accelerating the Canterbury recovery and the Christchurch Schools Rebuild programme. Budget 2018 delivers $62 million in new capital investment for this programme with children and young people in Christchurch also being able to benefit from a share of increased funding for behavioural and learning support in early childhood services teacher-aides and specialist services for high-needs children. We are committed to addressing the increasing demand placed on each of these areas.Secondly another area that I am hugely passionate about is the area of learning support. I am excited by our investment of $272.8 million which might I add is more than triple the operational spending compared to what was in the previous Budget. But what I am mostly excited by is the fact that we are now delivering for students who have been severely and poorly served by an underfunded system. If that wasn't enough over the next four years Budget 2018 will provide operating funding in the learning support space for the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme. This will receive an extra $133.5 million for about 1000 additional students. Sensory schools and New Zealand Sign Language will receive an extra $30.2 million to support about 2900 deaf and hard-of-hearing students and approximately 1500 low-vision students.I want to talk about our investment in supporting Māori students to succeed as Māori and in doing so tautoko the work that Minister Davis is leading to make achievement a priority in education. At the very heart and absolute core of our approach to lifting and sustaining Māori achievement is our strong belief that Māori students deserve to succeed as Māori.What I find particularly heartening from Budget 2018 for Māori tamariki and rangatahi is the $1 million of new operating funding which will be used to investigate how we can better support Māori students to achieve as Māori in English and medium-term settings.I am proud of Budget 2018 because it provides the investment in education that is necessary to support our education system so that it brings out the best in every child and young person. I'm happy for this coalition Government to be judged as the Prime Minister has said.