Robertson GrantAPPROPRIATION (2020/21 ESTIMATES) BILLThird ReadingIMPREST SUPPLY (SECOND FOR 2020/21) BILLSecond ReadingHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): I move That the Appropriation (2020/21 Estimates) Bill be now read a third time and the Imprest Supply (Second for 2020/21) Bill be now read a second time.The third reading of the Appropriation (2020/21 Estimates) Bill is the final stage in Parliament for passing the 2020 wellbeing Budget by appropriating the various appropriations set out in the schedules to the bill and in the 2020-21 Estimates. I will have more to say about the 2020 wellbeing Budget in a minute.The Imprest Supply (Second for 2020/21) Bill provides interim parliamentary authority for expenditure decisions made or to be made by the Government through to April 2021 that are additional to the amounts in the 2020-21 Estimates. In normal circumstances the second imprest supply bill for a financial year provides for any operating or capital spending decisions such as against the between-Budget contingency or pre-commitments against future Budget allowances. It also provides for fiscally neutral adjustments that increase the amount of one appropriation but decrease the amount of another but because of COVID-19 this is a larger than normal amount. Any increases in demand-driven appropriations are also included drawdowns into appropriations from contingencies that were set aside in the Budget fiscal forecasts and any risks that may materialise—for example matters covered in the Risks to the Fiscal Forecasts" chapter of the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update.In this extraordinary year the second imprest supply bill also needs to provide for expenditure in 2020-21 from the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund that was included in the Budget 2020 fiscal forecasts but not in the detailed appropriations in the Estimates and it also includes a larger than usual contingency buffer to account for the economic circumstances and potential for significant changes in policy that have appropriation impacts when even if fiscally neutral they would require imprest supply authority. I can assure the House that all expenditure incurred under the interim authority of this imprest supply bill will need to be appropriated by Parliament as it always is before the end in this case of the 2020-21 financial year. This will be done in the Appropriation (2020/21 Supplementary Estimates) Bill to be introduced on Budget day 2021.I want to start my contribution reflecting on this year's Budget by thanking all members of select committees who have been a part of the Budget process. It is an intensive process and it's one that committees completed this year with alacrity and the debate that we had in the House as we went through the committee stage of the bill I thought was a good example of the new approach to the committee stage working well with Ministers answering questions as they were raised by members and exploring some matters of detail that perhaps had not been able to be done in the various select committee processes. So I thank all members of the House for that.This was an extraordinary Budget delivered in extraordinary times. When we put together the beginning stages of Budget 2020 it was in the pre-COVID era. We were very conscious of the fact that while the New Zealand economy continued to do well we had seen slow-downs across the rest of the world. We prepared a Budget that was for its time. It was one that was going to keep up our investment in core services and expand our work in a number of priority areas that the Government had laid out in the Budget Policy Statement.I am very proud that even in the extraordinary circumstances we continued that work of funding the core services of Government. That includes the largest ever increase in health spending that New Zealand has ever seen and in particular for our district health boards seeing them around about $980 million a year better off as a result of the investment in this Budget. What used to be called the standstill figure for Budgets the amount that was needed to make sure that we kept up with inflation and population growth has been significantly exceeded in the investment in this Budget making it the largest ever investment that we have seen along with continued investment in education in transport in health in housing and in all of the areas that are the core of the Government's job. That investment continued.I have heard over recent weeks people saying that investment in core services is optional. It's not.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Who said that?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: It's the very thing that got us—Mr Goldsmith did indeed say that. That is the very thing that got this country in trouble and what we had to rescue it from when we came into Government—long-term underfunding of core services—and the proposal that Mr Goldsmith has would strip out around $80 billion from Budgets over the next decade. That is the operations that take place in our hospital; that is the pay for our teachers; those are the services that are delivered through our Ministry of Social Development and other agencies—all at risk from an austerity plan from the other side of the House.But what obviously occurred here was a Budget that then had to be delivered in the shadow of COVID-19. I am proud of a Budget that took the efforts of previous Governments to save for a rainy day and put the umbrella up to support our people. We had got debt down to under 20 percent of GDP. We were in a strong position with a strong balance sheet to be able to borrow and still at the end of that borrowing have a level of debt lower than almost all advanced economies around the world. That is the strong fiscal position that we had put ourselves in and this Government inherited net core Crown debt at 21.7 percent of GDP and we brought it down to under 20 percent. So now we borrow to put up the umbrella to protect and support New Zealanders.It is that borrowing that has enabled us to do the wage subsidy scheme to help keep those 1.7 million New Zealanders attached to their employer to make sure that there are jobs there for them when they go back. It's what's enabled us to support small businesses through the Small Business Cashflow (Loan) Scheme—over 100000 businesses now being supported through that scheme. That is what it means to look after our people. This is a one-in-100-year economic shock and it required a proportional response. We will work with New Zealanders to grow our economy to be able to reduce down that level of debt but for now the responsible thing to do the thing to look after New Zealanders with is to put that umbrella up and protect them.What the Budget does is outline the actions we will take to grow the economy sustainably and to support New Zealanders to recover and rebuild. We do that firstly by investing in our people—a record $1.6 billion investment in skills: free apprenticeships; free trades training in critical areas ranging from community and mental health right through to construction and infrastructure the biggest boost we have seen for apprenticeships. We've seen the numbers already where the number of apprenticeships in June has dropped to just slightly below the level last year. That is an extraordinary achievement when we compare it to the global financial crisis when we saw apprenticeships lose their roles significantly. We are supporting businesses to keep their apprentices on and supporting more trainees.The Budget is full of opportunities for job creation and job growth through infrastructure through the building of 8000 new public houses through our support for the Jobs for Nature programme. All of these things are about making sure more New Zealanders are in work and the Budget will see over the forecast period around 300000 jobs created. Then there is our support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). As I said the Small Business Cashflow (Loan) Scheme and the wage subsidy extension have all been part of making sure that SMEs get through and the proof is in the pudding. We have seen from Xero just last week and as I said in question time today that the New Zealand small and medium enterprise sector has bounced back far quicker than those in Australia and in the UK. We know there are still tough times ahead for our SMEs but they know that we have backed them through this crisis and we will continue to back them as they recover and rebuild.But this Budget is not just about the immediate response and recovery from COVID19; it's about futureproofing our economy. It's about making sure we truly invest in sustainable energy systems and making sure that we invest in all of our populations being able to be part of digital transformation of further support for research and development the things that will add higher-wage jobs to our economy. Those issues that New Zealanders had around productivity and not being able to produce those higher jobs are still there and it's the investment in skills and in infrastructure and in R & D that will get us through.Finally the Budget continues to make sure New Zealand looks out to the world. Our exporters have done us proud during COVID-19. We have been able to lift exports in some areas—in horticulture. We've kept up in dairy and meat and wine. We are continuing to export to the world and we have provided further support for that—over $200 million to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise—and we've launched our free-trade negotiations with the UK.I am immensely proud of this Budget. This has been a difficult time for New Zealand and New Zealanders but this Budget is part of our commitment as a Government to ensure that we support New Zealanders' lives and livelihoods. The best economic response to COVID-19 was a strong health response. We now build on that to give New Zealanders confidence into the future."