Lubeck MarjaMARJA LUBECK (Labour): Thank you Madam Chair. I'm pleased to take a call in this Estimates debate. I was confused after the first five minutes and I'm afraid that the second half made it even worse. It's also unfortunate for the member the Hon Nikki Kaye's colleagues on the other side who were deprived of being able to share their views through the House. It confused me in the first five minutes because on the one hand the National Party has been saying it has been a waste to offer free education but on the other hand we've heard from the Hon Nikki Kaye the member that just sat down that education is not free enough. So which one is it? But the confusion is so tangible. It started off actually when the chair of our select committee—it was very disappointing as my colleague Jan Tinetti mentioned before—took nearly three and a half minutes of a five-minute call to talk about process. In the end I would like to put on the record that the Minister was asked to stay a little bit longer. The Minister obliged and stayed another half an hour but the Opposition ran out of questions and with five minutes to go the Minister was free to leave. They had nothing else to ask. Yet the chair spent three and a half minutes discussing that process. I think that is a little bit of a hole in the foot right there.I'd also like to talk a little bit about the broken promises. The broken promises in education of a record investment in school property—the largest ever made by any New Zealand Government—that must sound like a broken promise to some of you; maybe not. New Zealanders having the biggest pay rise in a decade with wages up 4.4 percent—sound like a broken promise? Not to me. The unemployment rate is the lowest in over a decade now down to 3.9 percent—another broken promise!Now I just came back from—Alastair Scott: How many new jobs?MARJA LUBECK: 92000 new jobs since we came into office to the member whose name I forgot—92000 since we have been in office. Actually yes let's talk about those jobs. The member Brett Hudson wanted to lift the hood on the numbers. He said Oh let's look at the numbers because you know the Government doesn't like us looking at the numbers." Well actually every time the Opposition talk about record growth they talk about "a job"—any job it doesn't matter what kind of job—never mind the quality of those jobs they created. Never mind the fact that most of the people under their watch had to take two or three jobs to make ends meet one job wasn't good enough to make ends meet; people were doing it rough. Never mind that under their watch 40 percent of children living in poverty lived with parents who both worked—shameful. There is shameful silence on that side now. Never mind that under their watch a whole new class of workers was created called "the working poor". Now that is worth a shameful silence.It's clear that this Government is very different. We are tackling those big long-term problems facing New Zealand. We are forecasting more jobs and addressing the cost of living for our Kiwi families—that includes higher wages. At the same time as I said we have created 92000 jobs since we came into Government. That proves you can actually raise minimum wages and you can have more jobs all at the same time. When a deflated delusional—what is another "d" word?—and desperate Opposition says "You can't increase minimum wages. You couldn't possibly remunerate workers for the jobs that they do and create more jobs" well guess what! We just did it. So unemployment is at an 11-year low and wages are the highest that we've ever seen and it's very plain and simple: this Government is delivering for New Zealanders.In workplace relations and safety—which you know I should be talking to to the report—we are lifting the minimum wage to $20 dollars by 2021 which will benefit another 210000 workers. We are restoring core employment protections for workers as well as strengthening collective bargaining and the people out there are absolutely rapt about it.My red cheeks are not just from talking so enthusiastically here in the House. They're also from running up and down to PSA House where I was talking to the WorkSafe reps who all complimented us and applauded us some with teary stories on how life has been for them over the last few years. On the work that we're doing they're very hopeful. We have reassured them that obviously there's a lot more to do.But we have started and under the lead of our brilliant leader Jacinda Ardern we are continuing what we're doing. We're making things better for New Zealanders: increasing jobs lifting wages providing free education and investing in record property. We are making things better. Thank you very much Madam Speaker."