Rurawhe AdrianDr LIZ CRAIG (Labour): Thank you Mr Speaker. The past few weeks have been incredibly difficult for many in the North Island and the scale of the devastation caused by those weather events has been unprecedented in recent history. As a country our thoughts are with all of those who've been impacted. But the scale of the emergency response has also been significant and I'd like to acknowledge all of our first responders—to Fire and Emergency New Zealand the Police the Defence Force and all of those who have worked to clear the roads to reconnect the power and the phones and to make sure that our supply chains are working.But also to those who have helped out in other ways by donating money to the services and also making sure that people have been able to clear rubbish and mud from their homes—everybody coming in together to help out. And I think while the scale is different I recall our own floods that happened down in Southland in 2020 and the way that the community stepped up in that response. And I recall going to local marae—there were churches that opened their doors provided a warm bed provided food and dry clothes and basically they provided the support that people needed when they were displaced from their homes. I also think of the neighbours in their communities who mucked in to help pull up their neighbour's wet carpet to remove that sodden furniture from their homes.But I'm also reminded by that event that once the emergency response comes to an end the recovery begins and basically as that recovery begins we need to build back better. And as we build back better we need to be preparing for communities where they're going to be increasingly exposed to severe and more frequent weather events. In this respect I'm really grateful for the support that the Government has provided to Southland to help it upgrade its flood protection systems and that includes the recently completed Stead Street stop bank which is going to help stop during severe storm events the waves overtopping the roads that protect the airport.Clearly thinking about the North Island I think the scale of the response that's required is going to be significant. As the Prime Minister has said he'll have more to say about that in coming weeks. But what he's also said is that for now suffice it to say we will do what it takes; we will stand by New Zealanders as we recover.But these events also come at a time when many New Zealanders were already struggling because we had global events impacting the cost of living here and so many families were increasingly having to make many trade-offs in order to make ends meet—you know things like changing up what they're doing for shopping so less fresh fruit and veges and thinking about how you can reduce the power consumption turning off the heater and putting on a jersey.But it is much much more significant for those who are faced with rising housing costs. The Prime Minister has also made it clear that supporting families with the cost of living remains a significant priority for our Government and he has recently announced a number of things that will help in that respect. And I think one of the first ones that he announced was extending the 25c per litre fuel tax cuts and the half-price public transport. That was due to be phased out at the end of March and now it's extending on until the end of June this year. With transport being one of the families biggest cost basically that will reduce filling up a 60 litre fuel tank by about $17.25. But it will also have an impact on the way fuel costs have been impacting on food prices as well. So it's significant for many many families particularly in Southland where many people have to drive very long distances.But also for those that are earning the lowest incomes we announced that we'll be increasing the minimum wage in line with inflation so that basically on 1 April this year the minimum wage will rise by $1.50 to $22.70 per hour so that people on those lower incomes don't fall further behind. And for many small businesses what this will do is mean that many of their customers have got much more money in their pocket to spend in local businesses and local services. This is one of the things my father often noticed when we ended up in difficult economic times as a retailer—people's purses snapped shut. So I think providing that extra money for families is incredibly important.So basically we're not sure what 2023 will bring but supporting families and households with their livings costs remains a top priority for this Government as does standing by those in the North Island who are impacted by the recent weather events. Thank you Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: This is a split call. The Hon Andrew Little—five minutes.