Martin TraceyHon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister for Children): I think it's really unfortunate that that speaker Nicola Willis decided to minimise children choking and that the research and the actions taken by the Ministry of Education to ensure that children don't choke is somehow made light of. I think that's a really unfortunate way to conclude the general debate. There are many ways to express your message and to promote discussion documents—because they're not policy documents; discussion documents. I suggest the public look for the crest on it to see how much they have paid for those discussion documents so that the National Party can do its polling by them before the 2020 election. There are many ways to use general debate but actually making fun or making light of the fact that there have been incidents where children have been placed in extreme danger and that the Ministry of Education took that very seriously and was talking to the sector about it is not one of the things that should be part of the general debate.But I'm actually going to put some numbers on the table. I know there's been some comment about numbers today. So 79921: that's the number of incidents attended in the 2018-2019 year; 19871 that's the number of fires that have been attended; 4416 vegetation fires that's the number that have been attended by our volunteer and career firefighters over the last year. We have 11801 volunteer firefighters. We have 1801 career firefighters.Mark Patterson: Heroes.Hon TRACEY MARTIN: Absolutely they are heroes. They are the heroes of local community.Firefighters are the most trusted organisation in New Zealand. There's a good reason for that because regardless of the raruraru that goes on in this House those individuals when they get a call to help they go regardless of what it costs their private lives regardless of what it costs their businesses actually. That's part of the reason why Fire and Emergency New Zealand recently made announcements around supports for our volunteer firefighters: an annual payment of $300 to all volunteers to recognise that they sometimes incur expenses as part of their activities for Fire and Emergency an allowance of $50 a night to support the families and whānau of volunteers when they have to be away overnight for training access to websites offering discounts on a range of products and services discounts with Fire and Emergency suppliers on day-to-day items access to health insurance options an employer promotion scheme to complement Fire and Emergency's current employer recognition programme. But we need to do more—we need to do more. We need to do more because we are relying in our rural communities and even in our urban communities on our fire and emergency workers—the number of medical callouts that our fire and emergency workers are now attending the number of suicides that they are attending in their communities—and it is taking its toll. It is taking its toll.One of the areas where Fire and Emergency New Zealand is stepping up and will continue to step up both for the volunteers and career firefighters but also for their families is the access to mental health the access to counselling and the access to areas where we can recognise that what we as a society ask them to do is put themselves in harm's way whether that be physically or now we know their mental health. We ask them to put themselves in harm's way for the rest of us. So that is why I will continue to advocate inside of Government for certain cancers to be recognised as occupational by ACC. And I know that Minister Iain Lees-Galloway is having those conversations with ACC right now. We need to look at further ways to recognise how our employers can be supported. They don't want to become paid firefighters. They don't want to lose the volunteerism that is core of who they are. That is why they join Fire and Emergency. It's because of the citizens that they are and the way that they want to give back. Lastly a shout-out to the United Fire Brigades' Association and Forest and Rural Fire Association of New Zealand who I was with on Sunday for the rousing welcome that they gave me for the amazing stuff they do and for being down to earth practical New Zealanders who get in do what they need to do do it for their community put themselves in the way and do it constantly. Years and years of service; you often go to medal ceremonies for over 50 years of service that they give to their communities. But can I reiterate my message to them: we ask you to look after yourselves. We ask you to partake in the services should you need them. We ask you to look out for each other but make sure you get help if you need it from us. Kia ora.