3. Question No. 3—Prime MinisterCHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 3—Prime Minister3. CHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Prime Minister: Can I just echo what the Acting Prime Minister said and say on behalf of National go the Black Ferns!Does she stand by all of her Government's statements and actions?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Acting Prime Minister): Yes.Chris Bishop: What responsibility does she take for the fact that average rents in Hamilton have risen by $120 per week since she took office making it harder and harder for Hamiltonians to get ahead?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No doubt many of those people who live in Hamilton have been suffering under the cost of living pressures that we've seen right around New Zealand. The answer to being able to support them when with respect it comes to housing is to make sure that we actually build housing including State housing rather than sell it off as the previous Government would have done.Chris Bishop: Why does she think that gang membership in Waikato has grown 70 percent on her watch?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The statistics across New Zealand indicate that one of the driving factors in gang membership rising in New Zealand has been the 501 deportation policy which in turn has fuelled other gangs. On this side of the House our focus is to support those in Hamilton and the wider Waikato region with not only their cost of living pressures but also making sure that their communities are secure. That's why having an extra 1500 police on the beat towards our 1800 target is an important part of that security; compared with the National Party who froze police numbers meaning that New Zealanders feel less secure.Chris Bishop: What explains the fact that serious assaults in Waikato have grown 130 percent in the last five years?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: We know that overall crime trends across New Zealand are down. That has been a trend for some time. I notice that the member is clearly very concerned about the prospects of the National Party in Hamilton and I'm not surprised by that.Chris Bishop: Why has there been a 60 percent increase in the number of people on jobseeker for longer than a year in Waikato since she became Prime Minister?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: What I'm extremely proud of is the fact that faced with a one-in-100-year economic crisis this Government stepped in to make sure that New Zealanders stayed in work and delivered a 3.3 percent unemployment rate that we trained more than 200000 New Zealanders during that period of time—Hon Paul Goldsmith: What about the question? Why don't you answer the question?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Well Mr Goldsmith it's just this small matter of COVID which I know Mr Goldsmith wanted to wish away in the midst of his Bermuda Triangle and conveniently looks to ignore. But actually this country compared to others has done well and we continue to invest to support people in work.Chris Bishop: Is the $2 million a year being spent on the Freemans Bay flash house" in Auckland part of the Minister of Finance's plan to stimulate economic development in the regions and if so when can Kiwis living in the regions expect to start reaping the benefit from 350 Freemans Bay - based staff and consultants?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As discussed—and I obviously reject the depiction of this in the member's question—when we discussed this yesterday we talked about the importance of Three Waters as an economic development initiative across New Zealand. We know that there have been hundreds of projects undertaken to improve our water infrastructure. Unlike the National Party we don't kick hard issues down the road; we don't avoid facing up to making sure that we protect New Zealanders from big rates increases. Three waters reform is urgently needed in New Zealand—National can keep ignoring that but it's not what needs to happen.Chris Bishop: How does she think Kiwis in the regions feel about their taxes paying for bureaucrats and consultants to use a huddle room and a large roof deck in Freemans Bay whilst confiscating water assets they paid for?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: That tells you all you need to know—the hyperbole of the National Party to oppose us actually getting on with resolving one of the long-term issues facing New Zealand. The National Party has always been about short-sighted things. The question he needs to put to New Zealanders is: what do they think of a party that would propose tax cuts for the wealthiest New Zealanders at the time of a cost of living crisis? We look forward to debating that issue in Hamilton or anywhere else the member wants to be.Chris Bishop: How does he think hard-working tradies and farmers feel about paying more for the utes they need to do their jobs so that wealthy people can get discounts on Teslas and BMWs?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: It's sad isn't it—it's sad isn't it. In Mr Bishop's audition to be leader of the National Party he's forgotten when he used to stand up in this House—he used to stand up in this House—as a climate warrior. He used to stand up and say he was the National Party guy who got electric vehicles. Mr Bishop we need to decarbonise our transport fleet. We're getting on with it. What would you do?"