Wood MichaelMICHAEL WOOD (Labour—Mt Roskill): I want to start off by acknowledging the Hon Simon Bridges in one of his questions earlier on today for empathetically relating to someone who was feeling—quote—vulnerable exposed and under threat". The fact is that right now as he looks around him he would know all about that. I want to reflect also on his very very vibrant support earlier in the week the Hon Alfred Ngaro's drive to make life jackets compulsory. They're very very useful when you're about to be thrown overboard.In a spirit of generosity though I do want to turn towards the National Party front bench and acknowledge the clear and decisive leadership the consistent enunciation of clear progressive values and the skilful holding of the media spotlight. That's right—it's been a very good 2018 for Judith Collins. The problem that that Opposition has at the moment is that after a year of progress under this coalition Government they simply cannot move out from underneath the shade of bitterness anger and resentment that came over them in October of 2017. Until they can do that and actually move into a more positive mode of engagement with the issues that actually affect New Zealanders they are going to stay on that side of the House.That is just fine over here because we are getting on with the job of investing in the well-being of all New Zealanders. We're doing that through investing in the basics in the things that make a difference in real people's lives in our country: decent and affordable housing affordable and accessible healthcare a good quality education system and making sure that the working people of our country are rewarded fairly for their efforts which has always been something important on this side of the House. We've heard about it today: only this week on 1 December a new package of initiatives coming in out of Budget 2018 to make sure that Kiwis have access to affordable healthcare—56000 thirteen-year-olds now able to access free primary healthcare and what a difference that is going to make in our communities up and down the country. When you're a parent the most important thing is ensuring that your kids are healthy and well looked after and this is going to take away that barrier of additional cost that was holding back some of our kids from getting the healthcare that they needed. Five hundred and forty thousand community service holders are going to get cheaper primary healthcare—an average of a $20 or $30 per visit reduction in the cost that those New Zealanders will face when they go to the doctor.That was the different choice the different priority of this Government. Rather than putting the money into tax cuts that will disproportionately benefit the most well off we said it's the housing the healthcare and the education of all New Zealanders that is the most important thing. After one year we have made so much progress in those areas.How about the 6400 new State homes that were funded in Budget 2018? On this side of the House we know the reality of homelessness and unaffordable housing in this country. It's a reality that this Government unlike the previous one faces up to. We don't just mouth the words in Opposition; here in Government we are putting the resourcing in to make sure that New Zealanders have the decency and the dignity of affordable and decent housing. For those Kiwis who are striving away hard on minimum wage jobs this is a coalition Government across New Zealand First Labour and the Greens which believes in a decent minimum wage which believes in the living wage for more and more New Zealanders so that those people can put the work in and stand on their own two feet by earning enough to live on with some dignity.As well as all of those initiatives across housing health and education I think after one year in Government one of the things that I am the most proud of is that this is a Government which is in tune with the spirit of justice decency and kindness that lies at the heart of the New Zealand national identity. I look back to things like decisions that our Minister of Justice the Hon Andrew Little has made making sure that Teina Pora received his compensation after all of those years of suffering and injustice when he was treated with callousness and bureaucratic indifference for so many years under that previous Government. I think of the pride that we feel on this side of the House to be a Government that is doing something proactive to try and find out what happened at Pike River and bring those 29 men home if we can.This is a Government which is in tune with that spirit of decency of kindness and of New Zealanders working together. We are not a Government that leaves people behind; we bring them along because we are a stronger country when all New Zealanders are brought along on our national journey. It's been one good year of progress and on the evidence of today we are looking forward to many many more. Thank you Mr Speaker."