Jackson WillieHon WILLIE JACKSON (Labour): Kia ora Mr Speaker. I thought that we should give a Māori perspective on this. That's why it was good hearing Rawiri Waititi having a bit of a kōrero about it because I think it brings it back to where a lot of people saw things. I think what we did as a Government is we normalised things for people on the street you see. National doesn't do that; they make it all complicated. [Interruption] No no they make it all complicated and that's where we had a visionary finance Minister Grant Robertson who just didn't see things in one sort of box or one perspective. The dual mandate gave us that opportunity for all New Zealanders to understand what the Reserve Bank was about because they didn't understand that before because it was all National Party speak. So I want to compliment the former Minister of Finance in terms of what he did in terms of this dual mandate because he brought kōrero like wellbeing into play. He brought kaupapa like wellbeing into play and he got Māori to understand that the Reserve Bank could be more than just this little box that these useless National Party and ACT people want to focus on because their whole world is just tied up in one pathetic area.As we all know you know the National Party's economic record is in tatters trashed by Nicola Willis as the whole world knows repealing our beautiful smoke-free legislation. We're as embarrassed as the world is shocked to fund their dirty rotten filthy tax cuts—disgraceful. Nicola Willis is risking people's lives because Winston made her look silly. Let's be clear on that. So whether it's repealing smoke-free rules to fund tax cuts that tragic backtrack on the flawed tax plan I mean it's just shot.Hon Chris Bishop: Come back to the bill Willie.Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Well what it's got to do with—it just shows you how mean the finance Minister is. It shows how mean the finance—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Greg O'Connor): Mr Jackson you've had four minutes now—the bill.Hon WILLIE JACKSON: No I have seven minutes.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Greg O'Connor): No you've had four; you haven't mentioned the bill so about time you did.Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Well I am mentioning the bill Mr Speaker because this bill—we're shocked that they would repeal what we did to focus just on the material side of things for people in this country. If they're really concerned about the cost of living then they would follow what Grant Robertson has done.Can I just say I was just giving a Māori perspective because we had one of our kaumātua who died this morning Bill Kaua and he was a big follower of this and he never would've supported this sort of kaupapa. His only flaw was I think he was a big supporter of the Māori Party but that aside he was certainly a supporter of what we were doing and what we were doing was creating jobs.I want to just come back to this bill the bill that they're getting rid of. Grant Robertson's focus meant that we had record-low unemployment in this country in 2018—3.9 percent we're talking about in terms of unemployment in 2018 3.9 percent. I'm just looking at my figures here and we had a record employment rate in November of 2018 of 68.3 percent. That's what these types of strategies of broadening the mandate in terms of the Reserve Bank did for New Zealanders—broadened the mandate so we saw firsthand the benefits of Labour's Government strategy. And now we're seeing firsthand what this bill will do to New Zealanders. So I'm just so proud of the economic management that Labour was able to roll out and that was confirmed in the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update and Stats New Zealand June quarter figures: the economy had begun to turn the corner then and so this Government is inheriting so much of our great work—the economy's growing again wages were ahead of inflation while people were in work and inflation was expected to return to the 1 to 3 percent target band in 2024. Why? Because of the wonderful work done by the former Minister of Finance Grant Robertson—the former Minister who had a plan and a strategy that was about being inclusive and keeping communities in check. As a former employment Minister I saw firsthand with programmes like Mana in Mahi Poutama Rangatahi Māori Trade training—these were all the type of benefits that our communities got out of this brilliant strategy that our Government was running. But I just want to read something—I was looking at the third reading of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (Monetary Policy) Amendment Bill and a very learned man that everyone respects—well sometimes. You know I was looking at what he was saying about this very kōrero and he talked about monetary policy and he said this: The changes that this Labour Government are bringing in are not to be feared. They bring us into an international best-practice area." This is not a journey into the unknown; this is to link up a progressive far-sighted Government passing legislation—that was us—that shows a great similarity to other reserve banks and their mandates and as we know around the world it's very very common to have a broad mandate. What he was saying was "Similarity in data of Reserve Banks and their mandates which have moved away from this bare sparse barren approach reflective of Don Brash"—and I'll just add Nicola Willis even though she wasn't the Minister of Finance at the time—and that is what we have introduced and we would be most certainly voting for a dual mandate. And that's to ensure that when decisions are made the impact on the employment labour market is equally as important as the interests of the money-lenders—fiscal temporals that pass for corporate New Zealand. We campaigned to change it and we're now at the final hurdles. He's a man that we should all listen to really. This was in the third reading speeches and he says right before some changes come to pass he said "I'll make a prediction. The other side of the House despite all their lamenting"—this is now National—"will not change it back because they won't have the opportunity in the foreseeable future. But look I don't want to get petty about this: this is a great opportunity. It would spoil the occasion as we prepare for one of our members to move into life outside of politics which is an improvement in terms of qualities of the House that I currently enjoy. So he said "I'll be voting for this"—this was our bill. "Wonderful bill" he says. "There will be the ability for Treasury to have a non-voting member on the committee despite the fearmongering and pretty tedious speeches from the dirty rotten National Party"—I might've added a little bit there all right! "But our party has not a sliver of doubt that that is the way forward." And that was former Minister Shane Jones. So where's Mark Patterson—he's gone has he?ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Greg O'Connor): No no. We don't comment on members not being here do we Mr Jackson?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: But here's the question. Shane Jones—and I've got something from Winston but I don't have three minutes to read it out—but Winston also hugely supportive—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Greg O'Connor): We also use full names don't we?Hon WILLIE JACKSON: Winston Raymond Peters. I remembered his middle name! But it just shows you that this is what the Minister of Finance has to deal with—Winston Raymond Peters and Shane "Sell-out-the-Māoris" Jones. You reckon Jonesey's listening? I hope so. And that's what this lot has to deal with. They loved what we did. And how are they going to get all this past Winston? That's the big question. I'd like to carry on but my time's run out. Kia ora tātou."