Russell DeborahDr DEBORAH RUSSELL (Labour—New Lynn): I have heard an extraordinary amount of fantasy of puffery of rewriting of reality of relentless negativity in the House this afternoon. It is clear that the Opposition live on some other planet a planet in which there was not a global pandemic a planet in which nothing has gone wrong in the world. On this side of the House we trade in reality and the reality is that this Government has done an extraordinary job in getting New Zealand through the global pandemic.The previous speaker David Seymour used this phrase: he said COVID folly". He said that this Government had engaged in COVID folly. Was it folly when we rolled out payments to ensure that businesses could stay in operation? Was it folly when we funded businesses so they could switch to digital mode? Was it folly when we worked extraordinarily hard to support the New Zealand economy through a one-in-100-year event? The Opposition may rewrite reality all they like but the fact is there has been an extraordinary event in the last few years something we never thought we would live through—a global pandemic and it had an extraordinary effect on this Government.But this Government made one critical decision as the global pandemic started to occur. It made a critical decision to reject the politics of austerity and to ensure that we supported New Zealanders through and that is exactly what our Budgets have done. These are Budgets that have worked to support all New Zealanders. The reality is we have done extraordinarily well and the facts back it up. Unemployment is at a new near-record low of just 3.3 percent. Incomes are growing—8.8 percent growth in the year to 30 June on the median weekly income. That is extraordinary growth in incomes. We have built more homes in the last year than in any year since records began. Our debt is going down. And yes of course we borrowed in order to get through the global pandemic just like every other Government around the world but out debt is still amongst the lowest in the OECD. We have kept our Government spending under control. As David Parker previously said back in 2013 spending was at 32 percent of GDP. That was under the National Government five years after they came into office five years after the global financial crisis. This year five years after the Labour Government has come into office after the global pandemic Government spending is at 31.6 percent of GDP. How can that be spending out of control? It is simply Government spending at the level we have kind of settled at over the last few years. So we are actually doing extraordinarily well. But it's interesting and you know I think people in this House are right to point it out. All the macroeconomic indicators do show that we are doing well that our economy is thriving that the Budgets that the Minister of Finance has presented to this House have actually worked for New Zealand. But of course what matters to ordinary people is a roof over their head; it's food on the table. And we have worked consistently hard to achieve those things for New Zealanders and to achieve security for them. Now in terms of housing we are continuing to build social housing; we are continuing to work on emergency housing. But I heard a really interesting story a couple of weeks ago when I was visiting some financial mentors—people who provide social services. They had their offices opposite a number of boarding houses residences of last resort. They said things have changed—these days when someone is in a dire situation we can actually find them a room for the night; we can actually find them a room to rent. Sure it's not great; boarding houses aren't great—they are residences of last resort—but they can at least find a bed for someone. Five years ago under the previous Government they said they couldn't even find people a bed. So it's taking a long and difficult time to solve the complex problem of housing in this country. But the solution is starting to work. We are starting to get there.The other thing that people worry about is food on the table—a roof over their head and food on the table—and we have worked extraordinarily hard to help people with that problem.Damien Smith: What about inflation?Dr DEBORAH RUSSELL: Now the member over there is bleating about inflation and we know that there is inflation in this economy. It is lower than other countries around the world and every country in the world is experiencing inflation at the moment. No one likes it but it is not as bad as it might be and we are working to ensure that people manage. That is what the cost of living payment is about. The cost of living payment is about ensuring that people have a little bit of extra money to help them get through. That is what Food in Schools is about. It's ensuring that children get fed literally getting food in their mouths. Talk to the principals of those schools in low socio-economic areas and they will tell you that this Food in Schools programme the ensuring that children have lunches is making a real difference. We are working on the supermarket duopoly to try to keep prices under control. So there's a whole set of work going on in this space to help New Zealanders deal with the worldwide phenomenon of inflation. And there's other work that we've done in that space as well. We've added to the dental grant so that people can get dental care. We've had the winter energy payment. We've had cuts to the fuel excise. We've got half-price public transport and that's going to continue for community services card holders. All of this adds to people's security. But when the Opposition calls for tax cuts when they say that we are spending too much they never ever tell us what services they are going to cut. What security do ordinary New Zealanders have if they do not have a health system? What security do ordinary New Zealanders have if they cannot get their children educated? What security do ordinary New Zealanders have if they do not have a welfare system? Now we are working on all of those and trying to ensure that New Zealanders get the health the welfare the education that they ask for. But I challenge the Opposition—I challenge the Opposition—if the Opposition is going to call for tax cuts if the Opposition wants to say that tax cuts are the way to solve all our problems the challenge is to be upfront and honest with New Zealanders and tell us which element of New Zealanders' security are they going to remove. Are they going to remove healthcare? Are they going to remove education? Are they going to remove welfare? Are they going to stop building houses? What are they going to do in order to pay for those tax cuts? So when the member over the other side likes to say that it's all the fault of this Government I say you know what? We do take responsibility—we do take responsibility for trying to ensure that New Zealanders get through these tough times. And we are getting there—we are getting there. I've been out and about in my electorate out and about talking to people as all MPs do and I'm picking that there's an uptick in feeling. People are feeling positive. I was around the Avondale Sunday Market last weekend talking to ordinary New Zealanders—the workers the people the caregivers and the like—and they're saying "It's a lovely day. Things are getting better. We're getting there." So I challenge the Opposition. Think a bit positively for a change. Look at what's going right. Look at the macroeconomic indicators that tell us we're doing well. Look at the ways we are managing to help people. And I could say "Listen to the birds singing—the riroriro calling; the pīpīwharauroa calling as well. Smell the kōwhai blooms. Enjoy the spring that is coming that is on us; the summer that is coming our way." We have been through a long hard winter. It's been wet and cold and it has been tough economically and it's not easy. But we are working on it and what the Government is doing is actually working and that's the reality. The reality is that this Government is doing what New Zealanders need and delivering an economy for all New Zealanders."