Andersen GinnyGINNY ANDERSEN (Labour—Hutt South): Thank you very much Mr Speaker. I got to do something last week that I haven't done for a very long time. I went and saw my daughter sing—not just her class not just her school but many other schools from right across the region. From as far away as Wairarapa to Ōtaki schools came together. It wasn't cancelled it wasn't postponed and they weren't wearing masks. They sung their hearts out and they loved every moment of that. In that time I stopped and I felt really hopeful. I felt optimistic for our future and I felt so lucky to be in New Zealand right now.The last three years have not just been hard on our kids but they've also been hard on our businesses hard on our workers and hard on our mental health. The uncertainty that we have had to live with over the past 900-odd days has taken its toll on us and I think it's important that we acknowledge that. But it's also important to acknowledge that this Government has been there right through those hard times and we will continue to be there as we get our certainty back.It's important to put it in context—as we move into a new phase where we do have our certainty back—and to acknowledge what turbulent times we have in the US in the UK and China in terms of inflation in terms of the real crisis other countries are seeing with the energy prices. In the UK alone we're seeing prices 10 times higher than before Russia's war on Ukraine. Globally diesel prices have increased 74 percent in the last year. Recently Citigroup projecting the inflation rates for the United Kingdom are looking at rates around 18 percent in the first quarter of 2023. Grant Robertson made a point in a recent speech lately of quoting the The Art of War and saying that in the midst of this uncertainty in the midst of this chaos there is always opportunity. That is what I believe: that there is always opportunity whereas the National Party seem to think that the only opportunity that they see is creating even more chaos and I think that's sad. Together we have ensured our economy has fared better than the global financial crisis (GFC). Our inflation while below the OECD has caused a real cost of living crisis for New Zealanders but we have been there to help those people.During the weekend I was out knocking on doors with some of our excellent Labour local candidates in the Hutt Valley. I met a woman who had to give up her car in the early weeks of this year because she could no longer afford petrol prices. She told me that if it was not for public transport being half price she would not have been able to get herself to work each day to continue and have her employment. She also told me that she took the money that she's received so far through the cost of living payment and she has bought food for her and her son. The interesting part was that she chose to buy that food in dry goods—pasta rice canned goods and frozen veges—so she could fill her cupboards and have that certainty that she could go to her kitchen and make a meal when she needed to in the future.I'm proud to be part of a Government that paid that money to give people in our community the certainty when they need it because this Government has been there through those hard times and we will continue to be there as we get our certainty back in New Zealand. I'm proud of the fact that our debt is low that our GDP is up that our exports are in demand and that more people are in work and they're being paid higher wages. Kiwi families and our economy are made stronger from the good position that we are at right now.I'd like to wind up by highlighting one point that I'm most proud of and that's our 50000 apprentices. When we see that there are 20000 more construction workers in New Zealand those are young peoples' lives that have been given real hope and opportunity: to earn a wage to have a trade and to get ahead in life. Under the GFC they were the first to go they were the first to be dismissed those ones and apprentices and we paid that price dearly as we've had no workers in the times when we've needed to build more houses. I'm pleased to see that growing and building.Recently I got to visit a local construction company and their scaffolding apprentices doing a three-year apprenticeship to learn that trade. I saw the pride in those young workers' faces at the work that they were doing and I saw how much their bosses had encouraged and increased their development through making sure that they were giving the right training to do the job properly. And I'm proud to be part of this Government.It's a good time for New Zealand to be getting ahead in terms of all the advantages that we have had. We're in a strong position post-COVID and I look forward to continue building on our strengths as a country and making the best possible choices and opportunities for our people in the future.