Sage Eugenie; Williams PotoHon EUGENIE SAGE (Minister of Conservation): Tēnā koe Madam Assistant Speaker. I'm proud to be part of a Government that's delivered a Budget that's all about a sustainable economy a healthy environment and a fairer society. It's a Budget that's all about having a heart and caring about New Zealanders and like others I congratulate our very capable Minister of Finance Grant Robertson. This Budget is all about rebuilding our economy rebuilding the public sector and laying the foundations for a much fairer future and an economy that moves to be zero carbon by 2050. It's a responsible Budget. It's stuck within the Budget responsibility rules that the Labour Party and the Green Party committed to. It is delivering on the promises in our confidence and supply agreement and in New Zealand First's coalition agreement. It is a Budget that is about making it better for New Zealanders and we see that in the health sector—the major investment in public health—with an extra $3.2 billion over the next four years. It's about making it easier for kids to go to the doctor with under-14-year-olds having free access to their GPs. An extra 56000 young New Zealanders will be able to get free doctors visits because of this Budget and another 540000 New Zealanders will get cheaper visits to their doctor with the extension of the community services card access to everybody holding that card and to all Housing New Zealand tenants and to everybody who pays a rent subsidy and gets an accommodation supplement. That's what this means. It is a Budget with heart a Budget that cares about New Zealanders. In education the increased investment there will see hundreds of new classrooms—a major investment in new schools—and 1500 new teachers to reduce the teacher-pupil ratio. Again it is rebuilding our public services so that they can provide to New Zealanders' needs. But it's also in housing because this Government believes that every New Zealander needs a secure warm dry and affordable home. That's why I'm proud to be part of a Government that with the Warmer Kiwi Homes fund that Minister Megan Woods has announced has an extra $143 million for heating and insulation grants over the next four years for homeowners on lower incomes because we've got a major problem which the former Government neglected with its slashes to the Warm Up New Zealand: Healthy Homes programme. There are 800000 homes in New Zealand going into this winter which are not insulated at all or are under-insulated. So the Warmer Kiwi Homes project—that extra $143 million—is a major step towards doing better and providing people with warm dry homes. We've seen the work that Minister Phil Twyford is leading with huge energy and drive to actually getting major changes across housing and making it better for renters because under National homeownership has become a dream for so many New Zealanders. It's at an all-time low—a 60-year low. Half of New Zealanders are now renting. Renting is no longer just a short-term option before people buy their own home. We've got a commitment now in this Budget to do more with the Residential Tenancies Act to make sure that renters can have secure accommodation. We have the end to the sell-off of our State houses and the increased investment in public housing with an extra 6000 new public houses promised over four years. Not only is Budget 2018 about ensuring that New Zealanders have good housing but it's ensuring that the places that our native species live—our kākāpō our kiwi our whio—are better too through a major investment in conservation. There is an extra $180 million in conservation funding over the next four years which is the biggest increase in decades and a key part of that—$81 million—is going to sustained predator control making sure that our native species our taonga species are safe in the places they live from depredation by rats stoats and possums. This is a Budget that has meaning. It's about people and planet and about laying the foundations for a healthy environment a sustainable economy and a much fairer society. I'm proud to be in a Government that cares about Kiwis. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Poto Williams): I understand this is a split call.