Hughes GarethGARETH HUGHES (Green): Kia ora Mr Assistant Speaker. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou kia ora. I think possibly one of the most charitable things you could say about the Budget we are debating is that it was not a Budget for New Zealand and it was not a Budget for the nation; it was a Budget for the National Party. After previous Budgets where the National Government sold off the assets delivered tax cuts for the rich achieved record levels of debt and engineered a national housing crisis it comes up with this. Well Minister Nick Smith sits there—the Minister who is not responsible for building houses because the houses are not being built. He is the Minister who has engineered and has acted like the architect of house prices that are now 11 times wages in Auckland a Minister who has seen house prices inflate by $100000 a year—look all the facts are clearly there.Hon Dr Nick Smith: Flat for 8 months.GARETH HUGHES: National has been the architect of the housing crisis. Minister Nick Smith who is trying to debate with me across the Chamber is the person who is the most responsible for it in the country but he is the Minister who is prepared to blame everyone else. First it was a problem of success—right—that there was so much interest in housing. It was a problem of success. When everyone stopped laughing the Minister moved on to his next excuse which was that it was a question of other people's responsibility. It was not the Minister's responsibility; it was the Labour Party's responsibility it was the Green Party's responsibility or it was the councils' responsibility—everyone else except Nick Smith.But I am getting distracted because this Budget was all about exactly what this Government does and when it comes to housing it picks up something—something shallow something superficial something to get a newspaper headline—but it is not the actual substance. When you look at housing the accommodation supplement changes are an admission of failure—an admission that house prices have increased too much and that it is now simply unaffordable for too many and a whole generation is locked out of homeownership. This is a Government that only 2 years ago rejected this exact measure but when it was time to get a media headline that is when it went for it. It is the same with the tax changes. After 8 years of short-changing public services of scrimping in election year it comes out with these changes. It is kind of like the school bully who takes your school lunch money every day but the day when he is running for class president that is when he is prepared to give a little bit back.This has to be one of the most political Budgets in modern New Zealand history. It is a Budget designed for political headlines from a Government that—look I take my hat off to those members; they are good at politics they are good at the spin they are good at getting on the John Oliver show and they are good at starting a public conversation. The problem is though that it is not a public conversation on the important issues like climate change as Kennedy Graham said. It is not about the record debt levels. It is not about the systemic problems that have seen our economic performance decline over time. No the public conversation we see under this Government is spaghetti on pizza it is whether we run or walk up and down hills—it is these types of conversations.In 4 months' time we could see a very different Budget being drafted: a Budget that is not going to focus on just the headlines and the politics but that is going to focus on the leadership and the substance; a Budget that is going to start building houses to end the housing crisis; a Budget that is going to clean up rivers—Hon Dr Nick Smith: We already have—doubled the rate.GARETH HUGHES: Now Nick Smith is interjecting again—the Minister responsible for our dirty and unswimmable rivers. In 4 months' time we are going to see work started on a Budget to clean up and deliver swimmable rivers in New Zealand; a Budget that is going to look after our families and support our kids that is going to lift people out of poverty that is not going to see people sleeping in their cars and on the streets in rough conditions; a Budget that is going to manage the economy and focus on innovation. This was the missing piece of this Budget—a focus on headlines and political points but not a focus on the future not a focus on embracing our strengths in New Zealand which is investing in innovation. This is a Government that continues to throw money at last century's economy like dirty fossil fuels and coalmines; a Government that could be investing in clean energy IT education and innovation. I cannot wait to start work on that Budget in 4 months' time.