Halbert Shanan; Salesa JennySHANAN HALBERT (Labour—Northcote): Thank you Madam Speaker. Today I stand to acknowledge the Prime Minister's statement presented at an incredibly difficult time on the heels of one of the most significant weather events in Aotearoa New Zealand that we have seen this century. My heart goes out to our people in Auckland and our communities on the East Coast and to friends and whānau in the Hawke's Bay who have faced devastation and such sad times.As I listened to the Prime Minister's statement I was heartened by his outlook—the combination of our Government's aspiration optimism and resilience for New Zealand and for those of us in Tāmaki-makau-rau Auckland—because we have to be optimistic at times like this. Our Prime Minister is standing by New Zealanders looking them squarely in the eyes and telling them that they are not alone and we are committed to rebuilding the regions—to Auckland and the groups and communities that felt the brunt of the cyclone and recent floods. There has been a $50 million support package recently announced of which half of this—$25 million—is for the primary sector recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle. This is for our farmers growers whenua Māori owners and rural communities who have also been affected. And of course this Government has been dealing with many tough issues before this particular cyclone. We are working to tackle the country's infrastructure needs and as chair of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee I can attest to this. As an Aucklander I know the importance of improving our roads the need for an improved digital connectivity system better public transport and the pipes for new homes and growth. We know the difference that good infrastructure makes. The Government's investment in water infrastructure in Northcote was lifesaving in the recent floods that preceded the cyclone compared to the devastating impacts on the Wairau Valley just next door. We know the urgency to get on with an additional connection across the Waitematā Harbour. Given our certain reliance on the existing harbour bridge a third harbour crossing is an absolute must. And we know the value of quality housing developments like the Northcote development in addressing the housing shortfall that we inherited. We know the difference our property investment programme has made to our local schools. Every school and every child has benefited. Attending school and kura regularly is crucial to student progress and achievement and I'm a very very strong believer in quality education having worked in this particular space and might I say I'm very passionate about it too. Education changes lives. However we've got to work on our attendance challenges that confront us at the moment with the declining attendance statistics since 2015. The recent work on our Attendance and Engagement Strategy must see education improvements with the increased resources announced by our Minister recently. This will bring back localised services to my community. It's something that has been asked of me since well before I became a member of Parliament and the outcome is too great to ignore—that thousands of young people will benefit and thrive as a result—and I want that for other communities too. There is no doubt that families and businesses are going through difficult economic conditions too. This Government the Hipkins Government is responding to the cost of living pressures families are facing particularly in Auckland. And our focus is very much on targeting the support of working families in order to take the pressure off. The extensions of the fuel excise reductions road-user charges and public transport will reduce the costs of filling up a 60-litre tank of petrol by around $17.25 and half-price public transport will save an average person who pays for two $5 fares $25 a week. More than 56000 small businesses are learning the skills that they need to improve productivity through digitising their business through Digital Boost. It's initiatives like this where we build back better in current times like we're seeing in our communities. But most of all we do it side by side shoulder to shoulder with our communities and with our people.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): The next call is a split call. I call on Brooke van Velden.