Rurawhe AdrianADJOURNMENTRt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister) on behalf of the Leader of the House: I move That the sitting programme for 2023 be:February 14 15 16 21 22 and 23;March 7 8 9 14 15 16 28 29 and 30;April 4 5 and 6;May 2 3 4 9 10 11 16 17 18 30 and 31;June 1 6 7 8 20 21 22 27 28 and 29;July 18 19 20 25 26 and 27;August 1 2 3 15 16 17 22 23 24 29 30 and 31;September 12 13 14 19 20 and 21;October 10 11 12 17 18 19 and 31;November 1 2 7 8 9 14 15 16 28 29 and 30;December 5 6 7 12 13 14 19 20 and 21;and that the House do now adjourn until 2pm on Tuesday 14 February 2023.Mr Speaker usually an adjournment debate might begin with a commentary on the Speaker and his performance over the year but since Trevor has departed so has our material. Instead I will simply thank you for your role.Before I move on to giving a precis as it were for the year and saying the many thanks that must be issued across the House and across this precinct I do want to acknowledge the MPs who sit alongside me and who sit beside me. They are fantastic advocates they are incredible representatives of their communities and I personally feel so well supported by each and every one of them. I thought the Deputy Prime Minister was taking it a bit far though when he took to standing every time I came into a room until I realised he had actually slipped a disc. But that is indicative of the way in which many of our members have conducted themselves putting themselves on the line at every single stage—Jamie Strange sitting with his leg propped up in a brace phone-calling with Georgie Dansey our candidate who had dislocated her shoulder door-knocking. Literally these MPs will give it their all and I thank you—each and every one of you—for that.As we come to the end of 2022 it would be fair to assume that the world has almost spun off its axis. We are still dealing with the impact of a pandemic as it moves from a health crisis on to being an economic one we lost our head of State war broke out in Ukraine the climate crisis continues to confront us and there was a punch-up at the Oscars. And while the magnitude of all of those events is of course vastly different they all speak to one theme: this year has been hard. And while politics is always about solving problems there's never been quite so many problems presenting themselves all at once very loudly very impatiently—like an open bar at a parliamentary dinner break. And when faced with problems like that in politics you have four choices. Those choices are: you can ignore them; you can blame someone else for them and then ignore them; or the National party's preferred option create the problems ignore them and then blame someone else for them; or you can do something about it. And I'm proud that this Government has never shied away from taking on issues addressing problems that others would ignore for political expediency finally resolving for instance persistent under-investment in this country.That is why over the course of this year and indeed over the course of this term we have ticked off some major reform. We're reforming the Resource Management Act to make our planning system faster cheaper and better—and I acknowledge you Minister Parker for the huge amount of work that has gone into that. We've taken on decade-old infrastructure problems—that is not a metaphor for having a debate with Damien O'Connor. We introduced fair pay agreements to make sure workers in the most vulnerable sectors get the pay and conditions they deserve without a race to the bottom. We continued with the climate change agenda policies that are predicted by 2030 to reduce emissions equivalent to 1.7 million cars because shockingly climate change doesn't just end if you do nothing no matter how large your surrounding ocean is. We've shaken up our health system introducing Health New Zealand to make sure that the healthcare you receive isn't based on where you live. We've increased Pharmac funding by 43 percent. We've kept rebuilding our health workforce including hiring over 4200 more nurses. We've worked on our skills gap and productivity issues with nearly 250000 people in trades training. Minister Hipkins has been busy and some might say the similarities to Steve Maharey are uncanny. We have supported our exporters to build in greater resilience with new trade agreements set to cover almost 75 percent of our exports and we reached No. 1 on the Sustainable Trade Index. While addressing these persistent issues we've also supported Kiwis through what has been an incredibly tough time and a cost of living crisis with increases to the family tax credit the introduction of the cost of living payment and easing pressure at the pump. We've expanded childcare subsidies and of course halved the cost of public transport and while we don't know what 2023 will bring we are ready for what will come our way because we knew COVID would carry an economic price and we prepared for it. But while we're ready I will also concede that with a busy year does come the need for a bit of a break and a word of thanks. And so then to all those who work so hard to support all of us I take this opportunity on behalf of the Labour Party to thank the many people who have supported each and every one of us.Let me start with our electorate office teams. They do incredible work. They are our faces when we are not in our offices and it is fair to say that in recent times they have faced greater antagonism. They do it with a smile and with a focus on service and I know we'd all wish to acknowledge them. We thank our parliamentary support crews: the Office of the Clerk; the team at Parliamentary Service; Ministerial Services; the Hansard team who record the things we mean to say and the things we don't; the cleaners; the buildings team; the staff at Bellamy's and Copperfields who are always there with a smile; the security staff and the messengers—who I've noticed of late and I want to acknowledge not only bring glasses of water and messages for MPs but deliver our babies into this House and for this extension to the job description I acknowledge you and thank you for your care of each of us. Our executive support team: the sign language interpreters who are so patient on a Monday afternoon waiting for that post-Cabinet script that comes five minutes before delivery—they are always here ensuring that all New Zealanders hear our messages our debate our kōrero—the IT and sound technicians the press gallery. We acknowledge you and thank you for your work—and of course Mr Speaker to you and the role that you play.And one final special mention to the near constant companion on overseas trade missions that I'm not sure I wanted or deserved: two human-sized kiwifruit otherwise known as the Kiwi Brothers" because perhaps we all need a few more humans dressed as fruit in our lives. To all of you—to all of you—I say thank you and I wish you a wonderful break.I want to finish by ending with a memory that will be a highlight for me this year. We're always asked "What were your highs and what were your lows?" Politics is about addressing problems but sometimes it is also about progress too. One of my abiding memories of this year will be standing on the balcony at Te Papa on a morning that I can only describe as a fresh morning to welcome in the Māori New Year. This is not a new event or occasion for many but it was the first time we marked it as a nation together. As I saw people gathered together on the forecourt of that place and then congregating later that evening for the many fireworks displays that occurred around the country including here in Wellington it felt like we were both taking a moment of pause in a long journey that is building and recognising our unique place in this world and who we are as people.So as we close out the year my final reflection is this: we are an amazing country on a journey. We have faced our fair share of challenges but we rise to them every time and we keep making progress. And next year we will do the same; 2023 is full of uncertainty but we know enough about our position and our resolve to know we will come through stronger than most—and we will and continue to have a focus on our people throughout. As we launch into 2023 clear-eyed on what lies ahead I can assure you you will have a team on this side of the House that has never lost sight and will never lose sight of why we are here and who we are here for and who has never ever shied away from a challenge whether our bodies are broken or not. But for now to every New Zealander and to every member of Parliament in this House I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Kia ora.SPEAKER: The question is that the motion be agreed to."