Sepuloni CarmelHon CARMEL SEPULONI (Deputy Prime Minister): I would hope and I pray that New Zealand wants a Government that uses an evidence base to make their decisions not political philosophy or a Government that uses culture wars to divide New Zealanders. And so we have faith in New Zealanders that at the end of this year in October they will look at the political parties that make decisions based on what is best for New Zealand and on the evidence that is in front of them.I want to make mention of the fact I was in Samoa last week for Samoan independence the end of their 60th year and going into the 61st. They were wonderfully hospitable and it was a reminder of the strength of our relationship with the Pacific region.This week also we've had the opportunity to welcome Prime Minister Rabuka from Fiji. And in recent months making up for lost time because of COVID we've had the opportunity to meet with multiple Pacific leaders across the region. These were very interesting conversations because we share challenges with our region and we are not alone. A priority for Pacific nations is of course climate change and the environmental issues that we face as a Pacific region.They've also raised with us their labour workforce issues and areas where they have shortages. One country even brought up that there has been a spike in youth crime in recent years off the back of the pandemic saying that it was the uncertainty. And this is something that many countries have experienced across the globe as well because often this is what happens after you experience a big event like a pandemic. And of course all of our Pacific neighbours have raised the impact of global inflation and the impact of cost of living increases on their nations. We are not alone here in Aotearoa. We are not immune to what the rest of the world is facing.But I'm really proud—I'm really proud—because we have come through better than so many. We had a very very difficult Budget to pull together this year because of the circumstances that we face. And I want to acknowledge our amazing Minister of Finance for the very smart Budget that he presented Aotearoa with. He was very aware of the fact that New Zealanders needed some reprieve from the cost of living pressures but he also understood that if he wasn't clever about how that was done then it could actually fuel the fire of inflation and see New Zealand families no better off.It was disappointing then to see some of the measures that were put in place which will make a real difference for New Zealand families not only not supported by Opposition parties in the House but for Opposition parties to come out and say that if they have the opportunity they will take those things away from New Zealanders.Terisa Ngobi: Shameful and out of touch.Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: How stingy and out of touch is it to think that the $5 co-payment—the removal of that for prescriptions—won't make a difference to New Zealanders? Who are the ones that are going to benefit most from it? It is our seniors. It is our disabled. It is the people that more often have health conditions. And so it's one of those measures that makes sense to just about every New Zealander except for the people on the other side of the House. And yet to come out and say they will charge for contraception is just indicative of the support that the Opposition political party has always denied women in this country.We have been very much focused on those areas that cost New Zealanders a lot of money. Childcare is one of those areas. On 1 April we saw the thresholds lifted we saw the amount increased and then we saw that followed up by 20 hours' free for two-year-olds. That makes a difference to families. And I have to remind the House that it was National back in 2010 that froze those thresholds and that it was National that shut out thousands of New Zealand families from being able to access childcare—one of the main measures to support families to get into employment and for them to make a living for their whānau.We know what New Zealand wants and needs right now and we are focused on that. We are all about the cost of living. It's such a pity that the other side continues to vote against these measures.