Hughes GarethGARETH HUGHES (Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee): Kia orana Madam Chair. I rise to speak in support of the Estimates. As the chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee it was a real privilege to work with three parties on the committee to review the hearings. We heard from a number of Ministers. The Estimates reviews and the reports in this debate in the committee play a key role in the financial scrutiny of our Parliament over our executive—in other words our Government—spending. The committee had—can I put it diplomatically—some robust and vigorous questions and answers and I had to call only one time-out during the number of hearings; so I want to acknowledge all the members and everyone who participated in a very good-natured very constructive though robust process.We conducted hearings and tabled reports on the Estimates for Vote Social Development Vote Social Housing Vote Building and Housing Vote Oranga Tamariki Vote Women Vote Pacific Peoples Vote Sport and Recreation and Vote Arts Culture and Heritage for appropriations with the responsibility of the Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector and within the State services designing and implementing social investment. I want to quickly run through each of the votes and a bit of a highlight of the long list we reviewed and published a report on.First up in Vote Social Development in 2018-19 the total funding of this vote was $24.285 billion—one of the Government's largest single expenditures. Nearly 90 percent of this goes towards benefits and superannuation. We heard from the Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni on the Government's Families Package overhauling the welfare system and ensuring people receive their full entitlements. The committee asked questions around reducing long-term welfare dependency and why there was an increase in the young parent payment. Under this vote we also heard from the disability Minister and Minister for Seniors Tracey Martin who discussed performance measures in the work of the Office for Disability Issues in advocacy for seniors preventing loneliness among seniors and the Government's new winter energy payment.In a second major area we heard from Ministers Twyford and Salesa on Estimates for Vote Building and Housing. A major point of discussion was the Government's KiwiBuild programme. This programme aims to build 100000 affordable first homes over the next 10 years and Budget 2018-19 seeks $492 million towards it. Questions were asked around the financial structure and KiwiBuild Buying off the Plans.In Vote Social Housing we heard of the Government's work managing the 63000 homes housing 180000 Kiwis and we heard about the work on social and other transitional housing measures. A major issue of discussion was tenancy reviews with the Government pausing tenancy reviews while it considers specific exemptions. Another area of question was around the 8108 people as of April 2018 on the State house waiting list—an increase of 2000 since September—and the Government's policy of a net additional 6400 public houses over the next four years.For Vote Oranga Tamariki we heard from the Minister for Children Tracey Martin who I must commend as the first Minister I have seen in my 8½ years to actually pull out a whiteboard and explain the process behind Oranga Tamariki and how the $951 million is to be spent. We heard about the work of performance measures and the child well-being strategy.In Vote Women we heard from the Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter on the work towards closing the gender pay gap promoting women in leadership roles and the 125th anniversary of suffrage in New Zealand amongst other issues.In Vote Arts Culture and Heritage we heard of the 7 percent funding increase and the increase in funding for New Zealand music the Regional Culture and Heritage Fund funding for regional museums as well as the specific case of the Dominion Museum building and the Great War Exhibition.In Estimates for Vote Pacific Peoples we heard from Aupito William Sio and the committee discussed the Pasifika Education Centre homeownership rates amongst the Pacific population and the Pasifika economy.Lastly we heard from the Minister for Sport and Recreation a true sports fan in the Hon Grant Robertson and we discussed the declining levels of participation in sport amongst young people adult volunteers drug-free sport and the appropriateness of lotteries funding.I'd like to end by thanking the members of the committee the Office of the Clerk staff and the Ministers and their teams who appeared and participated in this very important parliamentary process.