White HelenHELEN WHITE (Labour) (remote): I'm pleased to speak on this matter and I'd first of all just like to reflect on Minister Twyford's comments on the Ukraine because this is a situation which it is very important that we actually acknowledge the distress of the people in that situation before I turn to the domestic situation. But I do want to talk about Omicron in Auckland because at the moment we're suffering from really an unprecedented situation for ourselves. We've never had a situation where our neighbours have got COVID. We have never had a situation where we have known people in jeopardy. And although this is hopefully a milder version for most people of COVID that's because we have had a distance between ourselves and the first iterations of the virus and because so many people in New Zealand have been vaccinated. We should be incredibly proud of the numbers of vaccinated in this country because it's saved over 3000 lives. And I'd ask people to think about the people they now know who've got that virus and think What if those people were at the edge in terms of whether they would live or die?" because that's what we were really looking at and we aren't anymore. We're in a situation where it's frightening but there are so many people who have been protected by the measures that this Government has taken and I'd also ask them to reflect on the kinds of comments that were made at the time the naysayers in this situation and those are gathering at the moment. When things are dark they tend to gather. I'd ask them to remember that Mike Hosking was absolutely adamant we'd never get to those kinds of numbers of vaccination and yet here we are with one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. This is a situation which hasn't happened by accident. It has happened because the Government had a very strong value system and it's a very important value system in leading us through such a crisis. We chose things like wage subsidy; we didn't choose helicopter payments. That's actually not an accident and it wouldn't have necessarily happened under another administration because the values are fundamentally different. Wage subsidies supported so many people through this. They supported the small businesses and they supported the workers in this country and we have record employment because of it. So we can be incredibly proud of that. Now there's a lot of people who will say that there are issues etc. and they'll be right. There will be issues. This is an unprecedented situation and what actually has happened is that this Government has partnered with people and made that happen. So first of all I want to talk to and thank some of those people. I want to thank the small businesses that are struggling in Auckland right now. I know it's incredibly tough for some sectors. It's very hard when actually things are going well in your economy to remember and acknowledge the little areas like—not little but—hospitality which are really struggling areas like retail that are struggling. I'd like to also thank the people who partnered to do this because a lot of the people who end up with naysayers telling us that they have been a waste of money the bureaucrats those bureaucrats aren't bureaucrats; they are the people who made this happen. They are the people who set up the test and trace system. They are the people who nursed people. They are the people who are at the front line. They are a police force which have been doing so much more than they probably ever anticipated doing. Those people have been working really hard. So it's really important that when people try and drive a wedge in us and tell us that these things actually they could have done them so much better we'll remember: who was it who delivered the situation we have now? Who was it who protected people and prioritised people? It's very easy to talk and it's much much harder to make these decisions. I'm incredibly proud of the decisions that this Government's made and it will make in the future based on the learnings here as we build back the health sector as we build back our workforce so that we actually can do the things we need to do in this country to make things work as we build a climate-responsive environment and one that's a healthy and good place for our people to live. Thank you. The debate having concluded the motion lapsed."