McClay Todd; Rurawhe AdrianHon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua): Mr Speaker thank you very much. I too would like to offer my thoughts to the people all around New Zealand in the North Island who have been so adversely affected by these weather events—the flooding and the storms—from the north of Northland through Auckland and surrounding areas parts of the Bay of Plenty and of course Gisborne Tai Rāwhiti and the Hawke's Bay. People remain challenged.It seems a touch surreal standing here in this House listening to the types of speeches we are hearing from Government members when everyday New Zealanders not only are doing it so hard; have no idea in these areas what the next week has to hold for them let alone the next few months or an outcome of an election.It's important we focus on the things that need to be done for them: making sure that every Government agency every member of this House the Government does their job properly. And I apologise to them but for members of the Government the political rhetoric we hear when you stand up in here read out the notes that have been given to you just don't cut it at the moment.You know there's many New Zealanders in Napier who got up in January when the former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern—who has hardly been mentioned in this debate so far. The Prime Minister in his speech didn't mention Jacinda Ardern—not her name—once; the Minister of Finance and former Deputy Prime Minister under Jacinda Ardern did not mention her name once. Carmel Sepuloni from memory—although it wasn't a memorable speech—didn't mention her name once.But those people in Napier when they woke up and Jacinda Ardern announced that she was retiring resigning was stepping down believed Chris Hipkins and others in the Labour caucus when they said things would be different and things would change.Well the early days of a Government response to any crisis as we've seen—as hard as it seems—is the easier bit. Actually doing the work getting people's lives back to where they should be is where the real challenge is. So far I've got to say from what the public are observing they remain hopeful that this is a Government that finally after five years can get something done but need to not only see evidence of that actually need the Government to roll their sleeves up and get on with it.In question time yesterday—for the only question time the new Prime Minister has been able to do—in one of the questions from Christopher Luxon around wasteful Government spending; whether it's a good use of money; what else it could be used for he dug a hole deep enough to share with the former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and he went in and he justified and supported and actually made excuses for light rail in Auckland.Sadly if the suggestions and rumours are true—and it would be a very good use of her time: Jacinda Ardern has an opportunity on the world stage together with the United Nations—she will have to wait 20 or 30 years before she could actually take that light rail to the airport in Auckland because it's not going to get built but this Government is going to waste money.So Chris Hipkins has said to New Zealanders We're different. This is a bread and butter Cabinet." Well bread and butter's more expensive today than the day he said it but "This is a bread and butter Cabinet. We're changing. We recognise problems." And the first opportunity he had in this House in a question time he's doubled down on and supported something that New Zealanders around the country shouldn't have to pay for and Auckland know they will never get. It is and will remain a waste of money.It's enough for a Government sometimes to say "We're going to be different." But after five years—after five years of this Government actually not doing the things they need to except for a serious short period of time where all New Zealanders accepted restriction upon them—the time for talk is over.You cannot live in a press release from Megan Woods saying they're going to build some houses one day. You can't do that; you cannot cross a bridge across the Auckland Harbour on your pushbike with a press release that says "We're going to build it" and you never build it. You can't. You can't get the $51 million back they spent on that bridge that will never be built either and use it for something else. When Chris Hipkins says he now understands that inflation and cost of living is a huge issue and it's a number one priority when he sat around the Cabinet table making the decisions that have driven up costs on everyday New Zealanders where was his silver bullet then? He hasn't got one. He won't deliver. This is the end of a desperate Government and it's almost all over.SPEAKER: Melissa Lee—five minutes."