Lewis StephSTEPH LEWIS (Labour—Whanganui): Tēnā koe Mr Speaker. It is my privilege to rise and take a call in support of Budget 2023. The previous member speaking the Hon Louise Upston talked about the human cost and I want to touch on the human cost of 135000 people not being able to afford to pick up their prescriptions—the cost not just to their physical health but their mental health the cost to their families to their children and also the financial cost to our health system when because they couldn't afford to pick up their prescription because of a $5 co-payment the previous National Government brought in they end up getting sicker and sicker and sicker to the point they need to go in and fill our hospitals. The members on the opposite side want to talk about why we aren't doing more for waiting lists. How do we do more for waiting lists? By freeing up our health resources by making sure that those we can treat at that early intervention level are getting the help that they need so as we can better target our resources and our healthcare professionals in our hospitals. That is why we have brought in a plan to remove the $5 prescription payment as of 1 July this year.Last week we had a recess and I took the opportunity over recess to go and pop in to a few of my local chemists in Whanganui and not only are individuals thrilled with our announcement but so are pharmacists. I spoke to pharmacists who have been helping pay out of their own pocket for peoples's prescriptions. I spoke to pharmacists who have been going down the prescription list trying to figure out which lifesaving life-preserving medicines somebody should buy this week because they couldn't afford their full prescription list and which they can afford to defer until next week. That puts a heck of a lot of pressure on our pharmacists. So I want to acknowledge the work that they do to support our communities.The other side has also talked about targeting—they say Don't make it universal we should target it." Well one of the things that the pharmacist I spoke to said is they don't want that. They don't want to have to have a conversation with the people who walk through their doors about money. People who walk through their doors don't want to have to have a conversation about whether or not they are eligible for free prescriptions or whether they are just over the cusp and have to pay for their prescription. This policy is something that will have a huge positive impact on communities across Aotearoa and I commend finance Minister Grant Robertson and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins for bringing this initiative in.As the local member of Parliament for Whanganui I also want to do a shout-out and acknowledge the Budget announcement where we'll see a $12.5 million contribution to the design and initial building stage for a new school in Hāwera Te Paepae o Aotea which is the new school that has replaced Hāwera Intermediate following the fire several years ago and Hāwera High School. This has been a long journey for the community of Hāwera and I am beyond thrilled to see this commitment that will enable them to move forward as a community and for students teachers and staff to be on their way to getting a world-class facility that they can be proud of to work and learn in.I also want to touch on the infrastructure component in our Budget. We've committed $71 billion across the next five years for new and existing infrastructure investment. And I'll tell you why that's important. In Whanganui we've got the suburb of Castlecliff which is protected by the north and south moles at the end of the Whanganui awa. Without those moles the suburb of Castlecliff would be prone to coastal erosion. But unfortunately through lack of investment over decades they were literally crumbling into the sea. It is this Government that has invested in the Whanganui port revitalisation project and that is why I'm so thrilled to see a commitment to investing in our infrastructure now and for the future. This is important to make sure that we build back better from that infrastructure deficit that we have inherited as a Government and make sure that we are prepared for severe weather events. Thank you; I commend the original motion to the House."