Brown SimeonSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): Thank you Mr Speaker. I'd like to start my Budget reply speech by just acknowledging New Zealanders for what they have done in fighting COVID-19 because COVID-19 is what is the backdrop to this Budget. The Government claims that it went hard and it went early but it is New Zealanders who have done the hard yards and who have paid the price. Today I'd like to acknowledge the businesses in my electorate who shut their doors during the lockdown people who've lost their jobs people who couldn't be with their loved ones as they passed away and those who had operations or scans or medical appointments that were cancelled or were postponed. These are the people who have paid the heavy price of fighting COVID-19.And now we've got a Budget which was meant to be a plan but there is no plan. And what more could demonstrate that more than the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister disagreeing over whether we should be in level 1 or not. Just yesterday we had thousands of people protesting with no contact tracing with no physical distancing in the middle of Queen Street and we had thousands of people protesting—and I believe they've got a right to protest but we have a Government which doesn't have a plan and can't make a decision over when we're going to allow people to have these freedoms back. We have now a Government which has introduced a Budget which is spending more money than has ever been spent before borrowing up to $200 billion—$200 billion. A Government which believes money grows on trees—of course native trees! Unemployment which will lead up to 9.8 percent negative GDP of 4.6 percent and a thousand people losing their jobs every single day. With such sobering facts as this a plan is what was needed. But instead we get a slush fund of $20 billion for the Government to be able to go out and spend on campaign promises leading into the election. No plan for small businesses no plan for job creation money still going towards projects like KiwiBuild—which hasn't been able to build houses—and fees-free for students which hasn't been able to increase participation rates through—Chlöe Swarbrick: Has reduced debt.SIMEON BROWN: —our universities. This is a Government which—and I hear Chlöe Swarbrick; $20 million for students but $175 million for the arts; $20 million for students but $75 million for racing. Let's put the facts on the table when we speak.I'd like to also comment about the impact this has on my electorate of Pakuranga. We've been promised $3 billion for the shovel-ready initiative—$3 billion. Councils up and down the country have spent their lockdown talking about what would be on their wish list if they could have some of this shovel-ready money. Well I believe it was around $132 billion of projects that was put together by councils up and down the country. One such project put forward by Auckland Council was the Eastern Busway a critical piece of infrastructure in my electorate in Pakuranga a shovel-ready project that also includes a road as well. So I'm very pleased with that—the Reeves Road flyover—and the busway. I'm very multi-modal over here! It's a multi-modal project. It's also got a cycleway just in case; walking as well. It's going to improve public transportation. It's going to cut congestion for people in my electorate and it's an excellent initiative but Auckland Council also has a crisis when it comes to money and they've now had to announce in their emergency budget that they're cutting $20 million from the Eastern Busway because the Government has not yet announced what they will be funding or what they will not be funding through the shovel-ready projects. Twenty million dollars will be gutted if the Government doesn't come to the party and actually commit to this project through the shovel-ready projects initiative.So my question to the Government is: when is that announcement going to be made? Are they going to wait until Auckland Council has made their decision around what the rate increase is? Is this some sort of cynical ploy to delay the decision on shovel-ready to enforce Aucklanders to accept a higher rates increase whilst putting in front of them an option of slashing capital expenditure? The Government needs to come to the party so that Aucklanders have the certainty—and Auckland Council has the certainty—when making these decisions so we don't have to slash projects and then wait for the Government to come and backfill it with their shovel-ready projects later on.This Budget has no plan and whatever initiatives they do have in here their track record proves they will not be able to deliver on them.