Little AndrewHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Defence): Thank you Mr Speaker. It's an honour to be able to make some remarks in response to the Prime Minister's statement. And like the Prime Minister can I just also add my acknowledgment of and pay tribute to those who have been really struggling in the face of floods in Auckland at the end of January and now Cyclone Gabrielle last week in Hawke's Bay and Tai Rāwhiti. And for those whānau and families who have lost loved ones as a consequence of those events: do know that our thoughts are with you. We do know that the weeks and months ahead will be full of trials and tribulations for all those affected as a consequence of those events. I took the opportunity yesterday in my capacity as Minister of Defence to go to Hawke's Bay to check out the work of the New Zealand Defence Force personnel and also to talk to some of the volunteers who have been helping out in the distribution centres and helping out members of their local community. And I saw for myself too just that sheer destruction in so many places—the consequence of that fierce power of the water washing through the mud and the silt and the remnants of the forestry activities just washing through those rivers and waterways clearing out bridges and what have you. It is going to take a phenomenal effort to restore those parts that have been very severely damaged.And of course it highlights what I think this Government has known from the outset: we cannot neglect our infrastructure forever—actually it's a constant thing that any Government of the day has to be maintaining a focus on. All around the country we've seen the consequences of neglect. I saw it in my previous portfolio as Minister of Health and I know that one of my challenges that my successor the Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall will pick up is that constant need to make sure that our health infrastructure is maintained so that we can maintain the services that New Zealanders expect of those public facilities. But we see it in the infrastructure that we need to deliver safe drinking water and to safely remove stormwater and waste water because that's an area that has been neglected—not so much by central government but by local government. That's a stark reality that we have to face up to and this Government—and I know that under the prime ministership of the Rt Hon Chris Hipkins this Government will continue to face up to those challenges as we work our way through the policy challenges that we have ahead.I want to acknowledge also that in addition to those long-term nation-building activities that we as a Government have to do—as any Government should be doing—there are the day-to-day things that have to be sorted out as well. There are many families who are finding it really tough because of the level of inflation because of the cost of living challenges that we have so this is a Government that has also kept us focused on trying to maintain incomes trying to improve and increase incomes. Trying to improve people's opportunities to get decent good jobs to back employers in their investments in technology to generate those new sophisticated and well-paid jobs—that never stops either; that continues as well. And any Government doing its job has to back all those in the community: those who are prepared to take a risk and invest those who are prepared to provide services to their community those who want to work and earn a living and support their families—we have to support everybody; and that is what this Government is doing through a variety of policies and platforms that we've put in place since. I just want to take a moment to speak a little bit about one of my new portfolios and that is the defence portfolio—and I again acknowledge what I saw yesterday with our personnel in the Hawke's Bay and as I got around just the incredibly skilled professional determined and dedicated people that we have in our defence forces. They do a terrific job but they are under pressure too. Some years of attrition; of our defence force personnel who found other opportunities and left the forces whose places we're finding it difficult to replace—actually we do have to do that and that remains my priority right now. We need to make sure that we have the people who are well trained; well disciplined; trained to walk towards danger and not to walk away from it—and people who help out in times of catastrophe and crisis as we're seeing at the moment. Not just for domestic catastrophes like the ones we're seeing but also in the Pacific: helping our neighbours in periods and episodes of conflict as well. That's what our defence forces do that's what they're trained for; and I'm very proud to take up that responsibility in the period ahead.