Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I appreciate there is a lot of public interest in this. The growth in Public Service employees last year, up to the end of June, was 3,950, or a 6.9 percent increase. Half of that growth—around 50 percent—was directly attributable to the Government's response to COVID-19. That included people running managed isolation and quarantine facilities, rolling out the vaccination programme, supporting contact tracing, managing the border, and providing welfare assistance to people and businesses affected by the economic impact of COVID-19. About 40 percent of the growth was to support the Government's work programme, including improving front-line services and help to individuals, families, and businesses; implementing the Government's reform agenda, including climate change, Resource Management Act reform, and mental health service roll-out; and investing in the delivery of services such as more support for schools and teachers, more protection for workers and consumers and businesses.