BROOKE VAN VELDEN (Deputy Leader—ACT): Thank you, Mr Speaker. This was a Budget that could have been so much more than what it is. A Budget is a way for the Government to show the country the direction that the Government wants to lead us. It's an opportunity to address the key issues that face New Zealanders and provide a road map to improve the lot of all of us. It needed to do three things. Number one, it needed to provide a credible plan for how we maximise the opportunity of our COVID-free status to allow Kiwi firms to grow and to create a more prosperous society. It didn't do that. Number two, it needed to take the issue of an out-of-control housing market seriously. It didn't do that. And, number three, it needed to show us a strategy to keep New Zealanders safe from a rapidly growing gang problem in New Zealand—and it didn't do that. It did none of these things. Instead, what New Zealanders were shown was a Budget that mapped out a course for increasing debt, putting more burdens on businesses and workers, and increasing wasteful spending. So let's focus on what it should have addressed. 