Page:New Zealand Parliament Hansard 2021-03-09.pdf/18

1164 to the posts but not the comments.", because this is getting more confusing by the moment?

Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: We have not changed our position. What was said was wrong.

Hon Judith Collins: When will she apologise to the 19-year-old KFC worker who is now being blamed by her publicly?

Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: And I again would refute that. What we’ve said is that the advice was clear: the students at that school needed to be tested. We, unfortunately, had a case where that did not happen for the better part of eight days. But never have I implied that anything was done deliberately. The vast majority of those school members were tested, but, unfortunately, we had a situation where there was a long delay before that happened for one household.

Hon Judith Collins: Does she think it’s appropriate for her, as Prime Minister, to blame the reason 1.5 million people had to suffer a seven-day lockdown on the actions of a 19-year-old who’s only recourse to defend themselves was to go on Newshub at 6 p.m. that night?

Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I have never claimed—never—that we entered level 3 because of that case; and, in fact, I’ve just stood here and clarified that the question the member is asking is implying something that is totally incorrect. The first day I was asked about this case, we hadn’t even had a positive case that led to level 3. We were out of alert levels when I was first asked about it.

Hon Judith Collins: Well, if that’s so, why was the Prime Minister talking to the nation about the 19-year-old KFC worker in such a determined way about her behaviour?

Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Again, this was asked of me on the Friday after we had returned out of alert levels. So it is patently incorrect. The member is, I’m sorry, wrong.

3. ANGELA ROBERTS (Labour) to the Minister of Education: What is the Government doing in schools to tackle material hardship for families while also improving educational outcomes?

Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Education): The start of the school year can be an expensive time for families, with a lot of additional costs. Providing a daily nutritious lunch is one way we can help ease the pressure on the household budget and ensure that our kids don’t miss out on learning because they are hungry. I can report that an additional 88,000 students and 322 schools and kura across the country have started the school year with a regular lunch on the menu thanks to the Government’s Ka Ora, Ka Ako healthy school lunches programme. They joined 42,000 students already receiving weekday lunches under the scheme, which was launched last year to help tackle child poverty, improve youth wellbeing and learning, and boost local economies.

Angela Roberts: How much further will the programme be expanded?

Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: By the end of the year, around 964 schools and kura, covering over 215,000 year 1 to 13 students, or around 25 percent of the student population across New Zealand, will be receiving a regular healthy lunch at school. We’ve already served up over 3 million lunches last year, with an additional 3 million lunches so far served this year, and we’re just getting started.

Angela Roberts: What are the benefits of this programme to the community as a whole?

Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: There’s huge benefits to the school community in that teachers report students are more engaged and, actually, student attendance in schools with the lunches programme improves. School lunches also have a positive impact on the