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Thank you.

This room is remarkable.

Remarkable for what each of you represent.

Remarkable for the talent and energy you bring.

Remarkable because of what we’re going to do together.

It's amazing to stand in this room with you.

But let's be under no illusions - the job ahead of us is hard.

They are going to throw everything at us.

But, do you know what, let them.

We know this country deserves so much better - and that’s what we are going to fight for.

We’re just over four months out from an election that will define this country for years to come.

Four months.

That’s it.

And New Zealand faces a choice. Not just a choice between governments, but a choice between two futures.

So, today, I'm going to tell you about the future I’m going to build.

What I'll focus on, and why. What it means for you. And what it means for New Zealand.

And, importantly, how I'll make it all add up.

As Minister of Finance, I will have two jobs.

The hope, and the reality.

The hope is the part we do together. Building a better future for everyone.

How we create better jobs that pay enough to build a life.

How we make health affordable.

How we make sure a Kiwi family can cover their bills, heat their home and put food on the table, without dipping into their KiwiSaver to do it.

And then there's the reality.

How we manage the money to pay for it.

How we make the numbers add up.

Because that’s what we hear from National all day long.

It doesn't add up, they say.

And do you know what? They're right.

It doesn't add up that you can work 40 hours a week and still struggle to cover the rent.

It doesn't add up that a parent skips a trip to the doctor so their kids can eat.

It doesn't add up that we raise our young people, we teach them, we train them - and then we watch as they board a plane to build their lives somewhere else.

And it doesn't add up that, all around the world, other countries are moving forward while we stay stuck.

And National has one answer.

Cut.

That's their plan.

That's their whole plan.

But you cannot cut your way to growth. It’s never worked. And it never will.

Cuts don't fix what's broken. They just mean we have less of it.

And here is what they don't seem to understand.

When you cut a job, you cut a wage.

When you cut a wage, you cut a grocery shop.

When you cut a grocery shop, you cut the corner dairy, the local bakery, the café down the road.

None of this is an accident.

Every cut is a choice.

National has blown the budget on tax cuts for tobacco companies and property speculators, and now they’re making Kiwis pay for it.

Those choices don't just happen on a spreadsheet in the Beehive. They’re felt in people's lives.

They push up costs. They weaken our communities. They cost jobs. And they leave every one of us with less.

We saw it when National slammed the brakes on construction, and 20,000 tradies lost their jobs.

We see it every time a local factory closes its doors.

When someone drives home, sits down at the kitchen table to their family: "I lost my job. We're going to have to cut back."

And we see it now. In the savage cuts they’re planning to the services we all rely on.

I came into this role determined to change the economic direction of this country.

To build it from the grassroots up.

To back New Zealanders to back themselves.

And to make sure that, once again, in this country hard work gets you ahead.

My father, Selani, turned eighty this year.

He came here from Samoa with nothing but a willingness to work and one conviction - that his kids would have it better than he did.

He and my mother, an aged-care worker, did everything they could to make that true.

They worked. They went without. They knew how bad it could get - and every single day, they got up and did something about it.

They knew - as I know now - that there is a promise at the heart of New Zealand.

It says that if you work hard and do the right thing, you can get ahead.

You can build a life and provide for the people you love.

And right now, for too many New Zealanders, that promise is broken.

People are working as hard as they ever have but are still falling behind.

A secure, well-paid job. A doctor you can afford. A home of your own, with bills you can actually pay.

These are not just economic goals. They are the foundations of a dignified life.

Your job. Your health. Your home.

So this is my goal.

An economy where no one who works hard is left behind, and no one with ambition is held back.

An economy that works for the people who do the work.

Because here is the thing about New Zealand.

Our strength has never come from those at the top.

It has always come from the people who do the work.

The people who actually hold this economy up and keep it going.

For too long, they have not counted for enough.

It is on us to change that. And we will.

Here’s how.

We have to break, once and for all, from an approach that is failing hardworking New Zealanders.

The idea that if you just cut, the economy will somehow grow.

It is the idea that we should stand back and watch good jobs disappear overseas.

And it is the idea that if you hand tax breaks to those at the very top - to the landlords, the tobacco companies, the tech giants and the fossil fuel companies - the benefits will somehow trickle down to the rest of us.

Let me say this as clearly as I can.

You cannot cut your way to growth.

It has never worked, and it never will.

Cut, and the economy doesn't grow. It shrinks.

Cut, and jobs disappear.

Cut, and the doctor's waitlist gets longer. The local library closes an hour earlier. The pool puts its prices up.

Every cut makes life tougher.

And here is what they will not tell you before the election.

They’re not finished. In fact, they’re only getting started.

More services on the chopping block. More job cuts. More costs.

So when National asks for three more years, let’s be very clear about what they are really asking for.

Three more years of this - only much, much worse.

That’s their plan.

We will do it differently.

We’ll back jobs.

Good jobs. Secure jobs. Jobs you can raise a family on.

Because every New Zealander who works hard should be able to build a good life in the place they grew up.

And, let me say this, a job is about so much more than a pay packet.

It is about dignity. It is about pride. It is about being able to look your loved ones in the eye and say, "It's going to be okay."

It is about being able to plan for the future, provide for your family, and give your kids the chance to go further than you ever did.

That is what we are fighting for.

And it starts with backing the Kiwis who back themselves.

The ones who get up and go to work every day to provide for the people they love.

And instead of exporting our jobs, we will back the businesses that create them here - and export what we make to the world.

New Zealand has always been a nation of risk takers and builders.

A good idea, born in a workshop in Whangārei or a garage in Gisborne, should be able to grow into a great company right here, and stay here.

The next Trade Me. The next Xero. The next Rocket Lab. New jobs that go on to create more new jobs.

Nowhere does it say our best days are behind us.

I don't accept that. I never have.

And let me be straight with you: we will do all of this responsibly.

We will manage the books carefully.

Every dollar will be treated for what it is - your money, earned the hard way.

But balancing the books is not the same as shrinking the country.

Fiscal discipline is not cutting back until the numbers balance on a spreadsheet.

It is spending smarter, so we can invest in what matters.

Responsible, but ambitious for the future.

That is how a serious government acts.

So I will make sure the numbers add up.

Not just on a spreadsheet - but in every home around this country.

In jobs that pay enough to cover the essentials.

In doctors you can afford to see.

In homes with bills you can actually cover.

That’s the choice.

Two futures.

A country that cuts, or a country that grows.

A country that sells what it owns, or a country that backs what it could become.

A country that watches its young people leave, or a country worth staying in - and worth coming home to.

I know which one I am fighting for.

The one where the numbers finally add up for the people who do the work. Where a hard day's work builds a good life.

So, Congress are we all in?

Are we all in for a better New Zealand?

Ok. Let's go out and build it - together.

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Watch Barbara Edmonds' full Labour Party Congress speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy5Fec6CimI