Oral Questions

1. to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?

The National Construction Pipeline Report 2021 was released yesterday, and it highlighted the resilience of the construction sector during COVID-19 and noted that the outlook looks positive. Construction activity is forecast to grow steadily to about $48.3 billion in 2024, driven largely by the residential sector. The report shows residential construction has seen unprecedented interest in the past year despite these changing economic conditions, with more than 265,000 new dwellings forecast to be consented over the next six years, at an average of 44,000 dwellings a year. The construction sector is now our fourth-largest employer, with over 281,400 people for the year to the end of September, and the Government’s investments in apprenticeships and trade training have supported this, with 171,000 people taking up the opportunity, including 81,000 apprentices.

💬 Barbara Edmonds: How is activity in the infrastructure sector contributing to the economy?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Well, the report also forecast an increase in infrastructure activity, which reflects the Government’s $57.3 billion investment in infrastructure over five years to create jobs and lift productivity. Annual infrastructure expenditure will grow steadily to reach $11.2 billion in 2026, with growth expected to be particularly strong in the Auckland and Waikato - Bay of Plenty areas. The Government’s swift actions to invest in infrastructure at the start of the pandemic have meant the sector has been able to retain and attract talent at a critical time, and the sector is now in a robust position to build back better and continue to deliver on this strong pipeline of work.

💬 Barbara Edmonds: What other reports has he seen on the economy?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Well, the latest set of Crown accounts shows the—[Interruption]

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! I’m only going to do this once: members must not pull their masks down in order to interject.

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: —continued strength of the New Zealand economy despite the challenges of COVID-19—[Interruption] It won’t make more sense if you pull it down, Mr Bridges; it’ll be the same. The accounts for the four months to the end of—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! I made a ruling which did not relate to Mr Bridges, and I don’t want references made to my rulings.

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The accounts for the four months to the end of October factor in the improved starting position for the new financial year. Core Crown tax revenue was $2.5 billion above the Budget 2021 forecast, coming in at $31.8 billion. This was largely driven by better than expected corporate profits and more people being in work. The operating balance before gains and losses was a deficit of $7.8 billion, $1.8 billion higher than forecast, as restrictions triggered by the pandemic meant that Government had to put in place more financial support to protect jobs and livelihoods. Net core Crown debt stood at 34.2 percent of GDP, below the 36.7 percent forecast by the Treasury and significantly below most countries that we compare ourselves with. It continues to be appropriate for the Government to take a balanced approach and invest in supporting the recovery and dealing with the longstanding challenges that we have.

Question No. 2—Prime Minister

2. to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and policies?

Yes, particularly the recent announcement that Pharmac has signed an agreement for 60,000 courses of Pfizer’s oral antiviral treatment. Clinical studies have shown this treatment is highly promising, with an 89 percent reduction in hospitalisations and deaths. Taken orally at the first sign of symptoms, it can significantly prevent people from getting really unwell and requiring hospitalisation. The Government’s decision to ring-fence $300 million for Pharmac to purchase COVID-19 therapeutics, on top of an existing $175 million for medicines and supply chain costs, means New Zealanders will have access to six world-leading therapeutics. Three of these are already in use in our hospitals, and we’re seeing the impact of that. Pending Medsafe approval, the remainder is scheduled to arrive in New Zealand early next year.

💬 David Seymour: Why did the Government employ Pharmac to negotiate and sign the agreement for molnupiravir, when the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) was tasked with the vaccine procurement for COVID-19; is the Government unhappy with MBIE’s performance at procuring vaccines at all?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: No.

💬 David Seymour: Does she stand by Ashley Bloomfield’s statement six days ago that “Our hospitalisations have very much levelled off across Tāmaki-makau-rau”; and, if so, why is Auckland at red when the COVID-19 website says red means the health system is facing “an unsustainable number of hospitalisations.”?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Happy to address that question in two parts. Obviously, Dr Bloomfield was referring to the fact that, indeed, as we see a decline in cases, which I know we all welcome in Tāmaki-makau-rau, we are seeing, at the same time, a decline in hospitalisations—as of today, 66 current hospitalisations across our hospital network. The reason that that’s heartening is because it demonstrates that it’s not just the case that we aren’t picking up cases in the community. If we were, we would see those rates higher. To answer the second part of the member’s question, we said right at the outset—you might recall at the time that we announced that first set of settings for the country—that this set of decisions early on in the transition would be different. We’ve established criteria for the traffic light framework that will hold us in good stead for the management of the pandemic going forward. But as we move into it, we’ve said we’ll deliberately take a cautious approach, because we’ve learnt from overseas: if you move too fast, you run the risk of those cases getting out of control, and no one wants that.

💬 David Seymour: Can the Prime Minister give New Zealanders a date when they’ll be able to look at Government websites such as the Unite against COVID-19 website and actually believe what it says instead of having the Prime Minister say, “Well, this is just a start. We’ll follow those rules later.”?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I don’t think, as we transition into an entirely different way of doing things, that New Zealanders have an issue with us being cautious as we do that, because they want caution so that we maintain low case rates. Those countries who have given certain dates, like Denmark, who lifted the use of their vaccine passes in August, put them back in November; Israel, who lifted all their restrictions, brought their vaccine pass back; and Norway lifted in September, only to tell their people that they needed to bring them back in November. We’re moving carefully so that we don’t have to yo-yo in the way we’ve seen other countries, who saw an explosion of cases because they moved too fast.

💬 David Seymour: Is the Prime Minister then saying it doesn’t matter if New Zealand is the last country to emerge from COVID, so long as she never has to admit a mistake?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I don’t call the lowest case rates in the OECD, the lowest hospitalisations, and the lowest death rate a mistake. I call them a plan which New Zealanders have stood firmly behind.

💬 Christopher Luxon: What is the point of the criteria if it’s not being followed?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: We will absolutely use the criteria to inform our decisions. But from the very beginning we said for that first set of decisions as we transition we would act carefully because we have an outbreak we need to maintain control over and we need to assess the impact of the outbreak. The member wasn’t here for the alert level transition, but we did take similar steps as we transitioned into that as well.

💬 Hon Chris Hipkins: Can the Prime Minister confirm that on 1 December when some were arguing—[Interruption]

💬 SPEAKER: Order! I don’t know where that’s coming from, but it’s to stop.

💬 Hon Chris Hipkins: Can the Prime Minister confirm that on 1 December, when some were arguing that all restrictions should be lifted and the international borders should be reopened, there were just 130 cases reported in New Zealand as opposed to the 129,000 cases in the United States, the 48,000 cases in the United Kingdom, the 1,400 cases in Australia, or the 3,146 cases in Canada?

💬 SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! The member will resume his seat. [Interruption] The member will resume his seat. I mean, we do have a new shadow Leader of the House—again.

💬 Chris Bishop: Not that new.

💬 SPEAKER: And if he wants to stay here he won’t interject while I’m on my feet, and he certainly will not deliberately breach the rules. He’s meant to show leadership and an example and not interject during questions. [Interruption] No, the member was as well. It’s no good just blaming Mr Bridges. Chris Hipkins—oh, the Prime Minister. [Interruption]

💬 David Seymour: Who will propose the times, locations, and protocols for checkpoints on public roads when iwi representatives are acting as enforcement officers under the COVID-19 public health Act amendments made last month; will these checkpoints be initiated by iwi, police, or the Director-General of Health?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The police and the member will be obviously familiar with the elements of that bill, because it went to a select committee he sat on.

💬 David Seymour: Does the Prime Minister agree with Treasury that New Zealand had the second-largest fiscal response to COVID-19 in the developed world even before the latest lockdown, and can she understand how borrowing and spending a hundred billion bucks might lead to 4.9 percent inflation and rising interest rates on Kiwis’ mortgages?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Firstly, we stand by the investment we made to keep New Zealanders connected to the labour market, because that has resulted in some of the lowest unemployment that New Zealand has seen, despite the fact we’re in an economic crisis. At the same time, we went into this pandemic in this crisis with some of the lowest levels of debt relative to GDP in the OECD as well. And so that’s stood us in good stead and allowed us to invest in our people. We stand by this investment. It’s been the right thing to do. The member’s assertion that that therefore has resulted in the inflationary pressures we’ve seen—around the world we’re seeing it. The OECD has just revised up their inflation estimates to over 4 percent because of Omicron. It’s very much pandemic related.

💬 David Seymour: Does the Prime Minister stand by her finance Minister’s statement from the 2021 Budget speech he gave, that “Wage growth … will outpace inflation, meaning more money in Kiwis’ back pockets.”, in light of ANZ’s comment last week that real wages are now falling; and, if so, when will wages start to outpace cost increases as the Minister of Finance promised just six months ago?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Of course, it has, with wage growth being at around 3.5 percent and inflation around 2 percent. And at the time that the member made that statement, that was Treasury’s future forecasting as well. What we see around the world, though, in the likes of the United States and others, is that we have seen inflation increase as we’ve seen pressures on supply chain and increase in demand from consumers as our economies have recovered. We are not alone in experiencing that.

Question No. 3—Housing

3. to the Minister of Housing: How has the Government’s public house build programme supported young people into skilled jobs?

The Government is committed to addressing New Zealand’s housing crisis by increasing the supply of houses across the country, including our own booming Government-led build programme. Recently, I announced that over 500 apprentices and cadets have been placed in work across the country through Government house-building projects. This represents hundreds more builders, carpenters, electricians, painters, drainlayers, and scaffolders who are part of building, upgrading, and maintaining the nearly 70,000 public houses across New Zealand. Our investment in apprenticeships is about creating jobs and opportunities for young people, stimulating local economies, and creating an ongoing pipeline of work that is building more houses than any Government since the 1970s.

💬 Glen Bennett: How is the Kāinga Ora cadet and apprenticeship programme supporting young people into work?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Through its cadet and apprenticeship programme, Kāinga Ora works with training and pastoral care providers, build partners, and subcontractors to help budding tradespeople into apprenticeships. Employers of Kāinga Ora apprentices are eligible for the Government’s Apprenticeship Boost subsidy of up to $12,000 for first-year apprentices and $6,000 for second-year apprentices. Apprentices also receive a $1,500 tool kit grant to get them started. While these apprentices and cadets have been part of the Government’s build programme, they have helped deliver over 6,800 newly built public homes in the past 3½ years. The skills and trades learnt will benefit the wider building sector as they carve out a career in this sector.

💬 Glen Bennett: How is Kāinga Ora changing its procurement approach to support employment for apprentices and cadets?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Kāinga Ora is changing the way it contracts with build partners to provide more opportunities for apprentices and cadets. New multi-year agreements, which will replace most project-by-project build contracts, require that at least 5 percent of skilled work has to be undertaken by apprentices and trainees within the first six months of training. This increases to more than 15 percent of skilled work in year two of the agreement. This is just another way that we are supporting young people into skilled jobs while delivering a record number of public houses.

Question No. 4—Prime Minister

4. to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government’s statements and actions?

May I begin by congratulating the member on his new role. Yes; in particular, I stand by this Government’s ongoing successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic that for the past two years has seen New Zealand have the lowest cumulative number of cases, hospitalisations, and deaths per capita in the OECD, and now we can add extraordinarily high vaccination rates as well. At the same time, our economy has continued to perform with record levels of unemployment, high economic growth, and some of the longest stretches without restrictions of any comparable country. Over the past two years, this Government and New Zealand have provided a strong response to a global pandemic that continues. It, of course, hasn’t been easy, but the results tell the country’s story. That is why I proudly stand by this Government’s statements and actions.

💬 Christopher Luxon: Why did her Government spend more than $50 billion from its COVID fund before announcing any funding for extra ICU beds?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Well, I reject that question. What we know: one of the most important things that need to be provided are not just the beds but the staffing of the beds. Five nurses are required for every ICU—[Interruption]

💬 SPEAKER: Order!

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Five ICU nurses are required per bed, so not only have we got 300 ICU or high dependency unit beds and the ability to surge to 500, we put aside funding in the Budget to ensure that we could train the staff required for the additional beds that we have.

💬 Christopher Luxon: Does she agree with—sorry. At any—sorry. Why did her Government choose to prioritise things like eradicating wallabies including a pandemic over increasing the number of fully staffed ICU beds?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Again, I reject the premise of the member’s question. So not only did we increase the amount of money that went into training our ICU staff, because that is the critical piece of the puzzle, we also have, of course, put in capital expenditure for ICU physical space as well: $10 million into the expansion of Tauranga’s ICU space; a new ICU facility at Waitakere; 12 additional beds in Canterbury; and, in addition to the training that we’ve provided for ICU nurses, $544 million for the operational spending of staffing for those new beds. But the one thing I would say: our focus has been ensuring people don’t end up in ICU in the first place. We want to save lives, not have a situation where people are critically unwell.

💬 David Seymour: If the problem with staffing more ICU beds was getting the nurses, why did it take until 20 October for the Government to set aside managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) space for nurses coming to look after those Kiwis she cares so much about?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: That is not true, first of all. Second of all, as I said, the funding for the additional staff was right at the beginning of the pandemic. Second point: if you only rely on surge capacity—that is what happened in the UK. When you have ICU staff who come in to support a surge—an overwhelming of a health workforce—the death rate in ICU increases. Our goal has always been to stop that from occurring. If you are overwhelmed in a pandemic, people die, no matter how many staff you have.

💬 David Seymour: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. My question was very specific about MIQ, not about funding, and not about the nature of staff, whether they were organised as surge staff, but about MIQ capacity and when it was announced. She did not address that at all.

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! The member started his question that way. Unfortunately, it had a tail which opened it up for the answer.

💬 Christopher Luxon: So why did Wellington ICU specialist Dr Paul Young say recently, “I challenge you to visit any ICU in the country and find one clinician—just one—who can show you their newly staffed ICU beds.”?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I’ve said, we have increased the support and funding for ICU staff. We’ve put an extra $100 million into capital funding for ICU beds. But ultimately, our goal has been not to put pressure on that part of the system. At the peak of this outbreak, my recollection is that we’ve had 11 people in ICU. We have had capacity throughout the pandemic in our ICUs. We’ve had surge capacity of an additional 200 beds. But if the member’s goal is to simply have capacity, open up, and flood the ICU, we have a very different view of pandemic management.

💬 Christopher Luxon: At any point in the first 12 months of the pandemic, did she actually pick up the phone and instruct her health Minister to increase the number of fully staffed ICU beds; if so, when?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I’ve said multiple times now that part of our pandemic response, of course, has been about enabling not just physical beds but the capability and capacity to properly staff them. You can convert a ward, but you need the qualified staff in order to operate it in a way that people do not die. We have funded that. Again, though, I come back to the point that, throughout this pandemic, our issue has not been pressure on our ICU; our focus has been on making sure we don’t have outbreaks that overwhelm our ICUs. If we at any point got to that level, it would mean contact tracing would have fallen over, it would have meant our public health units would be overwhelmed, it would have meant that we would have been like many other countries, and we have not been.

💬 Christopher Luxon: Why did it take her 21 months to announce additional funding for ICU beds when, during the same time, New South Wales was able to double their ICU capacity?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: If the member wishes to compare us to a state that had 75,000 cases and when the state of Victoria was setting up infrastructure in its car parks, that is the member’s prerogative. I think what it demonstrates is that, no matter what your surge capacity or your ICU beds is, if you are overwhelmed, you are overwhelmed. No country in the world had capacity that allowed themselves to save people’s lives if their ICUs were overwhelmed. That has never been our goal. We had a different strategy.

💬 Christopher Luxon: What does she say to the Viaduct business owners I spoke with last week who are utterly confused by her traffic light framework, which suggests that they should already be at green; and when will she finally tell them what actually is the criteria for a colour change?

💬 SPEAKER: Before that happens, I’ve asked this side; it’s same for the other side. Can you just leave it while questions are being asked?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Firstly, I’d say I’m very pleased that we can see them open now. And what I’m also pleased about is that people can go out with confidence, knowing we have an outbreak that is contained and that they can enjoy hospitality services again. I would also say that we very carefully designed the new framework so that it protects people’s health but gives them certainty that, at every level, they can stay open. And, finally, what I would say is what I have said all the way through: this transition point is different. We are easing in at a point where we already have an active outbreak; that’s different from the rest of the times we’ve managed a framework before, and that’s why we will be cautious about it.

💬 Christopher Luxon: So, again, what is the criteria to go to orange?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I have said in this House many times before, and on the podium many times before, of course vaccination is only one issue; outbreak is another. Auckland is the epicentre of an outbreak in New Zealand that the rest of the country continues to be concerned about. On the one hand, we of course have Auckland businesses that are pleased to be open; in other parts of country, we have concern about the spread of COVID. We have to manage all of those interests.

💬 Christopher Luxon: Does she agree the failure to increase ICU beds during a pandemic is quite simply another illustration of her Government’s ongoing failure to deliver and to actually get things done?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: My view of delivery—[Interruption]

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order—both sides!

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: —is the lowest case numbers in the OECD, the lowest level of hospitalisation, the lowest death rate, record low unemployment, growth in our economy, and debt rates relative to other countries in the OECD that are still far lower. I measure our success in the wellbeing of our people, and through joint efforts, we have helped to keep them alive.

💬 Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: What does the Prime Minister say to a nation whose tangata w’enua now make up the highest hospitalised, doubling in the last month?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: That we have a duty of care for everyone; that we do need to make sure that we’re extending the protections that are available to us, particularly through vaccinations, to everyone; and that we need to work alongside iwi and hauora providers to make sure we’re reaching those who currently don’t have that level of protection. And what I would also say is that despite the urging of the Opposition to open our international borders, to remove the protections of the COVID protection framework, which they don’t believe in, we will not do that, because we know it is protecting our people.

💬 Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: What does the Prime Minister say, even against the warnings of Māori health experts, to the nation on why Māori are now making up more than 50 percent of the Delta cases?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: There I would say that I am heartened by the rates of vaccination in the area that has been most affected by the outbreak. So, in Tāmaki-makau-rau, we now have first-dose rates at 90 percent, and we’re up to 84 percent first-dose rates across the country. The job is not done. So long as there is anyone that is unprotected by being unvaccinated, we have a job to do. We will not just rely on vaccines, though. Those countries who have had to quickly reimpose lockdowns and restrictions, and that’s why we have the protection framework.

Before I call the next question, I’m going to just remind new members to the front bench who are very close to my microphone that when you—yes, the two of you—interject, it comes through my microphone and is—[Interruption] No—earlier it was, I think. Not just recently, but through the question time. And, therefore, when you are sitting where you are now—and I sat there for far too long in my political career; it took me a while to learn the lessons—can you just try and turn your volume down a little bit. Thank you.

💬 Chris Penk: We’ll try.

You’ll try?

Question No. 5—Economic and Regional Development

5. to the Minister for Economic and Regional Development: What announcements has he made on resources to support reactivating Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland?

Last week, along with the Prime Minister and the Minister for Social Development, I announced a new support package to help provide economic, social, and cultural activities in Auckland over summer. The Auckland region has been hit hard by COVID-19 alert level restrictions, families need a break, and businesses need new customers. That’s why I’ve worked closely with the Auckland Council and economic development agency Auckland Unlimited to make 100,000 vouchers available for families and individuals for Auckland attractions, as well as discounts for free access to Auckland Council facilities to help get Aucklanders out and experience the city while providing much-needed foot traffic in the CBD. The package also includes a contestable fund for businesses or community organisations to organise events that are free for the public, bringing neighbourhoods and town centres back to life.

💬 Shanan Halbert: Why is the Government encouraging Aucklanders to rediscover Tāmaki-makau-rau?

💬 Hon STUART NASH: We want to encourage Auckland to rediscover the best local businesses and visitor attractions. The new funding will encourage whānau to reengage with special qualities that make Auckland vibrant, modern, and exciting. This support will reach a wide range of communities and neighbourhoods through activities like Christmas markets, new year cultural activities, and council-run sports and leisure facilities. This package builds on the Government’s support for Auckland, revitalising households, businesses, and community groups to get out and enjoy the best that the city has to offer through a targeted boost to the regional economy. It builds on other support already paid to date to Auckland workers and businesses, including $1.8 billion in wage subsidies and a further billion for Auckland businesses’ fixed costs through the Resurgence Support Payment. A further transition payment for Auckland, Waikato, and Northland will also pay up to $490 million to businesses.

💬 Shanan Halbert: What feedback has the Minister seen on this package?

💬 Hon STUART NASH: I’ve seen great feedback on this package, including Mayor Phil Goff, who said that—and I quote—“This funding, which is in addition to the significant financial support already provided to Auckland businesses, recognises the sacrifices Aucklanders have made throughout the COVID-19 response to contain the virus”. Auckland Unlimited chief executive Nick Hill said that they welcome and appreciate the package that will—and I quote—“support Aucklanders who have felt the emotional, wellbeing and financial impacts of the latest lockdown.” And, finally, Auckland Business Chamber commerce chief Michael Barnett said the spend was great initiative by the Government and Auckland Council—and I quote—“The scheme shows that central and our local council are thinking laterally, beyond the critical resurgence, transition and wage subsidy support packages to look ahead to stimulate economic recovery and vitality in the city over summer”.

Question No. 6—Housing

6. to the Minister of Housing: Is she confident Kāinga Ora is delivering value for money, and what concerns, if any, have been raised with her about Kāinga Ora’s approach to public expenditure?

In reference to the first part of the question, yes, this Government is committed to addressing New Zealand’s housing crisis, and Kāinga Ora are key part of our booming Government-led house build programme. Kāinga Ora have delivered an extra 8,000 warm, dry public housing places since November 2017, and 6,503 are brand new build homes. This Government is building more homes than any Government since the 1970s. In reference to the second part of the question, the inevitable concerns from private developers have been raised now that under this Government, Kāinga Ora is an active participant in the housing market—rather than just a bystander—through its land programme. However, our Government does realise that simply leaving the market to provide affordable houses for New Zealanders is exactly the type of thinking that delivered us a housing crisis.

💬 Nicola Willis: Why did Kāinga Ora pay more than $70 million for Ferncliffe Farm in Tauranga, out-competing as many as 10 other prospective buyers who were ready to build houses on that land?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: Because when we established the $2 billion fund for Kāinga Ora to go out and buy land, it had very clear criteria around what needed to be there. Increasing their supply of affordable housing and social housing were a key part of it. And I do note that on 1 July, one of those bidders for the land wrote to me, telling me that the Ferncliffe Farm—the development of this precinct—would result in the creation of the most prestigious residential enclave in the Tauranga region, and further went on to say that it was in no way suited to the development of affordable housing. So, the reason why our Government paid $70 million for that land is because Tauranga has a housing crisis and it needs affordable houses, and on this side of the House we stand on the side of people wanting to provide those, not those standing for the most prestigious residential enclaves.

💬 Nicola Willis: Why should taxpayers have confidence that the Government agency which oversees KiwiBuild will get houses built on that land faster than a proven private developer would?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I go back to the stats that I gave in the answer to the primary question: that as a Government, since November 2017, we have delivered 6,503 new build public houses. But where taxpayers can have some comfort is that we are a developer, through Kāinga Ora, that is committed to the provision of affordable and social housing. Other private developers who wanted to develop the land wanted to create the most prestigious residential enclave in Tauranga, and informed us it was in no way suitable for social housing.

💬 Nicola Willis: Has she received complaints from major housing developers warning that Kāinga Ora’s use of taxpayer funds to over-bid for land is stopping those developers from getting houses built, and is she concerned the Government’s use of taxpayer money is pumping up the price of land?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: In relation to this particular parcel of land, there were two valuations, as per our policy, one of which was $68 million, the other was a range between $72.2 million and $74.8 million. We paid $70.4 million, so it was at the lower end of the valuations. We can say with absolute surety to private developers that we won’t be competing with them to build the most prestigious residential enclaves in the country; we will be looking to build affordable and social housing. But I know that member is a member of a party that thought market participation in housing was flogging off social housing. We are one that thinks actual market participation is building houses.

💬 Nicola Willis: Why has Kāinga Ora spent more than $800 million on her Government’s watch, purchasing homes on the private market in direct competition with first-home buyers, and does she think that’s a good use of taxpayer money?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: We have been over this many times in this House, around what the rate of buy-in by Kāinga Ora is. Under our Government, it has been trending down. It is currently this year somewhere around 21 percent, although I will need to check that number. I would put that against the buy-in rate from the private market of the previous National Government that got into the high 60 percent number. We represent something like less than 1 percent of all real estate transitions. That member should come up with some ideas of how it is we’re going to solve the housing crisis rather than flirting around the edges like this.

Brooke van Velden: How can she ensure that Kāinga Ora will always build more affordable homes than would have already been built to make up for bidding up the price of land?

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: When Kāinga Ora comes to Ministers and to Cabinet with a business case for the purchase of land, it has to have a break-down of what the plan for the building of houses through this fund will be. As a Government, we will always require Kāinga Ora to set aside affordable and public housing as part of that mix. That is why there is a case for public intervention and what differentiates us from private developers who want to use similar or the same parcels of land, in the case that has been brought up by the National Party, to develop the most prestigious residential enclave in Tauranga.

💬 Nicola Willis: How can taxpayers be confident that Kāinga Ora is achieving value for the $2 billion Kāinga Ora land programme when documents released to me under the Official Information Act show Treasury has raised extensive concerns about the role of the programme, including coordination, decision making, and consultation issues?

💬 Hon Grant Robertson: That’s not unusual.

💬 Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: As the Minister of Finance said, that is not an unusual situation. But how taxpayers can have confidence is that we have in place a clear process around what needs to be in a business case when it is being considered, what needs to be put in place, and, of course, there is external scrutiny of these as well.

Question No. 7—Women

7. to the Minister for Women: What progress has she seen on the $2 million COVID-19 community fund for women and girls?

Funding from the $2 million COVID19 Community Fund for women and girls has now been allocated to 160 successful applicants. Funding will support organisations helping wāhine and kōtiro in Aotearoa New Zealand affected by the pandemic. This is the second time we have run this highly successful fund, and it is a proven model to reach our most vulnerable.

💬 Ginny Andersen: How will this funding make a difference in the lives of women and girls?

💬 Hon JAN TINETTI: This fund is supporting grassroots organisations that work with women and girls who have been detrimentally affected by the pandemic. This fund can help safeguard women’s wellbeing. Successful applicants from this fund range from support for mental health services, safe houses for women and children experiencing family violence, support for retraining and upskilling for women who have lost their jobs, as well as increased support for volunteers that support women and girls, and essential supplies such as food, nappies, and sanitary products for marginalised women and girls.

💬 Ginny Andersen: What other work is under way to support women and girls following the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown?

💬 Hon JAN TINETTI: We have a large number of projects under way that will help support women and girls following the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown. First, we are identifying and minimising barriers for women in employment through our Women’s Employment Action Plan. We have seen welfare reforms ranging from lifting incomes for families and reducing sanctions on mothers. We’ve seen a reduction in both the unemployment rates for women and the Public Service gender pay gap, and we continue to see the free period products roll out across New Zealand for all students. But I would like to make a special mention of Minister Davidson and her launch this morning of Te Aorerekura, the country’s first national strategy to eliminate family violence and sexual violence.

Question No. 8—Finance

8. to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement in his Budget speech earlier this year that wage growth “will outpace inflation, meaning more money in Kiwis’ back pockets”?

Can I first congratulate the member on his new role. I stand by my statement in the context that those were the Treasury’s Budget forecast at the time. But as the member might appreciate more than most, sometimes events can move quickly and numbers can shift around.

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: Very good. Does he accept the Government has failed to deliver on his Budget promise, considering inflation is now nearly 5 percent, more than double wage inflation of just 2.4 percent?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Those were the forecasts at the time and I can assure the member that wage growth continues to be forecast to be strong, as it is at the moment around 3.5 percent. Inflation has risen, but the member will be aware that is a global phenomenon.

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: Well, does he accept that if wages are growing at 2.4 percent, inflation is growing at 5 percent, and house prices are growing at 30 percent, then New Zealanders are going backwards, in real terms, under this Government’s watch?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No. What I do accept is, on this side of the House, we have had an economy that has grown faster than most others in the world through the COVID pandemic, that has unemployment at 3.4 percent, and that Standard & Poor’s lifted our credit rating on. Yes, of course, a high inflation environment is challenging, and I look forward to the member’s support for things like a minimum wage increase.

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: Does he accept the view of ANZ economists who said last week that “All households are seeing cost increases, but for low-income Kiwis who spend the bulk of their income on essential goods and services, it’s particularly hard to make ends meet right now; and for low income houses in this environment, the choice quickly becomes ‘Do I have lunch this week or pay the rent?’ ”

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: What I do accept is that, yes, low-income households are affected more by inflation increases, which is why it’s so disappointing that the National Party has opposed the benefit increases that this Government has put in place.

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: Isn’t it now becoming obvious that this Government’s economic management is failing New Zealanders because the cost of living is outstripping wage growth $2 to $1?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No. What is obvious is that this Government has invested in making sure that New Zealanders keep their jobs; has seen an unemployment rate of 3.4 percent; and that Standard & Poor’s, an international rating agency, gave us a credit uplift. I’ll tend to listen to them.

Question No. 9—Health

9. to the Associate Minister of Health: What recent announcements has she made about testing for COVID-19?

Testing remains one of the key public health measures underpinning our response to COVID-19 and our successful transition to the COVID-19 Protection Framework. Last week, I announced we had passed a milestone of more than 5 million PCR tests processed. New Zealand’s test positivity rate, a key measure of the effectiveness of our testing system, has consistently been one of the lowest in the world. That gives us confidence that we’re missing very few cases in the community. I want to thank the thousands of skilled and dedicated workers who collect and process tests every day, as well as the team of 5 million who have now all been tested.

💬 Dr Gaurav Sharma: What work is under way to ensure we continue to have sufficient testing capacity?

💬 Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL: Last month, I announced a new testing strategy to support the transition to the new framework and to help minimise the spread of COVID19. A key part of that plan was expanding our PCR testing capacity. By the end of the year, we are on track to have a standing capacity for 40,000 PCR tests per day, and that will build to 60,000 in the first quarter of next year. Nasopharyngeal PCR tests will continue to be used as the primary diagnostic test, but this will be supplemented by saliva-based PCR testing, rapid antigen testing, and rapid PCR tests.

💬 Dr Gaurav Sharma: What role do rapid antigen tests play in the new testing strategy?

💬 Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL: The health advice is to continue to have a PCR test if you have COVID-19 symptoms. However, with more and more New Zealanders gaining protection through vaccinations, we can now introduce a wider range of routine testing options.

💬 Chris Bishop: What a great idea!

💬 Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL: Rapid antigen tests can provide a result in 15 minutes, but require a high viral load and are more effective in the early stages of an individual’s infectious period. The member opposite might want to listen—he might learn something. They perform well when there is COVID in the community. These tests are now available to all businesses and healthcare settings in New Zealand, and, from 15 December, they will be available to the general public at pharmacies, with tests to be administered under the supervision of pharmacy staff. For asymptomatic surveillance testing, two or three times a week is recommended, and a PCR test will be required to confirm any positive results.

Question No. 10—COVID-19 Response

10. to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Is he satisfied with the implementation of the COVID-19 Protection Framework, and what criteria, if any, exist for Auckland to move from Red to Orange in this framework?

Absolutely yes, and I’m incredibly proud of New Zealanders who have stepped up to be vaccinated, allowing us to move to that new framework: 94 percent of the eligible population have now had at least one dose of the vaccine, and 88 percent of the country have had two doses. As the Prime Minister set out yesterday and today, New Zealanders have shifted to the new framework relatively smoothly, and it’s a testament to the adaptability and pragmatism of New Zealanders who just want to get the job done. With any significant transition like this, there will inevitably be a few issues that we’ll continue to work through as they arise. In response to the second part of the member’s question, we have outlined a number of health- and non - health-related criteria that will guide Cabinet’s decision on how regions may move colours in the future. Given the majority of the country’s cases are still coming from Auckland, being at red at this point helps to minimise the number of new cases ahead of the 15 December removal of the boundary around Auckland and, therefore, reduce the risk to the rest of New Zealand. As we settle into the new traffic light framework, people will see that our COVID response remains one where we push forward cautiously with fewer restrictions, more careful travel around the country, and family and friends united.

💬 Chris Bishop: Has Cabinet settled on a number for vaccination and hospitalisations that would allow a region to move from red to orange and from orange to green, and, if so, what is the number?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: No, in answer to the first part of the question. As with our alert level system—the one that we have just transitioned away from—there is a need to consider a balance of factors. We did not have hard and fast rules as to exactly the trigger points for moving between level 1 and level 2, level 2 and level 3, and level 3 and level 4. We made those decisions based on a balance of facts presented at the time.

💬 Chris Bishop: How can he be satisfied with the traffic light system when on Friday night the official food and drink service guidelines were changed to state that it wasn’t mandatory for workers to be vaccinated—a complete contradiction from what was announced two weeks earlier?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The main change that happened on Friday night was greater clarity for those businesses who were trying to figure out whether they would count as a food service or a retail service, and so the guidelines were—basically, greater clarity was provided so that for those businesses that, effectively, operate on a retail basis rather than people coming and dining in, they had greater clarity.

Question No. 11—Education (School Operations)

11. to the Associate Minister of Education (School Operations): Is she confident that education is accessible for disabled and high-needs tamariki across Aotearoa?

Our Government is committed to barrier-free access to education for all students, but we know that there is work to do to address the fact that some students aren’t getting the right support they need when they need it. This is why in October, we announced a review into the support for students who are considered the highest needs for learning support intervention. This review will ensure that the tamariki of Aotearoa are receiving the education they deserve.

💬 Teanau Tuiono: What is her response to reports that, on average, tamariki are waiting 80 days to access an early intervention service and that one-third of Ongoing Resourcing Scheme (ORS) funding applications are being rejected?

💬 Hon JAN TINETTI: Reducing the time that children wait for support continues to be a priority. The ministry has made progress with reducing wait times, and there’s been significant increases in funding since 2018, but more work is needed in this area, and we do need to look at different ways that we can reduce those wait times by working with whānau in a variety of different ways. What I would say for those people who are waiting or putting in ORS funding applications: these are the sorts of stories and the sorts of experiences that I want people to be able to tell in the high-needs review, so I ask and plead with those people who have had those experiences to please tell those stories to the high-needs reviews. I will also say that the wait times are in scope of the high-needs review.

💬 Teanau Tuiono: Does she think learning support is adequately funded when parents are often paying for teacher-aides out of pocket or are making large donations so their tamariki can have support?

💬 Hon JAN TINETTI: Teacher-aides are incredible and do an amazing job of supporting our learners who have the highest needs within our schooling system, and conversations regarding funding mechanisms for teacher-aides are ongoing.

💬 Teanau Tuiono: Does she agree that a dedicated learning support coordinator or Special Education Needs Coordinator in every school and early childhood education centre would make schools more accessible for disabled tamariki, and, if not, why not?

💬 Hon JAN TINETTI: We currently have evaluations that are in place around learning support coordinators that were implemented by this Government into about 620, 630 schools in this country. So we are waiting to see the final of that evaluation coming through. What I am very aware of is that I don’t want to see a system that is bits and pieces here and there. One of the issues that we have seen in this country is that we have had a system that is not joined up and does not adequately meet the needs of our young people. I am really looking forward to the third tranche of that evaluation coming through.

💬 Teanau Tuiono: What is she doing to increase the number of specialists such as psychologists, physiotherapists, and resource teachers to meet student need?

💬 Hon JAN TINETTI: Another group that are critically important for our tamariki in this country who have those high needs—and I was a principal under the last National Government where that funding for those people was frozen due to the staffing freeze at that time. I know how important those people are, which is why this Government has put more funding in for those specialist people, including Budget 2021, with the intensive wraparound service support that we were able to get funding for that saw more psychologists go into place. But, clearly, there is more work to do.

💬 Teanau Tuiono: Will she commit to ensuring that disabled children are not discriminated against in the education system and that all necessary steps are taken to ensure disabled children can thrive as learners in our schools?

💬 Hon JAN TINETTI: That is exactly the intent of the high-needs review. We need a system that is responsive to the needs of our learner. We need that system to be able to move around the child rather than the child having to change for the needs of the system. That is exactly what I want to hear coming through from that high-needs review.

Question No. 12—Health

12. to the Minister of Health: When will the first of the new ICU beds that he announced last week be operational, and why was this investment not made 21 months ago, when COVID-19 first reached our shores?

The additional ICU beds are planned to be operational in Canterbury, Waitematā, and Bay of Plenty DHBs by June 2022. These additional beds are funded out of an additional $100 million allocated for ICU infrastructure and supported by $544 million of operational funding available to fund ongoing costs like staffing, and this continues our trend of significant investment in the health system. In answer to the second part of the member’s question: 21 months ago, the country was facing a significant period of uncertainty because of COVID-19. Our immediate focus, other than implementing a world-leading elimination strategy was on preparing existing facilities to surge up their capacity and to train staff to meet demand. This included purchasing more ventilators and improving oxygen in ventilation systems. In parallel, DHBs and the Ministry of Health started planning last year for permanent ICU capacity increases, using existing buildings and capability to meet any surge needs we might require. This worked successfully as we continued to eliminate COVID-19. Now as we continue to transition to the next stage of our response, DHBs have worked with the Ministry of Health to identify subcapital projects to physically expand designated ICU capacity and to resource these through workforce development and recruitment. This work has resulted in our ability to significantly increase baseline resourced ICU capacity by June 2022. It should be remembered that the New Zealand hospital system, even before the arrival of COVID, was widely regarded as being light in ICU capacity, a state which followed a significant increase in population from 2009 to 2017, accompanied by a significant under-investment in the public health system during that time.

💬 Dr Shane Reti: Does he accept, then, any responsibility for what Sir Brian Roche’s independent COVID review found as, “the very poor level of preparedness of hospitals for Delta.”?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Well, I think the performance of our hospital system in response to Delta, particularly in Auckland and more recently in Waikato, has been absolutely exemplary. You only have to look at the treatment that COVID patients have been given that has meant that, on average, their stays in hospital have been shorter than comparable cases around the world, and the stays in ICU have been shorter than have been necessary. That is entirely due to the clinical treatment of our COVID patients in our hospital system.

💬 Dr Shane Reti: Why are DHBs with high Māori and low vaccination rates not part of the very first ICU announcement?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The reality is the $100 million fund is available to all DHBs to present propositions for ICU expanded capacity. But the other point I would make is this: as the system has geared up to respond to COVID-19, as we enter the protection framework, as we remove the Auckland boundary over the next couple of weeks, and as people move around the country, and more DHBs and more hospitals will be picking up COVID patients, those hospitals have been setting themselves up to operate as regional networks of hospitals so that hospitals are supporting each other to make sure that they can afford the care and treatment that COVID patients need in the weeks and months ahead.

💬 Dr Shane Reti: Supplementary?

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! That concludes oral questions. Nice try!