Oral Questions

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

Yes. In particular, I stand by our decision to increase the minimum wage to $21.20. We remain committed to supporting New Zealanders by raising their wages, and I was glad to hear that the deputy leader of the National Party is not opposed to this either. Raising the minimum wage will directly benefit approximately 300,000 workers, many of whom have gone above and beyond during the pandemic.

💬 Christopher Luxon: Does she accept that with prices growing twice as fast as wages, the average earner is worse off than a year ago, and Kiwis are facing a cost of living crisis under Labour?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: In answer to the first part of the member’s question, yes, I accept that, currently, we are in an international environment where many economies are experiencing inflation rates not too dissimilar to ours. I’ve already spoken in this House about the UK, about Germany, about the US, about Canada. But in relation to the member’s latter assertion, I don’t agree with that. We need only look at since the first quarter of 2018 and the average annual rate increase in wages, which sits at around 3.5 percent, relative to inflation, which has been 2.2 per cent. We’ve been a Government focused on doing what we can to ensure that Kiwis’ wages are increasing, including relative to the cost of living.

💬 Christopher Luxon: Does she think it’s a coincidence that under her Government, annual rents rose $7,280, during which time she ignored officials’ advice that removing tax deductibility of interest costs could push up rents, making the cost of living crisis for renters even worse?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I would refer the member to, of course, the context of that advice, which didn’t include, in some cases, the final decisions by Cabinet, which was to take into account ways that we could incentivise new builds in order to ensure that we continue to have an increase in supply for our rental market. And so you can see in the final policy development, we’ve done that with the exclusions that exist for new builds in the rental market and the way that we phased in interest deductibility. The alternative, of course, is that nothing is done in the housing market, which was, of course, the approach of the last National Government. It meant we inherited a housing crisis and we’re doing everything we can to turn that around.

Brooke van Velden: Has the Government modelled how many people will have to self-isolate at the peak of the Omicron outbreak; and, if it hasn’t, how does she know that the benefits of the Government’s self-isolation policy will outweigh the costs?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Well, I’m happy to speak to some of the variables. We have done some estimates, but the variables are so significant that it makes it difficult. We’ve done those estimates in order to establish how much resource would be required for our care in the community model. But just to give the member some context on a low assumption—where we would be if we were something like South Australia. In terms of their peak, you could reach something like 5,000 cases a day. On the high, it would be closer to, for instance, the state of New York, at over 30,000 cases. Keep in mind, of course, you’d expect at those levels a narrowing of your definition of close contacts. We have been very pragmatic and evidence based. In phase 3, if we reach high rates, the definition of close contact narrows to a household definition because that is the most common place that you’re likely to see transmission. Those are the groups that you don’t want then circulating because you’re very likely to pass on COVID to others.

Brooke van Velden: Does she agree that a sensible policy would allow all people to leave self-isolation if they test negative?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Well, firstly, I would say to the member that for the most part, those policies where they’re being implemented, of course, tend to use rapid antigen testing. We have already taken the approach that where you are a critical worker, yes, we will use rapid antigen testing as a way to ensure that critical workforce supply chains and healthcare are maintained. But that is not a fail-safe approach. We only need to look at this House just yesterday with a false positive. Equally, you can have false negatives at a rate as high as 20 percent of tests.

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: This sounds like Donald Rumsfeld.

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: So that’s why we’re trying to balance our approach to make sure, yes, we use that approach to keep supply chain moving, but not in places where it’s not necessary to take the risk and pass on COVID to others.

💬 SPEAKER: No. Order! Order! That’s an odious comparison the member has made to me, and he won’t do it again.

💬 Christopher Luxon: Is it easier or harder for a first-home buyer to save for a deposit when, on her watch, rents are up $7,280, house prices are up almost $400,000, and incomes are growing half as fast as the cost of living?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Of course I refer back to the stats I provided in the answer to my first question, that, yes, whilst we are seeing inflation pressures at this period, of course we see many projecting that that will ease over the course of 2022. And when you come back to our track record as a Government, wage growth has been outstripping growth in the cost of living. When we come to the issue of house prices generally, that is the exact reason why we as a Government have built or created over 8,000 public housing places; why we have made changes to the way that we are fast-tracking projects through our resource consent process—that has meant that we have additional houses being built. It’s why we’ve gone and embarked on the reform of the Resource Management Act, why we’ve developed a progressive home ownership scheme, why we worked on interest deductibility, and changed the brightline test. All of these things, as far as I’m aware, are things that the National Party have opposed. So I question the member as to what his proposals are to ensure that first-home buyers can get into the housing market?

💬 Christopher Luxon: How many people have been assisted by the progressive home ownership scheme?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: It would depend on whether we’re talking about the assistance that we’ve provided for the community-based progressive home ownership scheme or the newly established programme that we are administering. For the exact numbers, I’d ask the member to ask directly the Minister of Housing. But I would say, every family that is helped into that is one more than would have been under the National Party.

💬 Christopher Luxon: Why is she proposing a brand new jobs tax under the guise of income insurance that will see costs for businesses increase and income for workers decrease at a time of rising inflation and falling real incomes?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I’m fascinated to hear—and I have to say, disappointed to hear—the member characterise a scheme that is ultimately designed to support New Zealand workers in a time of economic shock when Business New Zealand and the Council of Trade Unions (CTU), in an extraordinary tripartite agreement, have come together to make this proposal. We have now experienced the Christchurch earthquakes, the global financial crisis, and a pandemic, which has demonstrated the need for us, New Zealand, no longer to be on the outside with Australia as the only OECD countries that do not have an in form of job protection insurance. I welcome the fact that we have agreement amongst Business New Zealand and the CTU. It’s a shame the Opposition won’t join them.

💬 Christopher Luxon: What is her response to former BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander, who said her jobs tax would “worsen average after-tax incomes for Kiwi households” while pushing inflation even higher as costs are passed on to consumers?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Firstly, the member is totally ignoring the fact that the period of which we are developing this policy will take us beyond the period that we were expecting to experience this increase in inflation; 2023 is the timeline that we are working to. Secondly, it is incredibly short-sighted to have the member criticise spending, which has kept people in their jobs through the wage subsidy, and then criticise a solution designed to support New Zealanders should they in the future experience a jarring shock to our economy. It demonstrates again how short-sighted and lacking of ideas to protect New Zealand in the future the Opposition are.

💬 Christopher Luxon: How is taxing workers and businesses more going to help address the cost of living crisis?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Interesting, does the member call ACC that same thing? Because this is what we are mirroring this programme and policy around. And again, 100,000 New Zealanders lose their job every year, and if you think about the number who experience a diagnosis like cancer, that means that they are for a time unable to work. This is not something that only affects a small number of New Zealanders. Almost every country we compare ourselves to has something similar and it is, as I’ve said, disappointing that the member cannot see the benefits to New Zealand of such a scheme.

💬 Hon Chris Hipkins: Does the Prime Minister support increasing GST and significantly increasing ACC levies as happened last time there was a significant cost of living increase in New Zealand?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I would absolutely acknowledge what the member has raised, which is the last time New Zealanders saw a significant increase in the cost of living in that manner, it was actually imposed by the National Government.

Question No. 2—Finance

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

The exports sector continues to drive economic growth in New Zealand. Statistics New Zealand reported in early February the export of goods in December rose by 13 percent to a new monthly high of $6.1 billion, compared with the same period a year ago. Dairy products—milk powder, butter, and cheese—again lead the way, and I acknowledge the important role—

💬 Hon Member: Thank the farmers.

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: —there you are!—that that industry plays in New Zealand. The meat sector also saw sales rise 19 percent to $879 million. On an annual basis, exports are up 5.6 percent from the previous year to $63.2 billion. I’d like to thank our exporters for contributing strongly to the economy during what is a volatile environment.

💬 Barbara Edmonds: What else did the report show on trade and its impact on confidence in the economy?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The overseas merchandise trade figures show that businesses do appear confident to be investing more in the economy and in New Zealand’s recovery. Imports of machinery and plant rose 18 percent to $905 million in December, compared with the same month a year earlier. For the December quarter, imports of machinery and plant rose 31 percent to $2.8 billion for the year. The same imports rose 20 percent to $9.8 billion. Despite the uncertainty around the pandemic, the New Zealand economy does remain resilient.

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

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Statistics New Zealand did release their food price index yesterday. It did show that prices rose 2.7 percent in January, the largest monthly rise in five years. On a seasonally adjusted basis, overall food prices rose 1.1 percent. This annual increase that we’ve seen is the largest since August 2011, when prices rose by 6.6 percent. The environment does remain volatile with COVID-19 disruptions pushing up prices globally for food and other products, such as fuel. We do acknowledge the rise of cost of living is challenging for New Zealanders, and that is why we have supported people through the pandemic to protect their jobs and livelihoods, and taken actions to lift the incomes of the lowest-income New Zealanders, including benefit increases and minimum wage increases—both of which were opposed by the Opposition.

Question No. 3—Social Development and Employment

3. to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What further support, if any, will be made available to low-income families and whānau living in poverty as COVID-19 spreads in communities?

On 1 April this year, the Government will lift both main benefit rates and the minimum wage. These changes continue our Government’s track record of lifting the incomes for New Zealand’s most vulnerable. In response to COVD-19, we have temporarily increased income limits for people who need hardship assistance. A couple who earns up to $1,600 per week can now be eligible for support from Work and Income. In addition, we have invested $204.1 million in the welfare response for care in the community. This is particularly aimed at low-income people who are directed to self-isolate. This support is being delivered through 150 community organisations, of which 70 are Māori and Pacific providers, and 225 community food providers which are ensuring vulnerable whānau can access kai while they self-isolate. As a Government, we are keeping a close eye on the situation, and responding when the need arises.

Ricardo Menéndez March: Does she agree that cash-in-hand payments, rather than relying on food banks, would alleviate pressure on front-line workers when there are large community outbreaks?

💬 Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: I don’t think it’s a matter of one or the other. I think it is both, and that’s why I think there are many people out there who will be relieved to see that they have a Government who is increasing benefits on 1 April, and also increasing the minimum wage on 1 April as well. We recognise, still, there are a number of families who experience food insecurity—particularly when faced with the challenges that come with the pandemic. We want to keep them safe if they do need to self-isolate, hence why we are investing a significant amount of money towards our providers to support with care in the community.

Ricardo Menéndez March: Will the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) provide N95 masks and COVID-19 preparedness kits to low-income families living in poverty, including medication and food to get through isolation?

💬 Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: With respect to masks and MSD’s response, over the course of the time that we’ve been responding to the pandemic, that has been part of what they have funded. With regards to the specifics that the member is asking about, if he puts that in writing, I can certainly follow up for him.

Ricardo Menéndez March: Is there a plan in place to scale up current support for people self-isolating as cases in the community increase, and, if so, what is it?

💬 Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Yes, and we have listened to our community providers. We have listened to the Māori and Pacific communities with regards to what they see is needed on the ground; we’ve worked closely with them. We announced the care in community model in November last year and have been working closely with Health since then to ensure that we are able to respond to the need that arises. To date, we haven’t had the demand come through the system because we haven’t seen the number of cases that we anticipated, however—and we are preparing ourselves because we do know that they will go up. So we do feel that we have been working to scale up and are prepared for the cases that may be on the horizon.

Ricardo Menéndez March: Will she consider reintroducing any of the support she provided in 2020 that has now been discontinued—for example, doubling the eligibility of food grants and the winter energy payment—to ensure that people are able to stay safe during a large community outbreak; if not, why not?

💬 Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: We continue to assess the situation and work with people on the ground to determine what is required at any given point in time. In 2020, one of the first actions we took when the pandemic struck was actually to increase benefits. Then we saw those increased again last year and we will see them increased again on 1 April. As I said earlier in my response, we’ve also lifted the thresholds so that more low-income families can access hardship support through MSD. We just continue to monitor the situation and pivot where necessary so we can support the families that need it during this time.

Ricardo Menéndez March: Will she further increase benefits and urgently review Working for Families, given the cost of living for low-income families is rapidly rising at a time when they also need time to self-isolate at home?

💬 Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: I think there’ll be a lot of families out there that are relieved that they have had a Government who have demonstrated that we do care about those that are most vulnerable. We have seen year-on-year increases—2020, 2021, and 2022—and, as has been said a number of times, these are the most significant benefit increases that we have seen in decades. I stand by our Government’s record with regards to prioritising some of the most vulnerable New Zealanders, low-income New Zealanders, and we will continue to respond where we can, when we see that a need needs to be addressed.

Ricardo Menéndez March: How will Work and Income support people who live in overcrowded housing or whose housing situation does not allow them to isolate safely?

💬 Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: With respect to housing, that is the area that is being led by the Ministry of Health with regards to when families are not able to self-isolate safely. So that’s a determination that will not be made by MSD but instead led by the Ministry of Health.

Question No. 4—Finance

4. to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions on inflation?

Yes, in the context in which they were given and undertaken.

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: How could he tell me last week that “the causes of inflation are driven largely by global issues”, when last year domestic inflation grew at a rate of 5.3 percent—not far off the overall inflation rate—and by the end of the year the domestic components were growing faster and higher than the international parts?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Because, for example, the cost of building supplies—that has added to one of the issues that is regarded as non-tradables—is driven significantly by global factors in the supply chain. While the member might want to make those distinctions on an annual or quarterly basis, if he wants to do quarterly, then actually the rate overall is going down, quarter by quarter.

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: Does he accept that a significant and growing chunk of inflation is domestic, and, if not, is the ANZ wrong when it said recently, “The domestic economy is … highly inflationary.”?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: What I accept is that there is a global supply chain issue that is driving some issues in the domestic economy. But if the member wants to provide other evidence of that viewpoint, I could quote Westpac, who said today, talking about annual inflation, “Much of this is a result of offshore factors, including disruptions to global manufacturing chains and increases in international transport costs.”

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: If it’s so international, how does he explain that just across the ditch, Australia’s inflation is 3.5 percent, over 40 percent lower than ours right now?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: If the member wants to get into the most recent statistics there, he should look at the quarterly numbers, which are 1.4 percent and 1.3 percent in the two countries concerned. Inflation is a global issue. I invite the member, if he thinks that the Government is causing specifically inflation by specific spending decisions, to tell us what they are, because so far all we’ve had is cameras on boats.

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: Why last week wouldn’t he accept some Government responsibility for the domestic component of inflation, given that it’s commonly accepted economics that higher public spending at a time when the economy is overheating is inflationary?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As I just said in my last answer, if the member is saying that our spending on the health sector and in supporting New Zealanders through COVID19 is the cause of petrol prices going up, then he’s well outside of the mainstream of economics.

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: Given the growth in domestic inflation and warnings from the like of the OECD—reasonably conservative, I would have thought—and many New Zealand economists, why doesn’t he listen to the likes of Cameron Bagrie, who says, “Now is not the time for a big spending 2022 Budget. It will only add to the excess demand and inflation.”?

💬 Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The Government will continue to invest in the long-term future of New Zealand, because the reason we’ve ended up with an infrastructure deficit, the reason we’ve ended up with a housing crisis, is because that Government takes short-sighted approaches or do-nothing approaches. On this side of the House, we want a functioning health system. I repeat for the member: if he wants to address these issues, tell the New Zealand public what they’re going to get cut. Will it be health, will it be education, will it be housing? We will continue to budget carefully, but we’re not taking the short-sighted approach of the Opposition.

Question No. 5—COVID-19 Response

5. to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: What recent announcements has the Government made in response to the Omicron outbreak?

Yesterday, Cabinet decided that New Zealand will move to phase 2 of our Omicron plan from 11.59 p.m. tonight. We’ve seen Omicron cases grow sharply across the globe, and while its trajectory has been slowed by our border measures and our strong public health measures here in New Zealand—including the traffic light protections and the roll-out of boosters—we are now seeing the increase in numbers that we were ultimately expecting. It’s important to remember that this is what we have planned for. It means that we can move to a phase where we are focusing on greater self-management of most New Zealanders who contract COVID-19 and we’re shifting our systems to focus on those who are likely to get seriously unwell, those who may need more help, and to preserve our hospitals for those who need them.

💬 Sarah Pallett: What are the key changes in phase 2?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The first change is that the period of self-isolation for people who test positive for COVID-19 will reduce from 14 days to 10 days. The period of self-isolation also reduces for their household contacts, meaning 10 days for them as well. That’s a significant change and it helps to ensure that household members only isolate for the period of time of their family member’s 10 days of recovery, unless, of course, they contract COVID-19 themselves. The period of self-isolation for close contacts outside of the household reduces from 10 days to seven days. The other thing that people will notice at phase 2 is the greater use of digitisation and automation to speed up interactions for people with COVID-19. For example, at the start of self-isolation, a case will fill in an online form for themselves and for their household contacts that will help the health service to work out what support they need. This will also require cases to provide their likely close contacts. Close contacts will receive a text message notification and they will then need to isolate for seven days and have a test on day five. This system will be much more automated and digitised than it has been previously, but we will have alternatives in place for those who aren’t able to connect digitally.

💬 Sarah Pallett: How will phase 2 make it easier for businesses and services to continue operating in the face of increased cases and exposures?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: At phase 2, the Close Contact Exemption Scheme will begin. Overseas we’ve seen that large-scale spread of Omicron disrupts supply chains and the ability of critical services to keep functioning at 100 percent. Businesses have already been getting themselves ready by assessing themselves against the criteria needed to join the scheme. We’ve had a total of 5,620 register for it so far. Once a business is signed up to the scheme, an employee who is a close contact without symptoms will be able to go to a provider, such as their local community vaccination clinic, to secure a pack of 10 rapid antigen tests. In some cases, rapid antigen tests are being supplied directly to some of the larger scale critical workforces. We’ve secured enough rapid antigen tests to deal with our immediate needs, with 7.2 million currently in the country and more arriving every week.

💬 Chris Bishop: In relation to what he’s just said around the development of a digitised and automated framework for the recording of rapid antigen test results, has Cabinet authorised the development of that system, and, if so, when did it do so?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: No, Cabinet hasn’t specifically authorised that; that’s something the Ministry of Health have been doing as part of their preparations.

💬 Sarah Pallett: What else can people do to prepare themselves and their households against the spread of Omicron?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Knowing where the virus is remains critically important as we continue in phase 2 to minimise the spread and the disruption to our workforce and to our economy. So, as always, if people have COVID-19 symptoms or they’ve been in touch with someone who has tested positive, we ask them to isolate immediately and get a test. I’d also encourage everyone to be developing a self-isolation plan: identify someone, for example, who can drop off essential items to them if they are at home and required to isolate. Finally, I’d reiterate, again, to everybody, that getting their booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine should be the first thing they do to protect themselves and the vulnerable people who they know from getting the virus. The third dose does clearly make a difference when it comes to dealing with Omicron.

Question No. 6—COVID-19 Response

6. to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Is he satisfied with the supply of and administration of rapid antigen tests in New Zealand as part of New Zealand’s response to Omicron; if not, why not?

In answer to the question of supply, the short answer to that is no. We are dealing with a significant shortage of rapid antigen tests globally, and whilst New Zealand has been able to secure a supply of rapid antigen tests to meet our immediate needs, of course we would like more. In answer to the second part of the question around the administration of rapid antigen tests in New Zealand, the answer to that question is yes. As I’ve just noted, we have at least 7.2 million rapid antigen tests currently in the country. Millions more are arriving each week. Twenty-three million rapid antigen tests have been confirmed for delivery by the end of this month. More than 50 million tests have been confirmed for delivery in March. Over 100 million more are on order to the end of June. A national distribution model for rapid tests has also been developed, meaning an estimated 3.1 million tests have been distributed across the country already, in preparation for phase 2. As we move into this new phase, we know that rapid antigen tests will be used more widely, and they’ll be a very important tool in our response to Omicron. However, it is important to note that they are not a silver bullet, and we will continue to take a considered and science-based approach towards our use of these tests to ensure that our response is fit for purpose.

💬 Chris Bishop: Why are only businesses and their workers deemed critical allowed to use rapid antigen testing as part of the Close Contact Exemption Scheme, and why can’t all businesses use the scheme to get their workers back to work?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: In an environment where the international supply of rapid antigen tests is constrained, the Government wants to make sure that our most critical businesses—the ones we rely on for our food, and in order to keep our essential utilities operating—are able to access them. Businesses who can source rapid antigen tests themselves are, of course, able to use them. But like the Government, they are also finding that the international supply of those is quite constrained.

💬 Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern: Can the Minister confirm that the Close Contact Exemption Scheme allows a worker to continue working despite having a household member who has COVID-19, and the likelihood of contracting COVID in that situation is over 30 percent, therefore deeming it to be an exemption regime rather than one that is used as commonplace?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Yes—absolutely. We want people who have been close contacts with people who have COVID-19 to be isolating unless there is a very, very good reason for them not to. In fact, in the conversations that I’ve had with many businesses, what they wanted from the Government was a supply of rapid antigen tests to do surveillance testing of their workforce—not to test people so that they could go back to work if they are a close contact—and when it is made clear to them that the testing that we are supplying is for close contacts to go back to work, in fact, many of them have indicated they don’t want to participate in that scheme unless they absolutely have to, because they want to protect their other workers in the workforce and reduce the risk of them also having to stay home because they end up getting COVID-19.

Brooke van Velden: Does he believe that wider availability of rapid antigen tests could avoid situations like a single case in Queenstown forcing 51 staff across nine businesses to isolate?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Without knowing the details of exactly what the requirement for isolation is and what the risk profile of that is, it would be unwise to venture an opinion on that. In terms of the use of rapid antigen tests, yes, I think we will see a much wider use of rapid antigen tests, particularly for surveillance testing, and where businesses are able to—

💬 Chris Bishop: If they can get them.

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: —access those—if they can get them, of course. But at the moment, there is a very limited supply available to anybody in New Zealand.

Brooke van Velden: Does he agree that a sensible policy would allow all people to leave self-isolation if they test negative?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Not necessarily. It’s important to remember that some of the rapid antigen tests that we have—the lowest level of efficacy that we’ve approved in New Zealand is an 80 percent efficacy rate for rapid antigen tests. That means that some of those tests still have a one in five chance of missing somebody who has COVID-19. Therefore, the reason that we are saying at the moment that to leave self-isolation, it should only be in the case of people who are absolutely critical to keep those supply lines open, to keep those utilities functioning, and so on—it is because we want to reduce the risk of them passing on COVID-19 to others.

💬 Chris Bishop: In relation to his first supplementary answer, is he saying that if more rapid antigen tests were available—in other words, supply was not constrained—the Government would open up the Close Contact Exemption Scheme to all businesses who are not just critical?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: No, that’s not what I’ve said. To be clear here: the Close Contact Exemption Scheme is about allowing people who could have COVID-19 and who could have contracted COVID-19 from a close contact to still be able to go back to work in order to keep supply lines open and in order to keep the lights on. In terms of surveillance testing, that is a matter for businesses. If they can secure supplies of rapid antigen tests to provide some additional assurance, then of course they would be able to do that.

💬 Chris Bishop: Does he agree with the comments of the Prime Minister yesterday that “wait times increase or processing increase for PCR, we are all ready to go with rapid antigen tests to supplement that”—

💬 Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern: Yes.

💬 Chris Bishop: —oh, that’s good know; thanks for that—and when will rapid tests be available for ordinary members of the public to access who are currently lining up in testing queues for hours?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: We are intending to supplement PCR tests with rapid antigen testing. That’ll of course depend on the overall level of demand and the need to get timely test results. Of course, PCR tests are more accurate and, therefore, we will be still making extensive use of PCR tests, but they will be supplemented with rapid antigen tests.

💬 Chris Bishop: Why does a critical worker who wants a rapid test have to provide an order number, two separate letters, two forms of ID, their vaccine pass, and a text message before they can go and get a rapid test, and can this bureaucracy really be—

💬 Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern: That is not true.

💬 Chris Bishop: —it is true—and can this—[Interruption] What, Mr Speaker?

💬 SPEAKER: Well, does the member want to talk to his colleague who also interjected? Well, it might have been a laugh, but it was a very loud noise while the member was talking.

💬 Chris Bishop: I’ll start again—

💬 SPEAKER: Prime Minister, no matter how provoked, I’d prefer that you didn’t interject. Thank you.

💬 Chris Bishop: Why does a critical worker who wants a rapid test have to provide an order number, two separate letters, two forms of ID, their vaccine pass, and a text message before they can go and get a rapid test, and can this bureaucracy really be justified?

💬 Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I reject the premise of the member’s question. As I indicated in my answer earlier: in fact, some of those businesses have been given rapid antigen tests in advance so that they are available to their workers when they need them.

Question No. 7—Health

7. to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has he made about influenza vaccines?

Last week, I announced that the Government will fund a quarter of a million more free flu vaccines for this year’s winter campaign to protect our most vulnerable communities and the health system. The efforts of all of us so far have helped prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed with COVID-19 but we know as we prepare to reconnect to the world that we can expect to see more seasonal flu in New Zealand. As a result of funding these additional flu doses, up to 2 million New Zealanders will be eligible for a free flu vaccination in 2022. Vaccinating more people from the flu will save lives, preserve capacity in our hospitals, and is part of our plan to get through the COVID-19 pandemic. The good news is the flu vaccine can be safely administered at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccine, whether that be a booster shot or a paediatric vaccine, so we’ll run this campaign alongside the wider COVID-19 vaccine campaign, such as the paediatric and booster vaccinations, to better protect our vulnerable communities from preventable disease.

💬 Tangi Utikere: What are the priorities in delivering this increased funding?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: We know that the 2022 influenza season will likely have a greater health impact than the previous two years and by increasing influenza vaccination rates alongside our wider COVID-19 vaccination programme, we will protect our most vulnerable communities from vaccine-preventable diseases. This is particularly important for Māori and Pacific populations who have greater need because of statistically higher rates of pre-existing conditions and routinely lower rates of influenza vaccinations across those groups.

💬 Tangi Utikere: When will vaccinations using this funding begin?

💬 Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The influenza vaccination programme will begin on 1 April this year. Ahead of this, officials at the Ministry of Health and Pharmac are confirming the enhanced eligibility criteria for a free flu vaccination with a focus on increasing uptake for those already eligible for the influenza vaccination as well as those at risk. We wanted to maximise uptake by those who are already eligible for a free dose, which means that they will be available for pregnant women, people over the age of 65, and people who have certain medical conditions, including those with cancer and diabetes. I want to remind everyone that while they can get their COVID-19 vaccinations at the same time as their influenza vaccine, the best thing they can do to keep themselves and their family and their community safe is to get vaccinated or boosted against COVID19 as soon as possible.

Question No. 8—Immigration

8. to the Minister of Immigration: Does he stand by all his statements and actions on immigration?

Yes, in the context they were made and undertaken. In particular I stand by the Government’s reconnecting plan, which will drive our economic recovery, address worker shortages, and give businesses and migrants certainty. As we move into our plan to reconnect, we are safely opening the border and it will allow Kiwis, migrants, and businesses to travel to New Zealand in a way that manages public health, economic, and community needs. We have also provided certainty to thousands of migrants who are in New Zealand through the creation of the 2021 resident visa. We estimate that 165,000 people will be eligible, who have lived in New Zealand for the last three years, who work in skilled or scarce jobs. I am pleased to report that phase one of the roll-out of this visa is tracking on schedule, with over 13,000 applications of the forecast 15,000 applications having been received, and nearly 6,000 applications approved, meaning there are a little over 11,000 new New Zealand residents. Phase two begins on 1 March, when the balance of the 85,000 applications will be able to apply.

💬 Erica Stanford: Can he explain why it took him nearly six weeks to amend immigration instructions to add the 200 agricultural machinery operators that the Hon Minister O’Connor announced on 12 December last year?

💬 Hon KRIS FAAFOI: I would challenge the timing that that member suggests around those instructions to ensure that those farm workers and rural contractors could come into the country.

💬 Erica Stanford: Is the Minister of Immigration saying to this House that he didn’t amend the instructions on 21 January this year?

💬 Hon KRIS FAAFOI: I believe that that date is wrong.

💬 Erica Stanford: Can the Minister explain why when he announced a similar border exception for horticultural machinery operators in September 2020, immigration instructions were amended six days later, when it took him six weeks to amend the immigration instructions this time around?

💬 Hon KRIS FAAFOI: The ability of the Government and Immigration to change instructions depends on the nature and capacity or the number of changes we are making. I’d also note that we met with the rural contractors last year asking when those instructions needed to be in place by. They said by February, and they were done by February, in order to allow those workers to come into the country.

💬 Erica Stanford: Does he think there might be a connection between him taking six weeks to sign off the instructions and 150 of the 190 interested contractors pulling out of the process because they couldn’t get a visa in time for the harvest?

💬 Hon KRIS FAAFOI: No.

Ricardo Menéndez March: Does he agree the border reopening plan should be equitable, and, if so, will we see tourists from places like the UK being able to arrive before families from places like India are reunited?

💬 Hon KRIS FAAFOI: When the Government announced its reconnecting plan, we said we’d take a managed process to opening the border. As you will see from step one through to step five, we are managing the capacity of the border in order to make sure that we can manage public health risk, and also to let the likes of working holiday visas into the country via step two, in order for businesses who would like for wider travellers to come to New Zealand to be able to be ready for that.

💬 Erica Stanford: Did the Hon Damien O’Connor or his office make any contact with him or his office requesting that the immigration instructions be expedited due to the urgent need for these rural contractors to harvest grains for food production?

💬 Hon KRIS FAAFOI: I have a number of regular conversations with my colleague the Hon Damien O’Connor, where he uses some very frank language about the time frames in which he would like things to happen.

💬 Erica Stanford: Why did he amend the immigration instructions on 21 January, or thereabouts, the very same time that was the cut-off for applying for time-critical managed and isolation quarantine (MIQ) spots, meaning none of the contractors applying for visas were able to apply for time-critical MIQ spaces to get them here in time for the harvest?

💬 Hon KRIS FAAFOI: I will reiterate: I signed those instructions off soon after they were forwarded to me and they were done in a time frame which we understood would be suitable for the rural contractors, after we met with them late last year.

💬 Erica Stanford: Supplementary.

💬 SPEAKER: No, no, the party has used its allocation.

Question No. 9—Prime Minister

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

Yes. In particular, I stand by our ongoing management of this pandemic. Our focus on public health measures and a strong vaccination campaign has meant less disruption to the economy and less disruption for New Zealanders. For the past two years, our strategy has worked but we’ve always been clear that the restrictions sat in place aren’t for ever. Like we did with lockdowns and like we are doing with border when the time is right and we’re able, we’ll adjust the settings accordingly—but obviously that time isn’t right now. All the evidence over the past two years has unequivocally demonstrated that our public health measures are the best way to ensure that we have a strong economic response as well.

Brooke van Velden: Does she accept the Government’s policy of vaccine mandates is causing significant division and disruption, and, if so, is she open to alternatives?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I think it’s worth canvassing briefly where we have applied mandates, because we have been judicious in their use. Obviously, as Delta hit us, we wanted to make sure that anyone who was vulnerable who was accessing health services could be assured that, for instance, they wouldn’t risk being exposed to an unvaccinated worker. In education, parents were rightly raising concerns that at that time their children were unable to be vaccinated and their desire for that education workforce to be vaccinated. Likewise, the police expressly asked we consider a mandate that applied to them and the Defence Force, of course, to ensure that when they are in the likes of Tonga that they don’t represent an added danger. Otherwise, many of the mandates that I’ve heard raised by those externally who take issue with them are often referencing a decision made by an employer—a private employer—rather than a Government mandate. But, to finally round out, every time we’ve made that decision, it has been very carefully considered and we’ve done it to protect New Zealanders. I imagine, that had we not taken steps to look after New Zealanders’ health, we would not only have those raising those concerns possibly in a public way, but we would have a death count that mirrored it as well.

Brooke van Velden: Would she consider a vaccinate-or-test rule, as applies to people flying domestically on Air New Zealand, to replace the vaccine-only requirement, or allowing businesses to set their own rules on their own property, as suggested by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I’m not quite clear on whether or not the member is referring to it in situations where employees are covered by a mandate, which is put in place by their employer, or whether the member is speaking to vaccine passes. I’ll defer to the former; there I would, again, reiterate that where many workplaces have put in place mandates, it has been at their discretion and their decision. I’d be surprised if the member was advocating that we expressly remove the right of a private enterprise to undertake a policy that essentially would be their own decision, not one for Government.

Brooke van Velden: If a test-to-work rule is OK for workers in critical industries, why can it not be used by other workers?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I would point out that the test-to-work regime that allows you to not be the subject of our usual isolation requirements only apply to vaccinated workers. The other point that I’d really like to take the opportunity to make: firstly, there have been a number of countries—I’ll make an assumption that member might be talking now about vaccine passes, but excuse me if I’ve misinterpreted the question. There were countries that originally did use either a vaccine pass or someone showing that they had been tested within the previous 72 hours. Most of the countries that did that dropped the testing element, demonstrating that it wasn’t working from a policy perspective, and we had that insight when we made our own decisions. Instead, we created a COVID-19 Protection Framework that—for the most part, the most part—does give businesses the opportunity to operate differently, should they not wish to use vaccine passes.

Brooke van Velden: Does she stand by her statement from yesterday that “I’m not here to pass judgement” in relation to the way that the Speaker turned sprinklers and loud music on the protestors outside Parliament?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: That was a reference to the fact that obviously the Speaker has jurisdiction over this place and these grounds on behalf of all parliamentarians, so it’s therefore not for me to speak on those matters.

Brooke van Velden: What communications, if any, did she or her office have with the Speaker on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday about his actions in response to the protests?

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As the member will be aware, there have been communications with other leaders in this House to ensure we are kept briefed on the situation that exists on our forecourt. So I imagine that I’ve had contact in the same way that other leaders have been briefed on what’s going on.

Brooke van Velden: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I’m not sure the Prime Minister addressed that question. It was specific about the Prime Minister’s communication with the Speaker, not—

💬 SPEAKER: Well I think the Prime Minister indicated that she had.

Brooke van Velden: Did the Speaker inform her of the way he was planning to turn the sprinklers on or play loud music to drive protestors away; if so, did she raise any concerns with him about that.

💬 Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Firstly, I would acknowledge that my communication with the Speaker is as leader of the Labour Party, in the same way that the Speaker’s communication with Mr Luxon would be as leader of the National Party and with Mr Seymour as leader of ACT. The actions that the Speaker takes is entirely at his discretion and his decision. What I am aware of is that the Speaker has ensured that he’s been in close contact with the police throughout this period, as you’d expect. That is a much more important set of dialogue, between the Speaker and police, than it would be between the Speaker and myself as leader of the Labour Party.

Question No. 10—Workplace Relations and Safety

10. to the Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety: What recent announcements has he made about increasing wages for New Zealand’s lowest-paid workers?

Our Government is raising the minimum wage to $21.20 per hour from 1 April. We recognise that many New Zealanders who earn the minimum wage have been vital to our successful COVID-19 response and we’re committed to supporting them by raising their wages as we continue to recover and rebuild from the pandemic. We’ve settled on a minimum wage rate that strikes a fair balance to ensure that working people’s pay increases in a sustainable way, knowing that our low-income earners will spend their wages back in their local communities with local businesses.

💬 Camilla Belich: How many people will the minimum wage increase benefit?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: Raising the minimum wage this year will lift the incomes of approximately 300,000 New Zealanders, particularly helping many households that have been the most impacted by the ongoing impacts of COVID-19. For someone working a 40-hour week on the minimum wage, the increase will see them earning an extra $48 a week gross, approximately $2,500 per year. We also know that increasing the minimum wage stimulates local economic activity as people will spend the extra money on goods and services which, in turn, helps to support businesses. This will further help to accelerate our economic recovery.

💬 Camilla Belich: What response has he seen to this announcement?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: This announcement was welcomed by the Council of Trade Unions’ president Richard Wagstaff, who said, “There’s never been a better time to increase the minimum wage. Despite suggestions to the contrary, international and New Zealand evidence suggests that increasing the minimum wage does not increase unemployment.” I’m also very pleased to see support from the Opposition, with Nicola Willis confirming that National supports the Government’s minimum wage increase, saying “It is wrong to characterise National as opposing the minimum wage increase.” It’s good to see strong bipartisan support for increasing the wages for working people, who have been absolutely essential to our COVID-19 response.

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: Supplementary?

💬 SPEAKER: No, the member’s party has used all its supplementaries.

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: Oh, a point of order. I seek leave of the House, for a supplementary.

💬 SPEAKER: What, to ask a supplementary?

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: Yeah.

💬 SPEAKER: Is there any objection to the Hon Mr Bridges asking a supplementary? There appears to be none.

💬 Hon Simon Bridges: What was the reaction of Business New Zealand and the Employers and Manufacturers Association to the minimum wage announcement?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: As there always is with minimum wage announcements, there were a range of responses, and I can confirm that the responses from those organisations were consistent with their responses in 2020 when they stated that it would likely lead to a loss of jobs, when in fact we got unemployment down to a record low 3.2 percent, and I’m confident we’ll continue that strong record this year.

💬 Hon Grant Robertson: Supplementary question?

💬 SPEAKER: The member can’t seek leave for the member to have—

💬 Hon Grant Robertson: For me, yeah.

💬 SPEAKER: Oh, for yourself. Right, OK.

💬 Hon Grant Robertson: He’s dug his own grave. I’m ready to go. On the subject of consistency of responses, can the Minister confirm that Nicola Willis’ support for the minimum wage increase was not matched by Simon Bridges, who seems to oppose it?

💬 Hon MICHAEL WOOD: Mr Speaker—

💬 SPEAKER: No, no. No, no. I think there’s a matter of responsibility in that and that’s not an area that this Minister is responsible for. And I’ll just say to the Deputy Prime Minister, I think he knew that—I think he knew that. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt this time but next time he’ll be apologising.

Question No. 11—Health

11. to the Associate Minister of Health: What progress has been made on the booster roll-out in aged residential care facilities?

The most important thing anyone, including seniors, can do to protect themselves and their loved ones is get boosted. We know that older people living in aged residential care are among our most vulnerable, and we’ve seen overseas what can happen when COVID-19 gets established in facilities with low vaccination coverage. That’s why it’s been so important to use the time that our border protections and contact tracing has brought us to complete the booster roll-out in all aged-care facilities around New Zealand. I want to thank the vaccinators, aged-care providers, and the staff that have worked so hard to ensure the smooth delivery of the booster programme.

Tāmati Coffey: What other measures are in place in aged residential care to help protect residents and staff?

💬 Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL: Everyone in the aged-care sector is committed to protecting residents and staff. The Ministry of Health is working with providers to ensure infection prevention and control is of the highest standard. In addition to boosters and the supply and use of appropriate personal protective equipment, we are also strengthening testing of staff in aged residential care. As part two of our Omicron health response, anyone working or living in these facilities with symptoms will be prioritised for a PCR test to protect these residents at the highest risk. On top of that, aged residential care facilities will be able to test asymptomatic visitors using rapid antigen tests.

Tāmati Coffey: What progress has been made delivering booster shots to the wider over-65 population?

💬 Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL: Vaccination rates for older New Zealanders have been one of the success stories of our COVID response: 99 percent of people over the age of 65 are fully vaccinated, and more than 85 percent have now been boosted. We know that getting a booster shot is the best defence against Omicron, so I urge anyone who is eligible for a booster but hasn’t got around to it yet to take the time to head out to one of the hundreds of vaccination sites up and down the country and get boosted.