Oral Questions

1. to the Minister for Economic Growth: What recent reports has she seen on exporters’ access to United States markets?

The Government welcomes the United States’ decision this week to remove the additional tariffs that had been applied to a range of New Zealand agricultural products, including beef, offal, and kiwifruit. These products represent around 25 percent of our exports to the United States, worth approximately $2.21 billion a year. The removal of these tariffs restores pre - liberation day access for exporters and provides some relief for farmers, processors, and rural communities, and the jobs that they support. This is a positive step in the right direction for free and competitive trade.

Suze Redmayne: How will this benefit New Zealand exporters?

Hon NICOLA WILLIS: The removal of the additional 10 to 15 percent tariffs is expected to save New Zealand exporters around $330 million in duty costs per year. That, of course, represents a meaningful boost for our agricultural sector, particularly beef, offal, and kiwifruit producers, helping strengthen export revenues at a time when international conditions remain challenging. This also contributes to New Zealand’s wider economic recovery, improving cash flow for exporters that underpin jobs and boost regional incomes.

Suze Redmayne: What has industry said about this change?

Hon NICOLA WILLIS: Well, removing the additional tariffs lowers costs for exporters and strengthens New Zealand’s competitiveness in one of our most important markets. Industry has welcomed the decision. Beef + Lamb New Zealand says, “This returns us to a level playing field.”, while the Meat Industry Association of New Zealand notes that “With US production at 70-year lows, New Zealand’s high-quality, safe food and fibre products are needed in that market. This announcement is welcomed and supports our export-led recovery, allowing New Zealand food exporters to compete and contribute fully to a stronger, more resilient New Zealand economy.”

Suze Redmayne: What other actions is the Government taking to increase trade opportunities for New Zealand?

Hon NICOLA WILLIS: New Zealand is a trading nation, and this Government set the ambitious target of doubling the value of our exports in 10 years. To progress that, we have expanded work with Gulf partners through the United Arab Emirates and New Zealand Gulf Cooperation Council agreements; launched and progressed free-trade agreement negotiations with India; expanded cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations; and reduced non-tariff barriers through regulatory alignment, digital trade tools like e-certification, and targeted market access work across agencies. Together, these steps support more predictable access, lower compliance costs, and stronger export-led growth.

Question No. 2—Health

2. to the Associate Minister of Health: What recent data has she seen about smoking rates in New Zealand?

This morning, results from the New Zealand health survey on smoking rates between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025 were released. While it’s encouraging to see the daily smoking rate across all populations decreased slightly to 6.8 percent, it’s even more encouraging to see that fewer Pasifika are smoking and that the smoking rate for 15- to 24-year-olds is 3.2 percent, down from 19.1 percent when the survey started 13 years ago.

Jamie Arbuckle: What do the results tell us about current smokers?

Hon CASEY COSTELLO: At the broadest level, smoking rates for those aged between 45 and 64 remain persistently high. While Health New Zealand and stop-smoking services have worked to refocus their efforts on this demographic, it takes time to shift the behaviour of people who have been lifelong smokers. The data also show that continued focus is needed to reduce Māori and Pasifika smoking rates, which remain higher than population-wide. To be clear, Health New Zealand and stop-smoking providers continue to work incredibly hard to reach into communities to support those who smoke to quit, through whatever tools work for them, whether it’s gum, lozenges, patches, or vapes.

Jamie Arbuckle: Supplementary. [Interruption]

SPEAKER: Just wait a minute.

Jamie Arbuckle: What other trends do the data show?

Hon CASEY COSTELLO: I’m particularly interested in digging further into what’s driving a growing gender gap in smoking rates. Smoking rates for women have been noticeably decreasing more quickly than those for men. We’re also seeing a slower but steady growth in Asian smoking rates, which had previously been amongst our lowest smokers. While these trends highlight the need for us to remain agile in how we target our efforts to reduce smoking rates, what we can’t lose sight of is the tremendous progress that’s been made: we have 280,000 fewer smokers than we did 13 years ago.

Jamie Arbuckle: What are the next steps she is considering?

Hon CASEY COSTELLO: As I’ve alluded to, I want to ensure we’re making the best use of our resources, and this includes how best to target the people who are actually smoking. Thankfully, we know young people aren’t taking it up. What we need to focus on is how to shift older smokers, connect with Māori and Pasifika smokers, and reduce the gap between males and females. In addition, I’m considering further regulatory changes that will ensure we have a regime that reflects the harm of products and has appropriate controls on the market. These changes will be informed by recommendations from the Ministry of Health smoke-free advisory group.

Rt Hon Winston Peters: Has she seen that due to the success of this programme, there is less tax coming into the Treasury of $200 million; and is that going to the tobacco companies, or is the explanation behind that that someone who says that is an economic moron? [Interruption]

SPEAKER: That’ll do—that’s enough. A very brief answer.

Hon CASEY COSTELLO: Yes, we can confirm that there are no tax breaks, for those who understand the economy. This is about a budget for reduced revenue.

Before I call the next question, I’ll just go back to the drill sheet for a Government motion that I understand was circulated to the House.

Question time interrupted.