1. Question No. 1—Prime MinisterHon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Prime Minister1. Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's statements and actions?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): Yes particularly the proactive work we are undertaking in response to COVID-19. As has already been referenced in opening statements we have already in terms of the economic impacts of COVID-19 and following feedback from the business community and the union movement required that Government agencies pay their bills within 10 working days. We've already decided to remove the stand-down period for those who have lost their jobs in applying for benefits. We've expanded the regional business partner programme deployed the Ministry of Social Development's rapid response teams and put in support for the tourism industry. Yesterday we confirmed that we will also issue a business continuity package next week. It will include a targeted wage subsidy scheme for those most affected sectors as well as training and redeployment for affected workers and we are working with banks on future working capital to support those with temporary credit constraints. I do want to acknowledge that actually relative to many other economies that are affected by COVID-19 we are amongst a very few who are working on an economic response. There is not yet one from the UK from the United States or from Canada and when we see Australia's package I anticipate there will be a heavy focus on infrastructure which of course this Government has already put in place.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she agree with the Bank of New Zealand that New Zealand is heading for a recession this year?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: We have not received advice suggesting that from Treasury. But I do agree with the Bank of New Zealand's Stephen Toplis who said this morning that this is a global issue and we should be targeted in our approach and not put in place blanket responses which is exactly what we as a Government are developing.Hon Simon Bridges: So is the position that Treasury has not advised the Government at all on the likelihood of recession this year?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I am reporting to the House that Treasury has not given us advice of that nature.Hon Simon Bridges: Is she going to ask them for advice?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Of course we've received advice on the economic position of New Zealand currently and going forward. The member already knows that we've already reflected the likely impact on GDP putting us in the position in the future to sit around between 2 and potentially 2.5 percent going forward. But we have not received that advice. The member seems disappointed at that reality but that is not advice that has been received. Regardless of whether we've received that advice or not we are preparing. We are putting in place what is required to make sure that we maintain cash flow for businesses and that they are able to maintain their employees. That is where this Government's focus should be. And also the member will be receiving his own briefing from Treasury today.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Where in the world would it be a normal for a Prime Minister to ring up the head of Treasury and ask for advice that the economy which the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance are running is heading for a recession—unless of course it was a National Party in charge at the time?SPEAKER: Order! There is a very small part of that question which the Prime Minister can answer. It's in the first part.Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I've already said we have not received that advice.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she not want to know from her Treasury where the New Zealand economy—[Interruption] well she can laugh but I'm asking the question—is heading this year?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: They have said it is not. They are free to give us advice at any time. The point that I am making here is that whilst Treasury have not predicted we are planning regardless. We are getting ahead of the impacts by putting in place a package to support the business community and our employers and our employees. That is our responsibility and we take it seriously.Hon Simon Bridges: What's Treasury's most recent advice on GDP this year?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I reported to this House their predictions are similar to what we've seen in some of the public commentary: that it would be in the future an impact resulting in between 2 percent and 2.5 percent from memory—so an impact similar to what some of the economists have said. But this is one point in time. This is a global situation that is evolving and I expect that some of the advice we will get will evolve. Regardless we need to prepare ourselves and prepare our economy and we are.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she agree with Sharon Zollner chief economist at the ANZ who has said At a time when businesses are very nervous putting this year's minimum wage rises on hold would support employment and better social outcomes"; and if not why not?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Our focus has to be on supporting businesses who are directly affected. That is why we are developing a targeted response through things like wage subsidies rather than what the BNZ has said: not putting in place a blanket response. The lowest-paid workers should not have to pay for the impacts of COVID-19—first point. Second point: actually the group that pays the minimum wage the most are our large employers not our small ones. Third point: the minimum wage has a stimulatory effect. The more the low-income workers have in their pockets the more they spend which is exactly what the economy needs. And fourth point: that Opposition has said we need to support workers and their families; cutting their wages is not the way to do that.Hon Simon Bridges: Does the Prime Minister understand that if she doesn't change the minimum wage the most vulnerable workers will pay for it on the dole languishing there for a very long time indeed?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The member seems to be suggesting that we should remove the increase in wages for every single minimum wage employee in New Zealand. That would affect 200000 workers. That would mean less money going into the economy. Instead to keep those people in jobs we are working on a wage subsidy to do just that without having a blanket hit to every single low-income worker in New Zealand.Hon Shane Jones: Does she agree with the words of encouragement from the Hon David Bennett that the community should be out panic buying or in his case for toilet paper?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I've seen a number of comments that I do not think have supported a sensible rational response at a time when we need our community leaders to take a responsible approach. [Interruption]SPEAKER: Order! The member asked the question. He should be quiet enough to listen to the answer instead of trying to drown it out.Hon Simon Bridges: What advice has she received on the number of job losses from the minimum wage increase on 1 April?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Every single time we do an increase in the minimum wage from the time that we were last in Government to now we have received such advice and I again remind the member that every time we have done that we have had jobs go up and unemployment go down. Now actually the final point I want to make: when we were last in the global financial crisis we had a National Party in New Zealand who was focused on supporting the lowest-paid workers and taking what was called the "sharp edges" off the recession; now we have an Opposition who would rather have low-paid workers suffer. That is not the way to deal with this. We instead can support employers directly to stay in work and to have decent wages while they're there.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she accept that increasing the minimum wage on 1 April will increase the number of people who will lose their jobs in this country?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: That is exactly what the business continuity package we are designing is designed to prevent.Hon Simon Bridges: Has the advice on the number of job losses from the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment at 6500 as a result of the minimum wage increase on 1 April been updated to reflect the additional impact of coronavirus and therefore the increase in those job losses?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: That assumes that advice is correct. I remind the member that we have presided over some of the lowest unemployment rates in a decade all the while increasing the wages of New Zealand—first point. Second point: 40 percent of businesses who rely on the minimum wage are large organisations; half of them are small businesses. So you do a disservice to those small businesses who are paying wages above minimum wage. Finally there is a stimulatory effect as a result of minimum wages which is exactly what we need."