4. Question No. 4—Prime MinisterDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 4—Prime Minister4. DAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement that Inequality has progressed almost as rapidly as development"?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): Yes I stand by my full statement which was made at a United Nations - related event in September 2019 where I was talking about the global context. The full statement was: "The world has changed immeasurably since then. … Inequality has progressed almost as rapidly as development. But thankfully some values endure. In Aotearoa New Zealand we have always tried to look out for each other and do [the] right [thing] by one another. Our track record of striving for equality and our values of compassion and fairness are sources of national pride. But that hasn't always translated into the progress and gains we need."David Seymour: Does she agree with the statement of Jacinda Ardern that 40 percent of New Zealanders having 3 percent of the country's wealth is a "marker of political failure"?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I would refer to the fact that even as an international community within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals there is specifically a reference to trying to see a greater speed of growth in the incomes for those who are on the lowest 40 percent and whilst we want to see growth in people's incomes generally we need to see more rapid growth at that end if we are able to do something about inequality. In New Zealand we haven't seen the same pace of growth in that lower quartile and that's been a consistent issue for a number of years. It's something traversed and picked up on by Bryan Perry in our household income surveys. It's something that we continue as a Government to try and address.David Seymour: What then does it say about her Government that under its time wealth inequality has increased and now 50 percent of New Zealanders hold just 2 percent of assets according to the latest household economic survey?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Whether or not you look at for instance what we're trying to do in the housing market or whether or not you look at even things like the reason that we were so focused in our recently released pay guidance to lift those who are on the lowest incomes at a faster rate—that is all about the work we're trying to do to deal with inequality in New Zealand. No one on this side of the House is sitting on our laurels saying that we have made all of the progress needed. Our view is we haven't. As I've said that has been a consistent problem right through from the 1980s through to more recently. So it is something that we are working hard to address.David Seymour: Can the Prime Minister tell the House and the people of New Zealand when her policies will start working to reverse the growing wealth inequality under her Government?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Well I would point to the child poverty indicators which are an indication of both relative poverty and also inequality because they are measures by and large of the number of people living on 50 percent or less of the median income in New Zealand. And we have seen against our baselines a decline in poverty across those nine measures. It hasn't been at the pace that we would like but we are starting to see the difference our policies are making. Our view is we just need to keep going.David Seymour: Does she accept that many middle-income New Zealanders are feeling squeezed; and will Budget 2021 provide any tax relief to those who rely on earning money to provide for themselves and their families?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: To that I would say the Budget is tomorrow and people will make their own assessments."