1. Question No. 1—Prime MinisterHon JUDITH COLLINS (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Prime Minister1. Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's statements and actions? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): Yes. In particular I stand by the Government's COVID-19 vaccination programme that today has reached two important milestones: 80 percent of eligible Aucklanders have now received at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine and nationally 75 percent of eligible New Zealanders have received at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine. That's fantastic progress but the job isn't finished. If you still haven't received your first dose go out and get it today. If that one in four of us who hasn't had their first dose is a friend or whānau member talk to them today. Just like we all stayed at home to save lives now is the time to get vaccinated and save lives. Hon Judith Collins: Why was $12 billion of the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund spend on projects unrelated to COVID? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I would reject the premise of that question. Hon Judith Collins: Well what did the three waters policy—allocated $710 million from the COVID response and recovery fund—have to do with COVID? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: We were very clear that the COVID response and recovery fund was about both the direct response as in for instance health measures and economic recovery so there were absolutely—and we stand by it—projects that were contained within the COVID response and recovery fund to help industries either recover from the economic impacts of COVID or to create jobs. We know that the $750 million that went in there was around infrastructure projects which would help create jobs across New Zealand and also have the dual benefit of improving our water infrastructure. Hon Chris Hipkins: Can the Prime Minister confirm that billions of dollars in wage subsidies went to businesses who are operating in areas that have nothing to do with COVID-19? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Absolutely because our response to COVID has always been about yes the immediate health effects but also the economic impact of COVID and the member makes the point rightly that therefore the COVID response and recovery fund was about acknowledging that across the country the economic impacts of COVID were felt. If the members may choose to listen to the answer they'll hear that our response through the COVID response and recovery fund was much more directly targeted than that member's proposal to fund roads from the COVID response and recovery fund. Hon Judith Collins: Well why did spending $26000 on a novel about alpaca breeders have to do with COVID? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: If the member could repeat the question? Hon Judith Collins: Very happy to thank you. What did spending $26000 on a novel about alpaca breeders have to do with COVID? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Let me explain the somewhat convoluted assumption the member has made here: the member seems to be attacking the fact that we have funded Creative New Zealand. Creative New Zealand determine the projects they fund. What we determined was—and rightly so—the creative sector was at the front line and continues to bear the brunt of COVID. When you shut down the ability for live performances and for people to gather the events sector the hospitality sector and the creative sector are hit hard. So I stand by the fact that we supported Creative New Zealand to continue to support our creatives. Hon James Shaw: What did the wage subsidy to the Taxpayers' Union have to do with COVID-19? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The member makes a very good point. We had a broad wage subsidy that enabled those who determined that their revenue was impacted by COVID to be supported. It's up to each of those organisations within a high-trust model to demonstrate they were indeed eligible for it. Hon Judith Collins: How does she justify spending an annual increase of $7 million from the COVID fund on Radio New Zealand?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: In the way that I've already explained all the way through this answer: because the impacts of COVID on a range of industries were significant. If the member is now making an accusation that we should not continue to fund our creative or our broadcasters then that is the member's prerogative.Hon Judith Collins: Since Radio New Zealand doesn't receive advertising dollars how could it have lost any advertising or income with COVID?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: That wasn't my claim.Hon Grant Robertson: Has the Prime Minister seen reports of proposals to spend the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund on untargeted tax cuts and what does she make of that?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Yes and I also saw proposals during the election campaign that would have seen a significant portion if not all of it spent on roading projects. The member can absolutely make her own judgment on whether or not she considers the projects we funded to be about an economic recovery from the impacts of COVID-19. But it would be somewhat—words that are unparliamentary—to make that claim when the member's very own party policy was actually much worse in that regard because they did not respond to the economic recovery from COVID-19.Hon Judith Collins: How much if any of the COVID fund has been spent on increasing intensive care capacity in New Zealand hospitals?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The member will appreciate that I won't be able to give a line by line if the member chooses not to put questions on notice which I always encourage you to do because I am very keen to be as fulsome in my answers as I can. But if she chooses to ask general questions I'm somewhat limited on my line-by-line recall. What I can say is that we did fund in the Budget training capacity because that is one of the issues. It's not just about physical infrastructure or access to ventilators which were vastly increased during the first outbreak that we had in New Zealand. It's the ability to put staffing around those intensive needs in either high dependency units or ICUs. So we provided funding for DHBs to undertake that training for their staff to enable greater capacity alongside the hundreds of additional ventilators that were purchased as well.Hon Judith Collins: Will she commit to spending at least some of the extra $7 billion allocated to the COVID fund on providing relief to struggling Auckland businesses to cover their rental costs?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The way the member has presented the question almost implies that that hasn't been the focus of the funding as it is. We've had for instance under the wage subsidy scheme $2.3 billion supporting over 300000 applicants and businesses. For the resurgence support payment—and I highlight again for the member: the resurgence support payment is available for paying fixed costs like for rents or anything else the business determines it to be for. First payment 134000 businesses received over half a billion dollars and the second payment 23000 businesses received $138 million and we've committed to continuing that on a three-weekly basis. It does support fixed costs. I can't tell you how many businesses solely used it on rentals. That is a decision for them.