3. Question No. 3—Prime MinisterDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 3—Prime Minister3. DAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government's statements and policies? Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Prime Minister): Yes particularly the fact that there are 77000 fewer children living in poverty than when we became the Government; that we have taken record numbers of New Zealanders off benefits and got them into work. We have delivered a hundred million free and healthy school lunches. We have 3800 more teachers in our classrooms and in fact there are 2250 more classrooms under this Government. We've provided 1.4 million packs of period products in schools. We've reduced the strain on the families of 400000 students by not asking them for school donations. We have delivered 26 weeks of paid parental leave. Kiwis are enjoying healthier homes and cheaper power bills because of the 110000 low-income families that have benefited from warmer Kiwi homes. We've delivered free doctors visits for the under-14s. We've delivered more than 13000 additional public homes—one in seven of the public homes that we have at the moment. We have 1800 more police on the beat. We have delivered lower emissions three years in a row under our Government where we have record levels of renewable electricity generation and the lowest level of coal imports since 2013. I could go on.David Seymour: Is he proud of his Government's record on housing when the average house price is up $220000 or 33 percent while average weekly rents are up $175 a week or 44 percent both significantly outstripping people's wage growth since 2017 and if that's success on housing what would his Government failing have looked like?Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Given the shortage of houses that the Government's inherited and the work that we have done to build record numbers of new public homes and the record numbers of building consents that we are seeing we are starting to turn around the situation that we inherited in housing. That was never going to be an overnight answer but I am very proud of the work that we have been doing to ensure that we build our way out of the housing crisis.David Seymour: Does the Prime Minister understand that if his Government inherited a shortage and increased supply the price would go down but the fact that the price went up means that his Government's housing policies have failed at great cost to New Zealanders?Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: What I do understand is that all of the problems that the member asked questions about will get worse under a change of Government that proposes to cut funding for public services that proposes to put more people out of work and that proposes a range of economic policies that will take the country backwards.David Seymour: Was Jacinda Ardern right when she said Climate change is my generation's nuclear-free moment" and declared a climate emergency or given the Ministry for the Environment's latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory reports net emissions increased 3 percent under his Government were those gestures just a warning to New Zealanders they'd be subject to six years of ineffectual gesture politics by Labour?Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I note that the member neglected to mention that in the last three years our emissions have gone down because of the work of this Government. I note that almost every one of the initiatives that the Government has in place that have helped to achieve that reduction in emissions are on the chopping block either by the ACT Party or by the National Party.Hon David Parker: Can the Prime Minister confirm that because of the interest deductibility limitation the foreign buyer ban and the house build in Auckland under this Government rents in Auckland have gone up by less than the rate of inflation?Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I am very proud of the work that we have done around housing and I am particularly proud of our decision to ban foreign buyers from buying up Kiwi homes. I note that the National Party's plan would see $5 billion every year of Kiwi homes being sold to foreign investors.Nicola Willis: Does the—Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Oh Christopher's given up.SPEAKER: Order! Nicola Willis: Will the Prime Minister accept that application from the Minister for the Environment for his old portfolio back?Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I'm not sure the member's particularly in much of a position to be talking about people auditioning for other ministerial roles. I find the question quite phenomenal. I'm very proud of all of the work that David Parker has done in the various ministerial roles that he has had and I am particularly proud of the work that he did to ensure that Kiwi first-home buyers get more of a look in the housing market than they were under the last National Government.David Seymour: Is he proud of the performance of his Government's education Ministers when the education budget has increased by 38 percent in five years but the portion of children regularly attending school has fallen from 70 percent down to 60 percent the portion of kids who are chronically absent has doubled from 4 percent to 8 percent; is he proud to have a lower portion of kids going to school despite spending an extra 5 billion bucks a year on education?Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Well of course it's not schools that determine which kids actually regularly attend; that of course is what parents determine. But in terms of the regular non-attendance I note that the first figure the member quoted has been most significantly influenced by the mandatory seven-day isolation period for COVID-19. In terms of the doubling of the number of students who are persistently absent that is completely unacceptable and we do need to do more to get those kids who have been disengaged from the education system for far too long back into some form of education training or employment.David Seymour: Is his Government really doing a good job on delivering on its promises and if so then why does he think New Zealanders tell the Labour Party's own pollsters this country's going in the wrong direction by a whopping margin of 55 to 37 and the governing Labour Party is being abandoned by 18 percent of voters since the last election; is it Kiwis that are overwhelmingly wrong or Chris Hipkins?Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Of course one of the things that comes through in the polling is that he is one of the least popular politicians in this Parliament and I do happen to believe New Zealanders when they make that remark. But I am very proud of the track record of this Government leading New Zealanders through a very tough set of circumstances. There is more work to do but I notice in every one of the questions that the member has asked he has failed to mention that he intends to cut funding for all of the support put in place to deal with the very issues he is questioning about.David Seymour: Supplementary?SPEAKER: The member's run out of supplementaries.Rawiri Waititi: Is the Prime Minister happy as David Seymour is to see me back in the House today; if not why not?SPEAKER: As far as the Prime Minister is responsible for that—David Seymour: Point of order Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister has no responsibility for my attitude but for the record I think it's a disgrace that he was suspended when he wasn't even here.SPEAKER: I was about to give you a—Hon Member: Point of order?SPEAKER: I'll deal with one at a time. As I said as far as the Prime Minister is responsible which it's hard to imagine exactly what that would be. I was contemplating giving David Seymour an extra question but I think you've had your say in your point of order which was out of order. Please Rawiri Waititi don't do another one.Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Everybody knows that I'm a naturally happy person and I particularly welcome the member back to the House and I'm looking forward to his waiata after his contribution later on."