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 Government's work to prevent and respond to COVID-19 including the announcement last week by Ministers Robertson and Nash to provide interest-free loans of up to $100000 for a year to small businesses impacted by COVID-19 and the announcement by Minister Parker that we will fast track eligible development and infrastructure projects under the Resource Management Act to help get New Zealand moving again. The global pandemic is hitting every nation hard and we are moving to cushion the blow for businesses and workers in this country. Hon Simon Bridges: What is Treasury's estimate of the number of New Zealanders that actually returned to work last week under level 3 as opposed to the 75 percent being technically available to return to work because restrictions had been eased?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: My recollection is the estimates and I will put emphasis on that: the estimates were an additional 400000 New Zealanders.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she accept estimates from ANZ economists that New Zealand's economy will shrink by 10 percent this year while Australia's will fall by less than 5?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I've seen a range of estimates. Ultimately though what will be important are the final results coming out of both New Zealand and Australia but you'll understand why my focus is on getting the New Zealand response right both the health response which if we succeed is the best way we can support our economy by recovering quicker. There are very few scenarios we can fall back on with previous global experience. In fact we have to look back as far as the flu of 1918 but one of the learnings from that was that those countries that moved quickest and hardest to try and prevent the pandemic taking hold were also the economies that recovered the fastest.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Did the Prime Minister also learn that the ANZ economist who was quoted on Q+A last night said that the New Zealand / Australia recovery percentage speed would be about the same"?Hon Simon Bridges: She doesn't do the economics.Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I've said I heard a range of—Hon Simon Bridges: She doesn't I'm sorry.Hon Member: I'll let her know!SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume her seat. I think the use of that pronoun back and forth is not that helpful and I think it would be helpful if the interjections didn't go back and forth through the answers. The Rt Hon Prime Minister please start again.Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As the member will well know my focus is on the New Zealand experience and making the right decision for New Zealanders. Hon Simon Bridges: Considering Australia and New Zealand have had almost identical health outcomes why is she still imposing tougher restrictions on economic activity than Australia?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Again as I've reiterated in this House multiple times at the time that New Zealand took the decision it did to go into lockdown which as I recall that member supported a mere five weeks ago we had an infection rate modelled by the likes of Rodney Jones of five—that was higher than Australia. We have a different population base but also even the health professionals within Australia reference the fact that there is more in common with our response than there are differences. As members in the House well know I've been in fairly frequent dialogue with the leadership in Australia and there are a lot of similarities with our approach. Each of us is now looking at removing restrictions and the phased approach in order to do that.Hon Simon Bridges: Rather than making a decision at the start of lockdown and then leaving it shouldn't the Prime Minister make a new decision every single day about how she can safely get more businesses back to business saving jobs and livelihoods in this country?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I'd love to see the member's evidence that that's not exactly what we are doing. We make decisions every day to look after people's lives and their livelihoods. What the member needs to remember of course is that we cannot get ahead of ourselves. We need to lock in all of the results we've had to date we do have cycles of transmission with this virus we have to take into account and we are listening to the evidence the research and the best available advice to make our decisions which is in the best interests of our economy as well.Hon Simon Bridges: Well in light of that answer is she telling the House that she may well bring forward the decision about whether to move to level 2 from Monday and it could in fact be made this week?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I also said in the answer I just gave if the member was listening we have to look at the cycle of transmission. Making a decision today based on a number today is a reflection of level 4 not about where we are right now. That member may have the luxury of sitting on that side of the House not bearing the consequences of a wrong move but we do not. We have to factor in the livelihoods of every New Zealander.Hon Simon Bridges: What does she say to the business owner who emailed me to say "We have a business in Australia as well as our New Zealand business. Our Australian business is pumping sales for March were well ahead of last year. Contrast that with our New Zealand business: close to zero both March and April. I don't think the Government have any idea how bad things are going to get over here."Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Again I hope that is a business therefore that accessed the more than $10 billion we've put into the wage subsidy to support those businesses.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she accept New Zealand's more extreme economic lockdown—Hon Gerry Brownlee: It's just a complete misunderstanding of how it works.SPEAKER: Order! Mr Brownlee.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Well I don't want to be pinged across the House.SPEAKER: I think the Leader of the Opposition doesn't need your assistance.Hon Gerry Brownlee: No he certainly doesn't—and nor your intervention.SPEAKER: Mr Brownlee I've been trying to be quite flexible during this period with people who are breaching the rules as to interjections. It is just not helpful when he interjects over the top of his leader's question. Mr Bridges.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she accept New Zealand's more extreme economic lockdown is why the IMF predicts New Zealand's unemployment rate will rise by 5.1 percent this year compared to just 2.4 in Australia?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Again the member's assessment is premature. If he looks at even some of the decisions recently from credit rating agencies for instance they are talking about the resilience in the New Zealand economy and of course time will continue to tell. But I am confident that based on the investment we put in early—which included things like our wage subsidy which went out the door faster than Australia's support—including our interventions to support businesses through IRD including the small business loan scheme and our focus on getting back to a level of normality and for businesses to operate as soon as possible that will then bear out in the results we have. It is simply premature to make comparisons. The final point I'll make is having spoken to my Australian counterparts they have more in common with our approach than the member describes.Hon Simon Bridges: Is her Government taking into account the fact that there have been 1000 job losses a day so far under lockdown in its decision about whether to move out of level 3 next week?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Of course we take into account economic impacts. We also take into account the economic impact of yo-yoing between levels and further outbreaks."