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): Malo ni and happy Tokelauan Language Week. And to answer the member's question yes.Hon Simon Bridges: How many cents per litre have taxes on petrol increased under her Government?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Fuel prices have risen 46c since we came into Government and fuel excise is being increased by 3.5c this year with a regional fuel tax of 10c in Auckland. Including the fact it includes excise not regional fuel tax Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) data indicates tax is 9.53c of that increase and that discounting changes the price of fuel overall by 15c.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she accept that under her Government petrol taxes have increased by more than 10c outside of Auckland and 20c in Auckland while the trend for importer margin has increased by just 1c?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: No I don't accept that member's analysis. The change in margin since the Government came into office was 9.28c—that's the actual margin.Hon Simon Bridges: Is the importer margin all profit for petrol retailers or does it also cover costs?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Our concern has not just been the importer margin in recent months but actually the importer margin over the last 10 years. Since the start of 2008 petrol margins increased by 21.65c or 183 percent. In fact my understanding is when Simon Bridges the member who asked the question was Minister of Energy the profit margins for petrol companies went up 50 percent. If he's arguing that in that time that wasn't profit margin—it was solely costs—then I'd be interested in hearing that member's view on whether or not that was consistent.Hon Simon Bridges: Would she expect the importer margin to increase if costs increased such as because of higher labour costs?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I think that's why it's interesting to look at the pre-tax fuel costs across the OECD. We're comparing it across the OECD who are experiencing similar prices in what's happening to the price of Brent crude and when we look at that we have moved to the highest pre-tax cost in the OECD. Ultimately though the principle here still stands: either the member agrees that we need to look at fuel costs in New Zealand or he doesn't. On this side of the House we think it's about time that we had a look on behalf of consumers.Hon Simon Bridges: So did she ask her office or MBIE whether the 6.8c figure she referred to comprised the excise tax and the regional fuel tax?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I've consistently said I was quoting at post-Cabinet MBIE data. It's obvious it doesn't include the regional fuel tax because the regional fuel tax is 10c.Hon Simon Bridges: So has MBIE mistakenly added the regional fuel tax to the imported margin figure that she is continuing to reference?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: That would be a question for MBIE.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she stand by her statement last week that the reason the Government will not act now on petrol prices is that we need the evidence before we move forward"?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: When that member was last in office he thought it was a good idea to look at what was happening at the pump. He undertook a study in 2017. He also wrote to every single fuel company. Nothing happened and now that we're changing the law so we can do it properly apparently he's changed his mind. Hon Simon Bridges: Does she stand by her statement last week: "We need the evidence before we move forward"?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: There are a range of options of things that can be done about the situation that consumers are facing now. I don't think there's anything wrong with digging in and looking at what exactly is happening in our fuel market. The member when he was in office thought that was a good idea; he just didn't do it properly.Hon Simon Bridges: What evidence did she have when she said that the petrol companies were fleecing New Zealanders?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The increase in the margin—which the member thought when he was in office was a problem but apparently now he thinks consumers are getting a fair deal.Hon Simon Bridges: Does the Government have evidence or doesn't it?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Did that member have evidence when he wrote to the fuel companies asking them about this exact same issue? I'd love the member to enlighten me about what happened in the last 12 to 24 months that means that now he absolutely agrees with the fuel companies—there's nothing wrong consumers are paying a fair price and there's nothing to see here!Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It's one thing for the Leader of the Opposition to be shouting out in protest during an answer but all the contenders can't do it as well. SPEAKER: Order! And I'm on my feet. The most experienced member of the House knows that he should not use the point of order procedure to be disorderly himself as he was. He will stand withdraw and apologise.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I withdraw and apologise.Hon Simon Bridges: Has she seen reports in the Dominion Post of a black market developing for petrol due to record high prices and if so does she take responsibility for the black market as a result of the Government's significant increases in taxes?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I did see a report of a case that was referred to around theft between January and July before excise came into effect.Hon Simon Bridges: What immediate action is she taking to help ease the cost of living for New Zealanders at the petrol pump as well as putting an end to the black market for petrol?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: We are changing the law which is more than what that Opposition member ever did."