10. Question No. 10—Prime MinisterDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 10—Prime Minister10. DAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's statements and policies?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): Yes.David Seymour: Why won't she apologise for her Government's failures implementing the cost of living payment as the Auditor-General has identified?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Because we stand by the cost of living payment but we also stand by the refinements that have continued to be undertaken by Inland Revenue of which the Minister notified the public yesterday.David Seymour: How does the Prime Minister judge that the failures are bad enough to require refinement but not bad enough to apologise for?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Because the principle of the cost of living payment was absolutely the right one. We are experiencing a spike in the cost of living through yes of course many global factors but that does not remove the responsibility that we have as a Government to respond to that and we have. We've reduced the excise that people experience at the pump. We've reduced public transport costs by 50 percent. We of course stand by the winter energy payment that we know has eased the cost of energy bills over the winter period for those on restricted incomes and we implemented the cost of living payment. As I say that initiative was the right thing to do but we also accept there are ongoing refinements that have been undertaken by IRD which are also improvements.David Seymour: Point of order Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker I seek your guidance. The question was quite a narrow one about the Prime Minister's judgment to apologise given that revisions were necessary for the policy. There was a lot of content there that was not related to that particular judgment.SPEAKER: Yeah. I probably should have intervened after about the first six words because the question was actually answered very early on. The rest I took as a narrative or qualification of the answer.David Seymour: Thank you. Does the Prime Minister stand by her statement in reply to question No. 3 earlier today that reducing taxes is universally wasting money" and can she please explain how letting people keep more of their own hard-earned money is a universal waste?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Obviously the member is taking out of context the statement I was making. I was drawing the comparison that the Leader of the Opposition considers the targeted cost of living payment to be wasteful. However he does not consider at this time in our cycle a tax cut for those on $180000 or more to be wasteful.David Seymour: How can the Government waste money that is not belonging to the Government or does the Government believe that all money truly belongs to the Government and taxpayers are lucky they get to keep any?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The member wants to get into a philosophical conversation over tax cuts versus tax credits. I think the most important point at this time is New Zealanders are going through a tough period as are other economies around the world. We see it as our responsibility to act on that and we stand by it. Was a payment that was going to go to 2.1 million New Zealanders ever going to have absolute perfection? No. But we take responsibility for continuing to refine it in the same way that other countries who have undertaken similar payments have also seen groups who may have been ineligible receive it.David Seymour: Does the Prime Minister believe that her Government's policies affect people's choice to live or not live in New Zealand and if so will she own the fact that the country lost a net 11500 people in the year to this June?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: We as a Government are not going to take away people's free agency to travel live work and experience life abroad. I'm not sure whether the member across the aisle blames the Government of the day for his decision to I believe live in Canada. I certainly don't blame the Government of the day for my decision to live in the UK.Hon Michael Wood: Can the Prime Minister confirm that for every month since the year 2002 except for a brief period in 2017-2018 there has been a net outflow of New Zealanders from New Zealand?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Yes. I note the member across the aisle is choosing selectively to speak on trends and patterns within immigration. I don't think it's unexpected that after several years of closed borders at a time in a winter period where our young people who traditionally would have travelled abroad are seeking to do so. We of course have an expectation that these thousands of working holiday visas that have been applied for and taken up will of course over the summer months likely be accepted by those abroad and we'll see that inflow also.David Seymour: Does the Prime Minister stand by the Small Retailer Crime Prevention Fund to help retailers harden their premises against crimes and if so how should retailers who fear attack go about applying to access the fund?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: In answer to the first part of the question yes.David Seymour: Does she agree with the police Minister's office that when deciding which businesses will receive funding "Police is identifying eligible shops based on past victimisations." and if so is it sensible that to be eligible for ram raid protection you first have to be ram-raided?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Obviously the police are working alongside those representative bodies of retailers as well in developing the criteria. I have great faith in them working with those on the ground to ensure that the funding that is available which we estimate should be able to support up to 500 retailers will meet those in the most need regardless of the criteria that they develop."