2. Question No. 2—Prime MinisterHon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader—National) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 2—Prime Minister2. Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader—National) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's statements and actions?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): Faakalofa lahi atu Mr Speaker. Yes. Hon Simon Bridges: How many cents per litre is the regional fuel tax and when did it come into effect? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The regional fuel tax came in earlier this year in July and is 10c a litre as applied by—as local government chooses to implement it in Auckland. Hon Simon Bridges: Does she still stand by her statement last week that since October 2017 petrol prices have risen roughly 39c of which 6.8c at that point could be attributed to taxes and levies;"?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Again if the House will indulge me I'll again give the quote that I gave—Hon Dr Nick Smith: Slippery. Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: —at the post-Cabinet—SPEAKER: Order! Who made that interjection? The member will stand withdraw and apologise. Hon Dr Nick Smith: I stand withdraw and apologise. SPEAKER: No the member will do it—Hon Dr Nick Smith: I withdraw and apologise. SPEAKER: Thank you. Last warning. Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I will give the same quote that I gave in the post-Cabinet press conference from which the member is quoting me—to which I said "between 27 October 2017 and 28 September 2018—this is where we have data—". I was quoting directly from the latest data provided by the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) which is exactly the same data that that side of the House used every single day they were in Government. Hon Simon Bridges: So in light of that did she or anyone in her office actually go and check their work given that they had put on those extra taxes of a regional fuel tax and an excise tax that it had gone through Cabinet and she had done it? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I spoke openly about both of those in that post-Cabinet press conference as well. MBIE has fully acknowledged that they need to improve their modelling to take into account the regional fuel tax and they also need to acknowledge up front that they discount 14c in that modelling for coupons and fuel cards. But I want to draw it back to the point here: either the member on that side of the House thinks consumers are dealing with an issue with overpriced fuel generally or he doesn't. In February 2015 he wrote a letter to all of the fuel companies asking them to bring their prices down. Clearly he thought it was a problem then but he doesn't now. Hon Simon Bridges: If MBIE need to improve their modelling why at her post-Cab press conference was she at such pains to hang her hat on it? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I use the modelling that we have available to us in the same way that he did when he was in office. It would have been the same data he used when he decided in 2015 to write to the fuel companies and say there was a problem—something his Government never resolved. They ignored him. They did nothing and consumers are continuing to feel it. Hon Simon Bridges: Why did she not include the regional fuel tax when she said petrol taxes have only increased by 6.8c a litre given that it came into effect on 1 July this year? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I was using the numbers to give the proportion across that period of time for which excise was accountable relative to the increases that we have seen. And if I was being fair I would also acknowledge that some of the most significant margin increases we have seen have been since 2008. This has been a problem for a long time. We're the ones doing something about it because that last Government failed. Hon Simon Bridges: How can New Zealanders have confidence in her and her Government's ability to deal with their cost of living rises when she relies on numbers that do not even measure the increase in petrol taxes her Government has imposed in July and October of this year? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: It is known to everyone what we have done with both excise and regional fuel tax. It's been clear because we campaigned on it. We made it absolutely clear that if we wanted to invest in infrastructure it was necessary to have the regional fuel tax. To imply otherwise is ludicrous and those families that we are talking about also know that we campaigned on a $5 billion Families Package increasing the minimum wage abolishing the letting fees making sure that we had a winter energy payment to put extra money in the pockets of those who need it most and paid parental leave. All the while our excise increases were less than yours the entire time you were in office. SPEAKER: I'm just going to remind the Prime—Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Oh excuse me—not yours.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Yeah. You're getting off light.SPEAKER: Order! Hon Simon Bridges: With inflation numbers showing petrol prices have increased by 19 percent in the last year more than any other item why is she still going ahead with more than 24c of petrol tax increases in the space of just three years? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Again as I addressed extensively in the last question we're working to both increase the incomes of low and middle income New Zealanders whilst acknowledging that we have a significant infrastructure deficit. Every single cent that comes from that excise and regional fuel tax goes into building the infrastructure that that last Government never built—despite the fact that I have to say back when the last Government was bringing in 9c worth of excise increases Gerry Brownlee then said "Excise increases in recent years have helped maintain the real value of the land transport fund." He said that as he brought in the exact same excise in the form of 9c that we have.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Is the Prime Minister prepared to explain all this to Mr Bridges in a personal note if I can find the crayon?SPEAKER: I think the member does know what's wrong with it.Rt Hon Winston Peters: No I don't.SPEAKER: The member has been here for a very long time—Brett Hudson: Too long.SPEAKER: I'm on my feet—who interjected? That member will stand withdraw and apologise.Brett Hudson: I withdraw and apologise.SPEAKER: And he's on his final warning for this question time as well. The member Winston Peters has been here for a very long time. He knows that one cannot use irony as part of questions.Hon Simon Bridges: How long will it take for the Commerce Commission to undertake a market study into fuel prices?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Less time than it took for his Government to do something about it. He wrote in 2015 and we're still waiting for this to be fixed.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You appear to have just taken three questions off us. What for?SPEAKER: Yes for your interjections.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Because we've just listened to very extensive explanations of questions from the Prime Minister—SPEAKER: The member will resume—[Interruption] The member will resume his seat now. The member will resume his seat. I took questions off because the member interjected while the question was being asked. We had I think while I was previously on my feet at least three members who interjected only one of whom was honest enough to admit it and I was soft on the others. If the member is suggesting that we roll back the rules or that he has an exemption from them then I'm not prepared to do it. Going back to the Deputy Prime Minister I think it was relatively clear from the look on the Deputy Prime Minister's face that he did accept the fact that he had acted inappropriately again.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Firstly I don't argue with you about who it is that makes the decision about what an interjection is or is not. So I accept that you have said that my suggesting that the Deputy Prime Minister was being harshly treated—sorry misunderstood—was in fact an interjection but none the less the Deputy Prime Minister breached the Standing Orders in a very deliberate way and paid no price; but for sympathising with him we lose three questions. Now that's no way to run this House in a reasonable fashion.SPEAKER: Does the member have a further supplementary?Hon Simon Bridges: Does the Prime Minister know how long it will take the Commerce Commission to undertake a market study into fuel prices?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Obviously we're changing the legislation over the next two weeks. There's then a statutory process the Minister will go through that takes from memory around a month so I would've thought in the first half of next year. Again I would again put emphasis on the fact that in 2017 the last Government tried to do this work unsuccessfully. Our expectation is that we of course now with the ability to undertake this market study will be able to do it properly and finish the job the last Government didn't.Hon Simon Bridges: Once the Commerce Commission has reported back how long will it take to act on any recommendations?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Obviously I'm going to wait for their process to be completed but obviously this is something we're quite focused on.Hon Simon Bridges: Is it correct that if the Prime Minister wanted she could immediately legislate to remove the regional fuel tax and halt increases to the national excise tax—changes that would immediately ease the cost of living for Kiwis?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I have said I cannot guarantee that that would be directly passed on to consumers. What I can guarantee though is every cent that comes out of excise goes directly into projects in the likes of Auckland where we're losing productivity where those families are already paying the price of being stuck in congestion and being unable to move around their city. It provides genuine alternative transport options for them.Hon Simon Bridges: Is it true that petrol taxes are roughly four times the size of importer margins?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Of what sorry? Hon Simon Bridges: Is it true that petrol taxes are roughly four times the size of importer margins?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I haven't got that figure in front of me but what I can say is that for instance over the last decade—since 2008—petrol margins increased by 21c. The margin trend was up overall about 124 percent. So we have seen a significant change one that we on this side of the House think warrants investigation. Clearly that side of the House has changed their tune since they were last in Government.Hon Simon Bridges: Why won't she take immediate action to ease the cost of living by removing her Government's new petrol taxes given it's clear that the Commerce Commission and their decisions will take a good year and that those importer margins are some four times the size of the petrol taxes in total?SPEAKER: Order!Hon Gerry Brownlee: Other way around.SPEAKER: Yeah. Does the member want to ask the question again. I'm sorry I—Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I knew what he was trying to say though.SPEAKER: The Prime Minister gets it? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I get the gist. I'll reverse the last part of your question. When it comes to the cost of living of course that is a focus for this Government. Everything we have done far outstrips anything that a consumer then would be paying at the pump via a regional fuel tax. The Working for Families package on average delivering $75 a week; minimum wage increases; winter energy payments—far outstrip anything that consumers are experiencing. And on top of that we're getting to the nub of the issue which goes well beyond anything anyone's experiencing in excise. Finally I'd love to hear from the member what projects he will cancel because he no longer believes in excise which has been in place since the 1920s."