2. Question No. 2—Prime MinisterHon JUDITH COLLINS (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 2—Prime Minister2. Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's statements and actions?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): Yes particularly the Government's policies that came into effect on 1 July last week focused on keeping New Zealanders safe from COVID-19 accelerating our recovery and making progress on longstanding issues such as climate change housing and child wellbeing. These include main benefits increasing by $20 per adult per week; reinstating the Training Incentive Allowance which was taken away by the previous National Government in order to support study for sole parents and carers and disabled people; preventing children being hospitalised by cold and damp homes through the healthy homes standards which will require landlords to provide properties with insulation at least one fixed heating device capable of heating the living room to at least 18 degrees and just ensuring of course that we have extractor fans in bathrooms and kitchens; increasing paid parental leave rates by 2.5 percent; security guards added to Schedule 1 of the Employment Relations Act helping protect their employment conditions; and of course decisions around migrant exploitation and efforts to prevent migrant exploitation. I am proud of the initiatives that were implemented on 1 July.Hon Judith Collins: Does she agree with her Minister for social development that 4000 kids living in motels with gang members is not ideal but we are doing what we can" and is this in her view an acceptable approach?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Of course we want to make efforts to ensure that children and families are in the safest possible environment. I would acknowledge and I hope the member would as well that it was a National Government that brought in the framework where we are using hotels as temporary accommodation and because—Nicola Willis: Four thousand!SPEAKER: Order!Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: —and because of the way—SPEAKER: It goes through here and rebounds.Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: —and because of the way it was structured of course that funding and that support followed the individual rather than being in a position where you were taking over for instance entire facilities which allowed us to better manage who is placed where and ensure that those are appropriate decisions. We are trying to turn that situation around and you can see that in the way that we're operating in Rotorua in particular.Hon Judith Collins: So when will the number of children living in motels reduce back to and lower than the 2017 levels that were around a third of what's happening today?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Because then children were in cars. I do not want children living for long periods of time in motels but I absolutely do not want children living in cars. Our goal is to move them out of temporary situations. We of course are building public housing and have funded public housing places to the number of 18000. So far over 7000 have been built. But I will not be lectured by a member who sold those public houses then opened motel spaces and now seems to have a problem with the fact we're dealing with the consequences.Hon Dr Megan Woods: Can the Prime Minister confirm that New Zealand now under our Government has over 4000 permanent transitional housing spaces more than double what there were when we came into Government?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I can and I can also confirm that we are increasing public housing supply. The stark reality is that when you come into office having inherited an environment where a Government not only didn't grow public housing they sold it we are still dealing with the consequences of that.David Seymour: How many of the 4000 children currently living in hotels came from previously living in cars?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: We do know that in some situations there's a range of issues. Some will come from violent relationships and come and leave in an emergency situation but if the member is suggesting that none have come from a situation where the housing is inadequate it would be wrong.Hon Judith Collins: Is she aware that as at March this year there were 433 people stuck on the housing wait-list who were living in cars?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Yes as I've acknowledged people have been in inadequate housing and I would rather they be safe and housed than remain in an inadequate situation. I would also rather that they were ultimately in long-term housing public housing; that they were in safe and stable housing; that if it's appropriate and they need wraparound support they're with "CHiPS" or with NGOs. But the member's solution seems to be to do nothing.Hon Judith Collins: Does she have confidence in the Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt after he donated $200 of taxpayer money to the Mongrel Mob Kingdom? Will she ask for his resignation?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: In answer to the last part of the question no.Hon Judith Collins: Is she concerned that changes to civil hate speech provisions will open the door for advocacy groups to take civil legal action where people express an opinion they disagree with?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: No.Hon Judith Collins: What does she say to people who are concerned that her $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund which includes numerous criteria for media to adhere to is influencing the editorial decisions of media outlets in New Zealand?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I would absolutely reject that. But better yet I would put the question to the media and ask whether they agree with that sentiment.David Seymour: What then would happen to a media outlet that received money under the fund and wanted to report a story deemed inconsistent with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi which is one of the requirements to adhere to?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I absolutely reject the idea that there is political influence in broadcasting and media.David Seymour: Point of order Mr Speaker. The question was: what would happen? I don't think that's been addressed other than a very generic comment about media. This was a question about what the conditions are under this fund and how it operates and we didn't hear that addressed at all other than a bland generic statement.SPEAKER: The member might regard it as a bland generic statement but I think it answered the question.Hon Judith Collins: Does she agree with Labour MP the Hon Nanaia Mahuta who in 2010 said on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples "why have New Zealanders been prevented from participating in a debate on an issue that has a profound impact on the future … The Government has taken care to recognise that this document is aspirational and non-binding"? So why is her Government now consulting only with iwi and not having the debate with all New Zealanders?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: That statement is incorrect. We are consulting with all New Zealanders. We set out how we intend to do that. I note that not only do we intend to discuss the signing of the declaration and the implementation plan with all New Zealanders but that is in stark contrast to the National Government who consulted no one and then did nothing.Hon Judith Collins: What does she say to businesses across New Zealand who are now being asked whether they identify as Māori-owned businesses and are now unsure if they receive Government contracts based on their skills or to fill a quota?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I would say that the current Opposition doesn't quite know which issue they think is most important to them right now based on this line of questioning at question time first of all. Secondly I would say that procurement policy that that member has raised has been announced in public for some time now. It was lifted from what has been done in Australia. It's been very popular there and I don't consider it to be particularly groundbreaking in that regard.Hon Judith Collins: So what is her definition of the legitimate use of a ute?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: We have not set out anything that requires there to be a definition.Hon Grant Robertson: In light of the previous questions from the Leader of the Opposition does the Prime Minister have any views on weather forecasts what might happen in the next couple of weeks in New Zealand—anything like that?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: All I can say is that clearly the caucus discussions in the Opposition have been clearly unfocused of late.SPEAKER: I think neither the question nor the—no I shouldn't have let the Prime Minister answer it. And I will let the—in fact insist on the Deputy Prime Minister apologising.Hon Grant Robertson: I withdraw and apologise.Chris Bishop: Point of order. Well that was a fairly unedifying exchange. But in the circumstances are the Opposition going to get any extra supplementary questions given the deep use of irony in the Deputy Prime Minister's supplementary patsy question?SPEAKER: And what's the point of that point of order?Chris Bishop: To ask for more supps.SPEAKER: Well I'm sorry; I witnessed the House a couple of weeks ago where there was a very clear indication from the Opposition that they didn't like increasing or reducing supps.Hon Michael Woodhouse: No no that wasn't what they didn't like.Chris Bishop: No.SPEAKER: And the members just interjected—both of them—while I've been on my feet. The Hon Michael Woodhouse will stand withdraw and apologise.Hon Michael Woodhouse: I withdraw and apologise.SPEAKER: I'm not going to insist that Chris Bishop does but I am considering now taking him at his word and applying the reductions which I didn't apply last week because I wasn't applying them.Chris Bishop: Point of order. I think the point sir is we just want to know what the rules are. When you were not here sir Deputy Speaker Rurawhe did not apply the up-and-down rules. If it is now the case that you've moved away from the up-and-down system—for want of a better phrase—when it comes to the order in the House that's fine; we will take that on board. But if it is the case that you're going to continue to apply it we'd like to know that. We just want to know what the rules are.SPEAKER: Right. Well what I've been doing for the last week in case the member didn't notice—which I'm slightly surprised at as shadow Leader of the House—is that I was making a note of whether or not numbers would go up and down but not applying them. If the member wants me to apply them as he has insisted I will but it will result in a net loss to his side. Thank you."