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): Fakalofa lahi atu Mr Speaker. Happy Niuean Language Week and to answer Mr Bridges' question yes.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she 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: The member will be referring to my press conference the first time I made that comment. I stated "between 27 October 2017 and 28 September 2018—this is where we have data—petrol prices have risen roughly 39c of which 6.8c at that point could be attributed to taxes and levies;" so I absolutely stand by that statement.Hon Simon Bridges: Is she aware that the tax figure she referenced—6.8c of the 39c increase since last October—is only the GST and emissions trading scheme component and did not include the new excise tax or the regional fuel tax in Auckland?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Yes which is why I indicated the data was through to 28 September because that is the data I had available and I was very explicit about that. What it would be nice to have the member opposite being explicit about is what transport projects he intends on cancelling given he doesn't want excise to exist in New Zealand any more—or he might not be in the position to have to cancel anything because it requires being in Government.Hon Simon Bridges: Did she not include all of the relevant taxes and in so doing underrepresent the actual tax increase given the Government has imposed a regional fuel tax of 11.5c and an excise tax of 4c a litre?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Again I gave the data that was available at the exact time that I stood up at the press conference. I can give the member the exact data today which includes that fuel prices have risen now 46c of which tax is 9.53c. The fact remains there is an exceptional increase in fuel prices that cannot be reasonably explained which is why this Government is changing the law so we can seek out some answers on behalf of consumers. Either that side thinks it's acceptable that they're paying that much or they don't.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Is it a fact that on the weekend—that's yesterday—Shamubeel Eaqub had that same precise calculation in two papers?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Yes because he would have been relying on the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) data as well which is what I have provided in public and again to this House.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she now accept that her petrol taxes have had a significant impact on the cost of living of New Zealanders? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I've been very open about the proportion that has been around excise and regional fuel tax—Hon Dr Nick Smith: You haven't been open. SPEAKER: Order! Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: —versus what cannot be explained. Now this seems to be in direct contradiction to when that member was in Government. They undertook their own review and came out with a finding that said they could not reasonably determine whether or not consumers were paying a fair price. That's not good enough on this side of the House and we're doing something about it. Rt Hon Winston Peters: If petrol prices are so high how could an individual afford to drive all the way from Auckland to Wellington just to deliver a message inside this building this morning? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Mr Speaker—SPEAKER: Order! The member has no responsibility for that. Hon Simon Bridges: Does she now accept that her petrol taxes have had a significant impact on the cost of living for New Zealanders? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I accept that fuel prices at the moment have had an element we cannot explain in the last 10 years. The importer margin has gone up. The importer margin has gone up and clearly that side of the House will not accept that excise and the regional fuel tax are only a small portion of what consumers are paying at the pump. I have to say given that side of the House increased it by 17c its now crying wolf over excise use seems pretty rich to me. There is a problem. There is a problem but we're trying to get to the bottom of it because we know what excise is and the vast bulk of what consumers are paying is not about that. Hon Simon Bridges: What will she do if it turns out that the regional fuel tax is being included in the importer margin and therefore is overinflating the increase of the importer margin she's referring to? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Well I'm not going to leave it to an "if". We're sending in the Commerce Commission to find out exactly what is going on unlike that Government who when they were in office chose to just sit by when we could not determine whether consumers were paying a fair price or not. Again I reiterate: if that side of the House thinks it's all about excise and fuel tax then I'd like them to tell me what they are going to cancel. Is it going to be the Penlink? Hon Simon Bridges: So why was the regional fuel tax hidden inside the importer margin? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Again from the advice that I've received there are explanations that do not exist around the inflated price that consumers are paying which is why we're having the Commerce Commission look at it. Hon Simon Bridges: How can New Zealanders have confidence in her ability to deal with their cost of living rises when she is relying on numbers that do not even measure the increase of her petrol taxes that as I say her Government has imposed? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I'm relying on the same data that member relied on when he was in Government and what I'm also asking questions around is why—Hon Simon Bridges: I didn't put the taxes on. SPEAKER: Order! Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: —is MBIE automatically adding coupon and fuel card discounts to the rate of 14c to those numbers as well. But if you want to talk about the cost of living this is a Government that put more than $5 billion back into the pockets of low and middle income New Zealanders that increased the minimum wage that has focused on lifting the incomes of those who need it most and that is getting to the bottom of what's going on with fuel. Hon Simon Bridges: If she has already decided that the fuel companies are "fleecing" consumers why is she not doing something about that now rather than undertaking a market study? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: We are. We need the evidence before we move forward. Hon Simon Bridges: With inflation numbers out today showing petrol prices have increased more than any other item in the last year why is she still going ahead with more than 24c worth of petrol tax increases in the space of just three years? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I could probably find a quote from the Opposition for exactly the same set of circumstances."