1. Government Policy—Education Foreign Affairs Health Social Services Spending Immigration and Population PlanningHon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSGovernment Policy—Education Foreign Affairs Health Social Services Spending Immigration and Population Planning1. Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's policies and actions?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): Yes.Hon Simon Bridges: When she said yesterday that the Government's current immigration policy is exactly the same one we campaigned on" can she do better than that and elucidate for everyone exactly what her Government intends to deliver on immigration?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I said what we talked about in the campaign remains the same. We are developing policy and Cabinet papers on this issue as we speak. I'm sure the member can wait until those are available publicly.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she agree that "the rate at which our population is growing is placing unsustainable pressure on infrastructure" as stated in the immigration policy she campaigned on?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Do we have a housing crisis because the last Government didn't do any population planning? Yes.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she agree that the rate at which our population is growing is placing unsustainable pressure on infrastructure?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: This is of course a question in two parts. If we had the infrastructure we wouldn't be having this debate. That Government did not do any population planning immigration got to the highest level it has in some time and there was no planning around transport or housing and we're having to pick up the pieces from that. [Interruption] SPEAKER: Order! Order! There was a member who made an unparliamentary reference to the Prime Minister. That member will stand withdraw and apologise. I'll listen to the tape and work out who it was.Hon Gerry Brownlee: What was it?SPEAKER: I'm not going to repeat the reference Mr Brownlee—a very sexist remark. It wasn't Mr Bridges; it was someone behind. Hon Simon Bridges: Does she agree on immigration that "It is time to take a breather."?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I've said there is no question—ask anyone resident in Auckland—there was no population planning done. Now whether or not you take into account returning New Zealanders or population growth generally or the regions spilling into Auckland because there weren't jobs available for them there there are not enough houses in Auckland there's not enough transport infrastructure. We're dealing with that problem now to try and make sure that everyone who's resident there has a decent standard of living. It's a big difference between us and the previous Government.Hon Simon Bridges: What is the Government trying to achieve in its immigration policy—can we be clear: is it smaller numbers is it a breather is it something different now?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Given I was late to the House because I was having to correct the member's confusion outside I'm happy to do it in here as well. What we are focused on in our immigration policy is a quality education system for international students and proper labour market testing so that we fill genuine gaps in our labour market. It's quite simple. [Interruption] SPEAKER: Order! Order! I am going to ask the Leader of the Opposition to be a little quieter. When he asks a question I think he should show the Prime Minister the respect of at least listening to the first half of the answer.Hon Simon Bridges: Is the Government's immigration policy Labour's election promise to reduce net migration by 20000 to 30000 a year or New Zealand First's policy to reduce net migration to just 10000 a year or is it something else?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I said yesterday and as I'm repeating today our policy as a party has not changed. The Government is now progressing that policy. It is about quality education and about proper labour market testing and the estimates off the back of those changes were in the 20000 to 30000 mark—estimates not targets.Hon Simon Bridges: Why did her Government favour $900 million for diplomats rather than fully funding universally cheaper GP visits from 1 July?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I'm again happy to correct the member. We are not spending that amount of money on diplomats. In fact we're spending roughly the amount that that last Government spent on a bad Saudi sheep deal and a bad flag referendum.Hon Simon Bridges: Why is that $900 million more important than cheaper universal GP visits?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I correct the member again. The amount that he is quoting includes the amount that we are putting into overseas aid and development. When it comes to our health spending we've yet to announce the full package that this Government has produced and the member will just have to wait. But I do really question whether or not the National Party is now telling us they see that they have no responsibility for aid and development in the Pacific because that's a big change from what they purported to do when they were in office.Hon Simon Bridges: How can she spend nearly a billion dollars on foreign affairs and aid and also claim that there's a crisis in health and education funding?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Because there is. Hon Simon Bridges: If there's a crisis in health and education funding why is it that she's putting nearly a billion dollars into foreign affairs and foreign aid? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Of course we are having to invest in health and education as well and the member will see at Budget time how we have balanced the range of competing demands that we have. I can tell the member why we've had to put this big boost in. When the last Government was in office Official Development Assistance was at 0.27 percent of gross national income but as with everything else in the next financial year they let it plummet—plummet. So we've had to reinvest just to get it back up to meet our international responsibilities—shame on you. Hon Simon Bridges: What analysis convinced her that we needed to open an embassy in Stockholm? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The same analysis that meant it was open 10 years ago and then shut by them. Hon Simon Bridges: What was the rationale—what was the position in that analysis on the embassy opening in Stockholm? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The member may have failed to acknowledge that one of the biggest opportunities that we have in trade is the potential to have an EU free-trade agreement that is worth potentially $15 billion. Now that party may think that we can float around the international environment without having any representation internationally; they are wrong. We're going to suffer if our voice is not heard within Europe and the international stage. Hon Simon Bridges: For clarity why are we reopening an embassy in Stockholm?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Because they should never have closed it. David Seymour: Do immigrants ultimately build more homes than they occupy? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: If the question that the member's trying to allude to is that we need to make sure that we meet the housing demands of everyone who lives here then the answer seems pretty obvious to me. David Seymour: Is it any different if the immigrants have Chinese-sounding names? SPEAKER: The Prime Minister has indicated she's declined to answer. Hon Simon Bridges: When she said that all the issues around social services can't be solved in one Budget was that because she knew she had billions of dollars going to Winston Peters—and that's simply in the first year? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Yes I still stand by that statement. For example this morning we announced the first increase in funding that family violence services like Women's Refuge have had in 10 years—the first. We've managed to do—Hon Paula Bennett: That is not true.Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: And if the member Ms Paula Bennett wants to demonstrate that she gave money to front-line services I'd welcome it. But what that proves is that we in this Budget are balancing a huge number of competing needs and we've done it well. David Seymour: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. With the Standing Orders requiring a Minister to address a question is it now possible that a Minister can address a question without even getting out of her seat? She just refused to address—SPEAKER: Order! Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Mr Speaker—SPEAKER: No the Prime Minister will resume her seat. The situation is very clear: a Minister has a right not to answer a question. It's always been there. I've seen it done on a number of occasions. I certainly can't force a Minister to answer and certainly not for that question. Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I seek leave to answer the question. SPEAKER: Well the Prime Minister seeks leave to revert back one supplementary and to answer it. Is there any objection? There is objection."