1. Question No. 1—Prime MinisterRt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Prime Minister1. Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON (Prime Minister): Absolutely and including yesterday's announcement that this Government will finally hold Kāinga Ora (KO) tenants who are threatening abusive and violent towards their neighbours to account for their actions. Our Government believes in rights and responsibilities so if you contribute to a culture of intimidation and abuse it's time to change your behaviour and if you don't you may not keep your taxpayer-funded State house. There are just far too many families on the wait-list who would respect that property and respect their neighbours to just privilege those current KO tenants who wage a war of abuse in the community. It's not right and I agree with the member when he said that after six years in Government he didn't do enough to crack down on unruly tenants. Well the good news is enough is enough. This Government was elected to change and we're going to do exactly that.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Is the Deputy Prime Minister correct that the Government has a $5.6 billion Budget shortfall and that there is a huge gap" in its pre-election costings?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Well I can tell you I'm not going to take any lectures from that member about economic management. That was a Government that was characterised by spending more taxing more borrowing more and we heard from the new finance spokesperson they want to continue to do more of it.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Point of order Mr Speaker. It was a very straightforward question as to whether a statement by the current Deputy Prime Minister was correct. It had nothing to do with the previous Government at all.SPEAKER: Yes that's true. It could've been answered with one word and then perhaps some elaboration. The Prime Minister might like to have another go at that.Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Well we've inherited a struggling economy from the previous Government's economic mismanagement and we've got some big fiscal challenges ahead of us but we're the Government that's going to fix it. We'll do it; that's what we always do and we're going to clean up after your last Government.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Is the IRD correct that his Government's proposed tax on offshore online casino operators will raise $155 million over four years or are the "rock-solid" costings that he and Nicola Willis produced correct suggesting the change will bring $716 million of revenue over the same period—a difference of over $500 million?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: What I can reassure the member about is that this is a Government that's going to give tax relief to working New Zealanders low and middle income workers who actually deserve a tax break after 14 years of not getting one particularly from that previous Government. That's what we're going to deliver for them.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Which numbers are correct: his rock-solid estimate of the savings that his cuts to benefit adjustments will make or the latest official advice that they'll save $1.3 billion less than he promised before the election?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Well I can tell the member the numbers that we're not going to be doing. We're not going to increase Government spending by 84 percent. We're not going to hire 16000 more public servants. We're not going to increase Government debt from $5 billion to $100 billion and actually have nothing to show for it. We're a Government that's going to fix this economy we're going to grow the economy give people tax relief and ensure there's a culture of fiscal discipline.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Well which numbers are correct: his rock-solid pre-election estimate of the cost of tax cuts for landlords or the latest official advice that they will cost $800 million more than he promised before the election?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: I think what's great is we care about renters a group that the Labour Party used to care about a lot. Actually we're increasing the supply of rental properties we're lowering costs that have just been passed through to renters—because under that Government average rents went up $170 a week. That's not going to happen under our Government. We want downward pressure on rents not upward pressure.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Why did he claim on 11 March that he hadn't seen the advice that his Government's tax cuts for landlords had blown out by $800 million given his finance Minister had already publicly confirmed that that was the case or has he just given up on trying to keep track of all of his Government's Budget blowouts?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: I'll tell you who I haven't given up on and it's the renters of New Zealand. Under that Government average rents went up $170 a week. Well I'm sorry we're here to fix things. We're here to get the country turned around. We're going to get things done and we're going to make sure that there's more rental property available. We don't just load up landlords with costs that pass on to renters that lead to higher rents. We want lower rents downward pressure on rents.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Will tenants get $800 million worth of rent reductions as a result of this policy?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: What we will be doing is increasing the supply of rental property and putting downward pressure on rent as he has received in formal advice before in Government. That's why his policies didn't work. They ended up increasing average rents—that's not acceptable. We're on the side of renters in New Zealand.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Point of order Mr Speaker. I accept the Prime Minister hasn't answered any of my questions thus far but that was a relatively simple and straightforward question about an $800 million policy which he claims is going to lower rents. I've asked whether it will result in $800 million worth of rent reductions.SPEAKER: Well as I said just recently in Parliament it's a good idea if people refer to the point of order or the matter of order they're referring to. Given your opening statement there I think you probably closed off some opportunities. But can I just say that no member has the right to expect a yes or no answer and the final line of that line of questioning really did invite the response that the member got.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Does he agree with Christopher Luxon "I can tell you in the National Party we understand the economy and we are rock solid in our numbers." given his tax promises were $800 million out on interest deductibility more than $500 million out on gambling and $1.3 billion out on benefit indexation?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Well look I can tell you it is ironic that you are trying to lecture me on economics after six years of being in Government of actually causing huge damage to our books having had economic mismanagement and vandalism on a scale we've never seen before an 84 percent increase in Government spending. You drove up domestic inflation you drove up interest rates the last three quarters of the last year's economic growth went down and you've got rising unemployment. So I don't take lectures from you on anything to do with economics thank you very much.SPEAKER: I just point out that it wasn't me lecturing the Prime Minister of any of those things.Hon David Seymour: Can the Prime Minister confirm that the fiscal impact of the mortgage interest deductibility changes is greater than the estimate of one party and closer to the estimate of another party in the coalition because this Government is actually a coalition of three partners working together for a better New Zealand and does he have any advice for the guy on the other side who has no friends?Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: I'm very proud of the way that the three parties in this coalition Government are working to actually get things done for New Zealanders."