1. Question No. 1—Prime MinisterHon JUDITH COLLINS (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Prime Minister1. 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 including the work to keep the unemployment rate in New Zealand as low as possible. Unemployment for the June 2021 quarter was 4 percent 0.6 percent lower than the March quarter. Of particular note is the unemployment rate of women which has fallen from 5.8 percent in September 2020 to 4.3 percent last quarter. But there is still work to do. That's why we've reinstated the Training Incentive Allowance supporting 16000 people to retrain gain higher skills and transition into new careers. Sole parents disabled people and carers are among those most affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19. They also face higher costs and barriers to education and training. Alongside the Flexi-wage He Poutama Rangatahi and Mana in Mahi these are initiatives where we ensure that we leave no one behind.Hon Judith Collins: Will she announce a concrete plan on Friday that gives certainty to Aucklanders that the lockdown will end before Christmas or is she prepared to leave Aucklanders behind?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: That is something I spoke to extensively yesterday in this House in a press conference yesterday and in media yesterday and the member knows the answer is yes. We will be presenting greater detail around what a framework for protecting New Zealand in a highly vaccinated environment will look like.Hon Judith Collins: Why is she making Aucklanders who have been locked down for 64 days wait until Friday for a stage-managed pronouncement on whether or not they'll be locked down for Christmas?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Obviously I reject some elements of that member's statement but I also note that the member has released her version of a plan which includes both targets but also a date of 1 December. So I think what that's acknowledging is that there's obviously some work to do to ensure that there is safety for all Aucklanders via vaccination and maybe that is something that we can actually agree on.Hon Judith Collins: Is she saying then that she agrees with the National Party that we need to have a date of 1 December by which her Government needs to complete the vaccination programme that they promised to do this year?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: It would be difficult for me to know exactly what I would be agreeing with when on 17 August Dr Shane Reti said that they may need to go to 85 90 or 95 percent; on 23 August the Leader of the Opposition said a target of 70 to 75 percent; on 18 September Chris Bishop said the first target should be 70 to 75 percent; and actually all on the same day of the 19th Shane Reti said 90 to 95 Judith Collins said that they'd give a date by the end of November and Chris Bishop said 85 to 90. So I'm not sure what I would be agreeing with.Hon Judith Collins: Well if she's going to make up numbers like that as she just did perhaps she could answer—SPEAKER: Order! Order! The Leader of the Opposition knows what she said was out of order and therefore she will withdraw and apologise.Hon Judith Collins: Yes I withdraw and apologise. Thank you.SPEAKER: Further supplementary?Hon Judith Collins: Yes. So will she then announce on Friday a milestone by which time all COVID lockdowns will end or will she continue to quote figures and dates and get things wrong?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: To answer the second part of the question: no.Hon Judith Collins: So at what vaccination rate will lockdown restrictions be lifted under her Government?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Obviously we've already said that not only would we be speaking to the framework but also the triggers that we would be using on Friday. But I do note that the member has done both which again I'm not entirely clear on whether the member believes a highly vaccinated environment is required or is simply an ambition given she has three targets but also a date. I'm sure New Zealand would appreciate clarity on her opinion.Hon Judith Collins: Point of order Mr Speaker. I asked for the Prime Minister's view not her view of our document.SPEAKER: I'm not quite sure that was the question. I was convinced that the Prime Minister addressed the question at the beginning; whether the rest of it was helpful I'm not sure. But we'll go on to the next supplementary now.Hon Judith Collins: Well does the Prime Minister believe that a framework will be greeted by Aucklanders with certainty given that it's still just a framework that she's talking about for Friday?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I think obviously it would be best that we have that engagement after Friday and then the member will be able to ask a question perhaps with some more specificity. But I think what we can all agree with is that in the past of course lockdown and restrictions and the tools that we had meant that we were making every decision based on case numbers and the nature of an outbreak and that has shaped New Zealand's response to date. The ability to vaccinate and vaccinate broadly does give us more tools that enable us to build a framework to try and keep people safe but in a highly vaccinated environment. So that is what we'll be looking to share more details around on Friday.Hon Judith Collins: On Friday will it be necessary for the Prime Minister to fly down from Auckland a film crew to film her pronouncement or will she find sufficient people in Wellington who can do the job?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I'm not entirely sure what the member is referring to. If it is the really important event of the Vaxathon I'd have to say I think most New Zealanders thought that an event that brought about 130000 people being vaccinated—that that would be something she supports. The way in which the filming of it was undertaken is not something any of these members in this House was engaged with but all of us support initiatives to get people vaccinated.Hon Judith Collins: Did it make a difference to vaccination rates whether the film crew was able to come through as essential workers from Auckland or whether there were people in Wellington who might have done the job?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I'm not responsible for the staffing of Avalon Studios but what we are responsible for is ensuring that as many people as possible are vaccinated. I thought perhaps wrongly that the Vaxathon was something that was broadly supported in this House.Hon Judith Collins: Now that Auckland is in its third month of lockdown does she regret spending so much of the COVID fund on things like a $500000 grant to a book matchmaking website based in North America?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Obviously decisions that are made around an innovation fund within the Ministry for Culture and Heritage is not something that I am personally determining. What I absolutely stand by is unlike many other countries we made a deliberate decision that because COVID-19 affects our artists and our creatives and those who rely on the gathering of people the most we specifically tested that the wage subsidy would be available to them. It has ensured the survival of our creative sector in a very difficult environment and we also then established a recovery package. The way that is administered sits with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.