1. Question No. 1—Prime MinisterCHRISTOPHER LUXON (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Prime Minister1. CHRISTOPHER LUXON (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. In particular I stand by our decision to increase the minimum wage to $21.20. We remain committed to supporting New Zealanders by raising their wages and I was glad to hear that the deputy leader of the National Party is not opposed to this either. Raising the minimum wage will directly benefit approximately 300000 workers many of whom have gone above and beyond during the pandemic.Christopher Luxon: Does she accept that with prices growing twice as fast as wages the average earner is worse off than a year ago and Kiwis are facing a cost of living crisis under Labour?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: In answer to the first part of the member's question yes I accept that currently we are in an international environment where many economies are experiencing inflation rates not too dissimilar to ours. I've already spoken in this House about the UK about Germany about the US about Canada. But in relation to the member's latter assertion I don't agree with that. We need only look at since the first quarter of 2018 and the average annual rate increase in wages which sits at around 3.5 percent relative to inflation which has been 2.2 per cent. We've been a Government focused on doing what we can to ensure that Kiwis' wages are increasing including relative to the cost of living.Christopher Luxon: Does she think it's a coincidence that under her Government annual rents rose $7280 during which time she ignored officials' advice that removing tax deductibility of interest costs could push up rents making the cost of living crisis for renters even worse?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I would refer the member to of course the context of that advice which didn't include in some cases the final decisions by Cabinet which was to take into account ways that we could incentivise new builds in order to ensure that we continue to have an increase in supply for our rental market. And so you can see in the final policy development we've done that with the exclusions that exist for new builds in the rental market and the way that we phased in interest deductibility. The alternative of course is that nothing is done in the housing market which was of course the approach of the last National Government. It meant we inherited a housing crisis and we're doing everything we can to turn that around. Brooke van Velden: Has the Government modelled how many people will have to self-isolate at the peak of the Omicron outbreak; and if it hasn't how does she know that the benefits of the Government's self-isolation policy will outweigh the costs? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Well I'm happy to speak to some of the variables. We have done some estimates but the variables are so significant that it makes it difficult. We've done those estimates in order to establish how much resource would be required for our care in the community model. But just to give the member some context on a low assumption—where we would be if we were something like South Australia. In terms of their peak you could reach something like 5000 cases a day. On the high it would be closer to for instance the state of New York at over 30000 cases. Keep in mind of course you'd expect at those levels a narrowing of your definition of close contacts. We have been very pragmatic and evidence based. In phase 3 if we reach high rates the definition of close contact narrows to a household definition because that is the most common place that you're likely to see transmission. Those are the groups that you don't want then circulating because you're very likely to pass on COVID to others.Brooke van Velden: Does she agree that a sensible policy would allow all people to leave self-isolation if they test negative?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Well firstly I would say to the member that for the most part those policies where they're being implemented of course tend to use rapid antigen testing. We have already taken the approach that where you are a critical worker yes we will use rapid antigen testing as a way to ensure that critical workforce supply chains and healthcare are maintained. But that is not a fail-safe approach. We only need to look at this House just yesterday with a false positive. Equally you can have false negatives at a rate as high as 20 percent of tests. Hon Simon Bridges: This sounds like Donald Rumsfeld.Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: So that's why we're trying to balance our approach to make sure yes we use that approach to keep supply chain moving but not in places where it's not necessary to take the risk and pass on COVID to others.SPEAKER: No. Order! Order! That's an odious comparison the member has made to me and he won't do it again.Christopher Luxon: Is it easier or harder for a first-home buyer to save for a deposit when on her watch rents are up $7280 house prices are up almost $400000 and incomes are growing half as fast as the cost of living?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Of course I refer back to the stats I provided in the answer to my first question that yes whilst we are seeing inflation pressures at this period of course we see many projecting that that will ease over the course of 2022. And when you come back to our track record as a Government wage growth has been outstripping growth in the cost of living. When we come to the issue of house prices generally that is the exact reason why we as a Government have built or created over 8000 public housing places; why we have made changes to the way that we are fast-tracking projects through our resource consent process—that has meant that we have additional houses being built. It's why we've gone and embarked on the reform of the Resource Management Act why we've developed a progressive home ownership scheme why we worked on interest deductibility and changed the brightline test. All of these things as far as I'm aware are things that the National Party have opposed. So I question the member as to what his proposals are to ensure that first-home buyers can get into the housing market?Christopher Luxon: How many people have been assisted by the progressive home ownership scheme?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: It would depend on whether we're talking about the assistance that we've provided for the community-based progressive home ownership scheme or the newly established programme that we are administering. For the exact numbers I'd ask the member to ask directly the Minister of Housing. But I would say every family that is helped into that is one more than would have been under the National Party.Christopher Luxon: Why is she proposing a brand new jobs tax under the guise of income insurance that will see costs for businesses increase and income for workers decrease at a time of rising inflation and falling real incomes?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I'm fascinated to hear—and I have to say disappointed to hear—the member characterise a scheme that is ultimately designed to support New Zealand workers in a time of economic shock when Business New Zealand and the Council of Trade Unions (CTU) in an extraordinary tripartite agreement have come together to make this proposal. We have now experienced the Christchurch earthquakes the global financial crisis and a pandemic which has demonstrated the need for us New Zealand no longer to be on the outside with Australia as the only OECD countries that do not have an in form of job protection insurance. I welcome the fact that we have agreement amongst Business New Zealand and the CTU. It's a shame the Opposition won't join them.Christopher Luxon: What is her response to former BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander who said her jobs tax would worsen average after-tax incomes for Kiwi households" while pushing inflation even higher as costs are passed on to consumers?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Firstly the member is totally ignoring the fact that the period of which we are developing this policy will take us beyond the period that we were expecting to experience this increase in inflation; 2023 is the timeline that we are working to. Secondly it is incredibly short-sighted to have the member criticise spending which has kept people in their jobs through the wage subsidy and then criticise a solution designed to support New Zealanders should they in the future experience a jarring shock to our economy. It demonstrates again how short-sighted and lacking of ideas to protect New Zealand in the future the Opposition are.Christopher Luxon: How is taxing workers and businesses more going to help address the cost of living crisis?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Interesting does the member call ACC that same thing? Because this is what we are mirroring this programme and policy around. And again 100000 New Zealanders lose their job every year and if you think about the number who experience a diagnosis like cancer that means that they are for a time unable to work. This is not something that only affects a small number of New Zealanders. Almost every country we compare ourselves to has something similar and it is as I've said disappointing that the member cannot see the benefits to New Zealand of such a scheme.Hon Chris Hipkins: Does the Prime Minister support increasing GST and significantly increasing ACC levies as happened last time there was a significant cost of living increase in New Zealand?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I would absolutely acknowledge what the member has raised which is the last time New Zealanders saw a significant increase in the cost of living in that manner it was actually imposed by the National Government."