9. Question No. 9—Prime MinisterRAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Pāti Māori) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 9—Prime Minister9. RAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Pāti Māori) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government's statements and policies? Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON (Prime Minister): Yes in the context that they were given. Rawiri Waititi: How many Māori will be evicted from their homes as a result of this Government's recently announced Kāinga Ora (KO) policy? Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Well we actually hope there'll be very few evictions from KO properties but we make no apologies for actually evicting tenants who are abusing their neighbours with threatening and abusive behaviour. We think that's fair: we think it's fair for those people that are on the wait-list that are desperate to get a State house and we think it's fair for the neighbours that are enduring those abusive tenants. Rawiri Waititi: How many of the 25000 people on the social housing list are Māori? Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: A significant number and they deserve their shot at a State house as well. That's why we are very clear that we will deprioritise abusive KO tenants and we will give those people on the State house wait-list a shot at getting a home. Rawiri Waititi: What wraparound support is his Government providing to Kāinga Ora tenants to keep them in their homes? Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Well there are wraparound supports but what I would say to you very clearly is we are standing up very very strongly to say that KO tenants who actually abuse their neighbours and are threatening do not pay their rent do not get on a rent repayment plan—that is unacceptable. We need to give people who are on that wait-list a shot at a State house. We need to respect the neighbours that are in those communities who are actually doing it tough and being abused daily. Rawiri Waititi: Point of order Mr Speaker. Yesterday you made a ruling around acronyms. Again we've heard an acronym today. The other thing is that the question was quite clear: what wraparound support is the Government providing—not whether there is any—in those Kāinga Ora homes? SPEAKER: Yeah the first point is that it was in regards to acronyms in primary questions. But I would appreciate the House refraining from using those and using the whole term—fair point. The point about the nature of the question—I'm sure the Prime Minister would want to say a little bit more on the matter. Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Look there is a range of support services and particularly in our community housing providers there's even higher levels of pastoral care and support that's going to those vulnerable tenants that are in those properties as well. We'll continue to support community housing providers Kāinga Ora houses and we're going to make sure that people get the wraparound support. But we are going to call time on tenants that are actually abusing their neighbours because others deserve a shot. We believe strongly in rights and responsibilities. You can't just take the rights of being a Kiwi without actually having the responsibilities to each other and to the country. Rawiri Waititi: What is his Government doing to ensure that Māori who are evicted from Kāinga Ora housing as a result of his Government's policies do not end up homeless? Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Well I'm sorry but today there are children waking up in scungy motel rooms. Today there are children waking up on living room floors of friends' and families' houses. Those families are desperate to get a State house and they deserve their go at that. They deserve their shot at that and we are not going to tolerate badly behaving unruly disruptive threatening tenants—period. [Government members applaud]Rawiri Waititi: Thank you! Does he agree with 60 percent of New Zealanders that the cost of living is the biggest issue facing the country and if so what immediate actions will he take to address the cost of living crisis for lower-income whānau? Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Absolutely—that is the number one issue in this country for everyday New Zealanders. It is that they are struggling with the cost of living crisis and the reason is very simple: the previous administration—the previous Labour Government—increased Government spending by 84 percent. It lifted domestic inflation it raised interest rates it supressed economic growth and it has created rising unemployment. That is the story of economics and that's why we're tackling the root cause of it: getting inflation down below 3 percent so we can lower the cost of living keep people in employment and keep people in their homes. Rawiri Waititi: Will his Government support my bill to remove GST from food and provide immediate relief for whānau who are struggling to put kai on the table and if not why not? Rt Hon CHRISTOPHER LUXON: No because it would be administratively complex. But what I look forward to is Te Pāti Māori's support for our programme to actually give low and middle income working New Zealanders tax relief at the Budget. I look forward to his support because that's the best way in which we keep money in the pockets of low and middle income workers—Māori or non-Māori—so they can navigate the cost of living and spend their money as they see fit.