1. Question No. 1—Prime MinisterHon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader—National) to the Prime MinisterORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Prime Minister1. Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader—National) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's statements policies and actions?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): Yes.Hon Simon Bridges: How many of the 12 Government priorities she announced in September 2018 will be measurable in light of her statement that [New Zealanders] need to know how we are tracking and we do too."?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: There are a range of indicators that are already in the public domain that will give us a sense of how New Zealand is tracking across issues like for instance poverty income and housing. We as a Government said in September that we would do that within roughly six months. We're looking next month to put out more on that matter.Hon Simon Bridges: How many more elective surgeries have occurred under her Government since it directed the Ministry of Health to scrap the health performance measure?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I point out that that measure took I believe four years for the National Government to generate. But I would say that if the member would like to break from tradition and actually put a question on notice I would be happy to come back with some more direct information.Hon Simon Bridges: How many fewer New Zealanders are on a working-age benefit since her Government scrapped the Better Public Services target to reduce long-term welfare dependency?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I would note that of course we have made sure that through some of our investment we are tackling some of the lowest incomes in this country through for instance the changes that we've made to Working for Families. When it comes to benefit numbers the December 2018 quarter shows the proportion of the working-age population receiving a main benefit has remained about the same with the rate of people on youth and parent benefits continuing to decline.Hon Simon Bridges: Were there 11000 more New Zealanders on the jobseeker benefit in the 12 months to December 2018?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I've already said the total proportion of working-age people on a main benefit is 9.9 percent compared to 9.8 percent in the December quarter last year.Hon Simon Bridges: Has the number of people not in education employment or training increased by 26000 in the last three months?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I'm glad the member's asked the question around the number of NEETs. Statistics New Zealand whom the member staunchly defended the independence of while in Government have advised that there were data issues with the NEETs data in this quarter and they have asked that we look at the longer-term trends instead as more people than usual were surveyed towards the end of the quarter and that of course is at a time when tertiary education had ended for the year. Hon Simon Bridges: Did Grant give them a talking to?Hon Grant Robertson: That didn't work when I did it. SPEAKER: Can I say to the Minister of Finance that when he interjects when the Prime Minister is speaking his interjection comes through the system. His voice is quite a big one and it also causes a reaction which is probably not helpful either. It doesn't matter whether the member was reacting to his name being called out; he should be able to just ignore it.Hon Simon Bridges: How many fewer people not in education employment or training is her Government aiming to have by the end of 2019?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Again I'm so pleased now to see that suddenly the member has some ambition about young people not in education and training because that ambition was not met with any action when he was in Government. On this side of the House we have had He Poutama Rangatahi the programme that the Minister of Employment has established specifically for NEETs. We've had Mana in Mahi. Just yesterday I was looking at some of the work that has been done in forestry to get young people who are currently on benefits into work. These are tangible differences that we're making for young people. I'd be happy to bring the numbers to the House if the member would choose to put a question on notice for a change. David Seymour: Could the Prime Minister think of any Government in New Zealand history that didn't or couldn't claim to "value who we are as a country"? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Yes I'd say in comparison to the last Government—I've seen plenty of examples where they didn't. Rt Hon Winston Peters: Could I ask the Prime Minister has the leader of the National Party Mr Bridges told her why he thinks that people not education employment or training is neat?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Obviously we'd like to have seen some more examples of some proactive actions taken on policy which this Government is absolutely doing.Hon Simon Bridges: How many fewer assaults on children have occurred since her Government scrapped the specific Better Public Services target in regard to that?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Some of this was canvassed in the Salvation Army report which I want to also acknowledge. I did acknowledge that there's been a decline in for instance food bank access since we've been in office. It does outline that there is more work to do. What I just want to point out to the member is that setting a target does not fundamentally change the way that you behave as a Government unless you have the policy and interventions that make a difference. This is a Government that is implementing different policies and ideas to invest in our children and our rangatahi and it took four years for that Government to come up with some targets that didn't make the fundamental difference we need. Hon Simon Bridges: How many children are in poverty? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: There are 64000 fewer as a result of the Families Package. Hon Simon Bridges: How many of the 1000 KiwiBuild houses promised to be delivered by 1 July 2019 have been built?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: More houses than were ever built under that Government because they did not build affordable homes. This a prime opportunity for me to point out that this Government is building more homes as a Government than any Government since the late 1970s and we are proud of it. Hon Simon Bridges: Will light rail to Mount Roskill be delivered by 2021 like she promised?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The light rail to the airport ambition is one that we shared across parties. We are in a Government that is working through the final delivery of an ambition that we share. The big difference is of course that this Government has worked to plug the funding gap that existed for Auckland Transport and that Government didn't.Hon Simon Bridges: Is it the case that she's done away with pre-existing measures has no new measures and so in the year of delivery we're seeing none?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: No.Hon Simon Bridges: You did.SPEAKER: Order! Order! I didn't. Is the member finished?"