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Now, one of the things that the Opposition have been talking about tonight, which I would like to correct, is that it does not become a criminal offence and there is no prosecution. This is an infringement. So there will not be a criminal charge against the person. It's an infringement notice, so it is a very minor not... |
But the reality is, very simply, it is protecting our young children, our young people, from smoking in cars. It doesn't do anything more than that. It's a good start. There is more to come, as the Minister said. I commend the bill to the House. |
Hon MAGGIE BARRY (National—North Shore): I don't agree with much of what's been said on the opposing side, but I do commend this bill to the House and urge everyone to get on with it—an 18-month delay. At this stage, we can talk about vaping, and that's what happens at second readings—you talk about things that submitt... |
ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Ruth Dyson): I'm sorry to interrupt the member, but the time has come for the debate to be interrupted and set down for resumption next sitting day. |
Debate interrupted. |
The House adjourned at 10 p.m. |
THURSDAY, 13 FEBRUARY 2020 |
The Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m. |
Karakia. |
BUSINESS STATEMENT |
Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): The debate on the Prime Minister's statement will continue throughout next week. Other legislation to be considered next week will include the second readings of the Arms Legislation Bill and the Taxation (KiwiSaver, Student Loans, and Remedial Matters) Bill, the remaining stage... |
ORAL QUESTIONS |
QUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Prime Minister |
1. Hon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's statements and actions regarding gangs? |
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Deputy Prime Minister) on behalf of the Prime Minister: Yes. |
Hon Paula Bennett: Why are there 1,600 extra patched gang members on our streets since her Government took office? |
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Could I just say that one of those is because of the deportation policies from Australia. The other is the environment that was allowed to grow that ensured that gangs do thrive in this country, under the previous administration. The third one is the gangs have not got it through their heads that... |
Hon Paula Bennett: How many of the 20,000 extra victims last year were victims of gang crime? |
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister, that is not known. As to whether there was a partial association, a full association, an intermediary association, or a historical association, that sort of information we don't have. But what we do have—and very shortly—is not 1,000 or 1,500, but 2,000 new front-... |
Hon Paula Bennett: How many of the more than 51,000 victims of burglaries and almost 18,000 victims of serious assault were victims due to the actions of gangs? |
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Can I say to that member, she can make out that sort of construction as though it's somehow a new feature of our society, when we know that under her administration, 90-plus percent of such crimes were not solved. We've got the front-line police to ensure today they are, and that's why we've gone... |
Hon Paula Bennett: Is her Government's greatest achievement increasing the number of patched gang members by 1,594? |
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Again, holding up a chart like that is actually rather sad because what that chart represented yesterday was the highest house-building rate in this country since 1973. This fantastic news that should be celebrated has been—like the No. 1 lemon suckers in the country—turned around now to a chart ... |
Hon Paula Bennett: Does she agree with the Tauranga mayor, who said "Countries who are soft on crime tend to have crime escalate." following the double gang-shooting in Tauranga? |
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Can I say, again, Tenby Powell had a call from the Minister of Police this morning—that's the first thing. The second thing is he has been assured of the number of people we are putting on the ground and that the police will be provisioned with the utilities to do their job. The third thing is th... |
Hon Paula Bennett: Well, is she satisfied with the response from New Zealand Police that they can't do much and they can't arrest their way out of increased gang violence? |
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister, the police in this country may have had that sentiment at one time, but now there'll be no excuse because they will have the resources. They'll have the men and women and the power on the front line. In contrast, we saw the previous administration run the police n... |
Hon Stuart Nash: Has she seen a report from Jarrod Gilbert that stated "When Australian gangs became established in New Zealand in 2011, the next year, police numbers fell by 150."? |
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I want to thank the Minister of Police for reminding us of the fact and not just allegations. But can I just say police will be on the ground. Expect to see more armed police on the streets of Hawke's Bay and the Bay of Plenty in response to this gang tension. Expect to see police openly carrying... |
Hon Stuart Nash: Has she seen reports that in the last five years of the previous Government, police numbers actually fell? |
SPEAKER: No. That's not an area that the Prime Minister is responsible for. |
Question No. 2—Finance |
2. WILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Labour) to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? |
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Yesterday, the Reserve Bank released its latest Monetary Policy Statement. The bank forecasts New Zealand's GDP growth to remain slightly subdued at the beginning of this year before picking up again to be at 3.4 percent in the year to March 2021, supported by low interest rat... |
Willow-Jean Prime: What did the Monetary Policy Statement say about risks to New Zealand's economic growth? |
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The bank highlighted that global growth has been acting as a headwind to economic momentum through elevated uncertainty, rising trade barriers, and slower global manufacturing. The Reserve Bank said that despite some tentative signs of easing of trade tensions—including the signing of the US-China ... |
Willow-Jean Prime: What is the Government doing to ensure the New Zealand economy is resilient to these risks? |
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Overall, the Government's economic plan will ensure we're adaptable and resilient by transitioning to being more productive, sustainable, and inclusive in our economic growth. Obviously, the recent $12 billion New Zealand Upgrade Programme is a critical part of that plan to futureproof our infrastr... |
Question No. 3—Finance |
3. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of his policies and statements? |
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Yes, in the context in which they were made and given. In particular, I stand by my comment yesterday that "We are getting on with the business of Government. We are positive about the future of New Zealand and we're focused on the issues that matter to New Zealanders." |
Hon Paul Goldsmith: How can he stand by his statement from October last year that "The New Zealand economy is in good shape." when, just yesterday, the Reserve Bank lowered its annual GDP growth estimate for 2019 to just 1.6 percent? |
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: In answer to the first part of that question, I can say that because New Zealand's growth rates continue to outperform those of many advanced economies. We have unemployment at historically low levels of 4 percent. We have debt for the Crown at historically low levels as well. We've run surpluses. ... |
Hon Paul Goldsmith: So does 1.6 percent growth in 2019 mean that, per person, we didn't grow at all last year? |
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Again, the member is using a figure that includes a projection for the December quarter. We'll wait and see where that ends up. What I do know is on the official figures that we have, New Zealand's growth continues to outperform most advanced economies. |
Hon Paul Goldsmith: How can we afford higher wages, better healthcare, and better public services when the economy is not keeping up with population growth? |
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Again, the same question. I think the member has got assumptions in his question that are not yet proven. What I would say is that the economy is sustaining that. In a period in which we had around 2.7 percent growth, we also saw wages increase by around 3.5 percent. That's catch up, I might here a... |
Hon Paul Goldsmith: Well, does he agree that, ultimately, higher wages are not sustainable if the economy is not keeping up with population growth—as it didn't in 2019? |
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: What I do know is that higher wages are for New Zealanders the benefit of their hard work and their dividend from the prosperity of New Zealand. Of course we need the economy to continue to grow at sustainable rates, and, as I said, we continue to grow at a faster rate than many of our trading part... |
Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he accept that families will ultimately be less financially secure if the economy is not keeping up with population growth—as it didn't in 2019? |
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: It's been a goal of this Government from the day we entered here to make families more secure. It's the very reason why we put in place a Families Package with $5.5 billion to lift the incomes of low and middle income New Zealanders. It's why we're pleased that we are seeing the wage growth that we... |
Rt Hon Winston Peters: If the economy keeping up with population growth was the concern, does the member have any comparison between 2018, 2019, and this year, compared to the years of 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, when we had all-comers' records coming into this country? |
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: While I don't have the exact figures to hand for that, what I can say for sure is that in those years, we saw net migration at record high levels. It would be fair to say that at that time, one of the things a responsible Government might have been doing was actually building the infrastructure tha... |
SPEAKER: Order! Order! There is a limit to the free hits from a supplementary. |
Hon Paul Goldsmith: How is it possible that a country with historically high export prices and a Government able to increase spending significantly can stall like New Zealand did in 2019? |
Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I reject the premise of that question. |
Question No. 4—Justice |
4. Hon Dr NICK SMITH (National—Nelson) to the Minister of Justice: Does the Government support the statement by the Electoral Commission that "the New Zealand First Foundation has received donations which should have been treated as party donations for the New Zealand First Party," and that "the donations were not prop... |
Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Justice): I refer the member to section 6 of the Electoral Act 1993, which states that "The Electoral Commission may, if it considers that it is necessary for the proper discharge of its functions … (b) make any inquiries:". I also refer the member to section 7 of that Act, which states t... |
Hon Dr Nick Smith: Does he agree with the Deputy Prime Minister's criticism of the Electoral Commission when he said this is a "very damning statement for the Electoral Commission because they have no evidence or proof for their statement.", and does the full Government retain confidence in the Electoral Commission? |
Hon ANDREW LITTLE: In relation to the second part of the question, yes. |
Hon Dr Nick Smith: Does he agree with yesterday's statement by the Deputy Prime Minister that the major donors to the New Zealand First Foundation are entitled to keep their identities secret, and is this statement consistent with Government electoral policy? |
Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It will have occurred to you by now that the Minister being asked these questions is not responsible for the basis on which the question is being put in the first place—that would be obvious to any experienced member of Parliament. The second thing is that th... |
Hon Dr Nick Smith: Speaking to the point of order, it's a long-established practice that you can ask the Minister to comment on colleagues' comments. Secondly, it's within the Minister's portfolio responsibilities of electoral law and whether the Minister agrees with his colleague on that. |
SPEAKER: I'm going to ask the member to rephrase his question. I'm surprised there wasn't an objection on another ground. I think the leader of the New Zealand First Party might have made a comment; I don't think the Deputy Prime Minister did. So if the member rephrases his question to get it appropriate, then he can a... |
Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. We get, again, into the difficulty that this Parliament's faced on a number of occasions, where you have the various hats being pulled on and off by people, but the convention is that a Minister is always a Minister. You can't be a part-time member of the Govern... |
Rt Hon Winston Peters: I can help you there. The press statement I put out was put out as the leader of New Zealand First; not as a Minister, not as the Deputy Prime Minister, but in the name of the office of the leader of New Zealand First—the parliamentary wing. That serves the precise answer. It went out on Sunday a... |
Hon Chris Hipkins: This is very well-traversed ground in this House. In fact, when the former Prime Minister John Key was questioned about similar matters—party matters—he was often quoted in the media as Prime Minister John Key, and he made it clear in the House that he had been commenting as leader of the National Pa... |
SPEAKER: Yes, and I'm not preventing the member from asking his question, because it is within order to ask a Minister if he agrees with a statement if it's in their general area of responsibility, and if it's not, the Minister can say so. But in this particular case, it is clear to me that there is nothing in the area... |
Hon Dr Nick Smith: Certainly, Mr Speaker. Does he agree with yesterday's statement by Winston Peters that the major donors to the New Zealand First Foundation are entitled to keep their identities secret, and is this statement consistent with Government electoral policy? |
Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The statement is consistent with the Electoral Act, which allows within its framework for donations up to a certain threshold to be made and the donor to be concealed. |
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