Live: PM Jacinda Ardern post Cabinet press conference

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the PM’s post-Cabinet press conference

Posted by nzherald.co.nz on Sunday, 10 December 2017

Adrian Orr has been appointed as new Reserve Bank Governor effective from 27 March 2018.

The announcement was made today at Jacinda Ardern's post Cabinet press conference.

"Following the Reserve Bank Board's unanimous recommendation to me, I have appointed Adrian Orr for a five-year term at the completion of Acting Governor Grant Spencer's term," Grant Robertson said.

Further steps towards the Labour led Government's First 100 Days programme will be announced at Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's weekly press conference as Labour prepares for a mini-budget later this week.

Ardern is also expected to speak more on the family incomes package which Labour has campaigned on. Labour intends to start to pass into law later this week and cancel National's tax cuts before they comes into effect in April.

The big step of the week will be the so-called 'mini-Budget' which will go through under Urgency after the release of the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update by Treasury on Thursday.

This morning Ardern also revealed she hoped to get bi-partisan agreement over child poverty – Ardern plans to set a target to reduce child poverty and has called to "take the politics out of poverty."

While she said she expected National would have a different target and different ways to reach that target, she was writing to National leader Bill English to seek his support for a target to be legislated.

English said that would depend on the content of what Labour was proposing.

During the campaign English said he would commit to a target of reducing child poverty by 100,000 – saying National's mix of tax cuts, extra Working for Families and Accommodation Supplement payments would lift 50,000 out of poverty.

Labour will Ardern said Labour's Families package would benefit low and middle income families more than National's package.

Last week the latest data from the Child Poverty Monitor showed that 10,000 children were helped out of severe poverty, while material hardship for 20,000 children had been reduced. Those figures pre-dated National's move to lift the core benefit rate for families and Ardern said she hoped those welfare payments would see that reduction continue.

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