He shot back at remarks by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Police Commissioner Andrew Coster that data showed reported crime in the region was not elevated after the cyclone.
National is calling for a doubling of sentences for things like burglary if the crime takes place when an area is under a state of emergency. He wants the change to take place now, while Hawke’s Bay is under a state of emergency, but he also wants the law on the books for future crises.
“You need to do it immediately because it’s really important, irrespective of what the issue or the event is. It is absolutely totally unacceptable in a society built on rights and responsibilities that you’re taking advantage of New Zealand’s most vulnerable people dealing with an incredibly tough and difficult situation.
“People have lost their livelihoods, lost their loved ones. People have lost communities. It’s pretty serious stuff,” he said.
Hipkins said on Monday crime rates were not elevated and “any suggestion things are out of control is just wrong”.
Coster also dismissed the notion crime was elevated and said many of the allegations did not stack up.
“There have been examples of very bad behaviour here and we will hold those offenders to account,” Coster told Newstalk ZB.
“I completely acknowledge it’s harder to report [crimes] than usual, but when we have investigated pieces of information provided to us many of them have not stacked up - it comes second and third hand and when you track it down, finding the original the source can be very very difficult,” he said.
“I don’t deny there are issues but we are well on top of them,” Coster said.
Luxon also cast forward to the rest of the year.
He said if it won the election, National would keep child poverty targets and strive to meet them. Targets are set by ministers and can change government to government, but are required under the Child Poverty Reduction Act that was passed with both Labour and National support in 2018.
Luxon said he wanted to keep using the child poverty targets, and also establish more targeting across the public service including in education and health.
“That has been the critical failing of this Government is the removal of targets in general and as a result, you’re not clear about the outcomes that you’re striving for,” Luxon said
The Government has said it will re-look at its tax policy going into the 2023 Budget, in light of the costs of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Luxon said the cost of the cyclone should be debt-funded and any levy to pay for the cyclone damage would be “a flood tax”.
“It’s a tax at a time when people are already doing it tough with the extreme cost of living crisis today,” Luxon said.
He said the cost of the cyclone had not caused him to rethink National’s tax policy, which includes adjusting tax brackets at a cost of just under $2 billion and eventually rolling back the bright line test extension and the Government’s property tax changes.
“It is appropriate that we borrow [for the cyclone rebuild] and if we ring fence and compartmentalised that task,” Luxon said.
“My frustration is that $60b of Covid money got flushed through the system and we were left with no hard improvement in infrastructure or a legacy around workforce in the healthcare, healthcare infrastructure,” he said.
