Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and National leader Christopher Luxon will face off against each other for the first time in Question Time today.
National Party leader Christopher Luxon has attacked Prime Minister Chris Hipkins over his Government’s level of spending during their first face-off during an animated Question Time in the House today.
Hipkins just a month into the role hit back strongly, calling out Luxon, who has been leader for over a year, about a perceived lack of policies.
“The member keeps going on about wanting to get things done, he doesn’t seem to have too many ideas about what it is that he actually wants to get done,” Hipkins said.
Luxon started off his line of questioning asking what impacts the Government had seen on cost of living issues for the extra $1 billion a week it is spending (compared to 2017 before Labour came into government).
He then challenged Hipkins on promises to reign in spending on consultants, which was now over $1.7b a year, including $53 million on light rail in Auckland.
Of the wider transport project for Auckland, he asked Hipkins if $30b on light rail was “really the right thing to be spending money on right here right now”.
National Party leader Christopher Luxon and Deputy leader Nicola Willis. Photo / Jed Bradley
Hipkins hit back, pointing out light rail was multi-generational and that a city like Auckland deserved “world-class public transport”.
On consultants, Hipkins said many were doing work in areas the last government had “underinvested in”.
“Which is why we had classrooms that were falling down, hospitals with excrement in the walls and roads that were full of potholes.
“We’re dealing with what the last government didn’t.”
National Party leader Christopher Luxon and Deputy leader Nicola Willis
during Question Time. Photo / Jed Bradley
The match-up happened just minutes after the Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr announced the official cash rate would rise another 50 basis points to 4.75 per cent, putting the focus on the twin issues of the cost of living and the cyclone recovery.
Question Time began at 2pm and Luxon had the third question on the roster for the day – Green Party co-leader James Shaw was up first and focused on asking Hipkins what the response to Cyclone Gabrielle would do to address the issues of climate change.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins during his first Question Time. Photo / Jed Bradley
Hipkins said they were working to ensure New Zealand was prepared for a world in which “these events are more frequent and more severe”.
“The need for greater resilience and adaptation to climate change will be embedded in our response.”
It was Hipkins’ first Question Time as Prime Minister – and he also fielded questions from Act leader David Seymour about the state of the economy and tax revenue.
The exchange elicited a slip-up from the Prime Minister when he incorrectly said the Government was now taking less tax as a proportion of the economy than when it became Government.
In 2017, Core Crown tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 27.7 per cent while the current forecast is for it to be 29.9 per cent in 2023
National’s finance spokeswoman Nicola Willis asked Finance Minister Grant Robertson if he would rule out a “flood tax” to help pay for the recovery.
Earlier today, Robertson announced the Budget would be delivered on May 18 – he has not ruled out possible tax changes in that as a result of the expected cost of the cyclone recovery, saying as part of the process he has to consider both spending and revenue.
It will also be the first outing for several ministers after Hipkins’ reshuffle of Cabinet - National’s education spokeswoman Erica Stanford will ask minister Jan Tinetti about truancy numbers.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins during his first Question Time. Photo / Jed Bradley
There will also be a taste of the ongoing matchup of National’s Simeon Brown and Transport Minister Michael Wood – on the future of Auckland light rail project.
While Hipkins’ statement to Parliament yesterday included a commitment to the business study on light rail, there is as yet no solid commitment to going ahead with it after that point.
Earlier in the week, the Government announced its initial funding package of support for businesses affected by the cyclone – a $50 million for farmers and orchardists to help clean up and repair their properties, and a $250 million injection for the emergency repairs of key roads in the region.
However, Robertson said that was just the start of the support it expected to offer.
