Labour leader Chris Hipkins has hit out at Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, claiming his Government has prioritised tax cuts for landlords while it limited the number of entitlements available to people with disabilities.
He was the first leader from each of the three Opposition parties to interrogate Luxon during today’s Question Time in the House.
Families of disabled children have said they were shocked after the Ministry for Disabled People had announced sudden restrictions on funding, which families say amounts to a cut to their support services.
Hipkins probed Luxon for the cost of reinstating interest deductibility, which was $2.9 billion over four years. He then asked the PM why Cabinet had agreed to that without boosting disability support funding.
Luxon disagreed with Hipkins’ characterisation and said his Government was currently going through the Budget process and would be assessing the funding for the Ministry for Disabled People.
Hipkins, Greens co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick and Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi were all listed as having questions for Luxon.
Question Time began in quite a comical fashion, with National MP Joseph Mooney appearing to have forgotten or misplaced the questions he was supposed to ask his Finance Minister Nicola Willis.
That prompted quite a bit of mockery from several Labour MPs.
Labour’s finance spokeswoman Barbara Edmonds followed her leader in questioning Finance Minister Nicola Willis on the same matter, asking whether she considered meeting the cost “blowout” of restoring interest deductibility a greater priority than funding support for the disabled community.
Willis felt the need to “caution” Edmonds on the nature of her question before repeating Luxon’s earlier comments that the relevant ministry was operating on the same level of funding it was given under the previous Labour government.
Swarbrick challenges PM on cost of living
Swarbrick pressed Luxon to name one action his Government had done so far that had reduced the cost of living.
Luxon’s first example was the ditching of the Auckland regional fuel tax, which he later conceded wouldn’t lead to lower fuel prices in the city until July.
She then asked whether landlords and high-income individuals or low-income people benefited the most from the Government’s proposed tax cuts.
Luxon said Swarbrick would have to wait until the Budget and maintained low and middle income people deserved a break through tax relief.
The tax cuts were also referenced when Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi questioned whether Luxon would support his members’ bill to remove GST off all food, which would be heard in the House tonight.
Luxon said National would not support the bill, saying it would be too complex. However, Luxon said he looked forward to Te Pāti Māori supporting the tax cuts as he believed it was the best way to help relieve the pressure of the current high cost of living.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon wants Kāinga Ora tenants to recognise their responsibilities. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
Yesterday, Hipkins attempted to pin Luxon down on how the current economic challenges would impact the upcoming Budget, but the Prime Minister deflected and said he wouldn’t take lessons about economic management from Hipkins.
Swarbrick instead pursued a commitment from Luxon to resign if his Government’s changes to Kāinga Ora’s approach to unruly tenants would lead to more children becoming homeless.
Her question in the House was laughed at by members of the Government before Luxon said he wanted to make sure the children currently in emergency housing getting a shot at securing a state house when current tenants weren’t living up to their responsibilities.
Luxon did, however, congratulate Swarbrick on her ascension to the co-leadership, taking over from James Shaw.
Waititi may use his question to push Luxon to support his Member’s Bill proposing to remove GST from food, which will have its first reading today.
In a press release, Waititi said he had presented a petition on the proposal which had garnered almost 20,000 signatures.
“The petition is a strong indication of the appetite in Aotearoa to remove the regressive tax from the human right that is access to kai.”
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.
