Seymour began by saying he had received assurances from all coalition partners that they had had no funding from the tobacco industry and added there had been “no undue influence” from anyone from the industry on Government policies.
Labour complained to the Speaker he had avoided the question, to which Seymour repeated how he was confident there was no undue influence.
The Opposition parties continued to argue for a better response to the question as National argued the party policies were not something that the Acting PM should have to answer for. The Speaker said he would reflect on the matter and make a decision next week.
Sepuloni tried to probe further, asking about whether Seymour was confident all conflicts of interest had been declared by ministers and when Luxon would dismiss Costello from her ministerial portfolios - something also called for by Labour’s Dr Ayesha Verrall.
Seymour said he was confident conflicts had been declared and was assured Sepuloni would come to see the value Costello had as a minister.
During Question Time, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello claimed her words and actions have been “distorted by a media article” regarding the advice she requested from officials about strategies to lower smoking levels.
An RNZ report today claimed she had written to officials asking advice on freezing excise tax increases on tobacco products. Costello told RNZ through a statement she had not written for that advice.
Labour’s health spokeswoman Dr Ayesha Verrall pressed her on why she had asked for that advice and why she had denied it to RNZ.
Costello said it was “unfortunate” her actions had been distorted by RNZ and again stated how she had sent various documents to officials, including previous party policy documents. She said she was unaware of who wrote the documents.
It comes as the Government announced the minimum wage increase for the year would be 2 per cent, a much smaller increase than in recent years. Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden announced it would increase by 2 per cent to $23.15 an hour from April 1, 2024.
Van Velden said New Zealand’s minimum wage was higher than in many OECD countries and increases under Labour had far outstripped the consumers price index (CPI).
“Between June 2016 and June 2023, overall, the minimum wage increased at nearly twice the rate of inflation, with a 48.8 per cent increase in the minimum wage and a 25.1 per cent increase in CPI. This Government’s approach sets the balance right.”
Other highlights of question time are likely to be NZ First’s Associate Health Minister Casey Costello again facing questions about whether she sought advice from officials on freezing the excise on tobacco products, after an RNZ story claiming her own notes from a meeting showed she had done so. Costello has denied being the one who wrote the notes.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell is also set to be interrogated again on this week’s backtrack over whether a coalition agreement promise to recruit and train 500 more police than normal would be done over two years or three years.
Mitchell has said he got it wrong when he said three years rather than two years - but has pointed to the difficulties police had raised about delivering on it in the two-year timeframe.
The police briefing to the incoming minister, released this morning, canvassed the difficulties in attrition and recruitment.
