Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis - or Fisher and Paykel, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins - during the post-Cabinet Press conference at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis - or Fisher and Paykel, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins - during the post-Cabinet Press conference at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has criticised Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister Nicola Willis for their lengthy “sermon” to journalists at Parliament, where they listed the Government’s cost of living policies to date.
In a more than 10-minute address, Willis listed at least 13 policies or issues shesaid proved her Government had a handle on the rising cost of living, spanning inflation, fuel taxes, tenancy law changes, rate rebates for seniors, medical prescription lengths, renewable energy, supermarket prices and council rates.
The press conference comes after a week in which the Government came under pressure on cost of living issues, particularly relating to the high cost of butter and Stats NZ figures showing the annual inflation rate rising.
Willis said none of these policies were designed to deliver relief overnight but not doing them would result in bigger challenges for the economy.
Luxon said the Government needed to “double down” on its economic plan to make people feel better off.
“Spending more, taxing and borrowing more as Labour and other parties advocate for, didn’t work in the past and it won’t work in the future,” Luxon said.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis during the post-Cabinet Press conference at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“The most important thing we can do to make you better off is to double down on our economic plan,” he said.
Hipkins called Willis’ and Luxon’s address a “sermon” that showed the pair was out of touch with the daily reality of New Zealanders.
Although the party said they were going to get “New Zealand back on track” as per their election campaign slogan, Hipkins claimed “across the board, New Zealanders can see the country is going backwards.”
“Yet Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis just say – “oh, that’s all part of the plan, we’ve got this” – they haven’t got it.
“Things are getting worse for the vast majority of New Zealanders and no amount of spin from them is going to change the reality that things are getting worse for New Zealanders under their leadership.
“I think we should start calling them Fisher and Paykel because they’ve got more spin than a front load washing machine.”
Tax relief was a major part of National’s 2023 election campaign amid flaring inflation and a cost of living crisis.
The party campaigned on a series of policies aimed at helping the “squeezed middle”, including adjusting tax rates, increasing tax credits and FamilyBoost. These policies came into effect in July last year.
Willis said today the average household is $1,560 better off after the Government’s tax relief package.
“We have also introduced FamilyBoost, which with the latest expansion gives families up to 40 per cent off their childcare costs.
“We have removed the Auckland fuel tax, introduced 12-month prescriptions, increased the rates rebate for 66,000 seniors and increased Working for Families payments.”
Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon arriving for the post-Cabinet Press conference. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Luxon stressed that a year and half into the term, he and his party were still fixated on improving the economy and the cost of living.
Things were still tough for many families but the economy was “expected to grow on average 2.7% per year creating 240,000 jobs over the next four years.
“In the short term we are pulling every lever we can to help Kiwi families with the cost of living.”
The Government also announced the scrapping of surcharges at the till, such as when a customer uses PayWave or their mobile phone to make a payment.
“New Zealanders are paying up to $150 million in surcharges every year. That’s money that could be saved or spent elsewhere.”
Luxon also said the changes the Government were making to construction would help reduce costs for businesses and New Zealanders.
Earlier in the day, Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden announced she would review safety rules for scaffolding, saying she had received many complaints from the construction industry that current regulations were too complex and expensive.
Van Velden was light on the details of what specifically would be reviewed, but said officials would consult on proposed new rules that would give people a selection of safety options depending on how dangerous the job was.
“If it’s not very risky, they will not need to use expensive scaffolding.
“For example, they will be considering whether a ladder could be used instead of scaffolding for a simple roof gutter repair or minor electrical maintenance when working at height.”
