Question Time: PM Jacinda Ardern and National's Christopher Luxon battle over inflation, cost of living

National Party leader Christopher Luxon kicked off a fiery Question Time today, the first after a two-week recess, challenging PM Jacinda Ardern about high levels of inflation. Photos / Mark Mitchell

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she rejects claims her policies are "crushing everyday Kiwis" unlike the Opposition's tax cuts that had a "live experiment" in the United Kingdom.

National Party leader Christopher Luxon kicked off a fiery Question Time today, the first after a two-week recess, challenging Ardern about high levels of inflation and the cost of living.

The showdown between the two main party leaders had their MPs heckling loudly on the sidelines.

It came after Stats NZ revealed today the annual inflation rate sat at 7.2 per cent, down from 7.3 per cent in the previous quarter.

This included food price rises of 8 per cent over the year, while vegetable prices in the quarter rose 24 per cent.

"Does she accept that at 7.2 per cent inflation has a firm grip on our economy, and that her Government's failure to take the cost of living crisis seriously is crushing everyday Kiwis?" Luxon asked the Prime Minister.

Ardern rejected the first part of the question, and said they were "particularly focused" on those who are "bearing the brunt of the cost-of-living impacts of overseas", including supply chain pressures and the war in Ukraine.

Ardern then referenced the tax-cut policies of the Opposition, and the impact proposed tax cuts in the United Kingdom had on the economy before being pulled back by Prime Minister Liz Truss.

"We've seen a live experiment of what would happen when such proposals are implemented," Ardern said, to a raucous response from her Labour caucus alongside loud heckles from across the House.

Luxon also challenged the Prime Minister on the Government's ability to handle the economy with above-target inflation going back 18 months, high spending and rising mortgage rates.

Ardern said compared to the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, the economy had fared far better, the country had taken on lower levels of debt and much fewer children were in poverty.

Ardern said Luxon also "clearly takes no account what is happening globally". She said the OECD inflation average was 18.3 per cent, United Kingdom 9.9 per cent, the United States 8.2 per cent and the Euro 9.1 per cent.

Act Party leader David Seymour chimed in with a question, about if the international influence was so strong, why tradeable inflation from overseas had dropped while non-tradeable inflation at home had risen.

Ardern responded that Seymour's assertion did not factor in non-tradeable construction, made up of 90 per cent of imported goods.

Police Minister Chris Hipkins then called out towards Seymour: "Mansplain that."

Luxon also criticised the Government's proposal to price agricultural emissions, saying it could reduce sheep and beef farming by 20 per cent while shifting some emissions overseas.

Ardern said this was "disingenuous" as the proposal differed very little from what came from the sector, and emissions leakage overseas was "highly uncertain".

National Party finance spokeswoman Nicola Willis also raised the issue of rising consumer prices, asking Finance Minister Grant Robertson about why vegetable prices had gone up 24 per cent In the past three months.

Robertson said there were international factors along with poor recent weather that influenced prices.