Sitting date: 2 April 2026

Oral Questions to Ministers

POLICE

Question No. 1

Hon GINNY ANDERSEN (Labour) (14:02) to the Minister of Police: Has he asked New Zealand Police to present him with a fuel resilience plan in case New Zealand faces a prolonged fuel shortage; if not, why not?

Hon CASEY COSTELLO (Acting Minister of Police) (14:02): On behalf of the Minister of Police, as the member would expect, Police have been participating in coordinated and proportionate preparedness efforts across the public sector, ensuring that they have fuel resilience.

Hon Ginny Andersen: Does classifying Police as a “critical customer” guarantee enough fuel for standard operations during a prolonged fuel shortage?

Hon CASEY COSTELLO: On behalf of the Minister of Police, as the Hon Chris Penk well outlined on behalf of the Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery yesterday, work is ongoing and well under way to consider any hypothetical future shortages. Any future settings in this area will be developed. I’d point out that the Prime Minister, finance Minister, and others have repeatedly been clear that our focus is on ensuring sufficient stocks and supply of fuel. I’m not sure it’s helpful to presuppose any changes in settings at this point.

Hon Ginny Andersen: Will non-emergency police dispatches—that’s P4 and P5 callouts—still occur under level 4 of the National Fuel Plan?

Hon CASEY COSTELLO: As the Police have done on a range of issues throughout the history of policing, they will continue to prioritise to ensure that emergency services are maintained. Prioritisation is a matter of operational police performance. They will deal with prioritisation as it needs, to ensure that the public is safe. I think it is really important that we assure the public that police services will be maintained, no matter what settings.

Hon Ginny Andersen: Will the Police Eagle helicopter be able to operate normally under level 3 or level 4 of the National Fuel Plan?

Hon CASEY COSTELLO: On behalf of the Minister of Police, as we’ve stipulated repeatedly, hypothetical discussions around what will or will not happen in future settings is not helpful to the public, or reassuring. What we are dealing with is ensuring that, as we have always done with policing, prioritisation continues to occur and emergency services will continue to be maintained. This is why the Government is focused on critically ensuring that supply is maintained.

Hon Ginny Andersen: Will police area commanders or district commanders make the call on how fuel is prioritised at level 3 or 4, or will this be directed by Police National Headquarters?

Hon CASEY COSTELLO: As we’ve repeatedly answered in this series of questions, Police prioritisation will be an operation issue for Police to resolve. As the settings are changed, those settings will be communicated to Police leadership, and prioritisation, as has always been the case for policing, will be dealt with by the police system.

Hon Ginny Andersen: How many days of petrol and diesel does New Zealand Police have in reserve, and how will reserves be distributed across the country?

Hon CASEY COSTELLO: The specific fuel levels, I think, are really unhelpful to reassure the public that policing services are being maintained. What we are focused on is ensuring that Police prioritisation will be the main focus to ensure that emergency services are delivered. That is why this Government is focused critically on ensuring supply. At this point, we do not have issues with supply, and, therefore, future settings and discussions at this time are not helpful.

Hon Ginny Andersen: How are Police meant to plan ahead, budget, and be prepared if there is absolutely no detail on the operational implications of this fuel crisis?

Hon CASEY COSTELLO: On behalf of the police Minister, planning is ongoing and continuing. We have a fuel plan in place. The settings will continue to be changed. It is not a fair reflection of policing to say that they have no plan or no systems in place. As I said in the primary answer, these plans are being dealt with, and Police are involved in future settings and will continue to do so. We have every faith in Police’s ability, and this Government is supporting that by ensuring supply is maintained, as according to the announcements that we’ve made around increasing storage that was secured by Minister Jones and announced by Minister Jones this morning.

Hon David Seymour: Would the Minister anticipate severe scrutiny from the Opposition if a Government was to start interfering in Police independence, right down to the level of detail of when they fill up their petrol tanks?

Hon CASEY COSTELLO: On behalf of the Minister of Police, we have every confidence in Police management and capability to plan. This is why the police Minister does not need to speculate about that level of detail, because we have full confidence in the Police executive management to deal with these issues.

TRANSPORT

Question No. 2

Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER (Green—Rongotai) (14:07) to the Minister of Transport: Will the Government make funding available to public transport authorities so people living in towns across New Zealand can access frequent bus services, and, if not, why not?

Hon CHRIS BISHOP (Minister of Transport) (14:08): As the Minister of Finance said yesterday, the conflict in the Middle East is hurting the economy; pushing up prices; and disrupting trade, shipping, and financial markets. The Government can blunt the worst impacts for vulnerable New Zealanders—that’s why we’ve lifted the in-work tax credit in response to the conflict—but there is no avoiding the cost. The global events are making New Zealand poorer, and, of course, that has impacts on the land transport system and on public transport. We make substantial investments in public transport services across the country, including in our regional towns. Our focus is ensuring there’s enough capacity in current public transport networks as people make their own choices in response to the current global fuel price shock. We are keeping a close eye on capacity numbers across the network, ensuring people can rely on their buses, trains, and ferries arriving on time and as planned. I have been advised that public transport authorities are not yet facing capacity concerns. We are open to further investment to ensure capacity, if shown to be necessary, and my officials are regularly engaging with public transport authorities to understand any emerging capacity issues, and I expect that work to continue.

Hon Julie Anne Genter: Does he accept that demand for public transport is influenced by the supply and that if a bus is coming every 15 minutes in smaller towns—like Dunedin, New Plymouth, Whanganui, Levin—there will be more demand for public transport, and what will he do to provide services?

Tim Costley: There is no public transport in Levin.

Hon Julie Anne Genter: Exactly.

Tim Costley: You can’t make it free.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: OK. Well, we’ll let the Minister answer the question. I thank the member Tim Costley for pointing that out. [Interruption] We’ll now listen to the Minister, thank you, who is the person answering this question.

Rawiri Waititi: Was he in the reshuffle?

DEPUTY SPEAKER: I’m sure that didn’t need a bus.

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Hey, mate! You’ve got to get into Government to be reshuffled, and that won’t be happening to you anytime soon. The short answer is yes, on the margins; however, we are facing a difficult situation. Revenue into the National Land Transport Fund is actually forecast to decline because people are driving less, because when they go and fill up at the pump, the price of petrol is high and rising, and likewise the same with diesel, so they are purchasing less petrol, which has flow-on revenue impacts for the Crown. We are also facing rising costs because 80 percent of our buses are diesel buses, and the price of diesel in particular is rising quickly and has increased quite a lot, as I think the member knows. We are facing both forecast declining revenue and rising costs, so we’re in a difficult situation. Our focus, as I said in the primary answer, is on maintaining existing services so that they can continue to operate, because the last thing I would want to see at this time of great peril is people not being able to take public transport when they need to make the switch out of their cars.

Hon Julie Anne Genter: Will he indicate to councils that they could now apply or reapply for funding for proposals they had worked up under the previous Government that would have massively improved bus services in New Plymouth, in Dunedin, and in Christchurch, and all of those proposals were abandoned because of the change in this Government’s transport policy?

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: That second assertion in that member’s question is not borne out by the facts. The public transport activity class funding range rose between 2021 and 2024 and 2027. There are hundreds of millions of dollars more flowing through to public transport under this Government as compared to the previous Government. Unfunded wish lists are not something that any Government is in a position to fund at any particular time, and there were funding proposals under the previous Government that were also declined because of revenue constraints in the National Land Transport Fund, as I think the member knows. As I say, our focus is on maintaining existing services. The member did not seem to listen to my last two answers, which is that we are facing a crunchy situation where revenue is declining and costs are rising, in an already constrained National Land Transport Funding environment, so we are focused on keeping the existing services running rather than looking at new services.

Hon Julie Anne Genter: Is he aware the electrifying the bus fleet or the ferries in Auckland and Wellington could save an estimated 27 million litres in diesel each year; if so, will he reconsider his Government’s funding cuts to electrification of public transport vehicles and vessels?

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Well, I’m proud of the record of past National Governments in electrifying the rail network in Auckland, for example, so the member’s general point that electrification at the moment is lowering costs is, of course, correct. We have to weigh up funding those sort of things that the member is talking about—which would not create immediate short-term help, although would, obviously, in the long term—with the immediate funding situation and difficult crunch that we find ourselves in. As I say, our focus is on making sure that buses, trains, and ferries that currently run in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch and other regional towns and cities around the country can continue to operate.

Hon Julie Anne Genter: Will he consider reversing the cuts to free and cheaper public transport for children and young people as a timely, targeted, temporary action to help families who are struggling with higher fuel costs?

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: The Government is not in favour of broad, untargeted subsidies, on the grounds that they don’t focus on those who need help the most and they don’t meet the Government’s criteria of the support we are looking to provide during this time of timely, temporary, and targeted. As the Minister of Finance has made clear at various points, we need to learn the lessons of past responses to crises when responses were not timely, targeted, or temporary, and we are now paying the price today for those profligate decisions. Our focus is on maintaining existing services. The Government provides, through SuperGold Card and community services card concessions, quite extensive and generous subsidies already for public transport. I’m not ruling out further extensions, but nor am I ruling it in, because, as I say, we are facing a very difficult funding crunch in which we need to make sure existing services can continue to operate. As I often say to the Greens: there is no magic money tree, and to the extent that there is one, the leaves just got clipped off.

Hon Julie Anne Genter: Given that there is a crunch in funding, will he consider putting on hold the hundreds of millions that are currently going into planning for highways that won’t be built for decades so he can provide frequent, affordable, reliable bus services and public transport services to people right across the country?

Hon CHRIS BISHOP: Well, it’s important—as I think the member knows—not to confuse capital and operating costs. It is true that some of the projects the Government has been looking at as part of the long-term transport infrastructure pipeline will not start for some years, and, of course, at the moment we are in a day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month proposition. We are giving due consideration to all of the funding pressures on transport, as the member, I hope, would acknowledge. It’s a very tricky situation for the country, and transport is at the epicentre of that funding challenge.

FINANCE

Question No. 3

CAMERON BREWER (National—Upper Harbour) (14:15) to the Minister of Finance: How is the Government addressing the economic impacts of conflict in the Middle East?

Hon NICOLA WILLIS (Minister of Finance) (14:15): The Government is responding to the conflict in the Middle East in a measured and targeted way. Fuel continues to flow and there is no immediate supply disruption, with 59 days of petrol, 52 days of diesel, and 46 days of jet fuel in-country—within our exclusive economic zone or in the water heading here—but higher global prices are putting pressure on households and businesses. In response, we are acting on three fronts: providing temporary targeted support to the squeezed middle; strengthening fuel resilience, including storage and supply options; and working closely with industry to monitor impacts in real time. Our focus is on staying ahead of the risk; protecting New Zealanders, both now and in the future, by using responses that are temporary, targeted, and timely; and keeping the economy moving.

Cameron Brewer: What further actions is the Government considering to bolster fuel supply?

Hon NICOLA WILLIS: Yesterday, Ministers signed off on a proposal through the Regional Infrastructure Fund to increase New Zealand’s diesel storage capacity through a commercial arrangement with Channel Infrastructure at Marsden Point. This will provide up to an additional 93 million litres of diesel storage, which is around a 20 percent increase in current capacity, providing New Zealand with greater resilience if global supply conditions deteriorate. Alongside this, officials are continuing work on options to bring in extra supply, including options to convert our existing international fuel tickets into physical fuel that is accessible to New Zealand, and engaging with importers on commercial proposals to secure additional supply from a wider range of markets. Taken together—

Hon Damien O'Connor: Cheer up.

Hon NICOLA WILLIS: —these are prudent, practical steps to strengthen fuel security. Every day in Government is better than even the best day in Opposition, Kieran.

Cameron Brewer: Supplementary. [Interruption]

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Quiet during questions, please. Cameron Brewer is the only person in the room that should be speaking right now.

Cameron Brewer: Thank you, Madam Speaker. What work has the Government done on phases three and four of the fuel plan?

Hon NICOLA WILLIS: When we released the framework last week, we were clear that phases three and four would not be locked in without our working alongside industry. These decisions need to be made with industry, not to industry. Since then, we have worked with fuel companies to get more detailed and regular reporting on fuel stocks onshore, within our exclusive economic zone, and on vessels further away, giving us a much clearer picture of supply. We have also worked with those fuel companies to get a better picture of what is happening with demand for fuel. We have begun extensive work on the detail of our public sector fuel plan to ensure that Government demand is well understood and managed, if needed. Alongside that, we have engaged with more than 800 businesses and have received more than 830 submissions through our priority bands channel, with further consultation continuing this week. This is about doing the groundwork now so that if further steps are required, they are practical and can be implemented in an orderly way. We are planning carefully, but we are not at that point now of needing to move to another response phase.

Cameron Brewer: How is the Government providing additional support to families?

Hon NICOLA WILLIS: I acknowledge that pain at the pump is widespread. The Government has moved quickly to provide extra support for low to middle income working families by increasing the in-work tax credit for up to a year. This will make a significant difference for those parents and their children. It gives about 143,000 families an extra $50 a week, and another 14,000 families an abated amount of relief. The policy is carefully targeted to parents who are working hard for a living and who are not eligible for main benefits, and yet have modest household incomes with which to support their kids. It is funded from the Budget 2026 operating allowance, and so it will not add to forecast debt or inflationary pressures. This is a temporary, timely, targeted, and affordable policy to soften the impact of the conflict on working families.

PRIME MINISTER

Question No. 4

TODD STEPHENSON: Thank you, Madam Speaker, and happy Easter.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you.

TODD STEPHENSON (ACT) (14:20) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of the Government’s statements and actions?

Hon DAVID SEYMOUR (Deputy Prime Minister) (14:20) on behalf of the Prime Minister: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and I echo my colleague’s wishes of a happy Easter to you, all of those members who have made it to the House today, and everybody up and down New Zealand, for the coming four days. I absolutely stand by all of the Government’s statements and actions, and in particular, the measured and careful approach that we are taking to the situation with fuel shortage. We are being careful to preserve New Zealand’s future options, including our fiscal room and our children’s education, while also preparing for worse scenarios if they come about. We’re taking an approach of maximising the supply of fuel, including by increasing storage capacity and working our diplomatic connections, while being prepared to manage demand if and only if that supply fails or lessens significantly in the future.

Todd Stephenson: Why is the Government taking this approach?

Hon DAVID SEYMOUR: On behalf of the Prime Minister, the reason that the Government is taking a measured and proportional approach that works with business rather than against, and one that seeks to preserve New Zealand’s options in the long term, is precisely because this Government—the people in it—and New Zealanders have a very clear memory of what happens when you do the opposite. We come into this situation with $191.4 billion of debt, half of that was borrowed, not throughout New Zealand’s long history but just in three or four years of COVID response. That’s why we have to take every new commitment seriously so we don’t risk challenges to our credit rating overseas that would further imperil New Zealand’s finances and debt. And that’s why we’re so committed to ensuring that we keep children attending school, because that is the most important investment we’ll make in our future.

Todd Stephenson: What did the Government consider when making the decision on increasing mileage rates for home and community support workers?

Hon DAVID SEYMOUR: We have, as a mantra, that anything we do must be targeted, timely, and temporary. That means that if we’re going to take taxpayer money, particularly that borrowed from younger New Zealanders, from future taxpayers, then we make sure that money goes to the people in the greatest need with a specific reason and it ends as soon as the pressure is over. That is why we have decided to give an increase in mileage rates to those people who travel for work; not those people who travel to work. It’s those health and support workers that have, often, quite low incomes, they travel from home to home helping vulnerable New Zealanders. Those people get hammered by fuel prices as they go about their job, they deserve a mileage uplift because they’re travelling for, rather than to, work. And just two weeks ago, we said that for those who work, have children, and have low incomes, we would increase the in-work tax credit. These are in very stark contrast from just hosing out money en masse and worrying about who pays for it later.

Hon Damien O'Connor: Oh, what? What were the tax cuts?

Todd Stephenson: What did the Government consider when making the decision to deliver extra fuel storage for New Zealand?

Hon DAVID SEYMOUR: We need to make sure that we have optionality so that if there is an increase in fuel supply and we need to be able to take advantage of that increase, we can do that—lest there be a shortage down the track. There is a chance that there will be lumpiness in the supply of fuel. That is something that is absolutely critical to be able to capitalise on, and these extra 90 million litres delivered in the next eight weeks, for a $21 million commitment by the Government, represents excellent value by any standard, including that of the regional investment fund. I just want to respond to something from Damien O’Connor, the former member from the West Coast, who said that tax cuts were indiscriminately hosing out money. Let me just get something straight: the money belongs to the people. The Government takes it off them in taxes. Having people pay less tax is not giving away money; they owned in the first place. If you think the Government owns all the money, Damien O’Connor, then you really are—not joking—a communist.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think that last statement was unnecessary, and I’d ask the member to withdraw it. I think the rest of it was a good explanation in response to the interjection that was made.

Hon DAVID SEYMOUR: Madam Speaker, I withdraw.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Todd Stephenson. [Interruption]

Hon Chris Bishop: He said he was proud to be one. It’s not an insult.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Quiet!

Todd Stephenson: Are there any suggested initiatives the Government has considered but decided not to progress?

Hon DAVID SEYMOUR: Yes, indeed. We remain open to ideas. For example, we’ve opened, at the Ministry for Regulation, a red-tape tip line because we believe that there are ideas out in the community that we may not have had. We don’t have a monopoly on wisdom, and that position of humility, I think, is important for any Government to take at a time like this. We’ve seen other initiatives—such as unions, who are supposed to represent workers, actually campaigning for workers not to go to work and even taking legal action to avoid going into work. We’ve seen people suggest blanket subsidies for public transport, no matter how rich or poor the people benefiting may be, and no matter the fact that people who take public transport are not actually affected by fuel prices. In fact—

Hon Julie Anne Genter: It conserves fuel.

Hon DAVID SEYMOUR: —people are moving to public transport in order to avoid high fuel prices. Julie Anne Genter says it conserves fuel, but what she doesn’t realise is that’s exactly what people are doing now. New Zealanders are moving to public transport at current fares in order to preserve fuel, and that is what prices do. That is how markets work, and that is the opposite of how communism works.

ECONOMIC GROWTH

Question No. 5

REUBEN DAVIDSON (Labour—Christchurch East) (14:27) to the Minister for Economic Growth: Has she read the Sustainable Business Council report that shows how a sustainable growth pathway could boost New Zealand’s GDP by $22 billion annually by 2035?

Hon NICOLA WILLIS (Minister for Economic Growth) (14:28): I have read the recommendations of that report. Those that concern the Government cover a range of other ministerial portfolios, and I note that many of the recommendations are to businesses themselves. Several of the recommendations relate to work already under way in this Government’s work programme. For example, one of the recommendations is around the aspiration for abundant, affordable renewable electricity generation. I am advised that 22 renewable generation projects are currently going through the fast-track process—a process that member opposed. In fact, I am advised that more renewable energy has been commissioned in this term of Government than in the previous 10 years combined.

Reuben Davidson: Has scrapping support for businesses transitioning away from fossil fuels left them more exposed to price shocks and less able to invest in cleaner, cheaper energy?

Hon NICOLA WILLIS: I’m not quite sure what the member is referring to. Just in the past fortnight, I stood alongside other Ministers as we announced the extension of our investment into the electric vehicle (EV) charging network for the country—essential infrastructure to ensure more people feel able to buy an EV without suffering range anxiety. I’ve also been advised that registrations for EVs have surged, which is a good sign that New Zealanders are capable of making their own decisions about how to ensure their own energy security.

Reuben Davidson: Why did the Government axe funding, resulting in hundreds of redundancies in the science and innovation sector, when a long-term innovation plan is a key recommendation of the Sustainable Business Council to generate economic growth?

Hon NICOLA WILLIS: I think the member should see that we are doing some of the most extensive science reforms in a very long time, which are absolutely focused on making publicly funded research more applicable to commercialisation. And as the member comes into his role, he, like me, will get to meet with many of the firms who are very excited to see that, rather than science funding being spent on projects about singing to kauri trees, we will be investing in projects that actually can generate future economic growth. And I note that in the middle of this year, the Government will release its new Science Investment Plan, which will set out strategic Government-wide research priorities aligning public investment with long-term Government goals. I completely agree with the report the member’s mentioning—that innovation is part of New Zealand’s future. It’s actually also part of why we are such a successful nation.

Reuben Davidson: Will she commit to a plan for abundant, affordable, renewable energy to enable economy-wide electrification and sustainable growth?

Hon NICOLA WILLIS: That was one of those supplementary questions where you have to have listened to the answer to the first question so that you don’t repeat it, but I’m very happy to repeat my answer. Absolutely, we are working to electrify NZ. We have 22 renewable electricity generation projects currently going through the fast-track process. That’s 22 projects which he voted against being able to happen faster. He thought they should be tied up in court. And, at the same time, we have commissioned more renewable energy generation in this term of Government than in the previous 10 years combined. We’ll be judged on action, not rhetoric.

Hon Chris Bishop: Can the Minister confirm that, just today, the country’s largest ever wind farm had consent approved after just five months, when it was previously declined under the Resource Management Act (RMA)?

Hon NICOLA WILLIS: Well, isn’t that wonderful news? And what that shows is good policy in action, because what we inherited as a Government was an RMA system beset with red tape—bureaucracy—adding cost and delay and preventing renewable electricity being built in this country. The Fast-track Approvals Act is ensuring that projects we need—wind farms, solar farms—don’t remain ideas on a piece of paper being argued in court; they are actually being built. And yet, sadly, what one of the things this report calls for is a bit of bipartisanship on these important issues, and so it is such a shame that members of the Opposition opposed that fast-track legislation, which is unlocking renewable energy for the nation. [Interruption]

DEPUTY SPEAKER: OK, calm down. Reuben Davidson.

Reuben Davidson: What specific steps has she taken to support workers losing their jobs and facing redundancies?

Hon NICOLA WILLIS: This Government has continued to support the social welfare system in New Zealand, which provides a safety net for those who are unemployed. What we are also very proud of is that we are a Government that believes that every New Zealander who doesn’t have a job would actually, if they were able to, be better off in a job, which is why the Minister for Social Development and Employment has been working so hard to ensure that our welfare system also creates incentives for people to get into jobs and to work hard.

Hon Tama Potaka: To the Minister of Finance: do you think enabling houses and homes around the country, and enabling fast-track projects, actually creates jobs?

Hon Kieran McAnulty: Point of order. Point of order.

Hon NICOLA WILLIS: Well, the Minister makes an exceptionally good point—

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Sorry, I’ve got a point of order from the Hon Kieran McAnulty.

Hon Kieran McAnulty: The question is to the Minister for Economic Growth, not the Minister of Finance.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Apologies, I missed that. Thank you. Would you like to rephrase the question, please?

Hon Tama Potaka: Does the Minister of Finance consider that enabling homes—

DEPUTY SPEAKER: No. The question is not to the Minister of Finance; the question is to the Minister for Economic Growth.

Hon Tama Potaka: OK, thank you. Does the Minister for Economic Growth consider that enabling houses throughout the country to be built, and enabling fast-track projects to be carried out and implemented, creates jobs?

Hon NICOLA WILLIS: Well, this is one of the wonderful things that the fast-track regime is enabling. It is supporting thousands of jobs across the country; jobs associated both with the construction of major housing projects, quarries, renewable energy, but also the jobs that are generated when you have those developments occurring and adding to the overall productivity and employment opportunities in an economy. It is a job-supporting, job-rich policy that the members opposite opposed. What a shame they opposed more job opportunities for Kiwis.

Reuben Davidson: Is she concerned that New Zealand’s reliance on imported fossil fuels may push up inflation, limiting economic growth?

Hon NICOLA WILLIS: Well, I think, like every New Zealander, the fact that the price of petrol and diesel has gone up is something that I am very concerned about. I would put to the member that I’m spending more minutes of every day focused on that issue than he is. What I would say is that we are seeing that many New Zealanders looking out at the world are forming a view that, into the future, they themselves would like to be more energy independent. And we are seeing people choosing to buy electric vehicles. We are seeing firms choosing different ways of approaching their energy usage. But one thing that has been said to me several times in the last few weeks is this: “Isn’t it ironic that our ability to access our own security, in the form of our own natural gas and oil, was completely curtailed by the actions of the last Government, who made us more dependent on imported energy because they couldn’t count”—

DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Minister will stop there before the point is having a crack at the last Government. Thank you.

Hon Chris Bishop: Can the Minister for Economic Growth confirm that the fast-track laws recently enabled the construction of a green steel facility in Waikato, which will use around 200,000 tonnes of recycled steel annually, including with an electric arc furnace not subsidised by taxpayers through the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund?

Hon NICOLA WILLIS: I thank the Minister for bringing that great project to the attention of the House, and, again, a project enabled and made possible by our fast-track legislation. What I’d point out is that, as is so often the case, what New Zealanders want is for the Government to get out of the way and stop saying no; not get the money bazooka, spray it around, and sign their own names on the cheque.

HEALTH

Question No. 6

Dr HAMISH CAMPBELL (National—Ilam) (14:37) to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has he made about supporting home and community support workers with rising fuel costs?

Hon SIMEON BROWN (Minister of Health) (14:37)Home and community support workers play a critical role in delivering essential services to some of our most vulnerable New Zealanders. We recognise that rising fuel costs were placing pressure on them as they travel for work. That’s why, today, we’ve announced that the mileage rates for home and community support workers will increase by 30 percent. Many workers will receive an extra $19 per 100 kilometres of travel to help offset the cost of rising fuel prices. This is timely, temporary, and targeted support that ensures these front-line workers can continue delivering vital care in people’s homes despite global fuel prices driven by conflict in the Middle East.

Dr Hamish Campbell: Why is it important to provide the support now?

Hon SIMEON BROWN: Home and community support workers require frequent daily travel to provide care in people’s homes, and rising fuel prices risk disrupting those essential services. We’ve increased their mileage rate by 30 percent, and in practical terms that means for every 100 kilometres travelled, these workers will receive an extra $19, which covers the current rise in fuel costs, which is around $8.50 for the average petrol vehicle and $11.80 for the average diesel vehicle. We can’t control global fuel prices, but we can make sure workers delivering essential care are supported to keep these services running. Acting now ensures continuity of care for vulnerable New Zealanders while supporting the workforce that underpins these services.

Dr Hamish Campbell: How long will this increase mileage rate remain in place?

Hon SIMEON BROWN: This is a timely, temporary, and targeted response with the increase remaining in place for up to 12 months or until the price of 91 octane petrol falls below $3 per litre for four consecutive weeks. It will apply to home and community support workers who work for providers contracted by Health New Zealand, the Ministry of Social Development, and ACC. This means that support is being targeted where it matters most, ensuring essential services continue to be delivered to those who need it the most. The Government is also reviewing the In-Between Travel scheme as part of the broader aged-care sector review to ensure it is fit for purpose. This work is under way through the Aged Care Ministerial Advisory Group.

Dr Hamish Campbell: What other announcements has he made to support patients travelling for care?

Hon SIMEON BROWN: Supporting our home and community support workers means that patients will continue to receive the care they need and won’t be left without that care, particularly as we enter busy winter months. Further to this, we have also increased support for patients who travel for appointments, with the increase in the milage rates for the National Travel Assistance scheme also being temporarily increased by 30 percent. This will benefit patients who need to travel long distances for specialist treatment, including cancer care, renal diagnostics, and other services not delivered locally.

AGRICULTURE

Question No. 7

Hon JO LUXTON (Labour) (14:40) to the Minister of Agriculture: Does he stand by his statement that “When farmers do well, so do Kiwis. A strong farming sector means more jobs and higher wages”?

Hon TODD McCLAY (Minister of Agriculture) (14:40): Yes, I do. I thank the member for asking that question. Indeed, it’s the first question she’s asked me in 2½ years on agriculture. What I would say in addition: that was from a social media post up on the National Party website that was very widely shared. New Zealanders all around the country joined us in congratulating and thanking farmers for being worth $60 billion worth of exports and up to 360,000 jobs in the economy. Exporters pay their workers more.

Hon Jo Luxton: How does he intend to support farmers dealing with the rising costs of fertiliser and freight due to global uncertainty?

Hon TODD McCLAY: It is fair that every country in the world is facing an increase in costs, not only from fertiliser and fuel. We’ve been very active with farmers and the export community, both directly through Zoom meetings where they can give us direct feedback, as well as engaging with them out in the marketplace. The first thing we need to do is make sure there is fertiliser in the country. I’m informed that we have enough fertiliser now to get us through the winter. We’re working very closely with fertiliser importers to make sure that spring will also be good. We’re doing this for two important reasons. Rural New Zealand needs our support, because when farmers do well all of New Zealand does well. Secondly, New Zealand exports food to feed the world. We have an obligation and we need to produce the food, so we therefore need fertiliser.

Hon Jo Luxton: Is Federated Farmers Hawke’s Bay provincial president Jim Galloway wrong to say these farmers will “have nothing to grow because there is no-one … to take their product.”?

Hon TODD McCLAY: Well, I’d have to check very carefully that that was an accurate quote, but what I can say—and as far as Federated Farmers is concerned—is that when we came to Government 2½ years ago, they did a survey and they came out and they said very openly and widely that confidence in the farming sector was the lowest it’s ever been—at minus-66 percent. On January 2026, results since we’d come to Government had improved to plus-37 percent; that’s an increase of 100 points. I think Federated Farmers understands who supports farmers most in New Zealand.

Hon Jo Luxton: How many farming jobs does he estimate will be lost from the closure of Heinz Wattie’s and McCain vegetable processing plants?

Hon TODD McCLAY: That is a very challenging issue and it’s something that we’re working through. For those who are affected, of course, the Government will do everything that we can. However, what I would is say is that actually in the Hawke’s Bay and other areas, we have seen significant growth not only in agricultural production, but also in jobs. What we’ve had to do over the last two years is unpick a lot of rules and regulations that were put in place by the previous Government that put costs upon farmers and made it harder for them to produce. We’ve done that because we back farmers and we know that when farmers do well, all New Zealanders do well. An example of some of the things we’ve had to change is we had to take away a ute tax, there was going to be a fertiliser tax, a capital gains tax, a water tax, tax, tax, tax—

Hon Kieran McAnulty: Point of order. Madam Speaker, this was a straight question on a very important issue, and it shouldn’t be used as an opportunity for the Minister to make political statements. There was never a policy with that name imposed by the previous Government.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yeah. Look, I take the point of order. It possibly was the incorrect name—it became the well-known name. If the Minister knows the original name, perhaps it would be best to use that name.

Hon TODD McCLAY: Well, what I have on my paper, it says “It looks like a tax, it smells like a tax, it’s a tax.”

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Well, that wasn’t really an answer.

Hon Jo Luxton: Will there be a specific plan—[Interruption]

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Quiet!

Hon Jo Luxton: Will there be a specific plan for farming communities in each of the national fuel plan’s phases?

Hon TODD McCLAY: Well, some of the details are being worked through. Of course, exactly how that will happen—the Government’s working very hard so we don’t have to escalate through that, but I want to be very, very clear: we are facing a challenge as a result of a war that we have nothing to do with. Many countries of the world are facing similar sorts of things and we will be doing everything possible to support our farmers because this is a Government that knows that when farmers do well, all of New Zealand does well.

Hon Jo Luxton: Has he received advice that reduced production will increase our reliance on more imported produce grown by farmers overseas?

Hon TODD McCLAY: Well, there’s no direct evidence that farmers will be producing less. In fact, we produce enough food to feed 40 million people around the world. We have seen, from dairy to red meat to horticulture—virtually across the board—increased production, greater exports, and returns. There will always be enough food for New Zealanders to eat because we’re not a population of 40 million people.

Hon Simeon Brown: How did the Minister enjoy his first question from that member, and is he looking forward to the second?

DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, that’s not a question. No, the Minister’s not going to answer that question.

Hon Todd McClay: Well, I was going to say I didn’t enjoy it.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, thank you. The Minister’s not going to answer that question.

HEALTH

Question No. 8

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Question No. 8 in the name of Jenny Marcroft.

JENNY MARCROFT: Thank you, Madam Speaker. My question is—

Dr Tracey McLellan: You’re all so useless!

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Shh!

Hon Chris Bishop: When was your last question?

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Shh! The Hon Chris Bishop—quiet, please.

JENNY MARCROFT (NZ First) (14:46) to the Associate Minister of Health: What recent reports has she seen on the state of aged care in New Zealand?

Hon CASEY COSTELLO (Associate Minister of Health) (14:46): Recently, I announced that the Government had tabled its response to the Health Committee’s inquiry into aged care - support services for experiencing neurological cognitive disorders. This inquiry was a commitment in the New Zealand First - National coalition agreement, and I would like to thank the members of the Health Committee for undertaking this important work, and, importantly, to thank those who made submissions to the committee and those facilities and service providers who supported the committee’s important work.

Jenny Marcroft: How is the Government responding to the report?

Hon CASEY COSTELLO: The committee’s report is now an important part of informing the work of the Aged Care Ministerial Advisory Group, who have been tasked with reporting back by June 2026 on what’s required to create a modern, effective, and sustainable aged-care system. We’ve known for many years that the current system has widespread challenges, not least of which is lack of capacity, limited respite options for carers, and outdated contracting models. This Government recognises that the challenges faced are not simple, as providing more funding or adjusting the existing system is not enough. We need to rethink the system as a whole. Aged-care delivery in New Zealand is very good and is provided by caring and dedicated workforces; that care is just being provided within an outdated model. We need a model that works for individuals receiving care and is investable for the businesses and community providers who deliver the care services.

Jenny Marcroft: What does an improved aged-care system look like?

Hon CASEY COSTELLO: Quite simply, we want older New Zealanders to be able to access the right care at the right time and in the right place. We know that, where possible, supporting people to age in the place that is right for them is better for their care and quality of life and delivers cost efficiencies for the health system. Like every other part of health, we should also be focused on prevention. While recognising that we have an ageing population, we also know New Zealanders are living well for longer. This shows that the wider aged-care system needs to recognise and incorporate support, to keep people in good health for as long as possible.

Jenny Marcroft: What short-term actions has the Government taken to stabilise the aged-care system?

Hon CASEY COSTELLO: Over the last two years, this Government has invested an extra $343 million into the aged-care sector to provide stability while we work on changes to the system. Health New Zealand has introduced a new Casemix funding model and framework across the South Island to better support those who receive care at home, and this model will be introduced across the whole country. Finally, today, as the Minister of Health has announced earlier today, a timely and temporary, targeted increase to mileage rates for home and community support workers of 30 percent has been delivered to help offset rising fuel costs and ensure continuity of care. Wider consideration of the critical role that the home and community support sector plays in aged care is an important component of the Aged Care Ministerial Advisory Group’s work.

HOUSING

Question No. 9

DAN BIDOIS (National—Northcote) (14:49) to the Associate Minister of Housing: What progress has been made with addressing homelessness?

Hon TAMA POTAKA (Associate Minister of Housing) (14:50): Since the mercurial Minister of Housing, Minister Bishop, and I announced the five near-term actions to address homelessness in September last year, I can confirm that 515 rough-sleeping households have been housed in social housing through the Housing First programme up until 25 March 2026. This includes 237 whānau housed so far in the additional 300 places that this Government funded, plus a further 278 households that were housed by leveraging existing contracted capacity and vacancy management across Housing First providers. This Government helps deliver the right house in the right location with the right support for those in serious housing need.

Dan Bidois: What else has been achieved through the Government’s near-term response to homelessness since September last year?

Hon TAMA POTAKA: I can report that access for rough sleepers to temporary accommodation through transitional housing has also increased. The additional funding provided last year supported over 280 rough-sleeping whānau into transitional housing, with many subsequently moving into social housing or other long-term housing over time as these whānau get placed in warm and dry long-term accommodation.

Dan Bidois: What difference is this making for rough sleepers and businesses operating in the main centres?

Hon TAMA POTAKA: I regularly join housing and support service providers on morning checks and wake-up calls in the main centres. They have told me directly that the investment announced in September is making a huge and material difference to whānau rough sleeping. My officials shared with me this week an example about a gentleman they met who, through Government tautoko, a provider has supported through immediate access into a warm home. He was on the street with a serious and life-threatening health condition. Now he’s got a roof over his head, is going to get treatment, and knows he has a place to come back to which is warm, dry, and supported by the team at Auckland City Mission, backed up by tautoko from this Government. Businesses and stakeholders like Viv Beck at Heart of the City have welcomed the massive decrease in the number of rough sleepers in central Auckland as a result of targeted and timely actions. A big mihi to the exemplary Minister Brown as the Minister for Auckland for his mahi alongside me on this kaupapa.

Dan Bidois: What other progress has been made to support those rough sleeping?

Hon TAMA POTAKA: Better connection to services, and support to households who come out of rough sleeping through outreach services and housing assistance centres, which have been successively achieved in a number of cities. The Ministry of Social Development team, for example in central Auckland, are working with Housing First providers and the team at Kick Back, supporting the work with rough sleepers getting benefit entitlements alongside housing at pace. This Government is working effectively alongside housing and social service providers and other stakeholders to support those in housing need.

PUBLIC SERVICE

Question No. 10

CAMILLA BELICH (Labour) (14:53) to the Minister for the Public Service: Is the Government going to encourage public sector workers to work from home to save fuel; if not, why not?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister for the Public Service) (14:53): Many thanks to the member for her question on my last day as a Minister. No. The Public Service already has a clear and flexible policy that allows agencies to manage working from home arrangements as required. This policy, along with individual agencies’ existing policies, are adequate to manage the situation we face at present. The Government’s priority for the Public Service is that essential and front-line services continue to be delivered to New Zealanders. The Public Service must remain resilient and ready to respond to rapidly changing circumstances, including the current fuel market volatility. While we acknowledge the increase in fuel prices, we do not currently face a fuel shortage. If that situation were to change, then we would consider whether further measures were required.

Camilla Belich: Why isn’t the Government following International Energy Agency member countries like Australia and actively encouraging public servants to work from home during this fuel crisis?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS: Well, I think one of the things with being a sovereign nation is you make your own decisions, but also our situation—

Steve Abel: Unless America tells you to do something!

Francisco Hernandez: What if Trump tells you to do something?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS: Who are these people? [Interruption] I know. It is important to realise that our situation is not the same as Australia’s. We are not in the same situation as they are with fuel storage and access. In addition to that, I think it’s always good to understand that New Zealand’s situation has, I understand, been mentioned at the OECD, I think it was, just recently in Paris as the exemplar of how a country should manage this fuel situation and, at the same time, keep their economy going. I think it’s critical that we are actually on the right side of this. The Government’s doing well. The Public Service is doing well. The public is doing very well.

Camilla Belich: Will the Government, then, follow the lead of major private sector employers operating in New Zealand, like ANZ and Fonterra, by encouraging more working from home flexibility, given that the Government employs, directly or indirectly, almost half a million people?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS: I think one of the situations is that, again, the Government doesn’t follow every employer. It is important to realise that a lot of those, for instance, Fonterra staff employees cannot work from home, because they’re working in factories. In addition to that, a lot of public servants live and work in Wellington, where there is actually a very good public service provision—public transport provision, I should say. At the same time, it is important to know that many public servants do not have that option. Certainly, if we look in the public sector, New Zealand Police front-line staff, Corrections front-line staff, probation officers, nurses, doctors, and teachers do not have that luxury. I think what is also very important to understand is that we have to keep the economy going, and small businesses up and down the country are saying, “Please do not stop people going to work, because what it will do is it will kill the economy, and we’re already getting over that massive debt we’ve been left from COVID.”

Camilla Belich: At what phase of New Zealand’s Fuel Response Plan would the Government begin to encourage public sector workers to work from home?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS: Well, it will depend exactly when that were to occur, but at this stage, it’s not at phase 2. Clearly that is something we would consider on a case by case basis, but I don’t think we can have our front-line police officers working from home. I don’t think we can have our front-line corrections officers working from home. So for many people in the public sector, it is simply not an option.

Camilla Belich: Where it is possible for public sector workers to work from—[Interruption]

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Quiet, please. I’m having a struggle to hear the person asking the question—Camilla Belich.

Camilla Belich: I think it might be my mic.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, I think it was a bit of noise coming from over here.

Camilla Belich: Were it is possible for public sector workers to work from home without impacting operations or output but assisting to preserve New Zealand’s fuel supply, why wouldn’t the Government strongly encourage public sector workers to work from home?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS: Well, I think it is important to keep the economy moving, and small businesses up and down Wellington and Auckland and everywhere else where there are public servants operating—mostly in Wellington—would actually be devastated if they go through that situation again of losing their customer base because the Government wants to look like we’re leading the world. What is important to also remember is that for every individual employee in the Public Service, it’s up to the managers as well as the employees to make those decisions. There are many people in the Public Service who do significant amounts of work from home, either one day a week or two days a week, and that is something that’s arranged between them. We do not think, in the Government, that it is our job to go and dictate to 60,000-plus employees in the Public Service how they should operate their commute to or from work or if they have one.

Hon Chris Bishop: Supplementary question.

Camilla Belich: Supplementary question.

Hon Chris Bishop: Oh, I’ll wait for the member.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: OK. We’ll take one more from over here.

Camilla Belich: Thank you. If countries like Australia and South Korea are encouraging working from home or even considering mandatory work from home provisions for public servants, why isn’t New Zealand?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS: Well, I think the member might find that we do not have—[Interruption] I don’t know why everyone is so excitable today. We do not have the same fuel situation that Australia has, and I’m not across the South Korean fuel situation, but I would say to the member that if she really wants us to be as rich as Australia, I suggest that she supports the Resource Management Act reforms and she also supports fast track and she supports mining. If she does that, we will be richer than Australia.

Hon Chris Bishop: Are you done? Have you got one more?

DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, she’s—

Hon Chris Bishop: Away you go.

Camilla Belich: I’m not done. Supplementary.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Are we ceding now, are we?

Camilla Belich: On what is likely to be one of the last questions that the Minister receives in the House: would she concede that allowing public sector workers to work from home is a better suggestion to save fuel that stating: “I think most Kiwis understand if you’ve got less stuff in the back of your car, you don’t need much petrol.”?

DEPUTY SPEAKER: In as much as the Minister is responsible for that question—

Hon JUDITH COLLINS: I don’t know who said what, but I think it is important to remember that the Public Service, even though it is a significant number of people, is not the biggest user of fuel, nor are its people. It is very important to understand that the Public Service that we inherited, I have to say, was in a bit of a doldrums, they’re feeling a lot better now, and getting back to work—[Interruption]

Hon Ginny Andersen: Because there’s only five. You’re about to join—

Hon JUDITH COLLINS: I don’t know. Ginny Andersen used to be so much nicer when she’d turn up in my office trying to be nice to me. I don’t know what’s happened to her since then, but anyway, if she doesn’t want an answer, she won’t get one.

Hon Chris Bishop: In her final question time, after a long career, what is her proudest achievement as public services Minister?

Hon JUDITH COLLINS: Do you know what? Bringing back the mojo.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, and I’m sure we’ll have the appropriate moment to say our farewells to Minister Collins when she gets to the end of her tenure.

ENVIRONMENT

Question No. 11

LAN PHAM (Green) (15:01) to the Minister for the Environment: Will the Government’s decision to disestablish the Ministry for the Environment result in better or worse environmental outcomes?

Hon PENNY SIMMONDS (Minister for the Environment) (15:02): We acknowledge the concerns raised about disestablishing the Ministry for the Environment but let me be very clear: there are no substantive changes to the functions under the Environment Act 1986. There is no reduction in environmental protections. The amendments are structural and technical only.

Lan Pham: What is her response to Professor Bronwyn Hayward who, in her submission on the disestablishment, said that she “can find no evidence of the Minister’s claim that merging such diverse functions in mega-ministries has been successful overseas” and that “it appears Cabinet was presented with incorrect or misleading statements made by the Ministers in charge of the bill.”?

Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: So, again, we acknowledge that a number of people have got concerns but we need to look at what happens bringing a number of agencies together. They’ll deliver more practical, joined-up advice than currently, and they’ll have portfolios brought together that can coordinate much better, and so it reflects those strong links that there are between environment, housing, infrastructure, transport, and regional development. It’s about integration rather than silos.

Lan Pham: Does she agree with Pirirākau hapū who said, “This is not just a bureaucratic shuffle; it’s a calculated move that threatens the very foundations of our nation’s identity, prosperity, and justice. To weaken environmental protection is to undermine Māori rights and to erode Māori rights is to endanger the environment.”; if not, why not?

Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: No.

Lan Pham: Why does her view differ from advice from officials and environmental advocates that scrapping the Ministry for the Environment may result in worse environmental outcomes, meaning more polluted waterways and more of our precious species lost?

Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: Well, as I said at the start, there are people with some concerns about disestablishing the ministry, but, again, let’s just look at the facts. There are no substantive changes to the functions, there is no reduction in environmental protection, and the changes are structural.

Lan Pham: Does she think that being the only Minister outside Cabinet since 1972 meant a voice for the environment was missing around the table when Cabinet decided to disestablish her ministry?

Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: Well, there have been a number of Ministers outside Cabinet since 1972. I consider that as a Government, we talk freely together about these matters, and when we come to a decision that is going to make structural changes only—the box is going to look slightly different, but the contents are going be the same—we’ve come to those decisions together.

Hon Chris Bishop: Can the Minister confirm that bringing together all of the functions inside a new ministry is the practical manifestation of what the Green Party often says they believe in, which is the integrated approach to urban development issues and the environment?

Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: Well, it’s hard for me to know what the Green Party believe in—

Ricardo Menéndez March: Point of order.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: I’ve got a point of order from Ricardo Menéndez March. I think I know what the member is going to say, and the Minister has already spoken to that fact, that she does not speak for the Green Party.

Simon Court: Does the Minister agree with Roger Partridge from the New Zealand Initiative that the current system of sprawling, complex Government departments is inefficient, and it is helpful for the delivery of services to bring these things together in one place?

Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: Certainly, operating in silos is really inefficient, and integrating these matters that do have good links brings much more practical, joined-up advice and is likely to bring about better outcomes than current arrangements.

Lan Pham: What is her message to the many submitters and New Zealanders deeply concerned by this decision, who for the last 40 years have expected Governments of any political stripes to retain a dedicated voice for the environment at the heart of Government?

Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: Well, again, I acknowledge that there have been people who are concerned about this disestablishment, and that hasn’t been helped by perhaps some of the misinformation about it. If we keep coming back to what is actually happening, there are no substantive changes to the functions under the Environment Act; there’s no reduction in environmental protection. They’re structural changes.

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi: What would the Minister therefore say to survivors from the recent severe weather events in Te Tai Tokerau, which you should all know about, and how will disestablishing Manatū Mō Te Taiao—which is the Ministry for the Environment, in plain English, just to be helpful—strengthen, if at all, or improve, when what you’re saying is that it is a structural thing only; how will that occur—

Hon Member:What’s the question?

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi: —and the oversight and long-term resilience—to this gentleman twittering to the left of me—outcomes for whānau in Te Tai Tokerau?

Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: I think I got the gist of that question. What I can say is that environmental outcomes always depend on good evidence, and from that good evidence, good decisions. Regardless of any structural changes to Government agencies, the statutory environmental reporting will continue, and as that reporting continues, good evidence will be there for good decisions.

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi: Two specifics, therefore: what specific safeguards will replace the role of Manatū Mō Te Taiao to ensure regions like Te Tai Tokerau that are already exposed to repeated weather-related environmental pressures do not experience worse environmental outcomes as a result of these decisions?

Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: The Ministry for the Environment gives advice to the Minister, and decisions are made based on that advice and based on the information that comes, so there is no thought that a structural change will change the standard of that advice, the level of that advice—

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi: Point of order, Madam Speaker. My opening words were “specifics”, and that’s what I was listening for. It didn’t show up in any regard in the response.

DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think the Minister has answered the question in the sense that—she’s basically answered it pretty much in every question. Her consideration is that the structure is changing but the work will continue—my words, not hers. I don’t think the Minister needs to answer that unless you’ve got anything to add.

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

Question No. 12

DAVID MacLEOD (National—New Plymouth) (15:10) to the Minister for Vocational Education: What recent announcements has she made regarding vocational education?

Hon PENNY SIMMONDS (Minister for Vocational Education) (15:11): Some wonderful announcements. I recently announced that the remaining four polytechnics within the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology will begin new arrangements from 1 January 2027. NorthTec, Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki, Whitireia, and WelTec will become stand-alone regional polytechnics supported by the federation of polytechnics to ensure access to shared services and ongoing viability. This marks a significant step in rebuilding a vocational education system that is locally led, financially sustainable, and aligned with the needs of regional employers, industries, and communities. We are fixing the basics and building the future of vocational education in New Zealand.

Maureen Pugh: What does this announcement mean for the West Coast?

Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: We love the West Coast. From 1 January 2027, Tai Poutini Polytechnic will operate within The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand. This will ensure that in-person, campus-based vocational education remains available on the West Coast. This model will allow for financially viable delivery, while retaining local identity and keeping key partnerships, such as trades academies, with West Coast schools. It ensures continuity for students and regional industries, supporting pathways into meaningful work and aligning programmes with local employment needs. I thank the local MP for her advocacy work there. We are fixing the basics and building the future of the West Coast.

Grant McCallum: What does this announcement mean for Northland?

Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: From 1 January, NorthTec will be reestablished as a stand-alone regional polytechnic. Among other financial supports to ensure its continued viability, I am delighted to announce the in-principle investment of $34.7 million for the development of a new Whangārei tertiary hub—subject to business case—creating modern, fit for purpose facilities, supporting an initiative from local community leaders and growth in areas such as health training. This Government recognises the importance of local, on-campus delivery for the people of the Far North, and we are proud to support this into the future. We are fixing the basics and building the future of Northland.

Dana Kirkpatrick: What does this announcement mean for the East Coast?

Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: The wonderful East Coast—I’m pleased to announce that the Eastern Institute of Technology—EIT—will be receiving $10 million to support the rebuild and improvement of its Hawke’s Bay campus in Taradale, following Cyclone Gabrielle. EIT Council chair David Pearson called the announcement—I quote—“a genuine game-changer for EIT.” And the chief executive said—I quote again—“ EIT is well and truly back in business. … This funding will ensure our Taradale campus can continue to serve Hawke’s Bay for generations to come.” We are fixing the basics and building the future of the East Coast. [Interruption]

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Quiet.

Hon Mark Patterson: Supplementary question to our newest Cabinet Minister—congratulations, Penny—what does this announcement mean for Telford?

Hon PENNY SIMMONDS: This Government recognises that different industries require alternative solutions for delivery, which is why we are delighted to announce that the unique residential agricultural training facility Telford will be receiving $2.4 million to address deferred maintenance to ensure a fit for purpose, fully functioning agricultural campus. This will ensure that the hands-on training in agriculture, rural animal healthcare, and equine skills on Telford’s 921-hectare working farm near Balclutha in South Otago will continue to produce work-ready graduates into the future. We are fixing the basics and building the future of vocational agricultural training in New Zealand. [Glen Bennett stands up abruptly to leave the Chamber]

DEPUTY SPEAKER: Oh, I thought for a moment that Glen Bennett had a question there! That concludes oral questions. I would ask that members quietly leave, and for those of you that we don’t see again for the rest of the day, happy Easter. Just move out quietly. Thank you.

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