Winston Peters
Acting Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
Minister, Disarmament and Arms Control
Minister, Foreign Affairs
Minister, Racing
Minister, State Owned Enterprises
Good afternoon. Yesterday, the coalition Government’s Families Package began and more than a million families and households are immediately better off as a consequence—385,000 families with children will be better off by an average of $75 a week when the package is fully rolled out in two years’ time.
More than 750,000 superannuitants will now have help each winter to pay their heating bills, with a couple receiving $750 a year to assist with keeping their house and houses warm in the coldest months.
Paid parental leave was extended from 18 weeks to 22 weeks, and will extend a further four weeks from 2020. Now, we make no apologies for prioritising children, families, and superannuitants, who were ignored by the previous administration, who preferred to give money away to the top income earners. Our Families Package gets nearly twice as many children out of poverty, it’s better at stimulating the economy, and actively helps the elderly. It’s the centrepiece of this Government’s social policy to raise the incomes and help out the broad range of New Zealanders doing it tough.
On another matter, I wish to advise that the father of the Hon Shane Jones, sadly, passed away earlier today, and all of his colleagues around the Cabinet table have expressed their condolences to Minister Jones, who, naturally, will be taking leave in the course of the week. I also wish to note the passing away of Graeme Lindsay over the weekend as well. He was a US-based expat New Zealander who did much to advance business interests between our two countries. He was also a board member of the America - New Zealand association, which worked with Fulbright New Zealand to provide educational exchanges. He himself, of course, also was a Fulbright scholar.
In the course of the week, I’ll be attending Parliament’s question time on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Tonight, I will be attending the US Amnesty’s 4th of July event at Te Papa, with others from Cabinet and Parliament. On Tuesday evening, I’ll present the Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards, held here in Parliament.
Now, Cabinet today confirmed the details of a review into the State Services Commission’s appointment process in relation to the recent appointment of a Deputy Commissioner of Police. Internal affairs Minister, Tracey Martin, will initiate a Government inquiry into the process. The terms of reference will focus on the State Services Commission’s appointment process. First, was all relevant information properly provided to, or gathered by, the State Services Commission during the appointment process of a Deputy Commissioner of Police, and if not, why not?
Second, in the event that all relevant information was provided to or known by the State Services Commission, was it provided to Ministers, and if not, why not? Further terms of reference will be announced shortly. The Minister will be announcing a suitably qualified and independent person to undertake this inquiry in the coming days. Any questions?