Latest news with #Carmel Sepuloni
RNZ News
19 hours ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Listen: Sepuloni and Willis clash over cost of living on Morning Report's political panel
Carmel Sepuloni and Nicola Willis go head-to-head on Morning Report's weekly political panel. Photo: RNZ You can listen live to RNZ's political panel on Morning Report at 8am every Wednesday. Labour is accusing the government of failing to take real action on the cost of living, but the Finance Minister says the opposition has no plan. Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Labour's Carmel Sepuloni joined Morning Report 's new political panel on Wednesday. Willis, who has just returned from a trip to London and New York, said lenders overseas saw New Zealand as "a good bet". The government has kept its AA+ credit rating, with ratings agency Fitch praising both National and Labour's emphasis on fiscal responsibility . Willis' said the reason that mattered to "the squeezed middle" was that if they downgraded New Zealand's credit rating, credit cards and mortgages would cost more while the government would need to pay more to service the national debt. "And remember we're spending enough to service our debt to pay around six Waterview Tunnels every year into the future ....so it's important the government gets that under control," she said. Sepuloni responded that much of the debt, some of which ballooned during the Covid era, had arisen under the current government who had gone ahead with tax cuts and tax breaks for landlords and the tobacco industry. There did not seem to be any "real action" on the cost of living, she said. Labour would not be pausing infrastrucuture projects either. Willis said Labour would not front up on how its plans would be paid for and she believed it would mean extra taxation. On Tuesday she accused Labour of "fiscal innumeracy" and a reckless approach to spending. Government action on the cost of living included sending a clear message to Local Government New Zealand on the need to rein in rates rises. High export prices for the likes of butter and meat were being reflected at the supermarket till while the government was also working hard on trying to get more competition in the supermarket sector. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
31-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Oral Questions for Thursday 31 July 2025
Questions to Ministers Hon CARMEL SEPULONI to the Minister for Women: Does she stand by her statement, "My top priority as Minister for Women is to support women to economic empowerment because not only does it give women more choice, but it has a ripple effect on families, communities, and the economy"; if so, is fair pay critical to economic empowerment? SCOTT WILLIS to the Minister for Energy: What actions, if any, has he taken to reduce power bills for energy consumers, and how much have power bills reduced on average, if at all, as a result of these actions? Dr HAMISH CAMPBELL to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements has he made about strengthening primary care? Hon BARBARA EDMONDS to the Minister of Finance: Does she stand by all her statements and actions? PAULO GARCIA to the Minister of Local Government: What announcements has he made about increasing transparency in local government? Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statement that he is ensuring "nurses have the resources they need to provide access to timely, quality healthcare"? HANA-RAWHITI MAIPI-CLARKE to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What, if anything, is she doing to address the 10 percent decrease in filled jobs for 15- to 19-year-olds since June 2024? TODD STEPHENSON to the Prime Minister: What is the Government doing to reduce spending? Hon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Education: Does she agree with Erica Stanford, who said in 2023 that she was "committed to more" pay for existing teachers; if so, how is one of the lowest pay offers ever, as reported by RNZ, being "committed to more"? STEVE ABEL to the Minister of Agriculture: What steps, if any, is he taking to guard against perceived influence by the dairy lobby on freshwater policy? RIMA NAKHLE to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What recent announcements has the Government made to support Kiwis at the checkout? Hon GINNY ANDERSEN to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: Does she stand by her statement, "The Government is creating the conditions where jobs are created, absolutely", and would 184,000 New Zealanders have left the country in the past 18 months if this was the case? To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Oral Questions for Thursday 17 July 2025
Questions to Ministers Hon CARMEL SEPULONI to the Minister for Women: Does she stand by all her statements and actions regarding pay equity? TAKUTA FERRIS to the Minister of Justice: What safeguards, if any, will he put in place to ensure that the Government's proposed citizen's arrest changes won't "lead to unreasonable use of force and unlawful detention" as is highlighted by the Ministry of Justice in the regulatory impact statement? DAN BIDOIS to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has she seen on the economy? Hon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME to the Minister of Education: How many Resource Teacher Literacy and Resource Teacher Maori jobs will be lost as a result of the Government's decision to defund these roles? LAN PHAM to the Associate Minister for the Environment: Is the Minister concerned about the state of freshwater quality following a Statistics New Zealand indicator showing that over the past five years, drinking water pollution levels were exceeded in at least 45 percent of sites for E. coli and 12 percent of sites for nitrates? DANA KIRKPATRICK to the Minister responsible for RMA Reform: What announcements has he made regarding the transition to the Government's new planning system? Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statement that his mission is to ensure that "all New Zealanders can access the timely and quality access to healthcare that they all deserve"; if so, is he confident that this is happening? DAVID MacLEOD to the Minister of Health: What recent announcements have been made about making it easier for internationally trained doctors to work in New Zealand? SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister for Vocational Education: How many jobs at polytechnics have been cut, or are proposed to be cut, since she took office? TAMATHA PAUL to the Minister for Vocational Education: Does she stand by her statement that the Government's plan for polytechnics will "set the sector up for long-term economic and learning success"; if so, is she concerned about Whitirea and Weltec closing their creative arts campus and Toi Ohomai proposing to close their Tokoroa and Taupo campuses? JOSEPH MOONEY to the Minister of Education: What recent announcements has she made about school property? ARENA WILLIAMS to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: Why is he proposing changing the law in ways that could undermine claims by 150,000 New Zealanders against two Australian-owned banks totalling $600 million? To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
