PM's Press Conference 29/05/17: Two more troops?

Today Prime Minister Bill English gave a summary of what he felt were the highlights of last week’s budget announcement. Those included: Family income package, Infrastructure, Business Growth Agenda, and Social Investment Initiatives. He announced that he will be going to Samoa this week for the country’s 55th Independence Day.

The Prime minister was asked about NATO’s request for New Zealand to send two more personnel to Afghanistan and whether or not we will send them. Mr English will “consider the request” but did not give a definitive answer, as he had only just become aware of the request.

In other world affairs, Mr English was questioned as to whether the attacks in Manchester sparked a need for more security in NZ, especially for sports events. The Prime Minister assured there has been an assessment and there is no need to raise the threat level.

Regarding housing and social spending in the Budget, Mr English said Labour’s claim that the budget includes a “single child tax” on families is “nonsense” and gave a breakdown of the changes. Mr English is pleased that the Greens support the budget.

On immigration, the Prime Minister is confident that NZ has the capacity to keep up with and support a growing economy. When asked if high immigration keeps wages low he stated, inflation has been low so there hasn’t been a need for high wage growth.

Other questions included the PPTA’s gender-neutral uniform and unisex washroom proposal, corporate and savings tax reforms, an update on myrtle rust containment, and the Prime Minister’s comments on Malcolm Turnbull’s use of the word mana to describe one of his ministers.

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