Point of Order: Cyclone Gabrielle cops the blame as Robertson comments on latest CPI figures....

.....while his colleagues announce more spending

The inflation story from the Beehive has changed. Whereas global price pressures were being blamed a year ago, the culprit now is Cyclone Gabrielle.

The consumers price index increased 6.7 per cent in the 12 months to March 2023, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. That’s an improvement on the 7.2 per cent increase in the 12 months to December 2022.

But inflation is still at levels not seen since the 1990s, Stats NZ consumer prices senior manager Nicola Growden said.

Point of Order: Recovering our relationships with China, ASEAN and Samoa while grappling with climate change and protecting the kauri

New Zealand’s relationships with China, the ASEAN countries and Samoa were embraced by speeches and announcements that flowed from the Beehive after Disarmament Minister Phil Twyford had delivered his Statement to the 2022 Review Conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Trade Minister Damien O’Connor addressed the China Business Summit, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departed for the Indo-Pacific region for a programme of talks on security and economic issues, and the PM announced the launch of a new climate change partnership with Samoa and confirmed support for the rebuild of the capital’s main market.