Jacinda Ardern vs Judith Collins: the 53rd Parliament begins a fiery debate

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her political rival, Judith Collins of National, opened the 53rd Parliament with a heated debate that accumulated in a dispute over housing.

Ardern accused National of “leaving us a housing crisis,” while telling Collins that he refused to let her lecture him on this issue.

Collins, who spoke before Ardern, pointed to what he said was a poor record of government spending.

“We will hold this government to account,” Collins repeated about a dozen times during his 25-minute speech.

The debate was heated even before the speeches by the two leaders began: the two Maori Party MPs left the chamber after saying they were denied the right to speak in the response speech.

But House Speaker Trevor Mallard clarified later that day that the Maori Party had asked for two speeches in the speech in response, something current rules do not allow.

Yesterday was the official Opening of the State Parliament, when Parliament began in earnest.

The day began with the Governor General’s Speech from the Throne, the traditional speech that sets out the policies and promises of the Government.

That speech, which was written by Ardern, revealed the government’s plans to make sure Covid-19 vaccines are free to all New Zealanders.

Throughout the Speech from the Throne and her speech in the House, Ardern’s first major speech in Parliament since she was re-elected, Covid-19 was the clear centerpiece.
“New Zealanders have taken it easy,” he said of the country’s fight against the virus.

He said the New Zealand collective action has been one of the most humbling experiences of his life.

Therefore, he said, “we owe them [New Zealanders] our action in progress “.

It was a similar story when it comes to climate change: “Our generation cannot stand still while there is a climate crisis,” Ardern said in the House.

Hours earlier, House Leader Chris Hipkins let slip that next week, the Government would present a motion to declare a climate emergency in New Zealand.

As it turned out, the motion would be proposed by Ardern herself next Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters on his way to the House this afternoon, Ardern said that the Labor Party has always viewed climate change as “a great threat to our region.”

“[It’s] something we need to act on immediately. “

Unlike previous attempts to move such a motion, which was made by Green Rep. Chloe Swarbrick, the motion expected next Tuesday will come from the Government.

Since Labor has an absolute majority in the House, the motion will pass.

It is understood that the former partner of the Labor coalition, New Zealand First, blocked a motion of the Government last term.

But it didn’t take long for the government to come under fire for the compromise.

Law enforcement leader David Seymour said the government’s motion will be nothing more than a “marketing stunt that won’t stop a ton of emissions.”

In his speech, Collins also criticized the government’s climate change record.

According to figures from the Environment Ministry, current efforts fall short of the country’s international commitments and forest compensation accounted for a large part of the gains.

Although there was a series of taunts in the House during the climate change debate, the chamber was by far the most heated when Collins, later Ardern, spoke about housing.

“It’s a shame,” Collins said, attacking the government for KiwiBuild’s failed policy.
She blamed the Ardern government for the high house prices in New Zealand.

Collins added that the government needs to “check the reality” when it comes to its housing construction program.

“They were never foreign buyers or people with Chinese-sounding names,” he said, referring to a line of attack Labor had before the 2017 election.

But Ardern clearly had no bar: “I will not be lectured by the leader of the Opposition. [whose party] left us with a housing crisis ”.

Meanwhile, Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson said that while her party was committed to working with the government on climate change, it will also hold ministers to account.

Act’s David Seymour, whose caucus has gone from one last term to ten in this term, used his speech to say that “the free and democratic world must wake up from the lethargy we have been in since the Cold War ended.”

“The populism of smiles and slogans from the South Pacific will not do.”