4. Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Does he stand by his statement with regard to milk prices that “they are” getting a fair price and that “the work we’ve done so far would indicate they are”, and if not, what has changed his mind?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) Link to this
Yes, I stand by my full statement. I think it is an interesting observation that when I read out my full statement, sometimes members opposite try to give one impression by, at the least, truncating the quotes I make. The full statement was that “The work we’ve done so far would indicate that they are but sometimes daylight is the best disinfectant.” As I said yesterday, it looks like a competitive market, but it is important that consumers feel a degree of confidence. That is why National has decided to support a select committee inquiry.
Why did he not believe consumers who told him and his Government as far back as February last year that the price of milk was too high, having gone up by over 9 percent, by his own Minister of Agriculture’s calculations?
Firstly, because the food price index shows that the price of fresh milk has gone up 1.7 percent over the last 6 months, no doubt helped by Fonterra’s supermarket price freeze; and, secondly, for the very same reason that I assume Labour did not rush in when it went up 23 percent in the last 2 years under its watch.
Mr SPEAKERThank you, Mr Speaker. Does he recall saying in 2008 in Opposition that the then Government should do something to reduce the cost of milk, because families were rationing it to their children; if so, why has it taken an Opposition push for a select committee inquiry before he will acknowledge that something needs to be done about the price of milk now he is in Government?
Yes, because milk prices rose 23 percent under Labour in its last 2 years. The Government has been doing things. The Commerce Commission was looking to see whether it could undertake an inquiry. As all members know, it is independent and is governed by the Commerce Act, so the Government wanted to wait and see whether it would respond. The Government has also had interdepartmental inquires taking place, and it has been doing quite a bit of work.
Does he stand by his answer to an oral question on 11 February 2010 that milk would become much more affordable when the tax cuts came in in October; if so, how many more families now can afford milk than then?
Yes. By definition, it does, because milk has gone up 1.7 percent over the last 6 months, helped by Fonterra’s price freeze, and New Zealanders across the board got a net positive tax cut that was distributionally even over the course of the last Budget.
Te Ururoa Flavell Link to this
Nā te kaha hāngai o Fonterra ki te utu o te miraka, ka whai atu te Pirimia i tā Te Pāti Māori i whakarewa i ngā marama e whā ki muri, kia whakawhānuitia te arotakenga o te utu o te miraka ki te tūtohu Trading Among Farmers a Fonterra?
[Given the strong focus that Fonterra has on the price of milk, will the Prime Minister follow the suggestion made by the Māori Party some 4 months ago to extend the inquiry into the price of milk to Trading Among Farmersproposed by Fonterra?]