Question time from ParliamentNational Party leader Christopher Luxon has challenged Chris Hipkins on the blow out in consultants and contractors in the public sector – but Hipkins got a jab back at him for his own use of consultants. The ghosts of Hipkinses past were dragged up as Luxon questioned Hipkins on a 2018 statement that Labour would reduce its reliance on expensive consultants and contractors - something Labour had criticised National for when in Opposition. It sparked an exchange in which Hipkins agreed with Luxon that there should be less use of contractors while also defending the use of them. Act leader David Seymour then poked fun at the Government’s swift u-turn on its draft transport plan after Transport Minister Michael Wood pivoted from saying climate change was the priority on Monday morning to saying the cyclone rebuild was the priority by yesterday afternoon. Seymour noted that statement had said New Zealanders had to adjust their behaviours in a number of ways to contend with climate change, and asked whether Wood was a case study for that.

Source: New Zealand Herald March 07, 2023 05:09 UTC