Christopher Luxon defends government's economic growth record

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the government has been taking the problem of economic growth seriously, and its work on that so far has been "significant".

However, both Labour and the Greens have dismissed Luxon's claims, with the former saying that after a year in power National had deepened the recession and let opportunities slip away.

Luxon says the government's been working on a plan for economic growth in the last half of last year focused on education, science and technology, and international investment.

In his first public comments since Tuesday night kicking off National's caucus retreat - which sees the party's MPs gather together after the new year - Luxon spoke about the Cabinet reshuffle announced on Sunday.

One of the headline changes was handing Finance Minister Nicola Willis a new Economic Growth portfolio, replacing the former Economic Development role held by Melissa Lee, who is no longer a minister.

Willis, standing alongside him, said businesses had been very supportive of the move and she would be focused on the short, medium and long-term, including driving up tourism, international education and international trade and investment.

"That's things like working alongside industry to drive up tourism numbers. Already in January and December, we've had the highest number of international visitor arrivals in five years. I want to see those numbers go higher," she said.

She had earlier told Morning Report she would work alongside the industry on visas.

"One of the things that they've already said to me is making sure that where people have to apply for a visa to visit New Zealand that process is going as fast as possible, it's about our international marketing efforts, it's about how we're working with international airlines to ensure people can come here."

She had said the job came with responsibility for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment - and denied the prime minister had previously forgot to put the role in Cabinet.

Luxon had said the change was made after he had conversations with New Zealanders over the summer about needing to focus on economic growth.

He said the government had been taking it seriously.

"Be under no illusions. We have been working all year last year on making sure we are driving the economy and ... fiscal repair, making sure we stop the wasteful spending. You saw us focus prioritise the cost of living crisis, we broke the back of that with lower inflation, lower interest rates."

"Now it's about pushing on and driving even more definitively into growth.

"We've been working on an economic growth plan in the last half of last year. That's important work, but we do that across a range of our big economic senior ministers."

Pushed on why the portfolio had not been a role inside Cabinet last year, he rejected the suggestion it had been an oversight.

"Well, I just say to you, we've got a great minister of finance in Cabinet last year. We've got a great minister of Infrastructure, Transport, Local Government ... we've been working on education, infrastructure, red tape and regulation. We've been working on making sure we get trade and investment in the right places."

"I think New Zealanders can see we've worked incredibly hard to clean up the fiscal mess that we inherited coming into government in the first year.

"I've had incredibly positive feedback to say 'great, we want you to double down, we want you to go even harder on economic growth' ... and Nicola's appointment's gone down incredibly well with our business community."

As well as building a "world-class education system", part of the plan for growth would rely on increased science, technology and innovation - a job transferred to Shane Reti, who was stripped of the troubled Health portfolio on Sunday.

Luxon pointed to Israel, Denmark and Singapore as examples, pointing to a need to seek investment from overseas.

"We have great scientists in New Zealand, but actually we need only to make sure that we actually pull the ecosystem together - with the research and development done in universities ... in Crown institutes ... within businesses - pull that together and make sure that it actually, then is commercialised.

"You'll hear us talk more about how we plan to, you know, operationalize the science and technology system so that we can get better businesses and bigger businesses in place."

He pointed to RocketLab's Peter Beck, who has a speaking slot at National's retreat this week.

"Increasingly, it's up to good entrepreneurs to go out in a world that's awash with cash, they've got a great proposition and a good product and service, they should be able to raise money for it - here in New Zealand or all around the world."

In New Zealand, the focus would be on improving competition - in supermarkets, banking, and energy.

"There's a lot more work for us to do in unleashing competition in New Zealand, and that's a message I'd send out pretty strongly to the business community ... we are a party that is built on and prioritises competition, and whether that's large companies or small companies, we want to see a much more competitive environment."

He said there was huge appetite for investment into New Zealand from Australia, Southeast and Northeast Asia, and India, but "they haven't had a government before actually framing up what the investable opportunities actually are for them".

"We're going to need international capital."

"The key thing at the moment is the government's up for investment, investors are actually up for investing in New Zealand, and what we've got to do is actually make the handshake come together."

There would also be opportunities for iwi to link up with international investors, he said.

It remains to be seen whether the government will go down the path proposed by New Zealand First and its leader Winston Peters in developing a $100 billion "future fund".

Labour, Greens point to slew of problems

In a statement, Labour's Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said National had failed to steer the economy out of trouble and was now taking credit for global inflation trends.

"New Zealand is now in the deepest recession in 30 years, with unemployment rising, and thousands of Kiwis leaving the country every month," she said.

"Domestically, high rent, which has increased by 4.2 percent and local authority rates up 12.2 percent, continue to bite. Rents have increased despite the prime minister's continued promises to Kiwis they wouldn't.

"Under National, 77,900 Kiwis have left the country in the past year. Nearly half of professionals surveyed for the recruiting agency Robert Walters said that they are planning to move to Australia ... it's not just families feeling the squeeze. Small businesses are reeling under this government's failed policies. Last year, 2500 businesses went under - representing a 10-year-high and nearly 700 more than in 2023."

She said Labour was focused on "rebuilding an economy that works for all Kiwis", and after a year in power National had deepened the recession and let opportunities slip away.

Green Party co-leader and Finance spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick accused Luxon of saying one thing and doing another.

In her own statement, she said the government's decisions had increased rent inflation to double the rate of general inflation, rather than rebuilding the economy.

"The government is either deeply economically illiterate, taking New Zealanders for chumps, or both," she said.

"Cutting taxes for landlords, paid for by chopping public spending on essential services right through the bone, is not only deeply unfair, but deeply unproductive. It hurts the poorest most, and all of us in the long run. The only thing that's trickling down is more cost for regular people, while government decisions secure profits for the wealthiest."

Swarbrick said the climate crisis and infrastructure deficit would not go away and instead of tackling them Luxon's government was "digging its head in the coal and supporting corporate profiteering over New Zealanders' wellbeing".

"We can build an economy that works for people and planet, instead of one which exhausts and exploits both. That requires decisions that prioritise the wellbeing of all, instead of lining the pockets of those at the top."