He agreed with Hosking that people just wanted free money.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re in a Covis frame of mind where the cash bazooka was sprayed around, the credit card was maxed out, the rainy day fund is gone and the banks are telling us, \u2018Hey listen, with credit rating watches, you need to be careful here\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI get people may not want to hear it, but I have to do the right thing for the long-term good of New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Luxon had high praise for the infrastructure he saw while in Singapore, which has a 50-year infrastructure plan – compared to New Zealand\u2019s \u201cad hoc\u201d approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew Zealand [is]… probably in the top 10% of countries that spend on infrastructure, but we\u2019re in the bottom 10% in terms of the efficiency we get from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new food-for-fuel arrangement was agreed in principle last year, but its signing comes amid the global oil crisis with ongoing uncertainty around the impacts of the Iran war<\/a>.<\/p>\n Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key pipeline for globally traded oil, for two months in retaliation for attacks from the United States and Israel.<\/p>\n Around a third of New Zealand\u2019s refined fuels come from Singapore, which in turn normally sources a large part of its oil feedstocks through the strait, from countries in the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n New Zealand\u2019s latest fuel update shows stocks of diesel, petrol and jet fuel are all down slightly<\/a> – one of the Government\u2019s triggers to consider moving up its fuel alert level system.<\/p>\n However, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday said the alert level wouldn\u2019t be reviewed, with officials claiming stock levels were within \u201cnormal ranges\u201d.<\/p>\n Willis and Trade Minister Todd McClay accompanied Luxon to Singapore.<\/p>\n Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour acted as Prime Minister in Luxon\u2019s absence, as well as announcing the Act Party\u2019s immigration policy on Sunday.<\/p>\n The Immigration Minister, National\u2019s Erica Stanford, called Act\u2019s policy \u201ckneejerk\u201d and \u201cpopulist\u201d<\/a> and said it would hurt businesses.<\/p>\n Luxon\u2019s interview also comes after the Government announced it would scrap the Broadcasting Standards Authority<\/a>, saying the media regulator\u2019s role no longer makes sense as the industry evolves.<\/p>\n