Chris Hipkins ate hot dogs with Anthony Albanese, a "ground-breaking" report into tax fairness in New Zealand whipped up speculation about more taxes, then the PM made it clear there would absolutely 100% never ever be more taxes... this Budget.
It's been another intriguing week in the world of New Zealand politics, and 1News' political journalists break it all down in this week's episode of Inside Parliament.
Read on and listen below.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins winged his way to Brisbane on the weekend, and 1News political editor Jessica Mutch McKay and digital political reporter Felix Desmarais were there.
He travelled on the same day Albanese announced New Zealanders will, from July 1, have a direct pathway to Australian citizenship, after four years spent in the country and meeting other criteria.
Citizenship would afford Kiwis in Australia with access to rights and benefits not otherwise accessible.
Mutch McKay said New Zealanders' rights in Australia had been a "thorn in the side" of the trans-Tasman relationship for 20 years and the decision had helped resolve it.
"It did seem unfair. You're over there, you're paying taxes, you're contributing. Often you have kids born there. It just seems right that you should be able to have some access to those benefits.
"Finally, it's now got across the line."
She put the move down to Albanese's willingness as well as the Kiwi-friendly caucus within the Australian Labor Party - which includes Home Minister Clare O'Neil and Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
Critics of the change said it would lead to a "brain drain" of Kiwis moving to Australia in droves which Mutch McKay said was a "valid concern", although there was no modelling on it.
Desmarais said there were a range of factors people took into account when moving to Australia as a New Zealander - such as job prospects, salaries and lifestyle, and becoming a citizen was not necessarily top of that list.
To tax or not to tax
On Wednesday, two new reports - one from Inland Revenue and the other from Treasury - revealed New Zealand's richest effectively pay less than half the tax rate of ordinary Kiwis.
The large reason for this, the report said, was because the wealthiest New Zealanders only draw about 7% of their income from salaries and wages - which are directly taxable - whereas other income sources such as property, investments and businesses were taxed differently.
Revenue Minister David Parker said it showed the tax system was "fundamentally unfair", while National and ACT said the problem was not the tax system but the Government's economic mismanagement.
ACT also said it believed the Government was using the reports to pave the way for more taxes.
Meanwhile, the Greens called exactly for those taxes.
National Party leader Christopher Luxon was asked repeatedly if the tax system was fair and struggled to directly answer the question.
1News political reporter Cushla Norman said despite the new report, the Government didn't appear to be keen to make any quick changes.
Mutch McKay said it was clear Parker is a fan of a capital gains tax - although not on the family home - but delivering a capital gains tax was fraught and complicated.
But before the haunting (to some) spectre of a capital gains tax could really begin to loom in political discourse, Hipkins gave a pre-Budget speech in Auckland making it very clear there would be no capital gains tax, wealth tax or a cyclone recovery levy in this year's Budget.
Mutch McKay said she believed keeping the capital gains tax "distraction" out of the Budget was a "politically calculated move".
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