Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the Government is focused on looking at ways to support New Zealanders on cost of living during these difficult times.

Ardern said the weekend’s announcement on free childcare would reach nearly half of NZ families accessing ECE. It is one of the biggest cost of living pressures Kiwi families faced.

“We already have 20 hours of ECE free for kids aged 3 and up,” Ardern said, adding the Government also recognises childcare is still a significant expense for families.

“In this environment right now, which NZ is not alone in experiencing... we have taken a broad mix of measures to try to reach as many people as we can.

“We keep looking for ways to support NZers as we can.”

Labour’s policy focused on people with the lowest incomes while National’s tax cuts would give more money to the most wealthy, the PM said.

On banks’ record profits, Ardern said they will make a range of arguments as to why they were posting such profits.

But they all seek the same social licence. They know this is a time when NZers are facing increases to costs of living, Ardern said.

“Are they demonstrating social license and commitment to the communities by taking the profits that they are?”

“This is not a one-off. We’ve seen them consistently taking record profits.”

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She would not comment on UK policies, but said she was speaking frankly on her observations.

“We don’t have any particular policy that would have an impact on what we are seeing.”

From corporate responsibility perspective, the banks must reflect on their profits and whether it was appropriate, Ardern said.

She said the Government did not have a solution.

“But what we are seeing currently, I don’t think it is justifiable.”

Ardern said the Government doesn’t have a Commerce Commission market study like the one for the grocery sector, which showed supermarkets were taking excess profit of $1 million a day.

Ardern said she does not have this evidence base for the bank sector.

“This is not a new issue, it’s one we’ve seen for a couple of years.”

Ardern wouldn’t answer if the Commerce Commission needs to probe the banking sector.

When asked if there was something wrong with the banks making these large profits in this environment she said yes.

Ardern said the point she’s making is that not all solutions to these issues come solely from the Government - and the banks making these profits can help.

PM weighs in on Musk’s Twitter takeover

Ardern confirmed she has not spoken to new Twitter owner Elon Musk since he took over Twitter and said it was too early to say whether his purchase of the site would impact the Christchurch call.

She has not given consideration to whether she will pay for a blue tick on Twitter.

She said it is fair to say that the blue tick, which previously was accessible by high-profile people, does assist with the issue of fake accounts.

Today’s press conference comes after a meeting of Cabinet today, and follows a recent poll that had her party in dire straits and pointing to a National-Act government come 2023.

The Newshub-Reid Research poll on Sunday had Labour down 5.9 points to 32.3 per cent. National was steady at 40.7 per cent and with Act at 10 per cent had enough support to take power together in next year’s election.

Ardern also fell to 29.9 per cent as preferred Prime Minister, a 6.9 per cent drop from the last poll. She remained well ahead of National’s Christopher Luxon on 21.5 per cent.

In response, Ardern has pointed out Labour has come back from worse results before to win an election. She also said Labour’s own polls showed the two major parties neck and neck.

Over the weekend Ardern also announced a new policy to boost childcare support for low-middle-income families. The $189 million package was part of Labour’s attempt to ease the cost-of-living pressure.

Ardern also announced what the increases to Working for Families tax credits will be from April next year, after they are adjusted for inflation - increases expected to cost about $26 million.

Throughout the conference the party also took aim at National’s plan to lower taxes, especially its plan to cut the top tax rate, which they say will increase inflation further.

Ardern said the support through childcare subsidies and Working for Families was a way to target those who needed it most, without having a significant impact on inflation.

Luxon meanwhile said while the policy was “fine” it would not address the core issue of inflation.

Luxon said a “proper economic plan” was required, removing immigration bottlenecks and disciplined spending.

Ardern could also face questions about her absence from this year’s COP, short for Conference of the Parties, the United Nations’ annual climate change conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

As world leaders assemble there Ardern is notably absent - the fourth time she has not attended as leader of the country.

The National Party has been critical of this, noting former prime minister John Key attended twice.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said Ardern was attending the upcoming Apec and East Asia Summit meetings in November and it “would not have been possible to include COP in Egypt in that travel”.

He said internationally this year Ardern had raised climate change in her speech to the United Nations, at the Pacific Islands Forum and in her White House meeting with Biden.

He added New Zealand prime ministers have not “routinely attended COP meetings” and this time Shaw would be representing the country.

Experts meanwhile defended the Prime Minister, stating while “disappointing” and a missed opportunity to promote recent work in agricultural emissions, this conference was more focused on working out technical details.

Climate Change Minister James Shaw is scheduled to leave for the conference this Friday.