Meat tax statement was a “stupid figure of speech”

Radio NZ reports:

The government has ruled out putting a tax on red meat despite earlier fears that it might do so later.

It blamed what it called a “stupid figure of speech” for confusion about the matter.

When a Minister says we are not doing a meat tax at this stage, of course people correctly read between the lines and see “But we’d like to do it later”.

After the article about meat tax appeared in The Lancet, media in New Zealand quoted the Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter as not ruling out a red meat tax in New Zealand, saying simply that it was not under consideration “at this stage”.
That led the National Party to accuse the Labour government of possibly bringing one in later, which could also jeopardise New Zealand’s rural economy, the party said.
The minister’s office later said the phrase “at this stage” was a “stupid figure of speech” issued while the office was still in holiday mood.

So does this mean we can’t trust anything put out by a Government Minister in January?