5. Question No. 5—FinanceHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 5—Finance5. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of his policies and statements?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Yes in the context in which they were made. I particularly stand by the careful management that has seen this Government have net debt below 20 percent in our first two years and run surpluses over that period of time. That now puts us in a position to take advantage of very low interest rates to correct the infrastructure deficits that were left behind by nine years of blue darkness.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Regarding his statement at the weekend's Labour Party conference At the World Economic Forum in Davos this year I was so proud to hear our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tell the world how the Wellbeing Budget would work and more importantly why it mattered." was the world's response any different to what he is hearing from ordinary Kiwis who are wondering what happened to KiwiBuild?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The response was very positive as indeed it has been to the Wellbeing Budget right across New Zealand. For example the fact that among business audiences around New Zealand among NGOs the idea that a Government might take mental health seriously and put it at the core of a Budget is something that has been very very well received.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Has the feedback from Davos been any different than the feedback from Kiwi motorists wondering why 12 major road projects were cancelled or postponed by his Government?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I completely reject the premise of that member's question. It's all very well to stand in the middle of a field all alone as the then National Party leader did and make empty promises about ghost roads but not actually fund them. That's not the same thing as actually funding roads and I'm very proud of our record in that regard.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Was the feedback from the crowd at Davos different to what he's hearing from Kiwis running small businesses as they struggle with rising costs?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Look I can feel the members' jealousy about the lack of an invite to Davos and I can say to him that I'll do my level best to get Klaus Schwab interested in the member from Epsom—not for Epsom—and get him an invite to the next one.Hon Paul Goldsmith: With export prices and our terms of trade at the highest level in decades why does he always blame global headwinds for slower growth since he's been in Government?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: It's not just me who has a focus on the fact that New Zealand exists in a global economy. In fact if we refer to the Mood of the Boardroom survey he would have noted—the member was there when that was released—that seven out of the top 10 concerns for business leaders in New Zealand were to do with the international environment. We are in an environment of global headwinds; the New Zealand economy is well-positioned to deal with them.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can the Minister tell us as to whether the feedback from Davos was one of envy at the NZX in New Zealand right now being at an all-time record since it was first formed?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Indeed that is the case that we have at the moment. I think it's a sign of confidence inside the economy and I do believe that if members opposite looked beyond their negative mind-set they'd see signs all over the economy that spring has indeed been here."