Parker David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeParker David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 09 July 2013. Volume:692;Page:11767. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]7.Hon DAVID PARKER (Labour)to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement “The Government decides what the Future Investment Fund is spent on”?Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):Yes.Hon David Parker: Given that Treasury documents from March 2013 recently released under the Official Information Act state that Cabinet has already agreed to spend $616 million against the Budget 2013 Future Investment Fund’s spending profile then list Christchurch hospitals irrigation infrastructure and the National War Memorial at a total of $516 million was the other $100 million blanked out for Solid Energy?Hon BILL ENGLISH: I understand that it was but Treasury is wrong. The Government has not committed to $100 million from the Future Investment Fund as the member asked in the first question. The Government decides what the Future Investment Fund is spent on not Treasury accountants.Hon David Parker: I seek leave to table the document called Finalising the Budget 2013 Future Investment Fund Package which has Solid Energy blanked out.Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that. Is there any objection? Yes there is.Hon David Parker: Why have he and his colleagues been so enthusiastic to promote uses for the proceeds of assets sales—such as subsidising irrigation schemes Minister Guy; building schools and hospitals Mr Key; rebuilding Christchurch Mr Brownlee; capitalising Kiwibank so he can sell it off paying down debt and KiwiRail Mr Joyce; the war memorial Finlayson; the city rail link—yet have failed to publicly mention the $100 million for the bailout of Solid Energy?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Because there is no $100 million bailout of Solid Energy. It does not matter how often the Opposition says it; it is simply not the case. But the rest of the list highlights the flexibility that the asset sales programme gives the Government. We have $1.7 billion cash in the bank and if there is one thing that gets up the Opposition’s nose it is our willingness to spend it on public assets.Hon David Parker: Then is the reason he tried to hide appropriating asset sale proceeds for Solid Energy that it again highlights how Solid Energy was mismanaged under his Government which encouraged Solid Energy in the face of a falling coal price to expand and to increase debt by hundreds of millions of dollars while demanding higher dividends all of which led to the downfall of Solid Energy?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Solid Energy was another example of where the incoming National Government had to clean up a mess left by the previous Government. One could argue that we should have acted a bit more quickly but when we did take action that party was out on the steps of Parliament protesting against it.Hon David Parker: I seek leave to table a copy of the letter sent on behalf of Mr English asking for higher debts and more dividends from Solid Energy in the face of falling coal prices.Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that particular letter. Is there any objection? There is objection.Hon David Parker: Then is the reason he tried to hide spending asset sale proceeds on Solid Energy that after using the Future Investment Fund for projects costing tens of billions of dollars another hundred million dollars would seem a bit over the top?Hon BILL ENGLISH: As I said to the member the Government has not spent a dollar of anything on Solid Energy actually. That has not occurred. The option that the Government has considered is a secured loan and a secured loan would not come from the Future Investment Fund. The Government is hiding nothing. What it is trying to do is clean up messes of which this is one of many left by the previous Labour Government which drove up spending wasted public capital and left this economy in a mess.Hon Clayton Cosgrove: I seek leave to table two documents. The first is recommendation No. 1 in the note to Cabinet spending $616 million where note 6.9 referring to the Solid Energy allocation has—Mr SPEAKER: The source of the document please.Hon Clayton Cosgrove: —it is a Cabinet document—been blanked out.Mr SPEAKER: There are two documents.Hon Clayton Cosgrove: I am seeking leave for the first one.Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table those particular couple of pages. Is there any objection? There is objection.Hon Clayton Cosgrove: The second document I wish to table is Table 5 Future Investment Fund spending in the Budget $616 million—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Is that a Budget document? [Interruption] Order! Is that a Budget document the member has?Hon Clayton Cosgrove: It is Table 5 from the Future Investment Fund where the Solid Energy item is not blanked out.Mr SPEAKER: Is it a Budget document?Hon Clayton Cosgrove: It is Table 5.Mr SPEAKER: It is a Budget document; it will not be tabled.