9. Question No. 9—Regional Economic DevelopmentCHRIS BISHOP (National—Hutt South) to the Minister for Regional Economic DevelopmentQuestion No. 9—Regional Economic Development9. CHRIS BISHOP (National—Hutt South) to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: How much money from the Provincial Growth Fund has been received by projects approved for funding as at 30 September 2019 and as at the same date how many full-time jobs have been created in PGF-supported projects?Hon SHANE JONES (Minister for Regional Economic Development): Reo Māori i te tuatahi. Nō te pakūtanga o te puia o Whakaari ka heke mai te whanariki me te pūwerawera he aroha ki te hunga kua riro haere koutou haere oti atu e.[Māori language first. Once the volcano on Whakaari erupted sulphur and extreme heat descended condolences for those who have passed away farewell to you your time has ended pass on.]For the projects managed by the Provincial Development Unit $297.5 million has been received by recipients. Of the $3 billion over $1 billion has been held by other agencies such as the New Zealand Transport Agency KiwiRail and the Ministry for Primary Industries for the one billion trees. We have approved $1.8 billion and $977 million has been contracted. Of the 1922 positions 616 are full-time and 1091 are part-time. We have approved 463 projects.Chris Bishop: Does he think $482000 per full-time job is good value for money and if so why?Hon SHANE JONES: The figure quoted is a static snapshot figure of the many projects that have been funded and have also been contracted. The member knows it will take a considerable period of time before the full benefit and the full employment complement will emerge.Chris Bishop: Does he have an estimate for the number of full-time jobs that will be created through the Provincial Growth Fund and if so what is it?Hon SHANE JONES: In the past I have isolated and announced a figure over the full life of the fund which will stretch well into the next decade. The figure is 10000.Chris Bishop: Does he have a measure of success for the Provincial Growth Fund in addition to full-time jobs and if so what is that measure of success?Hon SHANE JONES: It might interest the House to know that there will be two evaluations of the Provincial Growth Fund. The first one short term will be completed by the end of next year and it will measure the effectiveness of our activity against those indicators that Cabinet agreed to which have already been publicly shared. Evaluating the full effects of the fund will take some time. In addition to numbers of jobs I would point out the 6000 young men and women known as NEETs through the Provincial Growth Fund and other sources of funding that have come into the world of light. Infrastructure resilience social inclusion and indeed Māori economic development are all indicators for this long-term investment strategy.Andrew Falloon: Can he confirm that the number of people employed or contracted by the Provincial Development Unit in the last 12 months has more than doubled from 53 to 116 and is he concerned about this large increase in Wellington rather than in the regions?Hon SHANE JONES: The figure no doubt has been gained as a consequence of an open democratic process otherwise known as the select committee process. We are talking about a sum of $3 billion. The fact that $3 billion has required the attention of 160-odd people is a mark of positive distinction.Rt Hon Winston Peters: By way of comparison is it not a fact that that number is just twice the number in the Leader of the Opposition's office?Hon SHANE JONES: Sir the figures that you have quoted are not only correct but they're not funded by the Provincial Growth Fund.