Little Andrew: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLittle Andrew: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 16 September 2015. Volume:708;Page:6666. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]2.ANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Why did he say in July last year that “We think unemployment will be down to 4.5 percent in the very foreseeable future” given unemployment has risen in each successive quarter and now stands at 5.9 percent?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Because the best information at the time which was the Treasury 2014 Budget forecast showed unemployment dropping to 4.5 percent over the forecast period.Andrew Little: Can he confirm that he predicted a 4.5 percent unemployment rate which did not happen but failed to predict the economic slow-down that is happening right now?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No. I can predict that Treasury did that.Andrew Little: Does the fact that there are 13000 more people out of work today than a year ago suggest that a new economic plan is needed; if so is he now working on plan B or is that Treasury’s job too?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think the member’s ability to analyse the data is not that good. There are 68000 more people who have been employed over the last 12 months.Andrew Little: Does he think that business owners in the ANZ confidence survey are wrong when they say that unemployment will rise in the next year; if so what does he know about their businesses that they do not?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: They may be right or they may be wrong—I mean they are simply having a forecast. Interestingly enough if you look at the ANZ Business Outlook survey when it comes to its own business it is a lot more confident actually about its own level of activity than others’. Interestingly enough I think it was about 6 weeks ago that we came into this House and the Labour Party was doing its very very best to talk dairy prices down to zero but by the way the prices are up 56 percent in 6 weeks.Mr SPEAKER: Order! That is actually not relevant to the question that was asked.Andrew Little: Putting aside his repeated claims that it is the Labour Party that is responsible for everything and given that the Reserve Bank forecasts a further 5000 Kiwis will be unemployed by March next year on top of the 50000 more people unemployed since he came to power what new plans does he have to get Kiwis back into work?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member’s data is wrong. There are hundreds of thousands more New Zealanders in employment now than when this Government came into office. But here is a suggestion: if the Labour Party wants to see more people in work support the Trans-Pacific Partnership and stop trying to reverse the 90-day probationary period.Andrew Little: Does he understand that while he buries his head in the sand and promises jam tomorrow real Kiwi families are struggling with rising unemployment and the fear of losing their jobs?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I will take those as crocodile tears from the Leader of the Opposition because this Government is a Government that has gone out there and cut ACC levies.Hon Members: Ha ha!Rt Hon JOHN KEY: This is a Government that has gone out there and extended ultra-fast broadband—well yes that is right. We would have laughed too at the state the Labour Government left ACC in but it was such a disgrace we had to clean it up for them.Andrew Little: As he enters his 8th year in Government when is he going to stop blaming an old Government and take responsibility for his own actions?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Given the damage that was done in the 9 long years under Helen Clark it has taken a while to tidy things up. There is a reasonable case to be made that when people come to Parliament in Opposition screaming their lungs out after 9 years of Government that completely and utterly failed this country they are held to account. By the way that will probably carry on for many more years to come.