Robertson Grant: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeRobertson Grant: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 09 March 2016. Volume:711;Page:9506. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]2.GRANT ROBERTSON (Labour—Wellington Central) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes.Grant Robertson: How did he get it so wrong in November 2014 when he advised farmers not to worry about the dairy price and that it would bottom out soon given that he had been told in July that year that there was a 5-year global milk glut?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: How did the member get it so wrong when he thought he would be the leader twice and lost?Chris Hipkins: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! I will hear from Chris Hipkins.Chris Hipkins: The Prime Minister has to at least make some attempt to get vaguely close to the question that was asked. That answer came—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I remind members that this is a point of order. It will be heard in silence. Could the member please continue.Chris Hipkins: The point that I was making is that the Prime Minister has to at least get somewhere near the question that was asked by the member. He did not even come close even to addressing the question.Mr SPEAKER: I will hear from the Hon Gerry Brownlee.Hon Gerry Brownlee: The Prime Minister responded to some very direct remarks made by Mr Robertson and it simply serves to point out the vagaries of prediction.Mr SPEAKER: No I think on this occasion—[Interruption] Order! On this occasion there must be some attempt to answer the question. I am going to invite the member to repeat the question.Grant Robertson: How did he get it so wrong in November 2014 when he advised farmers not to worry about the dairy price and that it would bottom out soon given that he had been told in July that year that there was a 5-year global milk glut?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I remain of the view as I did back then that the long-term and medium-term outlook for dairy is very strong. But as we always know it is always possible to not be able to count and to get your numbers wrong from time to time.Grant Robertson: Does he not think farmers are owed a response from him to serious questions that is better than juvenile politicking when they are facing 44 percent of them defaulting on their loans and farm prices dropping by 40 percent by 2018?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Offering a serious view about what I think are the long-term prospects for dairy it remains that you have got a global opportunity out there emerging in Asia and the changing markets are very relevant. But if the member now wants to say that he is supporting the dairy farmers of New Zealand here are a few suggestions: vote for the Trans-Pacific Partnership because by far the largest beneficiary is dairy; reform the Resource Management Act because that affects those farmers; take a constructive view to a range of different issues around tax; and do not whack a massive emissions trading scheme on farmers. Coming into this House and claiming that he is the friend of the farmer when he does everything he can to put them out of business is not going to fool anyone.Grant Robertson: Supplementary question—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I am just waiting.Grant Robertson: Does he accept the Reserve Bank’s severe scenario for a payout of $4—10 cents above the current forecast—which would mean 44 percent of farmers defaulting on loans and farm prices dropping by 40 percent in 2018?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member is actually misrepresenting the Reserve Bank. He says that if that was the payout—under $4 and I would point out that actually the total payout is still predicted to be above that at $4.35—those loans would be non-performing. That is quite a lot different from defaulting.Grant Robertson: Does he think that farmer shareholders should be satisfied with the performance of the Fonterra chief executive officer?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I do not have any responsibility for the performance of Theo Spierings any more than he has any responsibility for the performance of Andrew Little.Hon Damien O’Connor: Does the Prime Minister still stand by his previous publicly stated position of supporting the opening up of Fonterra to share trading on the NZX as a way of bringing outside equity into the company?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Those comments were made a long time ago but what I did support was trading amongst farmers and I think from what I can see it has worked pretty well.Grant Robertson: Does he not think he should offer a view to farmers about the performance of the chief executive officer of Fonterra given Fonterra is having a debt to equity gearing ratio of 49 percent demanding 90-day terms from its suppliers so that it has actually got some working capital and changing its payout forecast three times in 7 weeks? Does he not think he owes it to farmers to say what he thinks about that performance?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well it is not my responsibility whether Theo Spierings does a good job or not. I do not have that responsibility any more than I have the responsibility for whether a bank chief executive is doing a good job or the chief executive of Telecom is doing a good job.