4. Wage Rates—Wage Increases Compared With Living Cost IncreasesGRANT ROBERTSON (Labour—Wellington Central) to the Minister of FinanceWage Rates—Wage Increases Compared With Living Cost IncreasesGRANT ROBERTSON (Labour—Wellington Central): My question is to the Minister of Finance and asks: what was the annual average ordinary-time hourly earnings increase over the last year—Hon Paula Bennett: You should have stepped up Grant.GRANT ROBERTSON: What about you Paula? It is probably time for you to do that right now actually.Mr SPEAKER: Order! Let us call that one-all. We will now get on to the question without interjection. The member can start his question again.4. GRANT ROBERTSON (Labour—Wellington Central) to the Minister of Finance: What was the annual average ordinary-time hourly earnings increase over the last year and what percentage of workers received pay rises of less than 2 percent last year according to Statistics New Zealand?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister of Finance): For the member's benefit the questioner is probably a day ahead of himself as there is some current data coming out tomorrow: the household labour force survey for the June year. But according to the March data which is the last data we have average total hourly earnings rose 1.6 percent for the year. However average weekly earnings rose 2.2 percent over the same period which shows that in a growing economy people work more hours and take home more pay. A break down of the labour cost index showed 33 percent of New Zealanders received an increase of over 2 percent while 67 percent received an increase of less than 2 percent in the period.Grant Robertson: Can he confirm that his Government has delivered according to the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment rental bond data an increase of 4.9 percent in rents on average across New Zealand over the last year compared with that wage increase of 1.6 percent?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: No I cannot. I do not have that information to hand. But I would say to the member that actually concern for people's living costs is something that this Government is really focused on and that is why we put together the Family Incomes Package in Budget 2017 which increases after-tax incomes on 1 April next year by around $26 a week for about 1.34 million working New Zealand families. Our compatriots in the Greens and New Zealand First voted for it and I note that the member's party did not.Grant Robertson: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I know you do not normally allow the tabling of publicly available information but I am just concerned the Minister is a bit behind on his—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume his seat. With that sort of behaviour he will be very lucky to continue his line of supplementary questions.Grant Robertson: Can he confirm that his Government has delivered according to the Statistics New Zealand food price index an increase in costs of 3 percent on average across New Zealand over the last year compared with wages growing by 1.6 percent?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The member seems to be labouring under some sort of delusion that the Government controls all prices in New Zealand and of course unlike what the member would like everything is not run centrally from the Minister of Finance's office. But I bring good news to the member: in terms of the period that the Government has been in office which is a good period to take these things real after-tax wages have increased 19 percent under this Government which is much higher than the cost of living and compared with just 5 percent under the previous Government. But I invite him to continue his questions.Grant Robertson: Can he confirm that his Government has delivered according to the latest Statistics New Zealand Consumers Price Index data an increase in the costs of medical and dental services of 2.7 percent and 3.6 percent over the last year compared with wages growing by 1.6 percent?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Again I am sorry but the member is labouring under an illusion about what control the Government has. But the good news for the member is that after-tax wages under this Government have been increasing and also faster than the rate of inflation. He can pick apart elements of inflation and he is welcome to do so but the other thing we are doing is making sure that people do get a benefit from a growing economy in addition to their wages and that is the Family Incomes Package which delivers 1.34 million families an average of $26 a week.Grant Robertson: Can he further confirm that the cost of living is going to get worse when according to page 6 of the Additional Information" section of his own Budget the expected annual increase in real wages over the next 4 years is in order 0.0 percent 0.6 percent 0.7 percent and then 0.0 percent?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Again for the member's benefit of my experience those numbers often do not pan out in terms of the increase in wages because actually our increases in wages have exceeded those predictions in the past. But again the member is right to raise the concern. The good news for the member is that we have one of the strongest-performing real-wage increases in the OECD. He had the opportunity a short time ago to encourage his colleagues to vote for the Government's Family Incomes Package which delivers more money into people's hands—$26 a week to 1.34 million families from 1 April next year. So he says he cares but then they vote against it."