2. Question No. 2—FinanceHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 2—Finance2. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of Finance: Is he satisfied with the quality of advice he has received including from the Treasury?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): In general yes. From time to time I will receive advice that I don't agree with but that is the nature of the relationship between the Public Service and the executive.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Is he satisfied with the advice Treasury gave his Government a year ago when the Prime Minister was attempting to address the elephant in the room that was low business confidence now that it has got so much bigger?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On matters to do with business confidence I do get reports from Treasury. I do note that we have seen advice just in recent days from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) outside of the Public Service that says that the New Zealand economy is well positioned to deal with the global headwinds we're facing.Hon Paul Goldsmith: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The question was: is he satisfied with the advice? He said that he'd received advice but what I wanted to know was: was he satisfied with the advice?SPEAKER: The member lost me at the introduction of his question. The way that he asked his question he opened himself right up for any sort of reply. He referred to elephants in rooms and I think that can be addressed in a number of ways.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Has Treasury advised him that his Government's actions in adding cost to businesses and families creating uncertainty around policy and demonstrating incompetence particularly in regard to KiwiBuild have all contributed to the continued collapse in business confidence?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Treasury provide us advice on the nature of our policy proposals from time to time. I don't believe I've heard that specific language that the member is raising in his question there. What I do know is that Treasury advises the Government on the range of economic development proposals we've got and just as they would have done for the previous Government they express free and frank opinions from time to time.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he regard the business sentiment figures released today particularly the decline in business expectations of their own activity into negative territory for the first time as an indictment on his Government's economic management?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Is that relevant to the primary question?SPEAKER: I think it related to one of the answers.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No. What I know is that New Zealand businesses actually in large part in an open export economy are subject to the headwinds of the global economy—all around the world that is occurring. The good news for New Zealand is that as the NZIER said yesterday we're well positioned to deal with that. The other good news is that although growth in New Zealand is slower than it has been it is still faster than in Japan Canada the UK the eurozone and Australia. We still have the lowest unemployment in 11 years. So yes there are challenging conditions but we're well positioned to deal with them.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Was associate transport Minister Julie Anne Genter right when she said the advice Treasury provided the Government in relation to a Government car tax is wrong" "totally untenable" and Treasury is "sceptical of whatever we propose."?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I'm sure those are indeed the views of Ms Genter. I certainly agree with her that the advice around the "feebate" scheme is not something I would agree with but it is not uncommon for Governments to disagree with the advice of Treasury: Bill English on 13 September 2013 "defends ignoring Treasury advice on smelter"; 23 July 2015 "Government ignores Treasury climate advice"; 16 June 2016 "Joyce disagrees with Treasury's per capita GDP forecast"; 17 June 2016 "John Key dismisses research that finds 90-day trial doesn't boost employment."SPEAKER: OK. I think that the Minister's made his point.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Is he satisfied with any advice he's received from Treasury on how to structure a loan to the Kīngitanga or Tainui so that either could purchase land at Ihumātao?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The member is asking a hypothetical question.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Has he requested or received any advice on the impact of events at Ihumātao on the confidence of landowners and developers?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No."