3. Question No. 3—FinanceHon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 3—Finance3. Hon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) to the Minister of Finance: Does he think New Zealanders are better or worse off this Christmas when under this Government petrol taxes have increased and rents have risen $30 a week?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): I do believe New Zealanders are better off this Christmas because they have a Government that cares not only that we are prosperous as a country but that everybody gets to share in that prosperity. Specifically since last Christmas I think New Zealanders are better off in the following ways. Those on the minimum wage are better off with it increasing from $16.50 an hour to $17.70 an hour on the pathway to $20 an hour by 1 April 2021. I think new parents are better off because we've introduced the $60 per week Best Start payment for newborns with more than 8500 parents receiving it. I think that seniors and those on low incomes are better off this Christmas after we introduced the winter energy payment so that they have enough money to heat their homes over the cold winter months. I think families are better off than they were this time last Christmas with the Families Package kicking in from 1 July for 384000 families. I think families without children are better off this time than they were last Christmas through changes to the accommodation supplement and the winter energy payment. I also think single-income workers are better off with the reinstatement of the independent earner tax credit which the previous Government got rid of. I also think that students are better off than they were this time last Christmas with more than 50000 of them accessing fees-free post-secondary education. I think that people who eat are better off than they were last Christmas—SPEAKER: Order! Thank you.Hon Amy Adams: Does the fact that the Minister entirely failed to recognise the costs that people face come from the fact that the Government is ignoring that in the last 12 months demand for food parcels at the Auckland City Mission has risen 27 percent and demand for food parcels at Christchurch City Mission has risen 43 percent? Is that people being better off Mr Robertson?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As I said in my list many of the families who are in New Zealand who have suffered for many years by not being able to afford the basics are the very people accessing the Families Package. And it's interesting now to see the crocodile tears from the Opposition about this issue who for nine years decided this wasn't a problem. This Government is actually addressing it.Hon Amy Adams: Does this Government's addressing it include the Minister having a read of Treasury's advice that made it quite clear that 1.7 million households are worse off under that Government's Families Package than they were under the package that National put in place in the 2017 Budget?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: What we made the decision on—and we in fact campaigned in the election on this—was that members of this House didn't need a thousand bucks a year in a tax cut when there were families who actually needed that money more which is why we redirected it.Hon Amy Adams: If the Minister believes that this Government has helped families why do Treasury's forecasts show the household savings rate is now much worse than previously forecast meaning New Zealand families are projected to be going backwards every year under this Government?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I reject the assertion at the end of that member's question. What this Government is focused on is making sure that family incomes rise; making sure that the basics of health of housing of education and of infrastructure are supported properly. And I just urge the member at this time of year that this is an economy and a country where we are growing where we're making sure that prosperity is shared better and I wish that she would join in the increasing confidence of the business community in our economy.Hon Amy Adams: Will the Government give New Zealand families some real Christmas cheer by today ruling out a capital gains tax on the family bach the family farm or their retirement savings and every small business in New Zealand?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I'm going to take the advice of the Hon Chris Finlayson when talking about Simon Bridges: when it comes to taxes I say it best when I say nothing at all.