Bennett David: Estimates Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBennett David: Estimates Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 28 July 2015. Volume:707;Page:5393. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DAVID BENNETT (Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee): It is my pleasure to do that following the previous speech which did not set out any of the findings of the select committee’s hearing. It was a speech by somebody who has no contact with the real world. He thought that the National Party conference was in Wellington not in Auckland. He thinks that the beltway that he represents is what it is all about.I tell you this: in the 5-minute speech by the Opposition spokesperson on financeI found only one number. You would expect a speech on economics and finance to be full of numbers to talk about Budget surpluses to talk about economic growth and to talk about the things that we talked about in the estimates hearings. There was only one number used in that whole speech and that was when that member described the Minister as having made his seventh Budget. That was the only number that was actually remembered by the member opposite.Never was there any talk of the things that we talked about in the estimates hearings—revenue tax gains what has been largely looked at in the tax field trying to look at getting more tax revenue for New Zealand and appropriate tax revenue—nor was there any talk of the numbers used in Vote Canterbury Earthquake Recovery. Was there any mention of the numbers used in Vote Finance the Fiscal Strategy Report or the Budget Economic and Fiscal Update? This is where we talk about things like the Budget surplus and where we talk about things like economic growth. None of those things were mentioned by that member—none of them.That shows that that member is totally out of touch with his portfolio. He has no understanding of economics. He is purely a Wellington beltway official who is now in the political realm. That is a disgrace. He talked about things like bribing the electorate. This is from Labour which gave free student loans and 20 free hours’ early childhood education. Labour is the bribing party if ever there was one.Hon Annette King: Did you get rid of them?DAVID BENNETT: Annette King is here. She is the top briber. She is the greatest briber you will ever see.Hon Clayton Cosgrove: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. Two points—the first point is that I do not think it is appropriate for anybody to be accused as an individual of bribery. I think you will find that that is out of order. Secondly I fail to see what the last 1½ minutes have had to do with anything in the estimates.The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows): The points are well made. It is over to the individual member to take offence if that is the point that is believed to have been made. Having said that the point was underlined to the speaker at the beginning of his speech when he was called that the Business Committee has allocated special calls to committee chairpersons for the purpose of setting out the committee’s major findings on the estimates. I challenge the member to live up to the expectations of the Business Committee.DAVID BENNETT: I was merely responding to a previous speech that had started this debate and I could not let it go without referring to it.If we look at Vote Finance what does it say in Vote Finance? Under the economic and fiscal outlook it says that there is an average growth rate of 2.8 percent in New Zealand—Brett Hudson: How much?DAVID BENNETT: —2.8 percent over the next 4 years—2.8 percent. That is one of the highest growth rates that you will find in the Western World. That is in New Zealand and it represents good economic management. When we talked about Treasury’s Budget and the Economic and Fiscal Update that was one of the key things that came out of it—that is the strong growth rates in New Zealand going forward. Unemployment is expected to drop below 5 percent in the next 2 years. Unemployment dropping and higher growth rates—that is good for New Zealand going forward.When we look at the Budget we actually look at what was considered as the Budget surplus or deficit. It is always a bit of a moving feast at this stage because when you look at the numbers they are quite small in comparison with the overall spend and the total tax take. But when you look at a Budget surplus or deficit—in this case we are looking at losses of about $684 million in 2014-15 followed by a surplus of $176 million in 2015-16 and increasing surpluses after that—it shows that New Zealand is on the right track. It shows that the economic management of this Government is on the right track. I bet that we will actually be in surplus this year a bit earlier than anyone expected and that shows even better economic performance by the New Zealand—Hon Clayton Cosgrove: The economists are hanging on every word.DAVID BENNETT: Is that something Mr Cosgrove is saying is it? Mr Cosgrove was a member of that Finance and Expenditure Committee but apart from his abusing the officials nobody actually remembers what he said. But he was there.Achieving a Budget surplus was a key part of the finance estimates and many members from the Opposition asked questions about that. Of course they were interested to see New Zealand achieving a surplus which is something they do not want for New Zealand and were quite keen to make that point in the estimates hearings when the Minister was quite clear that that is his focus. So it was disappointing for those Opposition members to find that—