Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:624;Page:19435] 
5.  
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does she despite New Zealand’s growing net debtor position rising current account deficit and the continuing sales of New Zealand assets to foreign buyers still have confidence in her Minister of Finance; if so why? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes because he is a hard-working and conscientious Minister who has presided over an economy with strong growth and the lowest unemployment in the Western World. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Is that the same economy that has seen a $5 billion blowout in our current account deficit that has our net debtor position at $123 billion—about $32 million for every man woman and child in this country—and that also has interest rates heading to 9 percent 10 percent and more; if that is the case what has the Minister of Finance been doing for the last 5 years when I read in the latest special feature of the OECD report that 23 of the 30 countries in the OECD have a lower rate of income tax as a percentage of gross wages than New Zealand has? In fact we are just going backwards are we not? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: It is the same economy with the same current account deficit as was recorded when that member was the Treasurer in September 1997. It is the same economy where net public sector debt is steadily reducing towards zero at the end of this decade. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Does the Prime Minister believe that the sale of almost half Carter Holt Harvey’s forest estate—150000 hectares—to the highest international bidder is consistent with the national interest and with the commitments entered into by the company at the time the forestry was sold to it; and has she any concerns that compared with Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board our Overseas Investment Commission looks like a doormat of United Future proportions? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: As a former Treasurer the member knows that eventually the Overseas Investment Commission and the Minister of Finance will make a judgment on that. I do note that the highest-ever number of net land sales by hectare occurred when Mr Peters was in charge of the overseas investment legislation. 
John Key 
: Why does the Prime Minister have confidence in the Minister of Finance when he does not have a clue what is going on with regard to education savings accounts—when on Sunday he was quoted as telling the  
Sunday Star-Times 
 that education savings accounts were a negative on Tuesday he was quoted in the  
Herald 
 as stating that they had been dropped because they had significant design faults and when only after a ticking-off from her office did he go scurrying to tell the media that those accounts are alive and well and will be out before the Budget? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I know that the member will be very disappointed to hear that several days before the quite wrong report in the  
New Zealand Herald 
 the Minister of Finance and I were discussing the next stage in developing that scheme. 
Rod Donald 
: Does the Prime Minister agree with the Governor of the Reserve Bank that hard-working Kiwi families farmers and business people are paying a 1 to 2 percent interest rate risk premium on their mortgages and bank debts because of New Zealand’s worsening current account deficit and record net foreign debt; and when will her Government take steps to improve our economic self-reliance and sustainability? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: There are a number of reasons for current account deficits being high. This Government clearly intends over time to increase the level of savings. We are looking at productivity issues so that we can help to increase the value of the economy. What we do not have is a high interest rate policy unlike the former Governor of the Reserve Bank who said in 1998: “Part of the problem in recent years may have been the less-than-ideal mix of monetary conditions with interest rates too low to encourage saving or discourage borrowing …”. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: Further to her earlier answer that said the highest level of net foreign land sales occurred in 1997 when Mr Peters was Treasurer can she confirm that the lowest level—in fact a net transfer of land sales into New Zealand ownership—has occurred in the last year while I have been Minister of Finance? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: It so happens that I have a graph that demonstrates precisely that. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. The Prime Minister does not have such a graph. I ask her to produce it right now. [ 
Interruption 
] No she does not. I ask her to produce it over here. My point of order is that the Prime Minister knows full well the process of approvals. She is saying not 1998 but 1997 because the process of approvals occurred before I became the Treasurer. That is a fact. More important I declined more overseas applications than any Minister of Finance before or since then. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: The member is not making a point of order. He is debating the issue. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. Under Standing Order 361 I require the Prime Minister to table that official document now. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Exactly. I thank the member. I was going to suggest the same thing be done at the end of the question if the Prime Minister has quoted from that document. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. The whole House has heard Mr Winston Peters accuse the Prime Minister of not having the graph that she clearly did have. He effectively called her— 
Madam SPEAKER 
: No he did not. This is not a point of order. 
Gordon Copeland 
: Is the Prime Minister aware that in contrast to the Minister of Finance his counterpart in the UK Gordon Brown allows people to save £7000 each year which goes up to £8000 then to £9000 and then to £10000 over the next 3 years; may we see her Minister follow that sensible lead given the very worrying statistics set out in the primary question? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: As the member knows the Government will be addressing the issue of savings in the Budget and does have plans to increase the level of national savings unlike the former Governor of the Reserve Bank who when he posed the question to himself of the key challenge of how to increase national savings said: “I am frankly not sure how this culture of low household sector saving can be changed.” 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Why will the Prime Minister not table the chart now seeing that the question is being asked now and is it not a fact that until I became the Minister in charge of the Overseas Investment Commission no application had been declined for a full 7 years and that more applications were declined during my time as the Minister than under any Minister in charge of the commission before or since then; is that the truth or not? 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Does the Prime Minister seek leave to table her document? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The convention is to table documents at the end of the question so that Ministers can continue to refer to the information in them. I have to say with regard to what the member has just said to the House that it is quite untrue that the level of approvals under Mr Peters was lower than it has been since then. My graph shows that for the years 2001 2002 2003 and 2004 the net freehold land area sold to overseas persons was substantially lower than during the time when Mr Peters was Treasurer. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I asked the Prime Minister to confirm that more applications were declined during my time than during the time of any Minister before or since then. That was the question—not what the number of net sales were or any other convoluted figure. I want that answer and can I please have it. 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The significance is in the net hectares sold offshore and that is where that member excelled in selling New Zealand out. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I am taking the lead from the Rt Hon Winston Peters and from your running of the House. Since it is now possible to seek confirmation by way of a point of order can the Prime Minister confirm that she has said that the Government will address New Zealand’s household savings issue by introducing tax cuts in the next Budget? 
Madam SPEAKER 
: That is not a point of order. 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The Budget is to be delivered on a date well known to the member and he will just have to wait for it. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I seek leave to table a table of Overseas Investment Commission approvals which shows that in my time in charge of them they had a dramatic drop from the number under Mr Birch and were dramatically fewer than Mr Cullen has approved. This is the chart now properly interpreted. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.