Bennett David: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBennett David: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 22 October 2014. Volume:701;Page:117. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]2.DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East)to the Minister of Finance: What will be the main features of the Government’s economic plan during this term of Parliament?Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):The Government’s economic plan will reinforce all those decisions and actions taken by New Zealanders over the last 4 or 5 years that have put this economy in the right direction. It grew by 3.9 percent in the year to June 83000 new jobs have been created in the past 12 months and on average wages are rising faster than inflation. So we want to build on this progress: first by keeping our spending under control getting back to surplus and reducing debt; secondly by continuing to encourage what is now strong business investment and the enterprise needed to create new jobs; and thirdly we will focus on rewarding New Zealanders’ hard work—for instance by reducing ACC levies and with modest tax reductions when we can afford them.David Bennett: What reports has he received confirming the Government’s economic programme is helping to support more jobs?Hon BILL ENGLISH: The most important thing to support more jobs is businesses having the confidence to invest another dollar and employ another person and fortunately more New Zealand businesses are doing that. Since the House was last sitting Statistics New Zealand has reported that the unemployment rate fell to 5.6 percent as at 30 June the number of people unemployed in the June quarter fell by 9000 and the number of people employed increased by 10000. This encouraging labour force data is backed up by other indicators such as employment confidence among businesses. Total job advertising increased by 2.4 percent in September following a 1.7 percent lift in August according to the ANZ job ads survey.David Bennett: How is New Zealand’s improving economy being reflected in confidence among manufacturers?Hon BILL ENGLISH: We track manufacturing because the Opposition decided a couple of years ago that it was in crisis. Last week the BNZ - BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index came out for September. It rose by 1.1 points to 58.1 points. The manufacturing sector has now expanded for 25 consecutive months beginning in about the month when the Opposition said the sector was in crisis.David Bennett: Since the election what reports has he received supporting the Government’s economic plan?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Well a number of reports but one particularly strong endorsement. The report said: “Well I think at the end of the day people wanted stability. They wanted prosperity. They saw the current Government as for now delivering that for them and they weren’t prepared to take what they saw as some kind of risk for a change.” That was from the then Labour leader David Cunliffe.Dr David Clark: Given the forecast of his own department that exports as a percentage of GDP will this very year fall to their lowest level in 25 years will he finally concede that he has failed to rebalance the economy?Hon BILL ENGLISH: No. The measure the member is using is as I understand it anyway from what he said the nominal measure which actually is not the volume measure. But the Government rather than attacking the export sector for non-performance as the Opposition is has been backing it solidly while it has been dealing with the headwinds of a high exchange rate. As the exchange rate comes off and our exporters show that they have become very competitive we expect them to perform pretty well actually over the next few years.Dr David Clark: Has he in the past month come up with any new ideas to rebalance the economy given that his own department forecast exports as a percentage of GDP by March 2016 to be the worst since Robert Muldoon became Prime Minister—the worst exports to GDP ratio in 40 years?Hon BILL ENGLISH: As I pointed out before our exporters have done a fantastic job given that they have been dealing with the highest exchange rate since the Second World War. Despite that they have been able to hold their own. As the pressure comes off they will be able to succeed. But of course alongside growing exports we have to do some domestic work in New Zealand—for instance expanding the housing supply. So resources that are applied to that very vital task will not be able to be applied to exports until the construction catch-up is complete.Dr David Clark: I seek leave to table a document.Mr SPEAKER: The source of the document?Dr David Clark: From the Parliamentary Library.Mr SPEAKER: And what is the document?Dr David Clark: It is outlining the extent of the Minister’s abject failure to rebalance—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume his seat. It is a privilege the member is asking for—the ability to table a document. If he stands and describes the document without that form of embellishment then I might consider putting the leave. I will give the member a second chance.Dr David Clark: I seek leave to table a document outlining the extent of the Minister’s failure to rebalance the economy.Mr SPEAKER: I gave the member a second chance. He has not accepted it. I am not putting the leave.