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 believe he has acted in an open and honest way in respect of the early release of Budget 2019 information and in all respects to the standard expected of a Minister?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Yes particularly in relation to the large number of very well-received early releases—or as they are commonly known pre-Budget announcements"—including $320 million to break the cycle of family and sexual violence $98 million for a new kaupapa Māori pathway to help stop reoffending and imprisonment the removal of NCEA fees a teacher supply package—SPEAKER: Order! The member has answered the question.Hon Amy Adams: Why when he had issued a press statement with content that clearly linked the National Party to systemic and deliberate hacking did he not immediately correct that statement later that same evening when he found out from the GCSB that there had been no hack?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I reject various premises in the member's question.Hon Amy Adams: Does he think the decision not to correct his statement immediately when he knew it to be misleading fits within section 2.56 of the Cabinet Manual which says that Ministers are expected to uphold the highest ethical standards?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I believe that I am along with other Ministers in this Government upholding the highest ethical standards. I also believe we are upholding the very thing that the people of New Zealand want from us which is to focus on the Budget and the content of the Budget. I stand here on the Thursday in the week that we've been in the House after the Budget not having received a single question from the member opposite about the actual Budget which might indicate just how good a Budget it was.Hon Amy Adams: Why did he permit the Treasury secretary to do a full round of Wednesday morning media in his place where the secretary continued to peddle claims of hacking despite the Minister having been told the night before by the GCSB that there had been no hack?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I reject the premise of that question.Hon Amy Adams: Why when according to his own answers to written questions he found out late in the afternoon of Wednesday 29 May that the police had found no evidence of illegal activity did he sit on that information until 5 a.m. the next morning and does he think that's upholding the highest ethical standards?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On the day in question—it was the day before the Budget and my focus as New Zealanders would expect it to be was on the delivery of the Budget not the petty political games of the National Party. I also note that in the last week the National Party was particularly upset because they thought I had intervened incorrectly in a Treasury statement; now they want me to intervene in a Treasury statement. You can't have it both ways Ms Adams.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Could the finance Minister advise the House of the comparison of communications he's had in respect to the Budget as opposed to the alleged hacking?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: With pleasure. Last week I had the honour of traveling around New Zealand talking about the Budget with New Zealanders. I met with people from all walks of life. I was in Christchurch; I was in Auckland; I was in Tauranga—all of them had questions about the content of the Budget. Many of them I modestly say praised it; some asked questions about it; not a single one asked me about that—actually that's not quite right. One of them said "Why on earth is Simon Bridges focused on something so petty?"Hon Amy Adams: How is it that when he was first advised of the police investigation he managed to find the time to issue a press release within an hour and yet when he learnt the police investigation had found nothing he allowed 12 hours to pass before a press release was issued?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As I said earlier in answer to the member's question before they didn't want me to interfere in anything that the Treasury did; now they want me to interfere in exactly what the Treasury did. On the evening of Wednesday 29 May I practised my speech once and then twice again. I went to bed that night believing that this Wellbeing Budget would be a good thing for New Zealand and I go to bed tonight believing the same thing.Hon Amy Adams: Does he still have confidence in the Treasury secretary?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As I have said previously I have significant confidence in the work that the Treasury and the Treasury secretary did to create the Wellbeing Budget. On the matters that are under investigation I will wait for the outcome of the investigation.Hon Gerry Brownlee: It's going to be a great speech tonight.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Are you coming?Hon Gerry Brownlee: No.SPEAKER: Have we finished? Well ask another supplementary then but stand up before you do it."