5. Question No. 5—FinanceHon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 5—FinanceRt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Deputy Prime Minister): I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I've read this question very carefully particularly the words Government support parties". Now with respect that is not grammatically historically constitutionally or factually correct and to allow that sort of question to be asked invites mis-description and misrepresentation and that should be stopped and it should be ruled out for this purpose.SPEAKER: Well I think the member might be being just a little bit pedantic in this particular case. I think it is clear that there are three parties which support this Government on confidence and supply. They all have different positions they've come to it from different positions and the question as to whether the Minister has been consulting with any of them I think is a reasonable question.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Deputy Prime Minister): I'd like to submit having heard that: well that's fine excepting that we know what the constitutional arrangements are between the Labour Party and the Green Party. We know that this is a coalition of the Labour Party and New Zealand First. Any mis-description like this 18 months after the fact of the formation of this Government is just plain wrong and we'll get nowhere unless the lexicon is corrected here and dare I say it up there in the press gallery.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam): Speaking to the point of order—SPEAKER: If the member thinks he can add something have a go.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: Well you never know!SPEAKER: That's right!Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: Well I think Mr Speaker that the point you made was that the Government is an entity in itself—the Government of New Zealand. The parties that make up and form the Government are separate parties and as you point out there are three despite whatever the internal arrangements might be. And I'd make the point too that we don't fully know what those arrangements are because they've never been fully released. But your position is correct; Mr Peters is wrong. The only way to express the question was to talk about the parties that support the Government.SPEAKER: And I will make it absolutely clear that there are people within this House—there are people within the New Zealand First Party the Labour Party and the Green Party—that are not part of the Government; they are backbenchers and I think it is appropriate for consultation to occur with members supporting the Government from all parties and therefore the question is proper.5. Hon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) to the Minister of Finance: Has he had any discussions with Government support parties about including the family home in the scope of any future capital gains tax?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): No.Hon Amy Adams: Well has he discussed with Marama Davidson leader of the Green Party her reported interest in including the family home in a capital gains tax?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No.Hon Amy Adams: Does running a home-based business make someone part of the "wealthy elite" that Marama Davidson said capital gains tax was about?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I'm not responsible for the views of Marama Davidson.Hon Amy Adams: Well will he rule out imposing any capital gains tax on the family home just because a part of it has been used for a home office or if the family just takes in boarders?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: We were very clear in the terms of reference issued to the Tax Working Group that the family home was exempt. The Tax Working Group have returned to us with their definition of "family home". That is among the matters that the Government is now considering.Hon Amy Adams: So if the Government has made up its mind enough to know it will exempt the family home why is he hedging on whether that still applies if the family home happens to run a home-based business?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I said in my last answer that in the terms of reference that we set for the Tax Working Group we exempted the family home. We're now considering all the matters within the report including the definitions that the working group have put forward. [Interruption]SPEAKER: Well does the member want to ask it or can we just take it as read from the interjection?Hon Amy Adams: Why is the Government unwilling or unable to answer basic questions about their own position such as whether ruling the family home out of any capital gains tax includes family homes that might have a home office? It's a simple question.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: We made our position clear when we set up the Tax Working Group—that we would exempt the family home. The Tax Working Group has now provided a report. We are working our way through that report just as the previous Government did when it received its Tax Working Group report in January 2010 and didn't respond until May 2010."