Adams Amy: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Adams Amy: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:669;Page:16441] 
1. 
AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: What progress has the Government made this year in laying the foundations for a more ambitious and faster-growing economy? 
 BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 We have made very considerable progress particularly since ambitious growth for this economy is certainly going to take some time in light of the global financial crisis. Over the last 12 months we have introduced the biggest tax reform in 25 years improved public services by freeing up about $4 billion for front-line services by reducing back-office services and ineffective programmes invested billions of dollars on roads begun the roll-out of ultra-fast broadband and a large home insulation package started New Zealand’s first public-private partnerships focused on improving education and skills with the introduction of national standards and brought about the amalgamation of eight councils in Auckland into one council very successfully. 
Amy Adams 
: What impact has the Government had on New Zealand’s national savings? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Over the last 2 years private savings have lifted but Government savings have fallen. The net effect is that national savings have lifted substantially as witnessed by the improvement in the balance of payments. Looking ahead over the next 3 years the external deficit is likely to increase as the economy improves but it is expected to be at about half or less of the level that it was at in the 5 years prior to 2008. The Government will continue to look for opportunities to reduce its deficits and therefore make more of a positive contribution to national savings. 
Amy Adams 
: What are the main challenges that the Government faces in 2011 and beyond? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: There are of course many challenges but the Government has picked out a few that it thinks are pretty important. More than 170000 long-term beneficiaries have been on benefits for 5 years or more large numbers of people lack adequate housing and find themselves sitting on waiting lists and thousands of young New Zealanders leave school every year without proper qualifications. And that is after 9 years of a Labour Government that said it would fix all that but instead damaged the economy and made a lot of our social outcomes worse than they had been. 
Amy Adams 
: What can the country expect from the Government in 2011 and beyond? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: It can expect the same excellent leadership that it has had from the Prime Minister as well as continued sharp thinking and innovation on how to lift our economic growth rates. The Government will be sticking to its six core areas of economic policy: delivering world-class infrastructure better public services improved regulation better skills and innovation and a growth-friendly tax system. Alongside that it will be confronting the challenge of lifting our national savings rate so that we can reduce our debt to overseas lenders. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Can the public also expect in the next year for him to repay the half a million dollars that he got from pretending to live in Dipton? 
Hon Member 
: No responsibility. No accountability. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I apologise to both sides of the House. I was pondering the question that was asked because there are questions around the extent of responsibility. But perhaps I should not be ruling the question out. I am sure the Minister is perfectly capable of handling it. 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: As the member knows all those matters including certification by his colleague Margaret Wilson of my living circumstances were dealt with by the Auditor-General.