6. Question No. 6—FinanceHon JULIE ANNE GENTER (Green) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 6—Finance6. Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER (Green) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement that better than expected economic recovery" gives him "more scope to keep a lid on debt and look towards a faster reduction in that debt"; and if so why is he proposing paying down debt faster at a time of record low interest rates rather than investing that money in ending child poverty and reducing emissions?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): I stand by my full quote which is "Our better than expected economic recovery does provide us with more options. There will be a careful balance here too. There is a bit more space in our operating and capital allowances to support the recovery in line with the approach I have outlined today focused on the areas where we can accelerate progress and in tackling our long-term challenges. At the same time there is some more scope to keep a lid on debt and look towards a faster reduction in that debt once the recovery is secure." In answer to the second part of the question I would note that the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update released in December in fact shows debt increasing into the middle of the decade. This Budget is about striking the right balance and securing our recovery.Hon Julie Anne Genter: Why did he consider that the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update debt track was responsible and balanced in October and is now proposing a lower debt track instead of spending that money on tackling the long-term challenges the Government's facing?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Well overall in answer to that question I'd ask the member to wait until Thursday to see how all of those numbers fall. What I did say in the speech that the member is quoting from last Monday was that New Zealand's better than expected recovery does give us more options and I outlined that we would be taking a balanced approach to those options.Hon Julie Anne Genter: Is it good economic management to try and keep a lid on debt when interest rates are low we are emerging from a recession and more economic stimulus is needed?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Again I refer the member to my answer to my primary question. In fact the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update released in December notes that debt will keep rising both in real terms and obviously as a percentage of GDP well into the middle of the decade.Hon Julie Anne Genter: Does he acknowledge that the less fiscal stimulus he does now the more pressure there is on the Reserve Bank's monetary stimulus which is helping fuel the housing crisis and wealth inequality?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Again in the speech that the member's primary question comes from I talked about the fact that given that we are not through COVID yet it is important that the Government continues to stay involved in the economy and to stimulate the economy.Hon Julie Anne Genter: Has he considered that the results of the latest child poverty related indicators report that there's not been improvement to hospitalisations housing conditions or food security suggest that to date the Government's so-called balanced fiscal approach is insufficient to address child poverty?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I think I would challenge some of the statements in the member's question about exactly what that data does say. Where I do think the member and I would agree is that there is always more to do in terms of improving the wellbeing of our children."