11. Question No. 11—FinanceDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 11—Finance11. DAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with the advice provided to him by the Treasury that Increases in fiscal stimulus outside of higher Alert Levels … have exerted inflationary pressures … by increasing aggregate demand"; if not why not?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): I note that the member has chosen not to provide the full quote in his question. It should be: "Increases in fiscal stimulus outside of higher Alert Levels however have exerted inflationary pressures as usual by increasing aggregate demand". I agree with a good deal of the advice I get from the Treasury including the advice that they gave to help set up the COVID response and recovery fund to help protect New Zealanders' lives and livelihoods. I also agree with the Treasury who in the previous paragraph to the quote that the member has used note that "Upward inflationary pressures are coming from the continued supply side disruptions related to this pandemic." This is a global issue many countries are facing not just New Zealand. David Seymour: So everything else being equal does he think that borrowing and printing and spending money the way he has for the last two years has put pressure on interest rates and the prices people pay at the checkout and the pump or not? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: To begin with everything else being equal is kind of a big caveat—isn't it?—that the member put on that question. What I would say is I stand by the Government's response which was to make sure that we acted swiftly to give people cash flow and confidence and to make sure that we saved lives and livelihoods and I think we've been proven that that approach both to the economy and health was a good one. But I do note there are people who would like us to spend more—for example Chris Baillie an ACT Party MP who said that the Government's Resurgence Support Payment would barely touch the sides for most businesses. So we have to strike a balance between people in the ACT Party who want us to spend more money and those of us who are taking a careful and balanced approach to the economy. David Seymour: Has he considered quoting Chris Baillie's full view that putting endless restrictions with no end in sight on small businesses puts them under enormous pressure requiring even more Government spending of borrowed money to prop them up and has he advised his colleagues that if they don't show New Zealanders a proper pathway to getting our lives back without his endless COVID-controlling restrictions he's going to run out of other people's money? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I took my lead from the member and chose the bits of the quote I liked. David Seymour: What's the most convincing reassurance the Minister can give New Zealanders that his Government has a solution to the rising costs of living that they face? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The record that the Government has had consistently over the four years we've been in office is of making careful spending decisions while investing in the areas of economy and society that need it. New Zealanders know because they can see in the fact that we have the lowest unemployment rate that we've ever had that we actually have economic growth running into this last outbreak ahead of where we were in COVID that we're going to get back to surplus earlier than expected that our level of debt is likely to peak out at 40 percent of GDP—much lower than most other countries in the OECD—and that they have a Government that not only cares about them but also is carefully managing the economy. David Seymour: What responsibility does the Minister take for the fact that prices are at a 31-year high and Kiwis are having to choose between putting food on the table and petrol in the car as they anticipate rising mortgage rates taking in some cases hundreds of dollars a week out of household budgets or does he just think everything's tickety-boo? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: We all understand the pressure that increasing prices put on families. That's why this Government has increased benefits by a greater amount than any Government in a generation it's why we continue to lift the minimum wage and it's why we make very careful spending decisions that invest both in the short-term need now and in the long-term future. The member needs to explain to this House how it is he thinks cutting health spending or education spending is somehow going to lower the cost of petrol. It's not. Inflation is a global phenomenon and the Government will continue to support New Zealanders to deal with it. David Seymour: Since spending is at record highs—up 58 percent—under his Government are the only solutions this Government has left for the cost of living crisis for everyone to be either on a benefit or the minimum wage? Because that's the only other thing he mentions.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No. What we've had to do was deal with the likes of David Seymour who wanted us to increase spending on the Resurgence Support Payment well ahead of where we were and we took the balanced approach of making sure we looked after New Zealanders while being careful with our spending. David Seymour: Is the Minister seriously saying that the problem with his COVID response and everything he's got wrong in the last two years is the fault of one David Seymour? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No. I think what we've got right is by not listening to Mr Seymour."