4. Economy—Growth and Costs for BusinessesHon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) to the Minister of FinanceEconomy—Growth and Costs for Businesses4. Hon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of the Government's statements and actions in relation to the New Zealand economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Āe in the context in which they were made and undertaken.Hon Amy Adams: Does he stand by his answer in the House yesterday when asked about the economy now being forecast to be $2.2 billion smaller than projected in the Budget that The economy is still growing" and does that mean he's not concerned about the missed opportunities that lower growth represents for New Zealanders?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I am always looking for opportunities to increase sustainable growth in New Zealand. But I cannot put it better than how Craig Hudson the managing director of Xero put it today when he said "Truckometer and consumer spending numbers are out and both look good. It's time to stop focussing on business sentiment surveys and focus on real data. Xero's July numbers show cash flow is better and employment numbers are up." On this side of the House we're focused on real data.Hon Amy Adams: Does he not understand that even if the economy is still growing if it's growing more slowly than it should be that means fewer opportunities for New Zealanders?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: We need sustainable and productive economic growth. The member well knows that the trend around GDP began declining at the beginning of 2017.Hon Amy Adams: So we just need growth Grant.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Well the member says we just need growth. That was the problem of the last nine years—that that Government thought having growth rates of 3.5 percent but the world's worst homelessness was OK. We don't think that on this side of the House.Hon Amy Adams: So when he says he doesn't want to have an economy that's reliant on population growth was he aware that GDP per person which of course removes the population growth component averaged more than 1.6 percent a year under the previous Government but actually declined in the last quarter?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The member will need to look at the last few years of the previous Government to see where the trend began on that. But I repeat: if we continued with the previous Government's approach of relying on population growth relying on an overheated housing market then we won't have the standard of living we need for New Zealanders into the middle part of the 21st century. There are two options here: drift along like the previous Government did or actually do something about making sure our economy is fit for purpose. We're getting on with the latter.Hon Amy Adams: Is he aware that costs for businesses as measured by the producer price index (PPI) have gone up 3.4 percent a year under this Government compared to just 1.2 percent per annum under the previous Government; and if so is he concerned that those higher costs are going to be passed on as a higher cost of living for New Zealanders?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: It's true that in the June 2018 quarter producer input prices were up 1 percent which is similar to the rise in output prices of 0.9 percent in the same quarter—Hon Amy Adams: It's not what we're talking about. Look at the PPI.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No but that's exactly what the PPI is. This compares to an increase of 1.5 percent in import prices in the June quarter last year when output prices rose 1.3 percent.Hon Amy Adams: So is it fair to say then that when he talks about transitioning the New Zealand economy he's really talking about transitioning us to lower growth higher costs and lowered standard of living?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No what it means is that I'm talking about a transition to an economy where we actually invest in 21st century transport systems where we make sure that the people in our regions of New Zealand get a fair go where we see wages lift and we have a reason for New Zealanders to stay here in this country. The last Government decided that they were going to ignore all of those forward-looking things. We're not and I really do encourage the member to listen to what Craig Hudson had to say. In businesses around New Zealand they understand—they understand—that there is a good environment now to do business and employ people. The member should get alongside them."