7. Question No. 7—Regional Economic DevelopmentHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister for Regional Economic DevelopmentQuestion No. 7—Regional Economic Development7. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: Does he stand by all of his responses to Oral Question No. 3 on 5 December 2018; if not why not?Hon SHANE JONES (Minister for Regional Economic Development): Yes. On said day I identified indirectly and directly 4000 jobs. I can report that that has now grown to 7000 jobs.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Was the figure of 4000 new jobs now 7000 created by the Provincial Growth Fund so far supplied by an official or was it based on his own arithmetic?Hon SHANE JONES: The process of job creation is organic. Job creation is a reflection of demand and demand grows once capital is invested. Substantial amounts of capital are being deployed into the regions. The point at which a job is created and then filled—there could be a slight time period between the two.SPEAKER: No no the member might've added some fertiliser to the organic approach but he didn't answer the question.Hon SHANE JONES: Well I can assure you I won't tax it. Those officials found—those reports—and I'm advised by my officials both the 7000 figure and the 4000 figure.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Of the 4000 jobs he states have been created by the Provincial Growth Fund so far how many new permanent full-time jobs have been filled to date?Hon SHANE JONES: As I said the Provincial Growth Fund makes decisions shared by four Ministers. Funds are allocated and then as projects grow as they navigate through resource consent requirements and as they put together business propositions then it is our estimation over the life such as the Tai Rāwhiti roading project of five years that figure will be achieved. As of today that figure is not as large as I indicated because many of the projects are still in implementation stage.Hon Paul Goldsmith: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Are you satisfied with that answer? I asked how many have been filled to date and he said—he didn't really give an answer to that at all.SPEAKER: Well I think he did say not as many as I previously indicated".Hon Paul Goldsmith: Would that figure be closer to 100 or 200?Hon SHANE JONES: We have a situation where two parliamentarians are looking at numerical data. It is not unlike two parliamentarians studying an elephant: one sees tusks; the other sees a vacuum cleaner. The process is still being implemented and it's unwise to pick a figure at a time where the regions the business leaders and the civic leaders are implementing the projects being funded by the Provincial Growth Fund.SPEAKER: No I'm going to ask the Minister to answer the question.Hon SHANE JONES: Sorry?SPEAKER: Answer the question please.Hon SHANE JONES: The question is is it 100 or 200?Hon Members: Closer to.Hon SHANE JONES: Yes. Was it closer to 100 or 200 was that it?SPEAKER: That's roughly the question yes.Hon SHANE JONES: So roughly the answer is 200 and above.Hon Paul Goldsmith: How can we have confidence in a Minister who uses Parliament to trumpet 4000 jobs created so far when he has no idea how many permanent jobs have actually been filled right here right now for all the millions that he spent?Hon SHANE JONES: I repeat that since the Provincial Growth Fund a highly successful and popular policy has been implemented and acclaimed by every regional leader obviously it takes time before this fiscal tree takes root and as the projects are implemented then we will achieve our figure of 7000 but jobs are an organic feature of the economy.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I'd ask you to have a look at the transcript of the series of answers just been given to those questions as it would seem that he was asked initially "Does he stand by the 4000?" He says "Yes but I'm updating it to 7000." and then has gone on to explain that actually "Well it may not be 7000 just now; it could be at some future time. I'm not sure about when it's going to be." Now the public of course will draw their own conclusions about all of those things but it is a little disappointing that that sort of cavalier approach comes on a day where you appear to have ruled that Speakers' rulings 175/6 7 8 and 9 are no longer to be relied on by the Opposition. So if we cannot have a situation where a Minister acting for a Minister speaks for the Minister as is required—SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! No the member will resume his seat. He's not seriously going back to a matter that I've ruled on 20 minutes ago?Hon Gerry Brownlee: No of course not.SPEAKER: No he certainly won't.Hon Gerry Brownlee: No I won't.SPEAKER: Well don't refer to that again.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Of course I can refer to your ruling. It would be ridiculous if I can't—SPEAKER: The member will resume his seat. I made a ruling earlier and actually even then it would have been disorderly for the member to challenge it. To come to the party 20 minutes later to be disorderly to me is just outrageous especially on what is clearly a pretext around this answer which had no relationship to the matter that he's now raising. The member knows—he's been round here for a long time—that points of order are to be made immediately and they're not to be made 20 minutes later when the member thinks he has a point.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Speaking to my point of order—SPEAKER: No no the member will resume his seat.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: A further unrelated point of order Mr Brownlee.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I can't say it's unrelated because you haven't dealt with my point of order.SPEAKER: Well if the member can't say it's unrelated he will resume his seat. [Interruption] The member will resume his seat.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Mr Speaker I've got a point of order. I think you should hear it and you're not—SPEAKER: I've heard you say that now at least four times and I have instructed you to resume your seat.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Well let me finish my point of order.SPEAKER: No.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Well that is just a waste of time being here.SPEAKER: Well that might be the member's opinion and others might share it."