4. Question No. 4—FinanceNICOLA WILLIS (Deputy Leader—National) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 4—Finance4. NICOLA WILLIS (Deputy Leader—National) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement last week that I know the member wants and is obsessed by giving tax cuts in this Budget. I simply believe it's not the right time"; if so when will it be the right time?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): For the first part of the question yes and for the second part of the question that will depend on the economic conditions that are in place. It will also depend on what is needed to ensure that we have quality health education housing and other public services New Zealanders need and deserve.Nicola Willis: Why is it a good time to make inflation adjustments for seemingly every area but for this finance Minister it is never the time to make inflation adjustments for ordinary taxpayers?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As I've said on a number of occasions all Governments would want at various points to be able to do what the member is asking but it does depend on the conditions that we are in at any given time. The adjustments that we have made in the case of things like main benefits or superannuation is reflective of where we are at with inflation. Equally at the very same time that decision was made the data came out that average wages had increased by exactly the same amount.Nicola Willis: Why can he find $1.8 billion for consultancy fees; tens of millions for light-rail plans strategies and visualisations; and tens of millions of dollars for Government advertising campaigns but he can't find savings for the ordinary taxpayer?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Everything that we are doing in this Budget is about making sure that we can support all New Zealanders—whether we describe them as ordinary taxpayers or not—to be able to live their lives to be able to have their children go to good schools to be able to know that the health system will be there. These kinds of investments don't just happen; they happen because the Government prioritises them. We know that because when we came into Government we inherited from a Government that didn't prioritise public services.Nicola Willis: If the Minister has done such a good job of spending in the health system why is it that under his Government people are waiting far longer for emergency care than they ever did under the last National Government?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I am extremely proud of the fact that we have put resources into the health system that mean we've got 20 percent more nurses and about 20 percent more doctors that we're actually beginning to pay them what they need to be able to do the work that we want them to do. The health system is a difficult and complex system. We are investing to make sure New Zealanders get the best of it. The member will well know the under-investment that happened in the health system under her Government.Nicola Willis: What is so difficult and complex about expecting the Government to deliver better results for its extra spending rather than just crowing about the size of the cheques which by the way are signed by everyday taxpayers who are doing it tough?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: This Government is well aware of how tough it is for many New Zealanders out there. It is the very reason why we have supported them to get through COVID why we gave the wage subsidy why we made sure that we put more resources into the health system to get through COVID and then on top of that why we have supported low and middle income New Zealanders through things like the family tax credit through the winter energy payment. All of these things are on the chopping block in the ACT-National Government.Nicola Willis: Is the Minister of Finance slightly more au fait with the Government numbers than the Prime Minister and if so can he tell us how much more tax is the Government forecast to collect this year compared to 2017?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: This year—if the member means the 2023 year—we are forecast to collect $118.1 billion in tax revenue this year. That is more than we collected in 2017. In part that is because of inflation—the member has raised that—but it's also in part because more people are in work more people are earning more money and companies are making more profits. The member needs to understand that yes indeed it does take a lot to run a Government but I know that the hard-working New Zealanders out there will be asking big questions of that member as to whether she supports stopping contributions to super does she support stopping the winter energy payment?—because until it's ruled out that ACT policy is National's policy.Nicola Willis: Point of order Mr Speaker. That was a slightly more impassioned speech than we've seen in a while but the question—SPEAKER: That's not a point of order. That is not a way to start a point of order.Nicola Willis: OK. My point of order is this Mr Speaker—SPEAKER: Well it kind of rules out whatever you've got to say but go ahead.Nicola Willis: I asked how much more tax is the Government collecting this year compared to 2017.SPEAKER: I think just about every single one of your questions has had at least one assertion in it and I think you might find if you go back and have a look that's what's been addressed.David Seymour: Point of order Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: A new point of order?David Seymour: A fresh point of order. Mr Speaker your predecessors have ruled that it's out of order for a Minister answering a question to bring a party not involved in the questioning into the debate. Now I can understand why Mr Robertson would want to talk about ACT's brilliant alternative Budget but he's still out of order in doing so.SPEAKER: I'm going to go back to the time when I was asked to make sure that question time was more robust which it is and the member David Seymour is absolutely correct actually. I mean on this particular—I can go back through both this question and question No. 3 and there were several other instances as well. I think it's properly noted but I'm not going to ask the member to apologise for it. Actually that's based on—you know there's been a number of accusations and the member himself in his supplementary questions and I'm not going to do that."