1. Government Financial Position—Capital Spending PressuresKIRITAPU ALLAN (Labour) to the Minister of FinanceORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSGovernment Financial Position—Capital Spending Pressures1. KIRITAPU ALLAN (Labour) to the Minister of Finance: What specific examples of capital spending pressures has he been advised of in preparing for budget 2018?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): I've been advised of significant capital spending pressures across multiple portfolios including defence education and health. For example district health boards (DHBs) have signalled a required capital spend of $14 billion over the next 10 years which will require $9 billion of additional Crown funding. This signalled investment requirement is higher than at any time since DHBs were established reflecting nine long years of under-investment. I have also been advised of $20 billion of potential spending for defence stemming from Defence White Paper 2016 which does not appear in capital spending forecasts. Kiritapu Allan: Was the funding path for defence capital spending made clear at the time of the announcement of the white paper?Hon Steven Joyce: Yes it was.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On the contrary. While the then Minister of Defence claimed that there was now a degree of funding certainty that enables them to plan with confidence out to 2030 and beyond." in reality as one commentator has said the National Government never accurately costed it and made no provision in any of its long-term forecasts to pay for it. In fact the previous Minister of Finance has now said that the previous Government had hoped to stretch out the book dates for some capital purchases to be made. This is far from providing certainty.Kiritapu Allan: How is the Government going to address the issue of defence capital spending?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As the coalition agreement indicates the first step for the Government is to re-examine the defence procurement programme. We believe that we can find better value for money for New Zealanders as we look to fund our future defence needs. This is the responsible thing to do given the mess left by the previous Government.Hon Steven Joyce: Is the finance Minister aware that the defence capital plan is for $20 billion of expenditure over 15 years and is able to be funded by a combination of depreciation and the nearly $110 billion of unallocated capital funding over that same period of time and does he consider that his increasingly frequent attempts to divert attention from his plan to ramp up debt risk looking a little silly?Mr SPEAKER: The Minister can answer any one of those three questions.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I will not be lectured by that member who grew Government net debt by $15 billion on his watch. If there is anyone in this House who needs to take responsibility for debt levels it's that member. I would also say that the $110 billion he mentioned is based on some heroic assumptions that he made is heavily back-loaded and in fact contains only $33 million of forward spending in the next 10 years.Hon Steven Joyce: I seek leave to table the Fiscal Strategy Report from Budget 2017 which clearly lays out—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Order! The member will resume his seat. I warned Dr Coleman when he tried something similar—Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: Gosh you've got a long memory.Mr SPEAKER: The member might have a short time in here. I warned Dr Coleman when he attempted to table something that was already in the public arena and in fact had already been tabled that I regarded that as disorderly because it is trifling with the House and it will not continue.Rt Hon Winston Peters: In this age of much-vaunted transparency openness and budgetary honesty how was this forward expenditure described in the last document that you received?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As commentators have said there was no provision in any of the long-term forecasts to pay for this and it was as one commentator said never accurately costed. Those would not be the actions of either a responsible or a transparent Government."