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 his statements and actions in relation to the Provincial Growth Fund?Hon SHANE JONES (Minister for Regional Economic Development): Yes.Hon Paul Goldsmith: When will he release the interest rate and terms for the $7.5 million loan announced for a hot pool at Methven so that New Zealanders can know the size of the effective grant if any?Hon SHANE JONES: I may very well follow the standards of the last regime where for all of the loan finance provided to the recipients in terms of irrigation nothing was released. I have sought the advice of the Ombudsman but I am tempted to follow the tenets of the last regime where not a single element of information was released. And indeed when Peter Thiel ransacked the fund of the last Government nothing was revealed.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he recall the Prime Minister saying This government will foster a more open and democratic society. It will strengthen transparency around official information."?Hon SHANE JONES: Yes and I recall being the last man standing who has agreed to that level of transparency. In addition to that I feel that transparency must be seen within bounds when there are two parties to a transaction—one a private sector recipient and the other the Crown—which is why the Ombudsman who gave advice to the last regime I understand has been in discussions with our officials. I accept that New Zealanders ought to be reassured that when we allocate pūtea it is done in a defensible and robust fashion but within that context I am taking legal advice.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he accept the figures of the latest household labour force survey which showed that while New Zealand was creating 10000 jobs per month under the last two years of the National Government over the past three months it's created only 667 jobs per month and if so does he think the Provincial Growth Fund will compensate for that massive reduction in job creation?Hon SHANE JONES: On the question of jobs as the first citizen of the provinces I look at things through the spyglass of optimism and the reality is that as we make our allocation decisions these projects and these capital investments take time to fully roll out. But I have sought additional advice and very shortly I will provide a figure both to the House and to the public which is inversely related to the gibberish I had from that member around about Waitangi time.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he accept that if job growth had continued at the same pace that it had under National there would have been an extra 28000 jobs created in the past three months in this country and is the Provincial Growth Fund in any way compensating for that lost opportunity for Kiwis?Hon SHANE JONES: Obviously the Provincial Growth Fund is really premised on the notion of provincial futures and I have had precious little time to think about those dim bleak times that he refers to.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can I ask the Minister as to whether it's been his experience that at these constant meetings and launches of Provincial Growth Fund projects he and his colleagues have been seriously crowded out by National Party local politicians mayors and councillors who want to be in on the most exciting thing that's happened in the provinces for decades?Hon SHANE JONES: I was recently in mid-Canterbury and there were two contradictory signals coming out of various parts of the National Party body: number one the sitting member—SPEAKER: Order! That's the end of the member's responsibility. He has no responsibility for either parts of the National Party through it."