Parker David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeParker David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 11 February 2014. Volume:696;Page:15751. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]5.Hon DAVID PARKER (Deputy Leader—Labour) to theMinister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement “I think there’s going to be an expectation particularly for those people with skills that are in demand that they will be doing better than zero pay increases”?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Associate Minister of Finance) on behalf of theMinister of Finance: Yes in the context that it was made. I would point out that in the year to December 2013—and I hope we do not have to repeat everything from the last question—average weekly earnings rose 2.8 percent while consumer price inflation was only 1.6 percent. [Interruption] Again for the members opposite that is 2.8 percent versus 1.6 percent so on average wages are already increasing faster than inflation. That is of course according to the quarterly employment survey which is the best source of wage movements and has been used by successive Governments including the last Labour Government as the basis for setting paid parental leave and New Zealand superannuation.Hon David Parker: What level of pay increase has he or Treasury recommended to the State Services Commissioner for public sector workers such as police teachers firefighters and nurses to receive in the coming year?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I do not have that to hand but I think it is important to expand on the Minister of Finance’s comments because he was saying—Hon David Parker: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister started by saying he did not know the answer to my supplementary question and I think that is a sufficient answer to my supplementary question.Mr SPEAKER: On this occasion I think we have had quite a lot of figures bandied about and I accept the point the member is making.Hon David Parker: What provision has he made in his Budget for the wage increases that he has promised everybody?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Of course the Budget each year contains provisions that are different for different parts of the State sector in terms of wage rounds occurring in that year and then obviously in the out-years for subsequent wage rounds. I do not think it would be the wisest thing in the world to suggest putting those numbers out in the public domain right now because those are all subject to negotiation. But I will say that the Minister in his comments was expecting that the demand for skilled people inparticular would continue to rise and all employers—public and private employers—would have to be cognisant of that as part of the package of wage rounds.Hon David Parker: Why is it that under his Government public sector chief executive officers get $50000 per annum wage increases while most workers get close to nothing?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I would really want to know the source of that comment from the member because we have a number of situations recently where those things have not added up. I mean I saw one today where it was suggested that there were 37000 less 15 to 19-year-olds employed than 5 years ago—Hon Trevor Mallard: You mean fewer.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: —fewer if you like—and actually it turns out that they were in education or in fact did not exist. That is the quality of analysis that we are getting from the Opposition.Hon David Parker: Do I take it then that the Minister is ignorant of the fact that under his Government a large number of public sector chief executive officers have had increases of $50000 a year while most workers are getting nothing or close to it?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The member needs to actually quantify what he is saying. Yes different people get pay increases at different times for different reasons. The reality is that that occurs across the public sector at different times. In fact the entire public sector has shown great restraint through the global financial crisis and that has helped the whole country balance its books and put us in the strong economic position that we are in today. We would not have been in anything like as strong a position under Labour and the Greens.Hon David Parker: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. In response to an earlier suggestion you made to a point of order to one of my colleagues I used up a supplementary question to try to elicit from the Minister whether he accepted there had been $50000 per annum increases which he denied in an earlier answer. I have had to waste the supplementary question. I have still not got that acknowledgment and I would ask you to ask the Minister to address the question I asked.Mr SPEAKER: In my opinion the Minister has addressed the question. The essence of the question was “Do you take it that the Minister is ignorant because of” and the Minister then went through and gave an answer that addressed the question that had been asked.