4. Question No. 4—FinanceHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 4—Finance4. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of his statements policies and actions?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Yes in the context in which they were given and undertaken and I'm particularly pleased about the actions of this Government with regard to infrastructure and in particular today's announcement of the funding of the replacement highway for the Manawatū Gorge a project that the National Party talked about and never funded the construction of.Hon Paul Goldsmith: What does it say about the Government's policies that the New Zealand Herald's Mood of the Boardroom assessment today gave it 1.7 out of 5 for its policy execution?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: There are a wide variety of views in the business community of New Zealand. Those were some of them. I imagine it's a similar question that the Leader of the Opposition is asking for why 47 percent of respondents in that survey said he wasn't hitting his stride.Hon Paul Goldsmith: What message does he take from the score of 1.6 out of 5 for transforming the economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The lesson there is again that there is a wide variety of views and on this side of the House the Government will continue to work hard to be able to move forward on those numbers. I presume it's a similar message that Judith Collins is taking from being the top ranked National MP in that survey.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he—SPEAKER: Order! The member addresses me or the Minister not the member on his left.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he blame international headwinds entirely for the fact that 83 percent of the respondents in the Mood of the Boardroom were either slightly or much less optimistic about the New Zealand economy than a year ago?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I note that the top seven concerns of those who filled out the survey were all internationally related concerns so clearly that is a significant matter for those in the Mood of the Boardroom survey. However I'm really concerned about the rating given to the Leader of the Opposition given that the following National members are in front of him: Judith Collins Nikki Kaye Paul Goldsmith Paula Bennett Todd McClay Mark Mitchell Gerry Brownlee Michael Woodhouse—then Simon Bridges and the only person underneath that is Louise Upston.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he accept that there's a clear link between business confidence and investment which is what we need to create better higher-paying jobs for New Zealanders?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: We welcome good-quality foreign direct investment into New Zealand. We welcome the investment that New Zealand businesses are making. I note that the survey shows that the majority of businesses continue to believe that they'll make profits continue to believe that they'll add more staff and continue to believe that they'll invest in capital expenditure. This survey is a little like the member's glass there: you could see it as glass half full rather than glass half empty.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Has the finance Minister got any information as to why in the Mood of the Boardroom survey Steven Joyce did not appear there seeing as the Sunday Star-Times regards him as the economic spokesperson for the National Party?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Indeed I note that Mr Joyce is being given a column in the Sunday Star-Times. I also note that in it his eyes are firmly fixed in the rear-vision mirror driving himself backwards—SPEAKER: Order! Order! I gave the member some time to address the part of the question which was in order and he didn't.Hon Paul Goldsmith: What were the transport projects at Ōpōnoni and Waipapa that he listed last week as some of the Government's major transport projects?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The member well knows that in this House if he puts down a very general question as the primary one it will be difficult to give him a specific answer about that. All I can say is the advice I have had from the Minister of Transport's office includes the following projects that are under construction under the general policy statement: the Awakino tunnel bypass Dome Valley the Kaeō bridge Loop Road Ōpōnoni Papakura to Bombay Waipapa through the Provincial Growth Fund project State Highway 10 Tākaka Hill and more.