Cosgrove Clayton: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Cosgrove Clayton: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:623;Page:18743] 
3.  
CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: What positive indicators has he received on the state of the New Zealand economy? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 Many and more to come. We have had economic growth above the OECD average for every year since this Government was elected; the lowest unemployment rate in the OECD; the second-highest percentage increase of new listings of any stock exchange in the world in the last year; we have seen increased business investment; and we have seen reduced numbers of people on social welfare benefits. 
Clayton Cosgrove 
: Has the Minister received any negative reports on the state of the New Zealand economy? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Mainly from people on the other side of the House. Notably Dr Brash told Australians that he thinks New Zealand risks becoming just another Pacific Island State unable to survive as a viable society. This does not seem to be the best way to persuade Australians of the benefits of a single economic market. 
John Key 
: Has the Minister held talks with the Australian Treasurer Peter Costello; if not when he does talk to him will he lament the progressive approach Mr Costello has taken to growing the Australian economy by championing tax cuts or is this Minister just too ashamed to put up his own dismal record in this area? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The member puts me in a very difficult position. To have to say very quietly in front of the Australian Treasurer that we have been growing faster than Australia over the last 2 years looks like bad neighbourly relations. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Why did the Minister not mention the looming balance of payments crisis in this country; the fact that the forecasts show that on the track he is taking by 2009 we will have slid further in terms of per capita incomes; the fact that we are 36th in the world in respect of per capita incomes; and lastly his having done more damage to this country since 1999 in terms of growth rates than was ever the case— 
Hon Member 
: Ha! 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: It is a fact actually sunshine! That member should look at the figures; they are all there for that member to see. The Minister inherited a higher-growing economy and it has been going down ever since. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: If a bad record is a higher rate of growth every year than the OECD average I am happy to stand on my record. 
Rod Donald 
: When the Minister said yesterday that he was not happy with the current account deficit rising to the level it is at what level of deficit and at what level of net foreign debt will he concede that we have a crisis on our hands given that for the year ended September the current account deficit stood at $8.2 billion or 5.8 percent of GDP and the net foreign debt stood at $118.2 billion or 82 percent of GDP? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: That last figure is actually somewhat lower than it was a few years ago. New Zealand’s national debt as a percentage of GDP has been falling on average for a number of years now. I now go back to the technical point: in a country with a freely floating exchange rate it no longer makes sense to talk of a balance of payments crisis because the Government is not attempting to defend a fixed exchange rate. 
Peter Brown 
: Will the Minister explain why if the economy is so buoyant and everything is so rosy as he has just outlined to the House it was necessary to pass legislation to impose a 5.6c petrol tax on motorists when in fact he already thieves from the average motorist 18.475c a litre? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member will stand withdraw and apologise for that last comment. 
Peter Brown 
: I withdraw and apologise. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The substance of the member’s question was asked. The Minister can now reply. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: We have just had a question about the current account problems that the country faces—in common I might say with our near neighbours. To suggest that therefore the Government should divert out of the Crown account and into the land transport account a large sum of money without increasing revenue is to suggest that we loosen fiscal policy and thereby place further pressure upon the current account deficit.