Cunliffe David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Cunliffe David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:663;Page:11291] 
5. 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour—New Lynn) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: Does he consider the long-term fiscal track to be sustainable; if not what options is he considering to rectify this? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Associate Minister of Finance) 
 on behalf of the  
Minister of Finance 
: Yes provided that we maintain the fiscal discipline set out in last week’s Budget. The most important feature of making the fiscal track sustainable is that we do not get overwhelmed by rising debt and finance costs as threatened to be the case 2 years ago. Last week’s Budget showed that net debt is now contained peaking at a low level of 27 percent of GDP in 2014-15 and falling steadily after that. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: Will he further strengthen the Government’s net assets by supporting the growth of Kiwibank which is currently valued at around twice the assets the Government has already committed to it? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: The Government makes a number of decisions from time to time on investing in State-owned enterprises and also in other Government assets such as infrastructure and a range of other things. It will make those decisions from time to time as required. 
Amy Adams 
: What steps has the Government taken to ensure the long-term viability of its finances and the continued delivery of New Zealand Superannuation? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: Our commitment to New Zealand Superannuation is absolute. All Budget projections include the funding of superannuation from age 65 at 66 percent of the average wage. To guarantee that this is affordable we have had to make responsible decisions in each of the past two Budgets. We stopped the rampant growth in Government expenditure and reprioritised where needed lived within a reduced new spending allowance and improved the tax system to boost growth. The upshot is that we have debt under control so that future taxpayers can breathe easier. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: Will his consideration of Kiwibank’s capital injection proposal take full account of the business case that the departing chief executive officer Sam Knowles today described as “compelling”? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: As the member will be aware the Government receives a fair number of business cases that are regularly described as compelling. It assesses them all and prioritises them accordingly. 
Amy Adams 
: What is the single biggest risk to the Government’s ability to support vulnerable New Zealanders? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: The single biggest risk to the Government’s ability to deliver quality public services and maintain entitlements such as New Zealand Superannuation and Working for Families would be out-of-control debt. That is why we have rejected a range of poorly thought-out expenditure ideas including borrowing $2 billion a year to gamble on world sharemarkets continuing the rapid expansion of the Public Service and extending benefits to people with spouses in work. Those suggestions combined with others that would push up debt come from the other side of the House. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: Why is he considering privatising Kiwibank when its benefit is obvious to the 700000 Kiwis who have chosen to make it their bank or does that not count with a National Government that is intent on selling off the family silver to pay for upper-income tax cuts that the country cannot afford? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: The Government has given no consideration to the privatisation of Kiwibank. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: Does he agree that Kiwibank benefits all New Zealanders by putting competitive pressure on the big four Aussie banks and by expanding credit faster than our external debt which he described as our largest single vulnerability? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: Kiwibank certainly makes a contribution to the Government’s assets as do a huge range of State-owned enterprises in their various forms of business. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: I seek leave to table a transcript of a tape of the Minister at a National Party conference setting out his intentions to privatise State assets. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Members are at liberty to seek leave to table any document that is not readily available to members of the House. Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection.