Prosser Richard: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeProsser Richard: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 12 February 2015. Volume:703;Page:1536. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]2.RICHARD PROSSER (NZ First)to the Minister for Primary Industries: Does he believe the Primary Growth Partnership provides value for money to taxpayers?Hon JO GOODHEW (Associate Minister for Primary Industries)on behalf of theMinister for Primary Industries: Yes. As the member will be aware last year an independent report by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research estimated that the Primary Growth Partnership will add $6.4 billion per annum to New Zealand’s economy by 2025. The report further concluded that the Primary Growth Partnership has the potential to achieve an additional $4.7 billion per annum by 2025 if all the research and development is successful the aspirational stretch of the Primary Growth Partnership programmes is achieved and the innovations are widely taken up. That is why my answer is yes. This makes a 30-year benefit-cost ratio for Government funding of 1:32. That confirms what great value the Primary Growth Partnership programme is.Richard Prosser: How much of the $322 million of taxpayers’ funds committed to the Primary Growth Partnership by the Crown has gone to overseas-owned companies?Hon JO GOODHEW: I do not have an answer to that question. It has a level of technical detail that I would have preferred to be laid down in the primary question.Richard Prosser: How much has gone to the following partners: PGG Wrightson which is now majority Chinese-owned; the majority Japanese-owned ANZCO Foods; and Norske Skog Tasman owned by Norwegian and other overseas interests?Hon JO GOODHEW: What I can tell the member is that the benefits to New Zealand as have been calculated by the independent report of the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research are considerable. This country has many businesses that have some capital input from overseas but it is the New Zealand economy that benefits significantly from the money that is invested into quality programmes that will achieve great benefits in primary industries for New Zealand.Richard Prosser: Who owns the intellectual property of the programmes: the New Zealand taxpayer who funds them through the partnership or the private entities some of which are overseas-owned?Hon JO GOODHEW: The recent report by the Office of the Auditor-General identified to us that intellectual property and the identification of the benefits of that are important parts of the clarification that the Ministry for Primary Industries needs to continue working on. We have taken that feedback from the office on board and that will be the case.Richard Prosser: Given that answer will the Minister now give the House an assurance that changes will be made to the Primary Growth Partnership scheme to ensure that the New Zealand taxpayer will benefit directly from the ownership of intellectual property; if not why not?Hon JO GOODHEW: I reiterate my earlier answer to the member and I also add to that that there have been learnings since the beginning of this significant programme of benefits to primary industries in New Zealand—an exciting programme that looks to deliver great benefits to New Zealand. The Office of the Auditor-General’s report is largely positive but it does point us to some areas where we can improve. That is not a surprise but it is an encouragement to the Ministry for Primary Industries.