Cosgrove Clayton: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Cosgrove Clayton: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:626;Page:20796] 
4.  
CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: What reports if any has he received on alternative fiscal proposals to those contained within the Budget? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 I have seen reports calling for a lot more spending on police and a lot more spending on justice reports asking defence officials and staff exactly what toys they want—and proposing buying them all for them—and reports asking for very large cuts in revenue. All those reports have come from the National Party within the last 12 days. 
Clayton Cosgrove 
: Could the Minister advise the House what the consequence would be of cuts in revenue? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Without increasing borrowing and therefore interest rates every billion-dollar cut to revenue requires a 2.1 percent cut to expenditure. If evenly spread that would include 497 fewer primary school teachers 394 fewer secondary school teachers 154 fewer sworn police 112 fewer hospital doctors 422 fewer hospital nurses and 23 fewer front-line workers as well as a cut of roughly $9 a week in New Zealand superannuation for a married couple. 
John Key 
: What has the greatest impact on inflation: a dollar spent by the Government or a dollar spent by the private sector? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: What has the greatest impact is if the Government borrows money to increase demand in the economy which is what the National Party is proposing because if National was not to increase demand it would have to cut expenditure by an amount equivalent to the revenue. The National Party cannot have it both ways. It has already promised to borrow money for roads; it cannot borrow the same money again for tax cuts. 
Rodney Hide 
: Can the Minister of Finance confirm that the net worth of the Government is to increase by $5.5 billion each and every year over the next 5 years that there is plenty of room for tax cuts and that his argument that there is not is just another example of his getting his facts wrong—like he did this morning when he attacked journalists for obtaining information under false pretences and then had to issue an apology and a correction so that the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand would not be sued in court for defamation? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: In fact Prime Television did engage in deception to gather evidence in cahoots with that member. Secondly the member needs to do a little more basic economics. The Crown’s net worth includes the growth in the Superannuation Fund which he would abolish. It also includes revaluations of State assets such as Archives New Zealand roads and various other things. That can be used to fund tax cuts only if we are prepared to flog those things off. 
Gordon Copeland 
: Would the Minister give consideration though to funding earlier tax cuts by selling down up to 40 percent of selected State-owned enterprises including the New Zealand Superannuation Fund to investors or would his party’s statist dogma and ideology again become a block to a common-sense win-win opportunity? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: No. The Labour Party stays true to the views espoused by Mr Dunne when he was a member of it—that is if State assets are sold they are sold to reduce debt not to fund current consumption.