Yang Jian: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeYang Jian: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 26 March 2015. Volume:704;Page:2649. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]2.Dr JIAN YANG (National) to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on how low inflation is benefiting New Zealand families?Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance): I have seen a report from the Reserve Bank quite recently that forecasts zero percent inflation in the year to March 2015—that is about now. So we have a very unusual situation where we have solid economic growth which is delivering moderate and—for many New Zealanders—consistent wage increases but at the moment at least zero increase in the cost of living. This means that families can get some real increase in their incomes. At the same time the Reserve Bank indicated an interest rate track that is a bit lower than what was expected again assisting the affordabilityof what have been for some families rapidly rising housing costs.Dr Jian Yang: How is solid economic growth and low inflation benefiting New Zealand families through strength in the labour market?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Low inflation—in fact at the moment record low inflation—along with the growing economy is giving many businesses the confidence to invest more money and employ more people. Statistics New Zealand figures show that in 2014 80000 new jobs were created across the country and average wages rose 2.5 percent last year. Average wages are expected to grow by a further $6000 by September 2018 from $56000 today. That is an increase of around 20 percent up to now compared with the rate of inflation over the same period of around 11 percent. One particularly interesting statistic is that the labour market participation rate—that is the proportion of the adult population available for work—is the highest it has ever been at 69.7 percent indicating that New Zealanders in general are confident about their prospects of getting a job even if for some of them that turns out to be a bit of a challenge.Dr Jian Yang: What other reports has he seen on the benefits of economic growth for New Zealand households?Hon BILL ENGLISH: An important aspect of the current outlook for the economy is the confidence of businesses and consumers. ANZ recently released its consumer confidence survey—the most recent one—which shows a small lift in consumer confidence but it is at reasonably high levels and they are consistent with growth for the year ahead of around 3 percent. The main drivers of this confidence ANZ reports are the recent fall in petrol prices low inflation employment growth and a generally positive outlook that Kiwis have for wage growth.Dr Jian Yang: Do current economic conditions of low inflation but solid growth impact on Government revenue; if so what steps is the Government taking to return its books to surplus?Hon BILL ENGLISH: The current conditions do work well for the economy but it is clear that low inflation and low oil prices have a significant effect on Government expenditure and revenue. For instance because of the drop in oil prices we will be expecting to collect significantly less taxand royalties on oil over the next 12 months. The Government though in response to this is continuing to responsibly manage its finances. We will be continuing to restrain new spending and that is justified by the fact that there is low inflation but also continuing to increase the quality of public services.