Key John: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Key John: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:620;Page:15879] 
8.  
JOHN KEY (National—Helensville) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does she have confidence in the Minister of Finance; if so why? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes because he is a hard-working and conscientious Minister. 
John Key 
: Does she think it is appropriate for the Minister of Finance once again to pre-empt the Governor of the Reserve Bank by stating to Dow Jones analysts in New York this week: “The bank has indicated with near certainty one more move and then one or two more after that.” when neither the Reserve Bank nor the markets in fact stated that; and does she agree with the Minister of Finance that interest rates may go up three more times this year taking floating mortgage rates to over 9 percent? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I have not seen anything in the Minister’s comments that suggest he was pre-empting anyone. I myself do not intend to voice a view about the future of the official cash rate. 
Peter Brown 
: Noting her glowing comments that she has such confidence in her Minister of Finance can she advise the House whether he has reconsidered his support for imposing further increases in fuel prices as proposed in the Customs and Excise (Motor Spirits) Amendment Bill in the light that fuel prices have risen dramatically since the bill’s inception and are now having an adverse effect on New Zealand’s economic and social well-being; if he has not reconsidered that support does she believe that is the action of a competent Minister who is on top of his job? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: No I am not aware that he has reconsidered his support and I can only say that the impacts cannot be too adverse when we have the lowest unemployment rate in more than 17 years and had 4.4 percent growth in the year ended June. 
Gordon Copeland 
: Does she regard it as fair that even after her Minister of Finance has publicly acknowledged that he has $520 million in cash “left” he still refuses to adjust the tax brackets to take into account the effects of inflation; and when will hard-working New Zealanders receive some long-overdue tax relief? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: As the member knows starting on 1 April next year there will be extensive targeted tax cuts for hard-working Kiwi families with children. 
Rodney Hide 
: In light of the Prime Minister’s confidence in her Minister of Finance so much so that she is happy to swan off from Parliament to the Progressive Governance Summit— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is out of order. Would the member come to the question and not add that irrelevant extra to it. 
Rodney Hide 
: It is not out of order. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: It is out of order. I know what can be asked and what cannot be asked. A supplementary question has to relate to the primary question and it does not need to contain any extraneous matter such as that. Please ask the supplementary question. 
Rodney Hide 
: In light of her confidence in the Minister extending to her going overseas when Parliament is sitting and leaving Parliament in the control of— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I just want the member to ask the Prime Minister a question. He can ask a supplementary question but he has not yet asked one to my satisfaction. He gets one more chance. 
Rodney Hide 
: In light of her confidence in her deputy the Minister of Finance would she consider staying over in Hungary and making the de facto Prime Minister of New Zealand the actual Prime Minister of New Zealand? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: No no more so than I would consider a holiday with Alan Gibbs in Spain such as that member just had. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I do not think she was invited. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is about the seventh time today that the member has raised a point of order that is not one. Could I recommend a course in reading Standing Orders. 
John Key 
: Does she think it is appropriate for the Minister of Finance to go offshore and state that one of the major risks to the New Zealand economy is the interest rate management techniques of the independent Governor of the Reserve Bank; and can she confirm that she has confidence in the Governor of the Reserve Bank even if her Minister of Finance does not? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: My reading of the interview given with Dow Jones was that the Minister of Finance did not state that was a major risk. He said there is a danger that we will get someone who overshoots with monetary policy correction. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: How can she have confidence in the Minister of Finance when we have a worsening balance of payments crisis when we have one-seventh of the per capita exports of say Singapore or Ireland when our per capita income now has us ranked 37th in the world and falling when we have the highest interest rates in the Western World and when we now have a huge leap in the number of sickness beneficiaries; how can she have confidence in the Minister of Finance when we have those sorts of comparative figures? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Firstly I understand that the numbers of working-age beneficiaries are down 16 percent under this Government. Secondly I understand that our growth rates continue to be at the top of the OECD. Thirdly I understand that our unemployment rate is not only the lowest in more than 17 years but the second-lowest in the OECD. Fourthly I understand that our AA+ credit rating was very recently confirmed and further I understand that the Standard and Poor’s agency said it was unlikely to change downwards any time soon because of in particular the very prudent way in which the Government’s finances are managed. 
John Key 
: Is she as perplexed as the people of New Zealand are by the regular comments from the Minister of Finance that the $7 billion operating surplus is only an accounting illusion when miraculously this week in New York he claimed to actually have to quote him a spending war chest of banked surpluses to be wheeled out in election year; if not why not? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: That would be a distortion of what the Minister said too. He referred to automatic fiscal stabilisers. 
Gordon Copeland 
: I seek leave to table an article from the  
New Zealand Herald 
 in which Dr Cullen says he has $520 million of cash stashed. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that article. Is there any objection? There is. 
John Key 
: I seek leave to table two documents. The first is a Dow Jones publication in which the Minister of Finance outlines the risks to the New Zealand economy. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
John Key 
: The second is the daily commentary by Deutsche Bank which clearly points out that the Minister of Finance is nothing but confused. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that. Is there any objection? There is.