Clark DavidHon Dr DAVID CLARK (Associate Minister of Finance): Thank you Mr Chair. I will begin by just acknowledging the previous speaker Paul Goldsmith who was when I was in Opposition the chair of the Finance and Expenditure Committee and collegial in that role but I must correct a few errors in his speech.At the beginning of his speech he talked about the Reserve Bank reducing the rate. That decision was taken today. He tried to paint a picture that would have the world believe that that was not about global headwinds when in fact the Reserve Bank itself noted concerns around the global economic outlook. It acknowledged that the underlying fundamentals of the New Zealand economy are strong and we see of course central banks around the world easing monetary policy. I would have thought that member would have welcomed lower interest rates for homeowners and businesses so I'm a little surprised at his misery around this. This is obviously an independent decision by the Reserve Bank. They rely on their own decisions and forecasts.This is a Government that is focused on making sure we have an inclusive productive economy that's sustainable over the longer term. We're fixing the problems that accumulated under nine long years of neglect by the previous Government—problems that were ignored like kids growing up in cars hospitals with rot and mould in the walls and rivers so dirty that they can no longer be swum in. Of course we know that not everything can be fixed overnight. We're a prudent Government. We are interested in running surpluses and I have this graph here with me which I grabbed which was part of the original Budget slide pack when the Budget was presented which highlights in blue the deficits that were run under the previous Government's watch and the surpluses—in red conveniently—that are predicted under this Government's watch. This is a prudent Government.The reason of course that we're interested in running surpluses is because there are global headwinds out there. There could be natural disasters. There are a number of things that can happen and in those circumstances we want to be well prepared should there be any unforeseen circumstances around the economy but in the meantime we're getting on and investing in our economy because we are a Government that believes in investing.Two thousand businesses are expected to benefit from the 15 percent R & D tax incentive. We're saving businesses and customers $100 million over the next two years by dropping ACC levies—$100 million on average—from 72c to 67c per $100 of liable earnings. We're investing in regional economies through the Provincial Growth Fund. We've established the Business Advisory Council vehicle to harness expertise from the private sector. We're doubling down on trade and broadening our trade base. We're reforming skills and trade training to address long-term labour shortages and productivity gaps and to make sure we're preparing for the future of work and we've made a $100 million capital injection into the New Zealand Green Investment Fund to stimulate new private sector investment in low-emissions industries.We've got a plan of course that has so many more attributes to it. I'll mention one more: investing $10 billion more capital than the previous Government—and in health I know that to be true. We are investing heavily in capital in the health sector because our buildings were so run down under the last Government's watch. But what do the international observers say? What do they say? The IMF forecasts advanced economies to grow by 1.8 percent in 2019 and 1.7 percent in 2020. Within that the IMF forecasts New Zealand's economy to grow by 2.5 percent in 2019 and 2.9 percent in 2020. So compared to our peers we are set to grow solidly.New Zealand's GDP growth remains one of the best in the OECD. New Zealand's GDP growth of 0.6 percent in the December 2018 quarter was higher than in Australia Canada the euro area Japan and the UK and higher than the OECD average. That's forecast to continue as I have just outlined. Our unemployment rate: down to 4.2 percent in the March quarter the second-lowest since December 2008. Wages grew 3.4 percent over the year. This is an economy in good shape. We're looking to make sure that it's an inclusive economy and it's a real inspiration to work with Jacinda Ardern our leader bringing this coalition Government together to make sure that we share the gains from a productive economy with the whole country not just with the wealthiest 1 percent. This is a Government committed to sharing the gains with everyone and I salute also the finance Minister Grant Robertson for the good job that he is doing.