Yang Jian: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeYang Jian: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 10 December 2013. Volume:695;Page:15349. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]4.Dr JIAN YANG (National) to theMinister for Economic Development: What reports has he received on progress in the manufacturing sector?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Economic Development): The crisis in manufacturing continues to be rather hard to find. Yesterday Statistics New Zealand released its economic survey of manufacturing for the September 2013 quarter. The volume of total manufacturing sales was up 0.5 percent in the quarter and sales volume for manufacturing excluding meat and dairy which is a favourite barometer some less than disinterested observers use was up by 2.8 percent. This is the largest quarterly increase since June 2002. Sales for 10 of the other 12 manufacturing industries also rose. So I strongly urge those who like to talk the sector down to pick another statistic so it too may rise.Dr Jian Yang: What reports has he received indicating that the manufacturing sector is expanding?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I have also received the latest BNZ-Business New Zealand Performance of Manufacturing Index. In October that was 55.7—the highest result for the month of October since 2007. New Zealand’s manufacturing sector has now been expanding for 11 consecutive months. All the five seasonally adjusted indexes within the overall Performance of Manufacturing Index were in expansion for October. I would like to congratulate the manufacturing sector on its determination its resilience and its innovation despite a tough world economy a high New Zealand dollar and constant negative carping from the New Zealand political Opposition.Dr Jian Yang: What is the importance of the high-technology and medium to high - technology industries within the wider manufacturing sector?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: New Zealand has a remarkable number of innovative companies in the high and medium to high - technology sectors carving out market share in tough international markets. Over the last two decades the high-tech sector has grown rapidly. Exports rose to $1.4 billion in 2012 which makes its growth trajectory faster now than the New Zealand wine industry. New Zealand has 16 companies in the top 100 of the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia-Pacific list up from seven last year. The Government’s Business Growth Agenda is working to encourage business investment in research and development with initiatives like establishing Callaghan Innovation lifting research and development co-funding to $142 million a year plus the introduction of repayable funding for start-up technology companies.Hon Shane Jones: How much of the increase in manufacturing is construction-related manufacturing arising out of the Christchurch earthquakes; and if he does not know why does he come down to this House boasting about things that show that he is actually not on top of his portfolio?Mr SPEAKER: The Hon Steven Joyce—either of the two questions.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Dear old Shane. I should table this for you Shane. This is the list of tables for each part of the manufacturing sector which shows that 10 out of12—not just the construction sector—have gone up. There is one person in this House who should do the work and his name is Shane Jones.Hon Shane Jones: Is he likely to table that paper in front of the 200 employees of Unilever who are about to lose their jobs and the large number of workers in the timber processing sector who as a consequence of not being able to gain access to logs are also going to join the unemployment queue with their friends in Rotorua?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The reality about the wood and timber processing section of the industry is that actually it too has grown in the last quarter. Again perhaps the member would like to read these tables. For Mr Jones’ benefit the New Zealand employment market is a dynamic market with a large number of jobs created and lost every year. It is difficult when individuals lose their jobs. What is more important is that we attract new investment into new industries. That is what this Government is doing. That is what the Labour Opposition opposes.