4. Question No. 4—FinanceHon JULIE ANNE GENTER (Green) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 4—Finance4. Hon JULIE ANNE GENTER (Green) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement We must not allow inequality to take hold in our recovery. In fact we need to take this opportunity to improve the prospects of all New Zealanders and tackle those long-standing divisions"; if not why not?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): I do stand by the statement which was made in April 2020 ahead of the 2020 Budget. Since then the hard work of all New Zealanders and Government policy has driven a strong recovery which has delivered more people in jobs and tens of thousands fewer people on income support than was forecast; the largest increase to benefit rates in a generation on top of an indexation of main benefits to the average wage; and one of the strongest economic performances during COVID in the OECD which in turn has seen more jobs and opportunities for all New Zealanders. This is not to deny that there is more to do. There is and that is why we are continuously updating our response and we'll have more to say about that on Friday.Hon Julie Anne Genter: Will the enhanced business support package for Auckland he is announcing on Friday include direct financial support for Auckland students renters beneficiaries and those in transitional housing; if not why not?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Obviously I'm not going to pre-empt the announcement but what I would say is that the package of supports that the Government has already put in place has been providing support to those groups many of whom are part of receipt of the wage subsidy scheme for example but I will leave more details until Friday.Hon Julie Anne Genter: Why has the Government provided less than half the financial support to tertiary students in the 2021 COVID response than they provided in 2020?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: There was an initial boost to student allowances and student loan living cost support payments then. Obviously that continues to flow through. We have also in this particular outbreak increased funding for the student hardship fund which enables us to target the support to those students who are the most in need.Hon Julie Anne Genter: Has he asked for or received any advice about the impact of high inflation and whether increases in living costs and rents will erode the previous increases to benefits and the minimum wage?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I haven't sought specific advice since yesterday with the material that came in then but the general advice is that yes higher inflation does impact more on those with the lowest incomes. Over the course of the last 20 months we've seen not only the things I outlined in my primary answer but also increases to the minimum wage and we continue to look for ways to support low-income New Zealanders.Hon Julie Anne Genter: Will the Government freeze rents as they did during the COVID lockdowns last year to address the needs of people in Auckland as they face the longest period of level 4 and level 3 restrictions?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: That's not currently on the Government's agenda no.Hon Julie Anne Genter: Will he provide direct financial support to low-income and marginalised communities in Auckland so people can afford to stay home and stop spreading the virus and look after their families during this extended lockdown?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: There have been a number of investments made by the Government in supporting those on low incomes and in vulnerable communities in the Auckland area. That is included through additional funding for Pasifika health and community providers for Whānau Ora and other iwi and Māori providers and we continue to provide support obviously through the Ministry of Social Development."