5. Question No. 5—FinanceDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 5—Finance5. Dr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central) to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): I have seen a number of bank economists' reports ahead of Thursday's GDP release from Statistics New Zealand detailing how they expect the economy to keep growing in the face of global headwinds. A Bloomberg poll of economists showed a medium growth expectation of 0.4 percent in the June quarter from March with an annual quarter-on-quarter growth of 2 percent and an expected annual average growth rate of 2.4 percent. New Zealand's GDP growth rate began falling at the end of 2016 which is why this Government is focused on turning that around. It will take time to shift the economy to a more productive sustainable and inclusive growth footing. Our initiatives including R & D incentives record infrastructure investment skills training and revitalising the regions are significant parts of turning this around.Dr Duncan Webb: What reports has he seen about the international context for the New Zealand economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I have seen a report from Westpac economists this week where they said the global backdrop was a key contributor to slightly slower growth in the New Zealand economy. The Westpac economists said Economic activity in many of our major trading partner countries has been slowing as the US-China trade war drags on while events such as Brexit have added to the downside risk for global growth." and indeed just this month the Australian economy recorded GDP growth of 1.4 percent in the year to June as activity in their manufacturing agriculture and construction industries contracted. The fundamentals of the New Zealand economy are strong and we are well placed to withstand these headwinds but we have to acknowledge we will not be unaffected.Dr Duncan Webb: What reports has he seen on future economic activity?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Yesterday the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) released their consensus forecasts polling economists on their picks for the next three years. NZIER warned about the impact of the volatile international situation saying there is heightened uncertainty about how the trade war between the US and China will play out. Despite this the forecasts showed economists expect GDP growth to rise to 2.3 percent in the year to March 2020 and then to 2.7 percent in the year to March 2021. They also forecast stronger employment and wage growth over the next three years than they had previously expected and the unemployment rate to remain down around 4 percent as the New Zealand economy continues to grow. So in short economists are expecting businesses to employ more staff and pay higher wages meaning that more working New Zealanders will be benefiting from economic growth under this Government.Hon Paul Goldsmith: If the international context is all to blame for the slow-down in the New Zealand economy why has New Zealand fallen from 11th under the National Party's last five years to the 25th fastest-growing economy in the OECD?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I would have to check the member's figures before I responded to the detail in there but what I do know is on this side of the House we're committed to an economic programme that increases productivity improves sustainability and increases inclusion. We're not prepared to sit on the sidelines and hope that a housing boom and population growth will actually grow the economy. We want it to be more sustainable than that.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Rather than blaming international factors isn't it more sensible to look at home and consider the way that this Government's added cost to businesses increased uncertainty and demonstrated incompetence through KiwiBuild have all combined to undermine business confidence and that is the main reason why the economy has slowed down?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No. If the member actually takes a look at the economists who are making their forecasts about what they expect to happen in the June quarter every single one of them refers at the beginning to the global environment that we are in at the moment. On this side of the House we're committed to actually growing an economy where New Zealanders get higher wages which they are where unemployment is coming down which it is where we're investing in infrastructure which we are where we're supporting research and development which we're doing—all of the things that the previous Government gave up because it was just a bit too hard.Hon Simon Bridges: Can he name one genuinely new infrastructure transport project they've started? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I certainly can. There are a range of projects which I will hand over to the member at the end of the question time today. We have invested I believe—the Minister of Transport will tell me—how much? How much have we invested—$3 billion? Hon Phil Twyford: $3 billion. Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Three billion dollars in the first part of the transport plan—the same amount of money that the member's party had done in the first part of their transport plan. Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can I take it from that Minister that whilst all of the Opposition leader's colleagues have been going to infrastructure openings you've never invited him? Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Indeed and the $41 billion that this Government is putting into infrastructure over the next five years—$10 billion more than the previous Government had forecast for the same period—is understood right across New Zealand."