Goldsmith Paul: Annual Review Debate — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeGoldsmith Paul: Annual Review Debate — In Committee[Sitting date: 28 April 2015. Volume:704;Page:2933. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs):I am pleased to take a call on behalf of the Government because I am proud of this Government’s economic management—proud that as a result of the effort ingenuity and skill of New Zealanders helped along by the confidence given to them by a strong and stable economy this economy grew at a rate of 3.5 percent in 2014. That is one of the fastest growth rates in the developed world and it is expected to continue to average around 3 percent over the next few years.We heard from Annette King I think it was—that face of the modern Labour Party elected in 1984—who told us that this was a Government that has poor performance. I find it hard to understand how you would regard 3.5 percent economic growth over the last year as poor performance. Average wages have increased by 15 percent over the past 5 years—faster than the cost of living. How can you regard that as poor performance?What about the jobs boom that we have had in this country over the last year—80000 more people employed in New Zealand than last year and 217000 more people employed than over the 5 years before? That is a jobs boom in this country. I would like to hear whether the people the young men and women who have got jobs—who have been able to go out early in the morning work hard all day and come back with some money some earnings to support their families—think that that is a result of poor performance. Eighty thousand new jobs in this economy in the past year is a great performance and one that I am proud of.Cost of living increases are low in New Zealand. Inflation is virtually zero well below the average weekly wage increase of 2.5 percent. The balance of payments deficit which has dogged this country over many decades is running at 3.3 percent of GDP which is a lot lower than it has been in previous years. We have overseen a very significant turn-round in the books—we are approaching a surplus.Another thing is that we have seen more Kiwis voting with their feet and staying in New Zealand. When I first stood for Parliament in 2005 I remember everybody being very deeply concerned about Kiwis leaving for Australia. We were losing 30000 or 40000 a week. That figure was being compared to a full Wellington rugby stadium going out of the country every year and it is very gratifying to see that number now reduced to virtually zero. It is a measure of the success of this economy—it is holding families together and giving people an opportunity to see that their hopes and dreams can be realised in this country.We do have considerable challenges in New Zealand and they are mainly challenges of growth. There are challenges around housing in Auckland. I am certainly keenly aware of the issues in Epsom where I am based. There are challenges around transport infrastructure particularly in fast-growing Auckland and there are challenges around the skills shortage as so many people are looking to employ new people and bring them into the workforce. They are good challenges to have and ones that I believe this Government is absolutely well-equipped to deal with. We will continue to work constructively with the Auckland Council for example on the housing situation.In the areas that I am responsible for in commerce I think we are making very good progress when we move our question to how we get growth in this economy. One of the most important areas of course is to have access to capital. Businesses need capital to grow. So the whole point of the Financial Markets Conduct Act which was the biggest change in financial markets regulations last year is to try to build New Zealanders’ confidence in the financial markets so that they do not feel that investing in real estate is the only option and so that they know actually that you can invest in the financial markets. That is what the whole point of that very sweeping piece of legislation was about. We will be working very hard this year to make sure that that very large change in legislation is bedding in well. We are also going to be looking at a review of the financial advisers legislation to make sure that New Zealanders have access to good financial advice and can have confidence in the governance of financial advisers in financial products and in the advice that they are getting.I am also responsible for competition policy. When we talk about rising living standards in New Zealand growing the economy is important but making sure that the domestic economy is competitive is also an important way that we keep control of cost and make sure that every dollar that New Zealanders earn goes further. So we have got a lot of work in the competition area. The Commerce (Cartels and Other Matters) Amendment Bill is progressing through the House and we are also looking at a review of section 36 of the Commerce Act which is the section about the misuse of market power. We are looking forward over the next few months to asking whether we have got that right in New Zealand. I am convinced that New Zealand is in very good shape.