3. Economy—Moody's Report Housing Market Growth and ExportsANDREW BAYLY (National—Hunua) to the Minister of FinanceEconomy—Moody's Report Housing Market Growth and Exports3. ANDREW BAYLY (National—Hunua) to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on the state of the New Zealand economy?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister of Finance): Ratings agency Moody's Investors Service last week said it expects New Zealand to be one of the fastest-growing Aaa-rated economies in the coming years outpacing others in the Aaa group such as Australia Canada Denmark Germany Switzerland and the United States. The Moody's assessment is based on New Zealand's economic resilience proactive policy-making and fiscal flexibility all of which feed into economic growth. This kind of economic performance is a hallmark of the Government's strong economic plan which has been in place since 2009.Andrew Bayly: What risk did Moody's highlight in its report?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Moody's notes that the New Zealand economy is exposed to unexpected shocks such as natural disasters or sudden downturns in the global economy. That is why it is important to keep the Government's books in good order and we have made good progress in that regard. New Zealand now has one of the lowest debt to GDP ratios amongst Aaa-rated countries. However we need to maintain our resilience to shocks further if we want to ensure people in hardship retain access to entitlements should a shock occur. That is why Budget 2017 commits the Government to cutting net debt to 20 percent of GDP by 2020 and further reducing it to between 10 and 15 percent of GDP by 2025.Andrew Bayly: According to Moody's how have housing market risks eased?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Low interest rates are a reality of the post - global financial crisis environment worldwide and that has fed right through into the prices of all sorts of assets including housing. In this New Zealand is no different to any other country. However Moody's reports point out that the introduction of macro-prudential controls by the Government and then their inclusion by the Reserve Bank means that the housing market risk is now much lower than 5 years ago. This can be seen in Auckland house prices which are currently flat and falling. However there is no place for complacency and once again I would encourage homebuyers to factor in where interest rates could be in the future not just where they are today when making borrowing decisions.Andrew Bayly: What other factors contribute to New Zealand's Aaa rating and strong growth outlook?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: One of the key differences between New Zealand and some other advanced economies we compare ourselves with is the level of policy stability that we have enjoyed in this country over the last 8 years. You only have to look at the US the UK and Australia to see the negative impact that a changeable policy environment and a changeable political environment can have on the economy. I am sure New Zealanders will be assessing these matters in this country as we approach the upcoming election.Grant Robertson: Can he confirm the Statistics New Zealand reports that show that the export sector has had three consecutive quarterly falls in output of minus 1.1 percent minus 3.2 percent and minus 0.4 percent and how is he going with that export target?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I will not confirm that for the member because I find it always pays to look at his data quite carefully because he is prone to making some interesting observations. New Zealand exports by value have been growing over the last couple of years despite the dairy industry struggling for a 2- or 3-year period. Now with the dairy sector starting to grow again and prices recovering I fully expect that maintenance of growth and export values to continue.