4. Question No. 4—FinanceHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 4—Finance4. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of Finance: How many of the 452425 people receiving the wage subsidy extension does he expect will become unemployed when the wage subsidy expires and what is the Government's plan if the majority of those New Zealanders lose their jobs?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): In Budget 2020 the wage subsidy was extended to give businesses certainty and time to make decisions and plan for the future as the economic recovery got under way. Decisions about the 470391 jobs currently covered by the wage subsidy extension when the scheme expires are for each individual business to make not the Government. Treasury forecasts net employment and unemployment levels across the economy not individual projections for various schemes. At the Budget Treasury forecast employment to be 2.463 million in the June quarter 2.477 million in the September quarter and 2.523 million in the December quarter. For the number of people classified as unemployed Treasury forecast 222000 people in the June quarter 268000 people in the September quarter and 246000 people in the December quarter.In response to the second part of the question I reject the premise of it but regardless our post-COVID economic plan focuses on five key priorities: investing in our people; creating jobs and improving productivity; preparing for the future through digital transformation decarbonisation and research and development; supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs; and positioning New Zealand globally as a place to trade with and invest in and hopefully eventually visit again. If the member likes the sound of all of that he has the opportunity to back our recovery and rebuild by voting for that plan when the Budget 2020 legislation is debated in Parliament this evening.Hon Paul Goldsmith: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I'm just not quite sure how a Minister can reject the premise of a question when the question is if the majority"—there's no premise if you're saying "if the majority of those people lose their jobs".SPEAKER: Well he's rejecting the possibility of that occurring. He can do it quite easily.Hon Paul Goldsmith: How was he so sure when he told Q+A on Sunday that the vast bulk of those Kiwis on the wage subsidy would be keeping employed?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Well as I've just answered I gave Treasury's projections for what they expect to happen. The member will be able to work out how many people are out of work at the moment based on the statistics that are released every week. If you take that away from the number that Treasury projected you'll see that the vast bulk of people who are currently on the scheme are expected to be able to stay in work.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Is he saying that he's not receiving weekly advice from Treasury as to exactly what's happening on the ground right now in terms of an extraordinary situation where hundreds of thousands of Kiwis—SPEAKER: Order! Order! Come to a question please.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Well thank you Mr Speaker. I've heard some very long questions from other members of the House that you haven't stopped.SPEAKER: All right. The member will resume his seat."