7. Question No. 7—Small BusinessANDREW BAYLY (National—Port Waikato) to the Minister for Small BusinessQuestion No. 7—Small Business7. ANDREW BAYLY (National—Port Waikato) to the Minister for Small Business: What specific new initiatives if any in Budget 2021 reduce costs on small businesses or directly assist them so that they expand to grow the New Zealand economy?Hon STUART NASH (Minister for Small Business): Fa'afetai Mr Speaker. Budget 2021's biggest focus was securing recovery while continuing to keep people safe. Specifically in my small business portfolio Budget 2021 delivered $44 million over two years to provide business training courses for 60000 small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and digital advisory services to 30000 SMEs as part of the Digital Boost programme. Also $9 million per year for Business Connect which will help deliver efficiency cut costs of compliance and enhance the upgrade of digital technologies. But there was so much more for small businesses in this Budget. If you're a small business operating in the infrastructure area there was $57.3 billion over the next four years. If someone operates as a small business operating in the tourism sector there was $200 million to help support recover and reset the industry. If you're a small-business owner making healthy lunches for children there is $527 million to reduce food insecurity and supporting 200 jobs—SPEAKER: Order! Thank you.Andrew Bayly: Has he asked for advice on whether the $44 million digital business action plan will lead to a higher or lower small-business growth than the $1.2 billion Digital Economy Strategy announced in the Australian Budget 2021?Hon STUART NASH: I haven't had a look at the Australian Budget but what I do know according to the OECD which I liaise with quite a lot in small-business digitisation is that we are leading the world in terms of driving the digital uptake by small businesses. In fact there was a McKinsey report released—an American consultancy—that said that they saw about five years' worth of digitalisation compressed into eight weeks. We are very passionate about driving the uptake of digitisation for our small businesses because we know this will make a huge difference in their profitability and efficiency.Andrew Bayly: Will the new initiatives in Budget 2021 mean that small-business costs are higher or lower than prior to the increases in the minimum wage increased sick leave and an increase in electricity prices?Hon STUART NASH: I'd agree with the Minister of Finance when he said and I quote Adding a few cents to the cost of a cup of coffee is a price worth paying to ensure workers get the money [that] they need to live." I would say what we have done over the last 3½ years but certainly reinforced in this Budget is that we are backing small businesses to drive their own future by ensuring that they can become digital experts and increase efficiency and drop costs. It's fantastic.Andrew Bayly: Did Budget 2021 include any increased tax relief for small businesses to invest in new plant and equipment along the lines of Australia's $17.9 billion tax break—SPEAKER: Order! Order! Again the same comment as I made earlier to the Green member—when the member's finished his question he should stop.Hon STUART NASH: No.Andrew Bayly: Does he share the concern of media commentator Luke Malpass who said in his post-Budget commentary that New Zealand small businesses are at risk due to a brain drain to Australia and what initiatives were included in Budget 2021 to address this? Hon STUART NASH: No I don't.Chris Bishop: Point of order Mr Speaker. I wanted to wait until the end of my colleague's question but twice today you have I would argue pre-emptively cut off both Mr Menéndez March's question and also Mr Bayly's question and I'm just not quite sure why. It seems to me that both questions had maybe a little bit of context at the end of the questions and it's always been in order for questions to have a bit of context in the supplementary. Is it now the case that questions must be one clause only and end with some sort of intonation at the end?SPEAKER: No. No the rules have always been the same. Members are allowed to ask two legs of which one can be answered but both legs must be questions not throwaway comments."