3. Business Confidence—Actions and ReportsHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister for Economic DevelopmentBusiness Confidence—Actions and ReportsHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National): I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The question that I had down has been chopped in half and the section how does it compare with the level of June 2017?" taken out. I just wonder what Speaker's ruling was the basis—SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! The question that the member has is the question that I approved and it actually involved no change from the time that it left the Clerk's Office. So the member can't appeal now to have something changed back when I had not been involved in any discussion around the question. If the member doesn't want to ask it in its current form that's his call.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The point here is that there were three questions allowed by the Clerk's Office asked by Government members that made similarly backward-looking recommendations yet when we get something that is as simple as the question being asked by Mr Goldsmith there is quite a kerfuffle about the way in which—in fact requiring the people lodging the question to take that part of it out. If the Government is able to look retrospectively at things—we've heard plenty of that today from Mr Robertson in the last series of questions—then why can't the Opposition?SPEAKER: All members can ask questions which are Minister's responsibilities which look back where they are the Minister's responsibilities. If this question had something about the business confidence in a period that was pre-Government that has no responsibility. If it was a report from a department on something that was pre-change then there would be responsibility for that report. It is a question of the source and as the member well knows the ANZ bank is not an agency of the Government.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Just speaking to that point of order could I just—SPEAKER: No I have ruled on it and it's not going to change. The member can either ask the question or he can sit down.3. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister for Economic Development: What level is business confidence now according to the latest ANZ Business Outlook survey?Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister for Economic Development): The level of business confidence now is not shown in the latest ANZ Business Outlook survey.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he accept that business confidence levels have fallen in the last eight months?Hon DAVID PARKER: What I know is that according to—[Interruption]SPEAKER: Order! That's too much. This supplementary answer will be heard in silence and it will be short.Hon DAVID PARKER: I have two points to make. The first is from Interest.co.nz and I quote: "the ANZ business confidence survey has only 0.2 correlation with GDP growth based on leading by three quarters (… akin to a 20% [pass] mark)" and a comment from the ANZ's former chief economist Cameron Bagrie who recently said of these surveys "Those surveys are very poor barometers; you should throw them out."Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does the Minister accept that investment decisions about creating new businesses hiring new staff and buying new equipment are affected by falling levels of business confidence?Hon DAVID PARKER: No. I know that the member thinks it's to his political advantage to talk the economy down but there's far too much good news for that. Investment intentions are more determined by factors like rising profits in the kiwifruit sector increasing dairy payouts significant trade negotiations with the EU and a Budget showing lowering unemployment increasing growth increasing surpluses and rising wages.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he accept that businesses collectively have genuine concerns about the direction of travel indicated by the Government?Hon DAVID PARKER: I meet regularly with businesses and one of the points businesses have made to me is that they are delighted that there is a $1 billion effective tax cut for businesses who invest in research and development over the next four years—one of the things that they know will arrest the decline in exports that occurred under the trickle-down theory of the last Government.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he think his colleague Shane Jones' suggestion that firms struggling to find workers should simply invest in automation is the sort of thing that's driving down business confidence?Hon DAVID PARKER: I'm very supportive of bringing forward technologies that improve productivity export competitiveness and indeed are business centres in their own right. One of the areas that I and the Minister for Regional Economic Development agree the Provincial Growth Fund should be investing in is bringing forward on-farm and horticultural robotics to improve the profitability of this economy. I would note there would be more jobs per hectare than on a dairy farm.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Is he aware that not every business can go down to Mitre 10 and buy in equipment to automate their production—such as kiwifruit growers?Hon DAVID PARKER: Yes I am and I'm also aware that you can't yet get a robot to ask a decent primary question.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he think his colleague Iain Lees-Galloway's suggestion that firms worried about increased labour costs are just demonstrating poor resilience is the sort of thing that's driving down business confidence? Hon DAVID PARKER: I beg your pardon Mr Speaker. I didn't hear that question. Could I ask for it to be repeated?SPEAKER: Well it's sort of counting—you might as well have it.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he think his colleague Iain Lees-Galloway's suggestion that firms worried about increased labour costs are demonstrating poor resilience—is that the sort of thing that's driving down business confidence? Hon DAVID PARKER: I believe that increasing labour productivity and increasing wages that follow increases in labour productivity is one of the primary ambitions of a Labour Government and it will make us a wealthier more prosperous cleaner and fairer society."