Muller Todd: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMuller Todd: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 25 June 2015. Volume:706;Page:4783. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]2.TODD MULLER (National—Bay of Plenty) to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received showing progress toward building growth across a range of sectors in the New Zealand economy?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Associate Minister of Finance) on behalf of theMinister of Finance: Statistics New Zealand’s latest GDP data release confirmed that the economy is continuing to perform well and grew 2.6 percent in the year to March 2015. A reduction in dairy production contributed to quarterly growth of 0.2 percent coming in at the lower end of market expectations. Dairy is important but it is important to remember that dairy exports make up only one-fifth of our total exports and are around 5 percent of the economy. The reality is that a large number of areas across the economy are growing—and growing strongly. For example the information and communications technology software services sector has been growing at a rate of 9 percent per annum since 2008 and now contributes 1.7 percent of GDP. Information and communications technology exports have grown at 14 percent per year over the past 6 years to exceed $930 million in 2014.Todd Muller: What other sectors of the economy have shown strong growth?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Many of them actually. The Government’s programme of microeconomic reforms has helped to make it easier for New Zealand industries to grow. To take one example the wine industry now exports $1.37 billion up 8.2 percent in the past year. The kiwifruit industry has recovered well from Psa and it is booming at this point. High-tech manufacturing has grown from a $139 million industry 20 years ago to a $1.4 billion one in 2012. There is tourism which is now worth 7 percent of GDP. In the last year the accommodation industry saw its largest annual growth at 8 percent since September 1995. The Government’s economic reform programme and fiscal prudence is helping to keep interest rates lower and is creating the conditions in which businesses are more confident of investing and hiring more people.Todd Muller: How is this economic growth translating into more jobs for New Zealand families?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The fundamentals for the economy remain sound. The outlook over the next 3 to 4 years is for moderate sustained growth of around 3 percent helping Kiwi families to get ahead. In Budget 2011 Treasury forecast that there would be 171000 additional new jobs created by June of this year. As at March of this year 194000 jobs had been created over that period so we are currently around 23000 ahead of that forecast with the current quarter to finish. A further 150000 jobs are expected to be added to the economy by mid-2019.Todd Muller: How do forecasts for higher incomes compare with expected cost of living increases?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Average annual wages have increased by $5700 in the past 4 years. Treasury forecasts that they will rise by a further $7000 to around $63000 by mid-2019. If you take the 8-year period as a whole the average wage is expected to rise by almost $13000 or over 25 percent compared with inflation of around 15 percent over that same period. It is very important to achieve those numbers in order to stay on course and to continue to attract new investment around the country to build more and higher paying jobs and to really lift our long-term economic performance.Dr David Clark: When will the Minister accept that he is failing to achieve his own target of growing exports as a percentage of GDP to 40 percent that currently it has dropped to 27 percent and is projected to drop lower and that if he does not change his policy he will never achieve his goal?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I am pretty sure that the member has heard before that that is a target set for 2025. If he comes back as an Opposition spokesperson for economic development in 2025 then he will be able to ask that question again. But to reassure the member in 2008 in nominal dollar terms our exports of total goods and services were $54.645 billion and this last year to March the figure was $67.49 billion—an increase of 24 percent despite some of the highest US dollar and Australian dollar exchange rates.Dr David Clark: You’re going backwardsHon STEVEN JOYCE: It is a 24 percent increase and the only definition of going backwards is if you turn around and put yourself upside down like Mr Clark does.