3. Economy—Crown Debt Target and Government Financial PositionHon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) to the Minister of FinanceEconomy—Crown Debt Target and Government Financial Position3. Hon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) to the Minister of Finance: Is he committed to reducing core Crown net debt to 20 percent of GDP by 30 June 2022?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): This Government is committed to reducing core Crown net debt to 20 percent of GDP within five years of taking office as indicated in the Speech from the Throne. In the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) core Crown net debt is forecast to reach 19.3 percent of GDP by 30 June 2022.Hon Shane Jones: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I saw you use a two fingered gesture. Was that to subtract two questions from us and if so when did laughing at a joke become a parliamentary sin?SPEAKER: The answer to your question is yes. A further point is that I've made very clear that interjecting or making noises while people are asking questions results in a loss of supplementary questions or a gain for the side that wishes to have it run that way—which is the case as far as the National Party—and the member is exceptionally lucky that I do not compound that loss because of his approach to this point of order.Hon Amy Adams: If the Minister is committed to his debt-to-GDP target why did he rule out public-private partnerships that the previous Government had used successfully across many years for schools hospitals and prisons before claiming the fact that he can't pay for everything outright is a symptom of under-investment?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: We've been very clear over an extended period of time that we simply don't believe in the privatisation of health and education as the previous Government did.Hon Amy Adams: So to maintain his debt-to-GDP anchor why won't he tell New Zealand which of the Government's stated commitments and expectations he has raised around teachers' and nurses' pay will now have to be dialled back because he's now simply realised that he's already run out of money?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The member will just have to wait until 17 May but what I can be absolutely clear about is that this Government understands the importance of a balance between a prudent fiscal approach and making the investments we need to undo the social and infrastructure deficits left to us by the previous Government.Hon Amy Adams: Can he confirm that the additional Government revenue available to him for the current year alone tracked from the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update projections to the Crown accounts to the end of February is in fact an additional $700 million?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The member has been paying attention to the monthly statements from Treasury. The final forecasts are still to be done. What's important to remember though is it's not so much about how much extra revenue might be available to this Government; it's about what the last Government didn't do with the revenue that it had.Hon Amy Adams: Can he also confirm that the HYEFU shows additional tax revenue over the next four years from that which was predicted in the pre-election update is $6.6 billion more?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: There is indeed money available to be spent and this Government will invest that wisely in making sure that we invest in health and education and housing not the priorities of the previous Government which were tax cuts slanted towards the most wealthy.Hon Amy Adams: So if the Crown accounts in fact show the Government has inherited an even stronger economy than previously thought creating more revenue from the Government than was predicted pre-election aren't his claims of things being worse than he had allowed for just a realisation that his numbers were never going to stand up to the realities of being Government?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No. What it is is a realisation of the fact that the previous Government in an attempt to look good create artificial surpluses and put tax cuts that went to the wealthy under-invested in critical public services. This Government is going to make sure that we invest in the services New Zealanders need.