Parker David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Parker David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 22 August 2012. Volume:683;Page:4623. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
5. 
Hon DAVID PARKER (Labour) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: Has the New Zealand Superannuation Fund invested 40 percent of its assets in New Zealand; if not what was the percentage in 2008 and what is it now? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 The answer to the first question is no. It has not yet invested 40 percent of its assets in New Zealand. In 2008 and now the percentage depends a bit on how one measures it but if you exclude cash and include foreign exchange hedging the New Zealand investment has risen from $3.2 billion to $4.6 billion. On the same basis as a percentage of total investments it has increased from 26.6 percent to 28.6 percent. The Superannuation Fund has identified a number of New Zealand investment opportunities including I presume the Government share sale coming up but it will remain disciplined. 
Hon David Parker 
: Why is the proportion of the Superannuation Fund invested in New Zealand not much different from what it was in 2008 when a promise was made to lift that to 40 percent? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The member is misrepresenting the statements made at the time. If he wants the answer to that question he should go and ask the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. What I can tell the member is that the sale of Government shares in energy companies will assist in the process. 
Hon David Parker 
: Has he ever said the reason more of the Superannuation Fund was not invested in New Zealand was that the Government’s economic management had not created enough growth and investment opportunities? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: It is up to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund to make its own investment decisions. As the member will know that is how the legislation is structured. Government instruction to it would actually breach the law. 
Hon David Parker 
: Was he implementing his promise to invest 40 percent of the Superannuation Fund in New Zealand when he said on 13 August this year: “The Government is doing its bit by investing overseas through the Super Fund …”? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: That was in the context of a discussion about—[ 
Interruption 
]—well if the member listens. The discussion was about the fact that New Zealand has compared with most other developed countries low outward investment. One of the significant outward investors is the New Zealand Superannuation Fund which according to its statutory requirements diversifies its investment around the world and therefore has a relatively low proportion of the total savings invested in New Zealand. Most of it is in fact invested offshore and that probably is increasing New Zealand’s outward investment. 
Hon David Parker 
: Which of these promises has he failed to deliver on: investing 40 percent of the Superannuation Fund in New Zealand closing the wage gap with Australia reducing income inequality or reducing unemployment? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: We have done at least two or three of those and made excellent progress on the others.