2. Question No. 2—Prime MinisterHon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 2—Prime Minister2. Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's actions and policies?Hon KELVIN DAVIS (Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti) on behalf of the Prime Minister: Yes in particular her recent announcement that we have concluded negotiations to upgrade our free-trade agreement with China. This ensures our upgraded free-trade agreement will remain the best that China has with any country.Hon Simon Bridges: How many more Māori are on jobseeker benefits since her Government took office?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: I don't know the answer to that question but what I can say is that the Māori unemployment rate is well down and it is the lowest it has been for a number of years. It was considerably higher under the previous Government.Hon Simon Bridges: Are there fewer or more—that is Māori on a jobseeker benefit—than when National was in Government?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: There are more people—more Māori in New Zealand. I don't know the answer around the particular question he's asked but the Māori unemployment rate—thanks to the great work that the Hon Willie Jackson has done—is considerably lower than when we became the Government.Hon Simon Bridges: Sorry—are there fewer or more Māori on the jobseeker benefit than when National was in Government?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: I refer the member to my previous answer.Hon Simon Bridges: Why is it that since her Government took office there have been more Māori on jobseeker benefit than Pākehā every single quarter?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: I'd have to check the veracity of the member's claims but I have to say that unemployment in New Zealand is at 3.9 percent. It is the lowest it has been in 11 years. We're doing more in terms of getting people into employment than that previous Government ever did in their nine years of neglect.Hon Simon Bridges: In light of that answer to that supplementary then why are there more Māori on the jobseeker benefit now than at the height of the global financial crisis?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Probably because a greater proportion of people are Māori—population growth.Hon Simon Bridges: So was the reason there are more Māori on the jobseekers benefit because there are more Māori?Hon Aupito William Sio: Get out of the gutter.SPEAKER: Order! Who interjected? The member will leave the House until the end of question time.Hon Aupito William Sio withdrew from the Chamber. SPEAKER: Right. Ask the question again.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she accept that at the height of the global financial crisis (GFC) Māori made up 31 percent of those on the jobseeker benefit; and does she further accept that that percentage is now 40 percent and climbing?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: I'd really have to check the veracity of the member's claims.Hon Simon Bridges: Why as a percentage of the population are there more Māori on the job seeker benefit now than at the height of the GFC?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: I refer the member to my previous answer. I'd really have to check the veracity of his claims because we know on this side of the House that they say a heck of a lot of things; when we check them up they're not actually all that accurate.Hon Simon Bridges: Is she aware that the Ministry of Social Development's annual report makes clear that only 20 percent of engagement with clients in June 2019 had an employment-focused focus" the lowest proportion since 2014?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Again the unemployment rate is at 3.9 percent. It is the lowest it has been in over 11 years. That side of the House when they were in Government basically gave up on trying to get people into jobs. Within one year the Hon Willie Jackson has worked miracles that that party over there had no idea of how to resolve.Hon Simon Bridges: Has the Government given up on getting New Zealanders—and on the numbers especially Māori—into work?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Kāo.David Seymour: Does the Prime Minister stand by her Government's policy of prohibiting semi-automatic firearms since only 32000 have been bought back over the last four months?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Yes that's a very good result. SPEAKER: Order! Just before the member asks his next question I'm just going to ask him to tidy himself up slightly. Thank you.David Seymour: Thank you Mr Speaker—very helpful. When will the Government release its response to the Tomorrow's Schools independent working group? Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Within the next few weeks."