7. Question No. 7—FinanceHon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 7—Finance7. Hon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of the Government's statements policies and actions in relation to the economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): That is an excellent question which the member asks me most days. Each day I think seriously about my answer to it and today with unemployment at a 10-year low of 3.9 percent I can say that the answer is yes.Hon Amy Adams: What advice has the Minister received on the effect that labour market capacity constraints are likely to have on the New Zealand economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: We received a lot of advice both formal and informal about the importance of getting skilled staff and making sure that there are people available to fill job vacancies. And just today I received advice about the increased labour force participation rate at 71.1 percent the increased employment rate at 68.3 percent the decreased unemployment rate at 3.9 percent and the decrease in the underutilisation rate at 11.3 percent—all important information.Hon Amy Adams: Does the Minister accept that our current flexible employment system has been a critical factor in New Zealand's strong employment data?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I think it's important that we have a balance in our employment relations system to support the excellent work that is going on in businesses around the country and it is that balance the Government is seeking to achieve.Hon Amy Adams: Why is this Government looking to change that strong flexible employment system that has led to today's low unemployment numbers?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The reason we're looking to change that is because we believe in fairness.Hon Amy Adams: So with unemployment having fallen how does this Government explain there being 9000 more people on jobseeker benefits over the past year—an increase not only in numbers but also in proportion of our working-age population?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Those are matters that the Minister for Social Development is best placed to answer but I thank the member for her continuing questions today about New Zealand's decade record low unemployment rate.Rt Hon Winston Peters: So close to the famous race in Australasia can he confirm the economic and social quality of a surplus of $5.5 billion best growth in two years and higher than the average of the last nine years lowest unemployment in a decade and some very favourable polling?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I can confirm—SPEAKER: Well as long as the polling has to do with economic polling.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Absolutely. I can confirm that New Zealanders believe the country is going in the right direction under this Government and the other three elements of the trifecta are paying handsomely.Hon James Shaw: Why is the Minister focusing so much on real data about the real economy and real people rather than on the ANZ business confidence survey?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: It is tempting to look at business sentiment surveys but on this side of the House we'll continue to focus on real data such as a surplus of $5.5 billion such as an unemployment rate of 3.9 percent and such as a growth rate of nearly 3 percent.