Robertson Grant: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Robertson Grant: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:665;Page:13063] 
12. 
GRANT ROBERTSON (Labour—Wellington Central) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: Does he stand by his statement “if you know which websites to go to you can get access to high quality advice”? 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment)  
on behalf of the  
Minister of Finance 
: Yes because under the open Government style of this administration huge amounts of high-quality public advice are placed on Government websites. 
Grant Robertson 
: How far has he taken this “government by Google” approach; for instance has he suggested to John Key that he do a google search for the words “economic” and “plan”—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I apologise to the member. I could not hear the member’s question. I ask the Government backbenchers to be a little more reasonable please. I ask Grant Robertson to repeat his question. 
Grant Robertson 
: How far has he taken this “government by Google” approach; for instance has he suggested to John Key that he do a google search for the words “economic” and “plan” in the absence of one from the Government? 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: There is lots of good material on the web albeit I notice that on the Labour Party website under “Labour policy” there is absolutely nothing. 
Grant Robertson 
: Can he confirm that the Government’s mining policy was the result of Gerry Brownlee googling the phrases “big hole in the ground” and “when to stop digging”? 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: The Minister for Economic Development’s plan for growing the mining and petroleum industry is of huge importance. If I look at the confidence in that sector I am confident that he will deliver extra economic activity and growth. 
Chris Tremain 
: What advice has the Minister of Finance received on the growth in public spending on policy advice in recent years and how does it compare with growth in the economy? 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: The advice is that Government spending on policy advice grew by more than 70 percent in the preceding 6 years whereas growth in the tradable sector over those same 6 years was zero and the overall economy grew in real terms by just 12 percent. This growth in Wellington bureaucracy is not sustainable and is the reason why the Minister of Finance the Minister for Regulatory Reform and the Minister of State Services have announced a review of that expenditure to ensure that we put the focus on front-line services. 
Grant Robertson 
: Can he confirm that Paula Bennett’s policy call for people to step up is based on a visit to the website of the movie  
Step Up 
 which is described as being “clichéd full of quite frankly terrible dialogue … and twists that you can see coming a mile off.”? 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: What I can confirm about the Minister for Social Development and Employment is that the very popular policies she has initiated to help get New Zealanders through the worst recession since the Great Depression are having a hugely positive impact. Any constituency MP would know that programmes such as Fresh Start and a large number of others are playing handsome dividends. 
Grant Robertson 
: Is he concerned that there is a risk that seeking policy advice on the Internet may lead to the Government losing its entire budget to the son of a deposed Nigerian prince? 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: I can assure the member opposite that we will not be following the absolutely blank page of policy advice that is on the New Zealand Labour Party’s website.