1. Question No. 1—FinanceDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central) to the Minister of FinanceORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Finance1. Dr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour—Christchurch Central) to the Minister of Finance: Ni hao Mr Speaker. What reports has he received on the resilience of the New Zealand economy to the impacts of COVID-19?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): The Government's science and health - led approach has been reflected in the latest employment figures. Statistics New Zealand reported that seasonally adjusted filled jobs grew 0.7 percent in August compared with a month earlier. The number of jobs is now 3.9 percent above the same time last year. Westpac bank commented That strength came despite the country being under a COVID-19 lockdown for the last two weeks of the month". As we've seen on past occasions the wage subsidy scheme plays an important role in keeping workers attached to their jobs with the adjustment more likely occurring through reduction in hours worked. We know that the impact of COVID-19 has been uneven and we will continue to work with affected sectors to support them in these uncertain times.Dr Duncan Webb: What other reports has he seen on the resilience in the jobs market?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The Government's plan to secure our recovery has been reflected in New Zealanders' perceptions of the jobs market. Last week the quarterly Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Index rose 1.8 points to 105.7 in September as people felt optimistic about their job prospects despite the lockdown. Confidence was mixed across the country though with a solid gain in Auckland and Northland and some declines in more tourism-heavy regions such as Nelson Marlborough and the West Coast. Perceptions of current job opportunities rose strongly with the balance of households now seeing jobs as plentiful. Westpac notes that this survey question has tended to be a useful leading indicator of unemployment and supports its view that unemployment will actually drop below 4 percent in the coming quarters.Dr Duncan Webb: What reports has he seen on the Government's debt-servicing costs as a result of COVID-19?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Well I am aware of an alarmist and erroneous report that we are carrying too much debt in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and that our debt-servicing costs are set to overwhelm the Budget. I would like to reassure the House and particularly members on the other side that this is not the case. Under this Government our net debt is well below what was forecast when COVID struck last year and indeed below many of the countries we compare ourselves with in the OECD. Under the careful stewardship of this Government core Crown finance costs have fallen as a percentage of GDP from 1.5 percent on average between 2011 and 2017 to 1 percent from 2018 to 2021 and in fact the Treasury forecast that this would fall even further over the next four years. Our debt-servicing costs are set to remain lower than countries like Canada the UK and Australia.Hon Michael Woodhouse: What comfort will that data on jobs be for the 8067 people who have gone on to jobseeker support since 18 August—the last lockdown—and does he agree that the longer the lockdown goes on the greater the number of jobs lost will be?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The comfort that those people who have lost their jobs can take is that the last time New Zealand went through a lockdown period the economy rebounded quickly and decisively and more people have gone into work and we've ended up with unemployment at 4 percent—one of the lowest rates in the OECD. It is always difficult for people when they lose their jobs but this Government will support them back into work."