2. Prime Minister Statements—Superannuation Fund Freshwater Management Youth Unemployment and HousingANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterPrime Minister Statements—Superannuation Fund Freshwater Management Youth Unemployment and Housing2. ANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that we have the best opportunity in decades to make positive sustainable choices for our country"; if so do those choices include not contributing to the Superannuation Fund increasing the acceptable level of E.coli in swimmable water writing off young people as "pretty damn hopeless" and treating a housing shortage as a "problem of success"?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH (Prime Minister): Yes we do have the best opportunities in decades. I disagree with the member's characterisations of my statements. The choices the Government is making for instance include improving our fresh water quality with a national framework the first time there has ever been one; tightening up the tax rules for multinational companies; rolling out ultra-fast broadband to another 150 towns; and opening brand new roads and schools around New Zealand which mean New Zealanders know we can do much more of that.Andrew Little: Why is he refusing to save for New Zealand's superannuation and instead kicking the can down the road for another 20 years?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: If the member means he wants to raise the age to 67 now then we are very happy to hear from him about that but in respect of the Superannuation Fund the member needs to understand that up until about now or another year or so the money that you would put into it would have to be borrowed and over time there is no particular gain from doing that which is why the Government has said that when debt levels are down to a reasonable level—within the next 2 or 3 years—we will start contributing to the Superannuation Fund again.Andrew Little: Why is he literally increasing the allowable level of crap in the water today while promising cleaner rivers in 20 years' time?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: The member of course has got that wrong. For the first time ever New Zealand now has a system of measuring its water quality and for the first time ever we have some goals that are going to require those who may be polluting the water to act in a way that is going to help improve the quality of our fresh water. I know the Labour Party is a bit disappointed that the Government has set out with this long-term goal to lift the quality of our fresh water but I can tell you communities all over New Zealand will be buying into it.Andrew Little: Why is he writing off young people as unemployable drug users when in fact 99.8 percent of them pass Work and Income drug tests just fine?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: I am not writing young people off at all but I am clearly much more in touch with what is happening with young people in New Zealand than that member is. I am so proud of our young people because more of them are achieving at school than ever more of them are getting tertiary qualifications than ever 10000 of them are apprentices in the construction industry—more than ever—and their prospects of jobs and opportunities in New Zealand are better than ever. Tim Macindoe: What reports has the Prime Minister seen of alternative approaches to managing the rising long-term costs of New Zealand superannuation?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: I have seen one report describing the rising cost of New Zealand superannuation as "terrifying". It went on to say "If there's one thing that scares the bejesus out of me it's the looming cost of superannuation. That's a significant chunk of the budget." That was just 2 years ago—said by Andrew Little. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! Now the interjection from my right-hand side is far too loud and will stop.Andrew Little: Why in the face of overwhelming indications of the rising cost of superannuation and the crisis that some were feeling about it has this Government in nearly 9 years done absolutely nothing to contribute to the future cost of superannuation by resuming contributions to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: As the Government outlined back in 2009 and 2010 we did not intend to borrow money to put into the Superannuation Fund. We did borrow significant amounts of money to maintain national superannuation and all family and welfare entitlements through a recession and we borrowed $17 billion to $18 billion to rebuild Christchurch. Now that the economy is in better shape now that it is growing and now that our debt is falling over the next 2 or 3 years we can see a path to resuming contributions to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. The member needs to understand that there is no free lunch with the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. If you have to put money into it you either borrow it or you are taking it from the taxes of the current generation some of whom are feeling the pressure on their incomes and want to be able to get ahead.Tim Macindoe: What reports has the Prime Minister seen expressing concern about the rising future cost of New Zealand superannuation?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: I have seen a whole range of reports. Here is one: "In 3 years superannuation will cost more than the entire education budget. … It will grow to 20 times the cost of unemployment benefits. We need to ask whether the universal age of super is set at the right place." That was the new deputy leader of the Labour Party Jacinda Ardern. Andrew Little: Moving on from Government flip-flops—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I issued what I thought was a reasonably warning to my right-hand side. It appears to have been ignored so far so I will not hesitate to identify somebody who continues to loudly interject and ask them to retire for the balance of question time.Andrew Little: Given his outlandish claim that 40 people desperate to rent a house—which happened to be in Wellington—in the middle of a housing crisis is a problem of success just what kind of a problem does he call Nick Smith?Hon Gerry Brownlee: A problem solver.Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: That is right. Nick Smith has dealt with some of the most complex problems of resource law and housing more successfully than any other politician here could have. But he is better at solving problems than the Leader of the Opposition who often gets his advice from the Dominion Post editorials. I invite him to read today's editorial which concludes that Labour leader Andrew Little is in a "hopeless position".Andrew Little: Is this not the truth: a Government that wanted a better future would be building it now by saving in the Superannuation Fund cleaning up our waterways backing our young people and building affordable homes for families to buy; and why does he refuse to do any of those?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: This is where we probably agree. The Government is doing all of those things and doing all of them very well with the exception of actually putting cash in the Superannuation Fund. At the moment we are planning to reduce debt first because that is prudent management of the Government's balance sheet. As soon as we have got it down to 20 percent of GDP we will start contributing to the Superannuation Fund."