Cosgrove Clayton: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Cosgrove Clayton: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:618;Page:14295] 
1. CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: What recent reports has he received on the state of the New Zealand economy? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 The latest international  
Economic Freedom Report  
ranked New Zealand the third-freest economy in the world equal with Switzerland Britain and the United States and behind only Hong Kong and Singapore. The ACT party recently described New Zealand’s economic performance as “truly outstanding” which I think is a fair reflection of how things are going. 
Clayton Cosgrove 
: What risks if any are there to New Zealand’s growth prospects? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The biggest economic risks in the short term are continuing volatility around oil prices and the stronger than expected slow-down in migration. The biggest risk in the medium term is the possibility of an irresponsible fiscal stance being adopted by any future Government and I note that certainly some people are promising simultaneously to cut taxes and substantially increase spending on defence and law and order. I am sure a previous Reserve Bank governor would have condemned such approaches by a major party. 
Dr Don Brash 
: Did the Minister get any reports at all from his official economic advisers in Treasury that the Holidays Act or the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill would improve the outlook for the economy or did they like the recent OECD report on the New Zealand economy warn of the dangers of reregulating the labour market? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: There have been some complaints around the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill. They come from the very same people who told us that the Employment Relations Act would lead to not a single new job being created in New Zealand. Unemployment is now down to just over 4 percent—not counting of course those on the Opposition benches who are underemployed. 
Dr Don Brash 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister did not answer the question I asked at all. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: While a point of order is being heard I will hear it in silence. That is the only warning today. Please restate the point of order. 
Dr Don Brash 
: I asked whether the Minister had had any reports from his own economic advisers that those two pieces of legislation would improve the outlook for the New Zealand economy or whether they instead warned like the OECD report on the New Zealand economy that that legislation would damage the outlook for the New Zealand economy. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member should expand a little. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: As I recollect the official advice it was not likely to make very much difference to the economy at all. Given the fact that nearly all Treasury staff are on 4 weeks’ holiday already I am sure that is true. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Is it correct that for example Ireland which has a similar population to New Zealand exports five times more than New Zealand or that Singapore exports more than six times per capita than our population; is that not profound evidence of a significant failure in the economic direction this country has taken in the last 20 years? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: It is also true that Ireland imports nearly five times as much as New Zealand. That is the nature of the Irish economy. The United States exports significantly less than New Zealand as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP). I would be very happy if our GDP per capita figures were the same as theirs. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Will the Minister give us details of the comparative spending power of for example every Singaporean and Irish person as opposed—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: There will be no comments from anyone other than a member of Parliament or that person will be removed. I ask the member to restate his question. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I ask the Minister to give us the comparative figures in terms of spending power of every Singaporean and every Irish person as opposed to every New Zealander; again is that comparison not compelling evidence of our economic failure? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The GDP per capita in both Ireland and Singapore is now above New Zealand’s. This can scarcely be pointed to as a success for a pure free-market approach. Singapore has only recently taken its first tentative steps to deregulating the importation of chewing gum for example.