Muller Todd: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMuller Todd: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 14 April 2016. Volume:713;Page:10594. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]3.TODD MULLER (National—Bay of Plenty) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement that one of the Government’s main priorities is “to build a more productive and competitive economy”; if so what recent announcements has the Government made that will save businesses time and reduce costs?Mr SPEAKER: Order! I just want to deal with another matter. If I continue to hear those interjections from Ron Mark I will be asking him to leave.Ron Mark: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Can you tell us how long the appropriate questions—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! If it is a primary question it will be inevitably—or often—longer than is allowed for supplementary questions. I have already told the member on one occasion that I am not going to put a limit on them but when questions go on for too long either I will ask them to come to a conclusion or if the member would prefer a stronger action I can just rule them out of order immediately.Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance): Yes and yesterday the Prime Minister announced the Budget 2016 business tax package which includes a new pay-as-you-go option for provisional tax. It is part of a wider transformation programme of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) which will provide it with completely new technology and make it easier to deal with. About 30 to 40 percent of businesses currently use cloud-based accounting software and this is expected to grow to 90 percent in the next 10 years. The changes mean small businesses will be able to pay provisional tax through their accounting software on a pay-as-you-go basis rather than through a separate process.Todd Muller: How else will the tax package support small businesses around New Zealand including the 22000 small-business owners and sole traders of the western Bay of Plenty?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Because of that member’s and other members’ advocacy on behalf of the small businesses in their electorates the Government has moved to reduce a number of the irritant factors around the payment of tax by business owners who are generally pretty busy trying to make a living. These measures include eliminating use-of-money interest for most taxpayers increasing flexibility on the withholding rates for contractors which have not been changed in about 30 years and reduced penalties for new debt. In total the changes will reduce IRD tax on businesses by $180 million over the next 4 years.Ron Mark: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I have just received a phone call—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! The fact that the member has received a phone call is not a point of order but if the member wants to raise a point of order I am happy to hear it and I want to hear it in silence; I just want to warn my right-hand side.Ron Mark: The stand-in Minister of Defence in answering questions today called me in his answers a “cook”. Now if I am a cook he is a lying prat and I want him either to withdraw—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! In my mind the member is making a significant effort to create disordertoday but if the Minister didsay that at some stage of his answer then the Minister will stand and withdraw that comment and apologise.Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: I withdraw and apologise for calling Mr Mark a “cook”—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! I am now going to ask the Minister to stand and do it in accordance with the Standing Orders.Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: I withdraw and apologise.Mr SPEAKER: Thank you.Tracey Martin: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: I hope it is a fresh point of order Tracey Martin. [Interruption] Order! It is a point of order. I must hear it and it must be heard in silence.Tracey Martin: I am going to ask you to go and reflect—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I cannot hear the member because of interjections coming from over here. Start again.Tracey Martin: I am going to ask you to go and reflect. I am going to ask you to go—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Can I just have the point of order.Tracey Martin: This is continual from this particular Minister. Insults are made there are suggestions that Opposition members are liars and this Minister—Mr SPEAKER: Order! That is not what was said. [Interruption] The member will resume her seat if she wants to stay. I have dealt with the matter. It does not need to be relitigated continually by members from the New Zealand First Party.Todd Muller: What other steps is the—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I did detect certainly a very strong interjection from my left there. The member knows whom I am talking about. If that continues she will be leaving.Ron Mark: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: I will hear it but if it is just continuing to create trouble I will be asking you to leave.Ron Mark: Well I am not going to drag it out any longer. From the New Zealand First side we say that your behaviour today has been totally inappropriate and we have had enough of it.Mr SPEAKER: Well then that member can certainly leave; if the others want to volunteer that is their business. Now we return to supplementary—[Interruption] Order!Todd Muller: My supplementary question to the Minister of Finance—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! Would Mr O’Rourke please go if he is going. Would you please leave so we can get back to it if the member wishes to leave; he does not have to. I am trying to get back to question time. [Interruption] Good. [Interruption] Right supplementary question Todd Muller.Todd Muller: What other steps is the Government taking to support a more productive and competitive economy particularly in terms of increasing exporters’ access to overseas markets?Hon BILL ENGLISH: The future of small businesses is in many parts of New Zealand tied to the success of our export industries. The Government has worked to increase the number of new markets available to our exporters including free-trade agreements with Malaysia Hong Kong ASEAN and Korea. We are currently negotiating a free-trade agreement upgrade with China which has been a very successful free-trade agreement signed by the last Government but it needs to be upgraded and improved. Of course we have signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership opening access to two of the world’s three largest economies.Todd Muller: How is the Government’s focus on supporting a more productive and competitive economy translating into more jobs and higher wages for New Zealand families?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Over the last 3 years there have been 175000 more jobs and it is expected that there will be a further net gain of 173000 by 2020 with the unemployment rate around 5.5 percent. At the same time the average annual wage has up to now increased by 24 percent since 2009 compared with inflation of just 11 percent. We would expect these trends to continue.