Clark David: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers Questions to MembersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeClark David: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members[Sitting date: 17 June 2015. Volume:706;Page:4477. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]4.Dr DAVID CLARK (Labour—Dunedin North) to the Minister for Economic Development: Does the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment’s expenditure of $140747.66 on a public information screen show it is achieving one of its principal goals of realising efficiency gains over time?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Economic Development): I am disappointed with the cost ofboth the public information screen and the outside sign and as I have said publicly I have spoken to the chief executive of the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment and made clear my disappointment. He has accepted that those two items in their relocation should have cost less and in future large building projects will have additional oversight. It is important that these two items are seen in the context of savings of $40 million over 20 years by being located in a single head office that come from a 31 percent reduction in office space. It is also important to note that the overall cost of that development came in at $2 million under budget.Dr David Clark: Does spending $74000 on a reception desk show good judgment?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The member could run through a number of things that he and I could both have an opinion on but actually overall the project has saved very significant sums of money for taxpayers—$40 million over 20 years—and it also came in under budget.Dr David Clark: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That was a very direct and straightforward question and it was not answered or addressed.Mr SPEAKER: In my opinion in listening carefully to the answer from what I could hear it was addressed. It would help if the member could ask his own colleagues to be a little quieter and then he might well have heard the answer more clearly as well. Does the member have a further supplementary question?Dr David Clark: I did hear the answer Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: Then he will agree that it was addressed.Dr David Clark: Can he confirm that his name appears on the ministerial plaque described in the release documents as requiring an additional $1696 spending variation in the contract; if so is he the Minister responsible to this House for the expenditure referred to in my questions today?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: It could be helpful to the member to point out that he is failing to make the distinction between policy-related issues which it is right and proper that the Minister gets involved in and operational issues which are the responsibility of the chief executive. We have seen examples in this House of members failing to observe the differences that are appropriate in what could be known as the “Trevor Mallard - Erin Leigh effect”. If Ministers start trying to run the departments for the chief executives that generally does not work out well.Dr David Clark: It will be an epitaph not a plaque. Does spending taxpayer money on the installation of hair straighteners show good judgment—Hon Steven Joyce: Well not for you.Dr David Clark: —well not for you or me—if so is the forward rental contract flexible enough to allow the Government installation of hair curlers as and when Wellington’s fashions change?Mr SPEAKER: In so far as there is ministerial responsibility in this particular case.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I would suggest to the member that in his case and mine hair straighteners are no use paid for by anybody frankly.