King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:659;Page:8287] 
3.  
Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does he stand by all his statements on unemployment? 
Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes. 
Hon Annette King 
: Does he agree with the Minister for Social Development and Employment that the weekly unemployment benefit figures he has released at two press conferences recently are “unreliable highly volatile and potentially misleading to the public”; if so why is he pulling the wool over New Zealanders’ eyes by using shonky data? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: I find it a bit amusing that the only people who seem to be pleased when unemployment goes up are Labour members. I know that one or two of them are very focused on their employment at the moment— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The Prime Minister was asked a question and I do not believe that was a fair answer. 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: I was getting around to it. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I ask the Prime Minister to attack the question a little less in getting around to answering it. 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: OK. Yes in broad terms I agree with the Minister for Social Development and Employment but the points I made at my press conference yesterday were about the trend. The trend is that for 9 weeks in a row more people have come off the unemployment benefit than gone on it. That is something we should be celebrating especially given Treasury’s predictions at this time. 
Hon Annette King 
: When he was reusing “unreliable highly volatile and potentially misleading” figures yesterday was he aware that unemployment drops around this time every year and that this year we are experiencing a smaller than usual seasonal drop of just 2.6 percent when the average drop over the same period for the last 9 years was 5.2 percent? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: Yes but it is worth noting of the data yesterday— 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: Why is Bill smiling? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: Why should there be no road rage on my cycleway? I think it is a good idea. Treasury’s prediction for all of 2009 was that unemployment would rise so despite the assertions of Annette King that is not the advice we had from Treasury. 
Hon Annette King 
: Can he confirm that the latest figures released from the Ministry of Social Development show that the number of people on all benefits including the unemployment benefit has gone up by over 56000 in the year that he has been Prime Minister and that his use of “unreliable highly volatile and potentially misleading” figures is nothing more than a public relations stunt to play down the growing impact of unemployment on struggling New Zealanders? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: No I cannot confirm that. I can confirm that when Phil Goff and Annette King were Ministers of Employment the number of people on the unemployment benefit rose from 42000 to 149000. 
Hon Annette King 
: Will he now change his figure for the level that unemployment will reach in New Zealand by next year from the 7 percent he was predicting just a few weeks ago to 8 percent which is what the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research is now predicting or was his use of the 7 percent figure also “unreliable highly volatile and potentially misleading to the public”? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: I know this will come as an enormous disappointment to Annette King but when the Minister of Finance releases the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update next week the deputy leader of the Labour Party will find that in fact my predictions are spot on with Treasury’s and that the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research is wrong. 
Hon Annette King 
: I seek leave to table a letter dated 6 November from the Hon Paula Bennett to me in which she said the weekly data of unemployment benefits is volatile and could be potentially misleading to the public. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Hon Annette King 
: I seek leave to table a letter dated 17 August addressed to the Speaker of the House in which she says the weekly unemployment figures that are being used by the Prime Minister are unreliable and potentially misleading figures. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Hon Annette King 
: I seek leave— 
Hon John Carter 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Who is that letter from? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I am afraid it is a bit late to intercede at this point. 
Hon Annette King 
: The letter was to the Speaker of the House from Paula Bennett Minister for Social Development and Employment. 
I seek leave to table the latest benefit figures from the Ministry of Social Development which are out today showing that 56000 more people are on benefits since John Key became Prime Minister. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.