1. Government Financial Position—Crown Debt Business Confidence and Fiscal PlanHon STEVEN JOYCE (National) to the Minister of FinanceORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSGovernment Financial Position—Crown Debt Business Confidence and Fiscal Plan1. Hon STEVEN JOYCE (National) to the Minister of Finance: Can he confirm he plans to increase net core Crown debt from $59.5 billion as at 30 June 2017 to $67.6 billion by 2022; and can he confirm debt will not increase by any more than that?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): I can confirm that net core Crown debt was $59.48 billion at 30 June 2017 or 22.2 percent of GDP at the time. I can also confirm that the Government plans to reduce net core Crown debt as a percentage of GDP to 20 percent within five years of taking office. I cannot confirm the exact dollar figure for 2022 at this time as that is part of the normal Budget process but the figure in the member's question is our starting point.Hon Steven Joyce: Given that response is he concerned at the recorded level of business confidence in the ANZ business survey today which suggests that there is some confusion about the Government's position and its economic and fiscal plans and that perhaps he should move to clarify that quite quickly given those results?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I have been talking to members of the business community in recent days. I will do so again tomorrow and then when we come to release the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update and Budget Policy Statement we will be providing certainty for the business community and the rest of New Zealand about our plans.Hon Steven Joyce: Well in that case can I suggest he possibly stops talking to the business community given the results of that survey today?Mr SPEAKER: Is that a question or just a passing point? [Interruption] Well there was no question no question word.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: What members of the business community I think share with me is the enormity of the challenges that that member left me by not putting enough money aside for capital spending by failing to put money into the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and overseeing a housing crisis. They want to work with us to solve the challenges he left the Government.Hon Steven Joyce: Woohoo! Has Treasury now done any costings on any individual policies contained in the Labour Party's pre-election fiscal plan that shows the actual cost is higher than originally stated in that document?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Treasury has been working on items within the hundred day plan that appear inside the fiscal plan. We've already announced the costings around the student allowance and student loan payment increases which actually come in slightly under what was in the fiscal plan.Hon Steven Joyce: Just to clarify: is he saying then as at today Treasury has so far up to today given him no indication in writing that any policy in this pre-election fiscal plan of the Labour Party will likely cost more than was previously stated?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Treasury are working through the costings for the hundred day plan promises. They have not yet been finalised as the member knows. When the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update comes out he will be able to see the detailed results of that work.Hon Steven Joyce: Can he then confirm that there's a disagreement amongst Ministers about the design and implementation of the Government's winter energy payment as reported by his colleague Stuart Nash at a Wellington Chamber of Commerce breakfast speech this morning?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: No quite the contrary. Minister Nash myself Minister Sepuloni and Minister Martin have been working together collegially. And interestingly we've been told as we've been doing that work that it's great to see—finally—a group of Ministers who can work together.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Could I ask the finance Minister whether or not the projections and calculations that he and Treasury are working on are going to be an example of aspiration and wanton optimism or an example of aptitude exactitude and certainty when it comes to running the books?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: They will be all of those elements that Mr Peters has raised—in comparison I might say to the previous Government who decided that they would look like they were paying off debt by making sure they hadn't put enough aside for the capital spending that was required.