2. Economy—ReportsTODD MULLER (National—Bay of Plenty) to the Minister of FinanceEconomy—Reports2. TODD MULLER (National—Bay of Plenty) to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on growth in the New Zealand economy?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister of Finance): This morning Statistics New Zealand released the economic growth figures for the December quarter and for the 2016 calendar year. Growth for the quarter was 0.4 percent and the average growth for the year was 3.1 percent and that figure is encouraging and demonstrates the benefits of the Government's focus on developing a strong open economy so that hard-working families can get ahead. Although growth has softened in this latest quarter GDP per capita has risen 0.9 percent over the last year. This continuing steady trend of growth is consistently delivering more prosperity for New Zealanders in relation to other developed countries. Todd Muller: How many quarters of continuous growth has New Zealand now recorded?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Today's figures add to the lengthening story of good growth experienced by New Zealand since the global financial crisis. We have now had continuous growth for the last 15 quarters and in fact New Zealand has had only one quarter of negative growth during the last 6 years. This week's statistics on economic growth and also our external account figures announced yesterday show the benefit of the Government's sensible and consistent economic management.Todd Muller: What contributions are the construction and tourism sectors making to New Zealand's continuous economic growth?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Today's growth figures highlight the impressive growth in the construction sector in the last year. Construction activity grew 1.8 percent in the quarter and 10.5 percent over the calendar year. That is the fastest rate of growth in construction since 2004 which is 12 years ago. In addition the overall growth in spending in New Zealand was boosted by strong tourism spending which was up 5.1 percent in the last quarter. The success of the services industries and the construction sector makes up for the softening across our primary sectors and their associated manufacturing. That demonstrates the increasing diversification of the New Zealand economy.Fletcher Tabuteau: Why then did the Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler agree with Mr Peters last December that the economy is only treading water once mass immigration is subtracted and If where you are heading is to say 'Look in terms of GDP growth it's a lot less impressive' that's indeed correct."?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I think we would have to have a good look at the quotations attributed last December to Mr Peters and the Reserve Bank Governor. But actually the Reserve Bank's view of New Zealand's growth has been that it is strong and it will continue to be so over the next 2 years. They name our biggest risk as what is happening in the world economy outside of New Zealand and that is a very rare thing. In fact even with the long experience of Mr Peters I do not think he has seen a situation where the New Zealand domestic economy has been so strong relative to the world economy.Todd Muller: What reaction does he expect from commentators interested in the details of New Zealand's growth?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I find that different commentators have different measures they are interested in and indeed in different quarters. One commentator in particular has historically been very interested in real gross national disposable income. Well I have good news for Mr Robertson: real gross national disposable income increased 2.8 percent in the December quarter and was up 4.1 percent for the year. So I look forward to him highlighting his concerns in that regard.Grant Robertson: Supplementary—Hon Gerry Brownlee: Oh there is a question.Grant Robertson: There are many questions Gerry. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! Mr Brownlee; thank you.Grant Robertson: Is it correct that eight of the 15 sectors measured by Statistics New Zealand for GDP had falls in the last quarter?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Yes it is. It showed as I said at the outset of the question that we have seen a softening of growth in that quarter but actually over the year we have grown faster than the UK faster than Europe faster than Japan faster than the US faster than Australia and faster than Canada which I think is probably a good thing from New Zealand's perspective.David Seymour: Supplementary—[Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order!David Seymour: You might like this one.Carmel Sepuloni: I wouldn't bet on it.David Seymour: You never know. What is the level of private debt within the New Zealand economy and how does that compare with New Zealand's public debt?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I do not have those figures exactly to hand for the member but I would be more than happy to supply them to him. If he would like to give me a ring afterwards I will happily provide them in relation to those numbers. Given that this is a question on GDP growth perhaps we will deal with debt next time.Fletcher Tabuteau: If the Minister told Mr Peters just yesterday "Actually the last time they were quite good. I think GDP per capita was over 1 percent" is it still "quite good" given that GDP fell 0.2 percent this quarter which now represents a full half percent deterioration?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Yes I stand by my comments. GDP per capita growth for the year is 0.9 percent just under 1 percent. I think the member has got to be careful not to look at those quarterly numbers too much because you deal with fairly minor changes quarter by quarter. It is always a good idea to focus on the annual numbers and that is what I tend to do."