9. Question No. 9—Prime MinisterDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 9—Prime Minister9. DAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her Government's statements and policies?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Deputy Prime Minister) on behalf of the Prime Minister: Yes in particular this Government's efforts to prevent hundreds and thousands of New Zealanders from experiencing the long-term impacts of job loss and business closure through measures like the wage subsidy. Our plan laid a platform for an economy to bounce back more quickly than other countries. Unemployment remains at record lows and private sector wage growth was 5.3 percent. Exports are growing; GDP was up 3 percent in the last quarter. We're now in a strong position to grow our economy while keeping debt low and making targeted investments to support New Zealanders through these uncertain times lift incomes and support vital health services like health and education and get infrastructure built.David Seymour: Is the Prime Minister aware that 667000—or 14 percent of New Zealand's population—were born in a non-visa waiver country; if so how can she justify to them making them wait until July before their non-resident family can apply for a visitor visa?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On behalf of the Prime Minister the announcements that the Government made today bring forward the time at which those from non-visa waiver countries can enter New Zealand and we believe that the path that we've taken is responsible and careful.David Seymour: Does she stand by her statement to the effect the border will be fully open in July or would upon reflection it be more accurate to say that people will be able to apply for visas to come through the border in July?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On behalf of the Prime Minister it has always been necessary for people from non-visa waiver countries to apply for visas.David Seymour: Is the information on Immigration New Zealand's website accurate when it says that a visitor visa can take five months to process; if so does she accept that many of those people who are obliged to apply for a visa won't be able to book their travel this year?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On behalf of the Prime Minister some of those people will have visas that will allow them—that they already have—to be able to come in. In terms of the exact processing times they will be matters that Immigration New Zealand will be dealing with. They have assured us that they are ready for us to have brought forward the return time by two months.David Seymour: Does the Prime Minister have confidence in her Minister of Immigration; if so how is it possible that after two years of the border being shut the constraint on people being able to come here is processing times at Immigration New Zealand?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: On behalf of the Prime Minister yes I do have confidence in the Minister because what he has done today is announce a simpler smarter immigration system; one that's going to give businesses better access to making sure that they have the workers that they want and balancing that against making sure that people are paid well and have good working conditions.Kieran McAnulty: Does she stand behind her policy of the winter energy payment?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Absolutely. The winter energy payment is one of the policies that we get the most feedback on. It's something that makes sure that our most vulnerable—our older New Zealanders—get looked after. Any party any party who decided that they were going to take that away would be on the—I think New Zealanders would look very very darkly upon. I'd also say that New Zealanders would look at that in the context of other policies such as freezing the minimum wage such as increasing the pension age—SPEAKER: Order! Order! Order! The member's getting to a familiar list for which he's not responsible.David Seymour: Point of order. If you are saying that familiar list was ACT's policies the Minister's actually misrepresented them in a material way in both that he's mentioned so far.SPEAKER: Luckily I'm not responsible for the accuracy of Ministers' statements. If the member is identifying them in the same way as I am he's got the general debate coming up and he can have a crack then.David Seymour: Point of order. Mr Speaker it's a very clear point of order I made. You are responsible for endorsing his list and I don't think that adds anything to the order of the House.SPEAKER: Order! Order! I'm also responsible for making it clear that he is not responsible for other parties' policies. It became clear to me that he was answering as if he had some ministerial responsibility for that which he doesn't. If I'd let him go on I'm pretty certain that David Seymour would have been complaining.David Seymour: Mr Speaker I think you're missing the point here. You are the one who is asserting that that's an accurate list.SPEAKER: I'm asserting no such accuracy. It might be an inaccurate list but it's in the same general order in the same ballpark.