5. Economy—GDP Growth Per CapitaHon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) to the Minister of FinanceEconomy—GDP Growth Per Capita5. Hon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn) to the Minister of Finance: Did real GDP per capita go up or down in dollar terms in the March 2018 quarter and can he confirm that the March 2018 annual GDP per capita growth rate of 0.6 percent is the lowest annual rate since 2011?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): In the March 2018 quarter using seasonally adjusted figures—Hon Amy Adams: Ha ha!Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: —no that's actually what we do—real GDP per capita was $12586. This compares with $12507 in the March quarter in 2017 an increase of $79. If the member wishes to use a comparison with the previous quarter which previous Ministers of Finance have cautioned against real GDP per capita was $12587 in the December quarter a reduction of $1 or in percentage terms 7/1000ths of 1 percent—well spotted. In answer to the second part of the question the annual GDP per capita growth rate of 0.6 percent was the lowest annual rate since September 2011 part of a downward trend that began at the end of 2016.Hon Amy Adams: Why is he defending declining GDP per person growth of just 0.6 percent for the year when he has previously claimed that per person New Zealand is going backwards at a time when our growth rate was in fact growing at twice that amount?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Actually if we look at per-person growth since New Zealand exited the recession it's shrunk nearly a quarter of the time since the recession. So under the previous Government's policies it was actually going backwards. In this case it's not growing quite as fast as we would like because it will take a little longer than one quarter of activity to correct the last nine years.Hon Amy Adams: So does he realise that annual GDP growth per capita is now 50 percent higher in Australia than in New Zealand and that's the first time in six years that Australia has grown faster per person than us?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I'll take the member's word for those numbers; I don't have them in front of me. What I do know is that if we look at annual growth rates we are tracking higher than Canada the Euro area Japan and the UK and we're about the same as the OECD and the US. Of course we want to see that improve but a transition of our economy away from one based on housing speculation and population growth will take some time.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Is it a fact that there has been a slight regression in the quarterly growth rates for the last three quarters of which surely two were under the influence of the previous administration?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: It is true as I said earlier that there has been a downward trend in growth rates that began at the end of 2016. What the forecasters are now telling us is that if we look at year-on-year growth by the third quarter of this year it'll be 3 percent and we'll average that over the rest of the forecast period. That is solid growth and it's part of a transition of our economy.Hon Amy Adams: Does he agree with the Minister of Energy and Resources when she said that the Government was looking at businesses that can turn off or scale down production to meet energy supply constraints and how does he think this would affect our per-person economic growth?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Of course I agree with the Minister of Energy and Resources who's doing a fantastic job. From time to time in the economy we have to deal with certain supply constraints. What I do know is that sticking our heads in the sand and ignoring issues like climate change isn't going to deliver New Zealand a sustainable economy. We're doing something about it after nine years of the previous Government doing nothing.Hon Amy Adams: So does he now understand why it is that business confidence has plummeted and job creation has more than halved under his Government when the policies processes and attitudes of this Government have already slowed down our economic growth?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I completely reject various premises in that question.Hon Chris Hipkins: What correlation is he aware of between real GDP growth and business confidence?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Historical evidence would say almost none. In the period between 2000 and 2008 business confidence was pessimistic 82 of 99 months but GDP growth averaged per annum 3.2 percent. In the period 2009 to 2017 business confidence was positive 87 of 95 months but GDP growth on average was only 1.98 percent.Hon Amy Adams: So will he agree with me that the best way to create jobs and lift New Zealand wages is by supporting our economy to be one in which businesses have the confidence and the ability to invest employ and to grow and if so when will this Government start to walk the talk?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The member obviously didn't hear my answer to the supplementary question from my colleague Chris Hipkins. The correlation is not between business confidence and GDP growth. This Government will stand on our record once we've started the transition to a new economy that's more sustainable and more productive. In the meantime there will be a fiscal stimulus from our Families Package which commentators are saying will lead to year-on-year growth of 3 percent by the September quarter. That starts on 1 July and we're very proud to introduce it.Hon Amy Adams: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I didn't ask at all in that question about the correlation between business confidence and economic growth. I asked him whether the way to create jobs and lift incomes was to grow the economy. He talked about the Families Package he talked about Mr Hipkins' question—he didn't address that.SPEAKER: Yes well unfortunately the member's question was slightly longer than that and I think it gave the Minister answering the question more latitude.