Dean Jacqui: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDean Jacqui: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 05 November 2015. Volume:709;Page:7736. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]1.JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki) to the Minister of Finance: How does growth in the average wage compare to cost of living increases of 0.4 percent over the last year according to labour market data released by Statistics New Zealand yesterday?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Associate Minister of Finance)on behalf of theMinister of Finance: Data from Statistics New Zealand yesterday shows that the annual average wage is now over $57300 which is over $10000 more than when National first came into office in 2008. Over the last year wages have increased by 3.1 percent which is considerably higher than the rate of inflation at just 0.4 percent. Of course the 0.1 percent increase in unemployment to 6 percent is higher than we would like it to be but we should note that although the household labour force survey noted the first quarterly fall in jobs in 3 years the quarterly employment survey released on the same day recorded filled jobs increasing by 0.7 percent and hours worked increasing by 0.9 percent.Jacqui Dean: What is the Government doing to assist firms to grow jobs and deliver higher wages?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The Government recognises of course that it is businesses that create jobs and what the Government does is to create an environment and a platform from which businesses can have the confidence to invest and employ more people. That is what this Government is doing—for example by reducing income taxes to increase incentives to work reducing ACC levies spending $110 billion on infrastructure over the next 10 years and negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership and also the New Zealand - Korea free-trade agreement. In all the Business Growth Agenda has nearly 500 initiatives in it and these are all being used to encourage—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! There are five people to my left who have been consistently interjecting since question time started. If any of those five—and I am happy to name them if they are in any doubt as to who they are—continue to interject then they will be asked to leave the Chamber. Does the Minister wish to complete his answer?Hon David Cunliffe: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I confess that I was one of the five and part of the reason for the disorder—Mr SPEAKER: Order!Hon David Cunliffe: But the point of order—Mr SPEAKER: I want the point of order.Hon David Cunliffe: —is: what guidance can you give the House about the maximum duration of ministerial responses?Mr SPEAKER: I have given that guidance on many occasions and I am sure that the member has been here. I am the sole judge as to the length of answers.Jacqui Dean: What does the recent data show about businesses’ hiring intentions particularly in respect of the services and manufacturing sectors?Hon Steven Joyce: As I mentioned earlier this week we saw weak economic growth in the first half of the year in part due to the significant fall in dairy prices. More recent data points have been more positive including last week’s ANZ Business Outlook survey. That survey reported higher investment intentions increased employment intentions higher profit expectations and a lift in residential investment intentions. Other data indicates that the services sector is seeing the largest expansion in activity in 8 years and we have now seen a record 36 consecutive months of growth in manufacturing. There are of course risks to the outlook from the weak global economy but overall the country remains on track for continuing moderate growth.Jacqui Dean: What does the latest data from Statistics New Zealand show about employment outcomes for young people?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The data released yesterday shows that the outcome for young people is increasingly positive with the number of 15 to 24-year-olds not in employment education or training down to 11 percent which is the lowest level in 7 years. Within that the figure for 15 to 19-year-olds has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded in the survey—it is the lowest level ever recorded. It is particularly positive that this fall is due to more young people participating in education.