Brash Don: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Brash Don: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:613;Page:10055] 
1. Dr DON BRASH (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: What initiatives does he intend to take to improve relations with the business community in light of yesterday’s  
New Zealand Herald 
 poll which ranked both him and Labour fifth in understanding the needs of business? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 The Government continues to expand on a range of initiatives to support business. Its most important contribution is to provide strong stable leadership which—as I found in Auckland yesterday—is seen as being in stark contrast to the National Party. 
Dr Don Brash 
: Are not the business community’s concerns entirely understandable given the raft of anti-business legislation that has been passed or is now being contemplated by this Government including amendments to the Employment Relations Act changes to occupational safety and health legislation the introduction of 4 weeks’ annual leave and a total failure to address the shortcomings of the Resource Management Act or is it the case that the Minister is simply not interested in the concerns of the business community? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: None of the above. I do recall that when the Employment Relations Act was passed the member’s friends in the Auckland Employers Federation predicted that not a single job would be created as a consequence of that Act that there would be no new jobs in the New Zealand economy. We now have a 4.4 percent unemployment rate which is the lowest for 16 years. Of course if the member wants to do something about the fact that New Zealand has one of the worst safety records in the developed world I suggest he talk to those responsible—his friends in the same organisation. 
Clayton Cosgrove 
: Could the Minister outline for the benefit of the House what recent international commentary he has seen on the Government’s economic performance? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: By sheer chance the  
Australian Financial Review 
 noted in last weekend’s edition that the economy under the Clark Government was “humming along sweetly with unemployment at an enviable 4.4 per cent.” The same column stated that “New Zealand business leaders must be gluttons for punishment.” for welcoming the change of National leader “Instead of recoiling from Don Brash’s disastrous mistakes while governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand”. 
Dail Jones 
: When will the Minister realise that business recognises the falsity of our economic scenario where sectors earning our money are laying off people—primary sector employment is down by 5 percent and manufacturing employment is down by 3.1 percent—and both areas are affected by our high dollar; and what does this Government intend to do about it? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: What I will not do is break the law as proposed by the New Zealand First leader—summon the Governor of the Reserve Bank and order him to lower the exchange rate. 
Gordon Copeland 
: Does the Minister foresee a deterioration in the Government’s relationship with the business community if the Government perseveres with its endeavour to have exporters pay for new national security measures; if not why not? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Those measures are a response to demands from the United States. In other countries around the world it has been basically left to the private sector to meet those conditions. In New Zealand the Government is carrying out the requirements and clearly we have a right to expect to be paid in return for that. 
Rodney Hide 
: Is not the real problem this Government confronts the fact that business can see through the spin and the self-congratulatory clapping the Government gives itself; and why does this Government not give some real relief to business in the form of some tax cuts? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The Government is introducing and foreshadowing a number of changes in the tax system that will help the business community. I look forward to the member’s support on those issues. 
Dr Don Brash 
: Did the Minister note that in the  
New Zealand Herald  
poll I quoted a moment ago he was rated fractionally below the Rt Hon Winston Peters and almost dead equal with the Hon John Tamihere; and is the Minister satisfied with that assessment of his performance by New Zealand’s business leaders? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: In a poll where the preferred political party of the respondents was ACT which scores less than 5 percent in general polls compared with 45 percent for the Labour Party I think one can say the sample was somewhat biased.