8. Question No. 8—Regional Economic DevelopmentHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) to the Minister for Regional Economic DevelopmentQuestion No. 8—Regional Economic Development8. Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) to the Minister for Regional Economic Development: Does he stand by his statement about the number of jobs the Provincial Growth Fund will create 10000 as an estimate over the life of the fund"; if so what is the source of the information that informed his answer?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Deputy Prime Minister) on behalf of the Minister for Regional Economic Development: On behalf of the Minister may I pass on my congratulations for his new-found spokesmanship. Over a year ago we set the record straight after the National Party used numbers that were not correct with respect to the amount of jobs that would be generated by the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF). At that time we estimated that 10000 jobs would be created.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Complete mess!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: This was the information we had at the time from the applicants. I know you're a complete mess; you can look at that every time you look in the mirror. The kinds of rural businesses that the Opposition—DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: —claims to support just are not correct.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Well which number is correct: the 10000 mentioned yesterday the 2727 on the PGF website or the 13000 quoted by the Prime Minister in Question No. 2 today?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: The Prime Minister will just have to be more up to date than some Ministers. On behalf of the Minister initial work done by applicants as part of their submission to the Provincial Development Unit (PDU) showed that over 10000 jobs may be created as result of the PGF investment and this includes jobs created in the construction and delivery of projects and across the wider economy. I can say that there is a stocktake being done right now so that the figures can be given out very very soon and what we are certain of—Hon Simon Bridges: So you don't know.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: No no—not knowing is the speciality of that member and has been the whole time since he arrived in Parliament—DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: —and shouting out and making a fool of himself is his penchant every day he arrives at Parliament. DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Can I just interrupt the member. We will not have personal reflections thank you. Just answer the question.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. We won't have interjections like that either without you stopping them Madam Speaker with the greatest respect. That's what your role is. This is about information which is entitled to be heard by other members without five or six people shouting out constantly. Surely that's the way this Parliament should be run.DEPUTY SPEAKER: The Standing Orders do allow interjections while the member is answering a question. I would ask the member to get on with answering the questions and stop personal reflections.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: The Standing Orders talk about being reasonable.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Are you arguing with me?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: No I'm not arguing with you; I'm just telling you the facts. Ha ha! Can I just say further we are doing a stocktake. It looks like the figures will be far greater than we ourselves imagined and only the conservativism and modesty of getting it wrong in terms of understating the tremendous performance inclines me not to answer the question now. But in a matter of days as the Provincial Development Unit personality Robert Pigou said these figures will be out and they'll be a matter of enormous credit to the Government.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Does he believe the PGF is good value for jobs created when the best estimate depending on which number we use is between $300000 and $900000 per job when the jobs in the broader economy come at about $116000 per job?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Minister the fact is the member is now starting to quote figures from a former spokesmanship which were wrong as well. The truth is the Provincial Growth Fund and the PDU know with precision what the numbers are going to be and they're looking to be far greater than we ever thought ourselves.Hon Dr Nick Smith: Three years and you don't know.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Oh Mr Smith—this is a member who got another member into trouble. He quoted 31000 houses—DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: That member—DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I'm not going to remind the member again. Can he just focus on answering the question. I appreciate there was an interjection but the member does not have to respond with personal abuse.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. For the second time I point out to you the longstanding impropriety of a member moving their seat to get a better position to heckle. I've asked you once. I'm asking you again. Are you going to act on that or not?DEPUTY SPEAKER: No I'm not going to act on a member interjecting during the answer to a question. I'm asking the member not to get involved in personal reflections; just simply to answer the question and ignore any interjections.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I raise a point of order Madam Chair.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Madam Speaker.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Madam Speaker—I'm not going to stand here and have a barrage of criticism and be told I can't do what every other parliamentarian has been allowed down through dare I say it over a century in this country which is the chance to respond to unreasonable behaviour.DEPUTY SPEAKER: Just because you've done something many times it doesn't make it right. In this Parliament we are not going to have personal reflections. Have you finished your answer?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Yes.Hon Tracey Martin: Can the Minister confirm that when one is working out the amount per job that would be created by the Provincial Growth Fund one must take into account the original investment of the Provincial Growth Fund the lifetime of the project and the number of people who would be employed over the lifetime not only of creating the project but then working for example in the largest aquaculture factory in Ōpōtiki to be able to come up with a figure per job?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Minister—Chris Bishop: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I think there are about six legs to that question and Mr Speaker has ruled that supplementary questions can have two legs to them—and there were about six in there.DEPUTY SPEAKER: It is my responsibility to make that decision. He can answer. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Minister I want to thank that member for enunciating with precision and exactitude exactly how you calculate the workforce derived from such magnificent investment.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Does the PGF give priority to projects that will create more jobs; if not why not?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Minister of course the PGF gives priority for jobs because we don't have any projects without jobs.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Given that answer is the reason he isn't able to provide a better estimate of the number of jobs created by the PGF that the application form doesn't even require applicants to provide that information?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Minister it is taken as read that anybody who has got any commercial understanding knows that every business has jobs. There is no business I know in the world with no work no workforce and no jobs. I mean it's axiomatic and why members over there are laughing is beyond me."