Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Bakshi Kanwaljit Singh: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:678;Page:1230] 
2. 
KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: What recent reports has he received about the economy’s performance? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 The GDP result for the December quarter was published today showing that the New Zealand economy grew 0.3 percent in the quarter and 1.8 percent in the calendar year 2000. Although the quarterly result was below market expectations the annual growth of 1.8 percent compares favourably with that of many other countries. We do not focus on quarterly numbers too much because they move around. The September quarter was better than forecast the December quarter was a bit lower than forecast but the economy has grown for 10 of the last 11 quarters and we are on track for around 2 percent growth. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Taking the first opportunity I have just been informed that the document I referred to in my supplementary question in question No. 1 was a statement and not an affidavit. I correct that and I apologise to the House if I misled— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! There is no provision under the Standing Orders to correct a question like that. The member could have sought leave of the House. With the leave of the House the member can do anything but he cannot do that by way of a point of order. There is no way to correct a question. The member has got away with it and I guess I am best to leave the matter there. But he as an experienced member should know that. 
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi 
: What were the main contributors to economic growth in the latest figures? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: From quarter to quarter the contribution to growth can shift around a bit but there is something of a recent trend where the economy is benefiting from an increase in exports and investment and this of course will help New Zealand rebalance over the longer term. Households continue to save a bit more and are careful with their spending. The Government is focused on the longer-term issues and that is improving the competitiveness of our business environment because the only way we get growth in the long run is when we earn more from the rest of the world and when businesses choose to invest more capital and employ more people.  
Hon David Parker 
: Is it correct that during this the fourth year of his Government the reports he has received about the economy’s performance show that in the last quarter growth was just a third of his already modest growth projection at the time of the election; that the current account deficit is projected to increase every year causing New Zealand’s overseas debt to get worse by $50 billion over the next 4 years; and that the only statistic showing strong growth is the record number of people moving to Australia? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Well some of that may be included in the reports the member is talking about but the economy is basically on track for what we know is moderate growth—more moderate than we would of course like but compared with the rest of the world we are in reasonable shape. Employment will continue to grow investment is starting to pick up and we look forward to more contributions from stronger exports and the Christchurch rebuild. 
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi 
: How did New Zealand’s economy grow in 2011 compared with the growth in other countries? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Despite global uncertainty and significant disruptions from the earthquake it does perform reasonably well. For example our 1.8 percent annual growth in GDP was better than 1.6 percent in the US minus 0.6 percent in Japan 0.7 percent in the euro area and 0.7 percent in the UK— 
Hon Phil Goff 
: And 9 percent in China. 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: —and of course our new friends of China are pointing out that China grew faster but I note that they are very keen to make sure that the Chinese do not invest here to help us with growth. 
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi 
: What is the outlook for the economy over the next 3 years? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The economy will continue to expand as it has for 10 of the last 11 quarters. Over the next 2 years we would expect that to be maintained or improved by the rebuilding of Christchurch and of course the momentum we can get from our two largest trading partners Australia and China which continue to grow at a reasonable speed even if China is slowing down. Our terms of trade remain quite elevated. We will continue to focus on competitiveness for New Zealand businesses because that is something we can influence. We cannot influence the growth of our trading partners.