5. Business Confidence—Actions and ReportsHon STEVEN JOYCE (National) to the Minister of FinanceBusiness Confidence—Actions and ReportsHon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the House): I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I understand that you've allowed this question to be put down to the Minister of Finance.SPEAKER: That's absolutely right.Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: However your ruling prior to Christmas was that the Minister had no ministerial responsibility for the types of reports that are referenced in this question. So my question to you is if the Minister gives an answer to effectively the first part of the question which is around business confidence but not the second part of the question which is of course linked to the first part of the question about the specific reports is that in order?SPEAKER: Well we'll see.5. Hon STEVEN JOYCE (National) to the Minister of Finance: What is the current level of net business confidence as expressed by each of the ANZ Business Outlook survey and the NZIER Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Let's see. There are many measures of business confidence and overall I'm hearing that firms are confident about the prospects for their own businesses. I do acknowledge that confidence about the wider economic environment is not as high. In terms of the specific surveys raised in the member's question as these are not Government surveys and I have no role in their collation or methodology I therefore have no ministerial responsibility for the specific details within them.Hon Simon Bridges: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: No I don't think I want the point of order. What I want is Mr Joyce to ask the question again.Hon Steven Joyce: Thank you Mr Speaker for that opportunity. What is the current level of net business confidence as expressed by each of the ANZ Business Outlook survey and the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research's (NZIER's) Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion?SPEAKER: And before Mr Robertson answers the question I will indicate to him that it is an acceptable answer to say that he has not seen or read those reports if that is the case but if he has seen and read a report in an area for which he is responsible then he will answer the question.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Not challenging that ruling—SPEAKER: Not at all!Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: —but just to be clear that that is a different ruling than the one you gave last year.SPEAKER: No. I have looked very carefully as the member is aware at the ruling that I gave in that area. I've looked at it for two reasons: firstly because it was a matter that was referred to me and secondly in respect of this question. Ministers are not responsible for the reports and they do not receive them but if they have seen them they can be questioned on them.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Fair enough. The surveys the member refers to were for December 2017 a month in which a new record was set for New Zealand exports. The ANZ Business Outlook survey showed that a net 38 percent of businesses have a negative view about the year ahead a slight bounce from November and similar to the levels seen in 2015. In terms of their own activity businesses are reporting a net 16 percent positive view. The NZIER Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion for the December 2017 quarter gave a headline reading that continued a downward trend that began in December 2016 showing a net 11 percent of firms expect economic conditions to worsen in the coming months. In terms of their own expected business they reported a net 18 percent positive view.Hon Steven Joyce: Is the Minister aware exactly how long it has been since the ANZ Business Outlook survey had net business confidence so low—negative 38 percent and negative 39 percent—in the last two monthly surveys respectively?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I don't have that information.Hon Steven Joyce: What is the current level of net small business confidence as expressed in the ANZ Business Micro Scope survey and how long has it been since the level of small business confidence has been so low in that survey?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I don't have that information with me.Hon Steven Joyce: What does the Minister think has changed within the New Zealand economy over the last five months that has led businesses to report that their own activity outlook is now less than half what it was in August last year despite the global economic outlook improving over the same period?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Businesses have as I said in my primary answer generally a net positive view of their own future prospects. That's what correlates with overall future GDP growth. I believe that businesses see that there is a positive year ahead both for the global economy and the New Zealand economy. What I would say is that there was a trend that began in December 2016 of declining confidence in the overall economic conditions which coincided with the event involving the former Minister becoming a Minister.Hon Steven Joyce: Does the finance Minister accept that firms' own activity confidence which he's mentioned a couple of times in his answers has also halved in the last few months?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: What I can say about the confidence that businesses have in their own activity is that it's come back up from September 2017 and it sits above the long-run average.Hon Chris Hipkins: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I didn't want to interrupt the flow of the questions so I waited until the end. Last year you ruled that a Government backbencher could not ask a Minister whether they had seen the reports of the nature that we have just mentioned and therefore they could ask only if they had received the reports. You've now indicated that if a Minister has seen a report they can be questioned on it. So my question to you is how can a member establish whether a Minister has seen a report if they're not allowed to ask them?SPEAKER: I think the appropriate way of doing it is to ask as the member did a question that is in the core area of the Minister's responsibility and have a second leg that can help establish it. Before the member asks I just want to indicate to the National Party that they do have two additional supplementary questions as a result of interjections from Government benches while the member was asking previously.Hon Steven Joyce: Has the Minister considered that instead of offering counter-statistics he should take steps to reassure businesses and improve their confidence which has obviously dropped in the few months since the Government has taken office?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: We're working closely with the business community to make sure they understand the direction of travel of this Government and to make sure they understand our desire to lift exports to diversify the economy and to grow jobs that actually deliver to all New Zealanders. I do note that there is a range of surveys about confidence in the economy that come out. If we look at the surveys around employee confidence and consumer confidence they're doing well.Hon Steven Joyce: Rather than those sorts of responses what action is he going to take to reassure businesses that this Government will respond to their concerns about Government policy changes in areas like employment law immigration law infrastructure commitments resource management laws housing laws investment rules—SPEAKER: Order! Order! I am going to rule the question out and ask the previous Minister to rephrase it in areas that are Mr Robertson's responsibility.Hon Steven Joyce: Thank you very much Mr. Speaker. What action is the Minister actually going to take to reassure businesses that this Labour-led Government will respond to their concerns in a whole range of policy areas that affect business including such things as investment rules and tax law?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As the member knows we've appointed a tax working group which contains a range of representatives of businesses including the chief executive of Business New Zealand Kirk Hope who I noticed the other day when speaking about our Government policy said This decision shows the Government has an understanding of the needs and pressures facing small businesses.""