Little Andrew: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeLittle Andrew: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 10 April 2014. Volume:697;Page:17169. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]9.ANDREW LITTLE (Labour)to the Minister for Economic Development: Does he stand by his statement “Taranaki is one of the leading regions if not the leading region in the country.”?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Economic Development):Yes and for a number of reasons. If I could beg the House’s indulgence I will go through a few quickly. It is an important question. Firstly Taranaki is a strongly performing region economically. The GDP per capita in Taranaki is the highest in the country. Secondly its average household income is the fourth or fifth highest in the country. Thirdly its unemployment rate has been below the national average for many years now including through the global financial crisis. Fourthly its population has been growing strongly despite unsubstantiated rumours that there was a widespread exodus from the regions. Fifthly there is a very good set of local MPs who talk their region up—National MPs—instead of talking it down. Sixthly it is a beautiful part of the country one of the most beautiful parts of the country—but I might be biased because I was born there.Andrew Little: How does he reconcile that glowing summary and the statement I quoted earlier with the news yesterday that yet another 25 highly skilled workers will now lose their jobs this time from the heavy engineering firm Fitzroy Engineering which follows 15 job losses earlier this year at Tenix engineering—another heavy engineering firm—125 jobs lost from Fitzroy Yachts and other engineering firms struggling to keep their workforces occupied?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I think we have just had a demonstration of the point that you can talk a region down or talk a region up. The reality with employment in this country is we have roughly 250000 jobs created each year and 250000 jobs lost. The member raises an interesting question about engineering jobs in Taranaki. I can tell him in response about a particular experience that I had recently when I was visiting a boatbuilder in Wanganui who wanted to hire some of the 120 workers who had lost their jobs in Taranaki. He could not hire any of them because they had all been snapped up by other Taranaki businesses.Andrew Little: Can the Minister confirm that GDP per capita for Taranaki has now declined for its third successive year and is nearly $4000 less than its peak in the last year of the most recent Labour Government?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I cannot confirm that for the member but I can confirm that in terms of GDP—Grant Robertson: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. We are encouraged to ask direct questions. That was a very direct question and remarkably the Minister could not confirm it. There is nothing more to say in his answer.Mr SPEAKER: On this occasion I entirely agree with Grant Robertson.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Speaking to the point of order—Mr SPEAKER: The question has been answered. If this is a point of order that the Minister is raising I will hear it.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: It is the first opportunity to address the point of order. The point of order is that I was going on to give some GDP information that may—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I appreciate what the Minister is raising. The question was could he confirm that GDP per capita had declined for the last 3 years and the Minister got up and said no he could not confirm that. That is the end of the matter.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Have you effectively just ruled that members of this House can expect a yes or no answer? That is the effect of what you have ruled.Mr SPEAKER: No. What I have said is that the Minister was asked a relatively direct question and the Minister said he could not confirm that. That is a sufficient answer for today. I am happy that that question has been addressed and now we are moving on.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: This is a point of order but I want to issue the same warning to the Hon Gerry Brownlee that if you are now attempting to relitigate a decision I have just made that will lead to disorder and I will treat it quite severely. Is it a fresh point of order?Hon Gerry Brownlee: Yes it is. Having established that yes or no answers cannot be required from the House—Hon Annette King: This has got nothing to do with that.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Hang on—all things lead on. Do we now accept that erroneous material presented in the House has to be confirmed or denied by Ministers?Mr SPEAKER: No. My job here is to listen very carefully to the question and to listen very carefully to the answer. The circumstances are inevitably quite different with most questions. I listened very carefully to the question I listened very carefully to the answer and I have ruled that that question has now been addressed. The member can disagree with that. He has every right to. But once I have made a decision it is made.Andrew Little: What commitments is the Minister prepared to make to ensure that the highly skilled engineering workers of Taranaki can be retained in the region and will he commit to a long-overdue upgrade of State Highway 3 north or join with Port Taranaki to upgrade its infrastructure and readiness for offshore oil emergencies or do anything to show that the Government takes regional development in this region and others seriously?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Absolutely. I will commit on behalf of this Government that this Government will continue to encourage investment in the oil and gas industry in that region which it is encouraging today. Actually all of the oil and gas industry and the other industries around New Zealand that I meet say “Thank goodness for this Government because we know that if we had the other option of Labour and the Greens there would be no growth and there would be no new investment.”Andrew Little: Given the contribution of the Taranaki region to the New Zealand economy through royalties and heightened tax receipts does he not accept that it should get more back from central government than just the expansion of a 100-metre bridge—the only thing to show after 6 years of being represented by a National MP?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The member is wrong in his assertion. There has actually been an excellent summary published by Treasury in the last year that shows that Taranaki has received more back than it has put in in terms of Government expenditure as most smaller regions do because of the economies of scale of larger regions. Taranaki does benefit. Taranaki knows it benefits. That is why it keeps electing National electorate MPs in the three seats in the region.