Cunliffe David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Cunliffe David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:655;Page:4576] 
4.  
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour—New Lynn) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: What reports has he received on the state of the New Zealand economy? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 I have this week seen consensus forecasts issued by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research that are broadly in line with Treasury forecasts in last month’s Budget. They show that the recession which began under the Labour Government in January 2008 will continue over the rest of this year with unemployment peaking at about 7.5 percent in March 2010. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: In relation to that does the Minister agree with the Prime Minister’s reported quote: “the success of the 9-day fortnight is not judged by the number of people going on it;” if so can he explain why a job-saving scheme should not be judged by the number of jobs it saves? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Yes I agree with the Prime Minister. The best news is that because businesses have confidence that the Government will back them to create jobs there is now evidence that they are holding on to people if they possibly can. That is a huge step forward. 
Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga 
: What reports has the Minister received about the impact on jobs of the Government’s fiscal stimulus? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research produced an estimate earlier this year that the Government’s fiscal stimulus would support 10000 jobs in the short run. Of course in the longer run sustainable jobs depend on businesses that are willing to invest and save not on the putting out of press releases as Opposition members advocate. That is why we focus on building business confidence and they focus on putting out press releases. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: Does the Minister continue to believe that gimmicks like a 9-day working fortnight scheme that has protected less than 2 days’ worth of job losses a cycleway that has yet to save any and forcing Auckland ratepayers to paint a couple of ugly sheds on Queen’s Wharf amount to a real jobs strategy? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Well I invite the member to go and talk to any of those individuals who are on the 9-day scheme and tell them that that Government scheme which has kept them in work is a gimmick. That member should go and tell the families of those individuals who rely on their income that the scheme that saved the jobs of those individuals is a gimmick. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: Can the Minister remind the House how cancelling the research and development tax cuts and failing to implement the New Zealand Skills Strategy created jobs when both moves were opposed by Treasury the Council of Trade Unions and Business New Zealand? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The Opposition seems to be working on the idea that there is some magic scheme out there that will suddenly create tens of thousands of jobs. In fact the Opposition needs to know that rebuilding jobs in this country will be a long hard job—involving building business confidence and investing for the long term—because the economic cycle is a bit longer than the news cycle.