Barry Maggie: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Barry Maggie: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 24 July 2012. Volume:682;Page:3800. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
1. 
MAGGIE BARRY (National—North Shore) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: What progress is the Government making in building a more competitive and productive economy? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 Good progress. Household saving is positive and expected to increase further. Household debt has fallen from 155 percent of disposable income 3 years ago to 140 percent although debt levels are still too high. The economy continues to grow moderately. Inflation is at a 12-year low interest rates are at a 45-year low and the Government is on track to surplus. The Government is also continuing to focus on the competitiveness of New Zealand businesses to encourage them to invest and create jobs. 
Maggie Barry 
: What measures has the Government taken since 2008 to build a more competitive economy? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: There are a very large number of measures but I will mention a few: increasing taxes on consumption and property speculation and reducing taxes on work and on savings; improving the quality of regulation that affects every business and every organisation in New Zealand; a multibillion-dollar infrastructure programme of investment in rail roads ultra-fast broadband and electricity transmission; as well as consistently increasing investment in science and innovation and many more. 
Maggie Barry 
: What is the focus of the Government’s business growth programme and how will it contribute to building a more competitive economy? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The focus of the Government’s business growth programme is on doing whatever the Government can to encourage businesses to create more jobs and you can have more jobs only by actually doing things. The Government is going to focus on export markets on infrastructure on skilled and safe workplaces on developing our natural resources responsibly on growing our capital markets and on innovation and ideas. So the Government can lend a hand but in the end a new job occurs when a business actually decides to employ somebody. 
Hon David Parker 
: Are exports down is immigration to Australia up and are New Zealand’s net international liabilities projected to grow every year for the next 4 years? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Exports have been a bit flat and that is because— 
Hon Members 
: Ha ha! 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Well exporters are actually doing their best and they need all the help they can get from a Government that is actually in favour of exporting and investing rather than Opposition policies intended to stop people from creating jobs businesses and exports. 
Maggie Barry 
: What are some of the issues affecting New Zealand’s productivity and competitiveness? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: There is any number to pick from but one that is important is housing affordability. The Government has a strong interest in making housing more affordable because a lot of taxpayer support goes to housing but we are particularly concerned that there is almost no new building of houses for people with lower-quartile incomes—that is incomes in the bottom 25 percent. That is very unfair to New Zealanders who aspire to homeownership and we believe that by working with local bodies we can increase the supply of housing and reduce the excessive burden of the cost of housing on New Zealand families.