Dean Jacqui: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDean Jacqui: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 11 July 2013. Volume:692;Page:11965. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]1.JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki)to theMinister of Finance: What reports has he received on the long-term benefits of strong fiscal management?Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):Treasury has today released its long-term fiscal update required by statute. This confirms that the sorts of decisions the Government has been making in recent years—careful and considered decisions about getting effective use of Government spending—have put New Zealand in a stronger fiscal position to be able manage the future impact of an aging population and rising health costs.Jacqui Dean: What does the report say about fiscal discipline and how is the Government’s fiscal strategy supporting the delivery of public services in the future?Hon BILL ENGLISH: The Government believes that the best way to get the Government’s books in order is to provide effective public services. What works for the community and for New Zealand citizens works for the Government’s books. The long-term fiscal update highlights the long-term impact of the careful decision making that this Government has processed around containment of Government expenditure by offering effective public services. The Government will continue with that strategy because the report shows that if we do New Zealand will be in good shape to handle the rising costs of national superannuation and the rising health costs associated with an aging population.Jacqui Dean: What does the report say about the costs of meeting superannuation and how does this compare with the benefits of sound fiscal management?Hon BILL ENGLISH: The report shows that increasing the age of eligibility from 65 to 67 for national superannuation makes a difference of around 0.7 percent of GDP by 2030. The report also shows that maintaining the Government’s fiscal strategy of returning to surplus with moderate increases in spending and investment and better public services through to 2020—just 7 years from now—will reduce net Government debt from around 50 percent of GDP to under 10 percent of GDP. So clearly managing Government expenditure well has a much bigger impact on our future debt loading than small adjustments to national superannuation.Jacqui Dean: What alternative strategies for fiscal management would put the Government’s progress in reducing debt at risk?Hon BILL ENGLISH: Well of course we get to reduce debt once we get to surplus and once we get to surplus we need to make sure that we do not spend those surpluses on ineffective public services but that we do spend them on reducing debt. Alternative strategies that would make it harder would be those that we inherited as a Government from when Government debt was forecast to reach 50 or 60 percent of GDP simply on the basis of loose and wasteful spending by the previous Government.Hon David Parker: When he made reference to 0.7 percent in his earlier answer was it 0.7 percent of GDP per annum and given that his own department says that over time New Zealand superannuation payments will consume an increasing share of Government spending if current legislative settings are retained and given the Prime Minister’s well-known memory lapses has he been advised by the Prime Minister thathe forgot his statement of 5 years ago to resign rather than raise the age of eligibility; and if so is he willing to do the responsible thing now as is clearly Treasury’s recommendation and give advance notice of a gradual rise in the age of eligibility?Mr SPEAKER: The Hon Bill English—any of about four questions.Hon BILL ENGLISH: Well the Prime Minister means what he says and what he said was he would not raise the eligibility and he will not. That is a better policy than Labour’s policy which is to raise the age of eligibility so it can waste money on all sorts of other stuff.