2. Government Financial Position—Spending Commitments and DebtHon STEVEN JOYCE (National) to the Minister of FinanceGovernment Financial Position—Spending Commitments and Debt2. Hon STEVEN JOYCE (National) to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all his statements on economic and fiscal policy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Yes in the context in which they were given.Hon Steven Joyce: Does he stand by his comments about the importance of fiscal responsibility; and if so why is his debt track increasing so much from the next few years when the economy is performing well and tax revenues are rising—increasing from a Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update forecast of around $60 billion at the end of last year to $69.4 billion over the next 4 years?Mr SPEAKER: I'm going to let the Minister answer it but I'm going to warn the shadow finance Minister to make his questions a lot shorter. There was quite a long bit on the end of it that was not necessary for the sense of the actual question.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As the Government is committed to net debt as a percentage of GDP will go in fact below 20 percent within five years of us taking office. In terms of cash debt well we've inherited a massive infrastructure deficit from that Government. We've got to build some affordable houses we want to contribute to the Superannuation Fund and therefore we will take on debt to clean up the mess of the previous Government.Hon Steven Joyce: Can he confirm then that he is happy being the finance Minister that takes the pre-election fiscal update that was reducing debt down to $56 billion and instead taking it up to $70 billion in four years?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Here is a member who oversaw the increase in debt by $50 billion while his Government was in office. Trying to lecture—Mr SPEAKER: The member will now address the question.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: We need as a country to invest in our future and we will do that by taking on additional debt in the short term to make up for the deficit that we have been left with.Hon Steven Joyce: Why is it that there's only a couple of coalition policy changes included in the half-year update? Where is for example the $1 billion Provincial Growth Fund where is the funding for health and where is the funding for early childhood education?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The half-year update includes the costs of the Government's 100-day plan including the investment in families that will reduce child poverty by nearly half. The other matters as is normal are part of the Budget policy process and there are operating allowances and capital allowances in the forecast in the Budget Policy Statement where they will be accounted for.Hon Steven Joyce: Can he confirm that he's absolutely confident that he can meet the coalition commitments—all 51 of them—in the Budget operating and capital allowances as set out in the Budget Policy Statement and half-year update?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Yes I am and I am proud to stand by that document because it's a document that actually addresses the underfunding in health in education and police that we have been left with.Hon Steven Joyce: Can the finance Minister confirm that Treasury has added 28 separate new fiscal risks to the half-year update of things that it doesn't believe are taken into account in these documents?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: As is normal when a new Government takes over Treasury will where costings have not been completed put them in that section. But the member completely misrepresents them. What that shows is we're an ambitious Government with a lot of plans and that's why Treasury will cost those into the future.