Cunliffe David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Cunliffe David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 30 May 2012. Volume:680;Page:2667. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
7. 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour—New Lynn) 
 to the  
Minister for Economic Development 
: Does he agree with the Prime Minister’s statement “If you were really going to go out and buy a country why wouldn’t you want to buy New Zealand?”; if so why? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Economic Development) 
: 
 Yes; I think the member might find that that is what is known as a metaphor which I would have thought that somebody who wrote poetry at Harvard might actually recognise. Even with my humble zoology degree I can recognise a metaphor. The Prime Minister went on to explain that New Zealand is an amazing country—that on any relative measure across the world it is a great country. I think the point is that compared with many countries in the world New Zealand is doing very well. For example we have grown in nine of the last 10 quarters. We are investing a huge amount in infrastructure at the same time that we are balancing our books we are putting a lot of effort into boosting trade and we are investing billions into higher education increasing science and innovation funding and doing the Government’s bit to help keep interest rates low. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: What does he think of the optics of trying to sell a country that has just seen a horrific 17 percent collapse in the value of goods exported and where the main growth in exports is the thousand New Zealanders a week we are exporting to Australia?  
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: I think the member is confusing the amount of goods with value. The reality is that in the calendar year 2011 New Zealand had very large growth in exports both in value and in volume terms. That has come back a bit as commodity prices have come off this year but there is still a very positive overall export scene and the Government is working very very hard to encourage businesses to become more competitive in the world and to provide businesses with opportunities to get ahead and will continue to do so.  
Hon David Cunliffe 
: Does the horrific 17 percent drop in the value of goods exported mean that the Government was wrong to cut funding to promote exports to China India and the rest of Asia as part of the $131 million per annum it has just slashed from Vote Economic Development?  
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: The member is an emotive actor but the reality is that the Government did not cut the sorts of sums of money he is talking about at all. He needs to understand that some appropriations finish when the events that the economic development appropriation is involved with finish. For example the member may have spotted—and in fact I think he did—the Rugby World Cup which occurred last year. At the end of that period the appropriations for the Rugby World Cup were no longer needed Mr Cunliffe and therefore we did not continue them. I know that the member wants just to fire hose money in all directions but actually the Government when appropriations are finished stops them.  
Hon David Cunliffe 
: To the “Minister for Rugby World Cup Tickets” why would he sell— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! We do not start questions that way.  
Hon David Cunliffe 
: Why would he sell New Zealand now when the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research has just downgraded its growth forecast to a stagnant 1.5 percent and is this the same logic as selling highly profitable power companies when near the bottom of the economic cycle?  
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: I wondered whether the member would bring up the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research because one of the interesting things about its report is that it suggests that economic growth will be slower than suggested by some of the other commentators—which it is entitled to believe—primarily because New Zealanders are saving more and actually that will dampen economic growth in the short term. We do not agree necessarily with the quantum but the point that the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research made was that New Zealand’s household and commercial debt but particularly household debt had built up hugely to an imbalance while the previous Government—funnily enough—was in office and it is now unwinding. So if there are any concerns about that actually slowing economic growth they can only be sheeted home to the behaviour in the economy of the previous Government. 
Hon David Cunliffe 
: I seek leave to table the full New Zealand Institute of Economic Research  
Quarterly Predictions 
 report made public today which lists fiscal headwinds slowing global growth migration drains and businesses treading cautiously as amongst the reasons for slashing again New Zealand’s growth output forecast. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection.  
Hon David Cunliffe 
: How interesting. I seek leave to table a graph created by the Parliamentary Library that shows the huge growth in exports of New Zealanders to Australia since this National Government came to power.  
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document from the Parliamentary Library. Is there any objection? There is objection.