1. Question No. 1—FinanceBARBARA EDMONDS (Labour—Mana) to the Minister of FinanceORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Finance1. BARBARA EDMONDS (Labour—Mana) to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): The strength of the jobs market is continuing to support the New Zealand economy. Last week Stats New Zealand reported that the unemployment rate remained at a near record low of 3.3 percent in the September quarter. The average hourly wage rose 7.4 percent to $37.86 outpacing the current rate of inflation. We know that many Kiwi families are doing it tough in the face of cost of living pressures but they do so while in paid work and with wages growing faster than inflation. That helps ease some of the pressure they are under.Barbara Edmonds: What did the report say about employment growth?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Well an extra 35000 people were employed in the quarter with more young people and women in jobs. There is now a record high 2.85 million people in work. The participation rate rose to 71.7 percent and the employment rate to 69.3 percent—record highs for both since the series began in 1986.Barbara Edmonds: What did the Crown accounts released today indicate about the economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Well for the three months to the end of September the operating balance before gains and losses OBEGAL recorded a deficit of $2.6 billion. This was a little higher than forecast at Budget 2022 in May. Tax revenue was slightly below expectations with expenses slightly above forecast. Net debt stood at 19.8 percent of GDP which was above forecasts due to the impact of market conditions affecting the financial portfolio held by the New Zealand Super Fund in ACC derivatives. If we use the old net core Crown debt measure it was below forecast. Overall the Crown accounts show that we are standing up well to what is a highly volatile and uncertain global situation.Barbara Edmonds: What reports has he seen on the international context and its impact on the economy?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Well New Zealand's labour market compares very favourably with the countries we usually compare ourselves with. We have the sixth-equal lowest rate of unemployment in the OECD compared with Australia and the UK in ninth-equal the US in 13th place and Canada in 21st-equal place. In terms of employment rates we rank third in the OECD. New Zealand is in a strong position to deal with the difficult time that the global economy is experiencing. Our economy is nearly 5 percent larger than before COVID our exports continue to grow we are seeing an increasing number of tourists returning and the immigration reset is making a difference to attracting the workers that we need. This is a tough time for many households but the Government is stepping up to support them.Hon Julie Anne Genter: Does he think that the highly profitable Australian-owned banks some of which are making $2 billion a year in profit should be contributing more to the public good especially given the challenging times with cost of living?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I share the member's concern about the fact that at a time when many New Zealand households are finding conditions particularly tough we see very high levels of bank profits. As I have said consistently over recent times I think that they should look to their social licence to support New Zealanders through this tough time particularly given those profits. Hon Julie Anne Genter: Has he received any advice on the potential use of an excess profits tax to help the Government support New Zealanders who are struggling to make ends meet?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: Yes indeed. I have seen the member's press release in that regard. We know that one of the reasons that the tax take in New Zealand has until recently been up is that corporate tax has been up. We do have a slightly higher rate of corporate tax in New Zealand than many other countries do and banks pay a considerable part of that.Hon Julie Anne Genter: Does he acknowledge that it is the Government's responsibility to make sure the tax system is fair and ensure that excess profit can be put to supporting the public good not simply for private gain?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: With respect to the first part of the member's question yes I do accept that. Our job is to make sure that we have a fair and progressive tax system.