Cosgrove Clayton: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Cosgrove Clayton: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:619;Page:14935] 
4.  
CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: What recent reports has he received on the comparative performance of the Australian and New Zealand economies? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 I have received reports showing that the growth in New Zealand’s gross domestic product has outstripped Australia’s for each of the last 4 years. Also in each of those years we have had lower annual inflation and significantly lower unemployment. We now have the second-lowest unemployment rate in the OECD. 
Clayton Cosgrove 
: What other comparative reports and analyses has the Minister received on this issue? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I have seen the claim that New Zealand’s performance is so poor that we risk becoming unviable and “just another Pacific Island State”. According to the World Bank which does know something about poverty the gross national income per capita of the Solomons was around $1200 in 2002 and of Samoa was approximately $3000; in New Zealand it was just short of $30000 per year. 
Dr Don Brash 
: Is it not true on the basis of the assumptions made by the Treasuries of Australia and New Zealand about productivity growth in our two countries that New Zealand’s per capita income will never ever catch the level of per capita income of Australia and that as a consequence the gap between our living standards and those of Australia—already equivalent to some $200 per person per week—will continue to widen? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The member should not place too much emphasis upon long-term assumptions. As somebody once quite rightly said: “In reality there are a great many … fundamental differences between the two countries so a different growth rate should be no surprise at all. … This is neither ‘good’ nor ‘bad’. It just means that New Zealand is different in some respects.” That was Dr Brash to the Trans-Tasman Business Circle in February 2000. 
Dr Don Brash 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister did not in any sense answer my question. I asked him whether it was true on the basis of the productivity assumptions of the Australian and New Zealand Treasuries that Australian living standards would always exceed New Zealand living standards and that the gap would in fact get larger. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The member should remember what I said at the start which was that he should not place too much emphasis upon long-term productivity assumptions. The fact is the same assumptions were made in 2000. The fact is we have outperformed Australia every year since then under this Government—which we did not do in the 1990s. 
Dr Don Brash 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister still has not answered the question. I asked him whether it was true on the basis of the assumptions made by the respective Treasuries that the New Zealand standard of living would never ever catch that of Australia. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No. The Minister was asked to address the question. He certainly did on both occasions. He talked about assumptions not being justified and that type of thing. He did definitely address the question.