McClay Todd: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMcClay Todd: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 18 April 2013. Volume:689;Page:9541. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]3.TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) to theMinister of Finance: What have been the recent trends in the cost of living for New Zealanders?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Associate Minister of Finance) on behalf of theMinister of Finance: I can report some very encouraging progress particularly with consumer price inflation food price inflation and in electricity prices. That progress is particularly stark when you compare the current situation with the first decade of the century in the 9 years to 2008. Statistics New Zealand yesterday reported the CPI for the year to March increased by just 0.9 percent. That was the fourth consecutive quarter that annual consumer inflation has been 1 percent or less. This is a considerable improvement on consumer price inflation of more than 5 percent in late 2008 just before this Government first took office. Combined with interest rates at 50-year lows this low inflation is delivering considerable benefits to households and businesses across New Zealand in terms of their standard of living.Todd McClay: What have been the main factors contributing to annual inflation remaining low at around 1 percent?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The consumer price index showed that in the past year the price of telecommunication services fell 7.2 percent audiovisual and computing equipment fell 12 percent domestic airfares fell 9.9 percent and fresh milk was down 7.7 percent. Electricity prices did rise 5.2 percent during the year. Most of that is due to a one-off increase in the cost of transmission prices of getting the electricity to households around New Zealand. In any event it is substantially less than the 8 percent average—Hon Trevor Mallard: Who believes the member? Who believes him?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: —year-on-year increases in the 9 years to 2008 when people like Trevor Mallard were in charge. In addition the food price index fell 0.4 percent in the year to March. This was led by a 2.6 percent fall in grocery prices. Cheese was down 9.1 percent and butter fell 22 percent. It is interesting to note that all of these commodities are priced in a competitive market and the Government did not control any price setting in any of them.Todd McClay: What reports has he seen on the price of electricity paid by hard-working New Zealanders?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The Electricity Authority yesterday released its review of the electricity market in 2012. The report showed 18 percent of customers around 32000 people a month voted with their feet by switching electricity providers in 2012 presumably for lower prices. For the benefit of the Opposition that is called “competition”. Since November 2008 annual electricity price increases have halved from the 8 percent year-on-year increases suffered by hard-working New Zealanders during the previous 9 years. This follows a number of pro-competitive reforms by this Government which apparently the Opposition is not aware of. We have reconfigured State-owned enterprise assets to increase competition created the Electricity Authority and made it responsible for promoting competition allowed line businesses to compete in the retail space and funded promotion of consumer switching through the What’s My Number campaign.Todd McClay: Has the Minister seen any other proposals to try to lower electricity prices?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Well weirdly yes I have. Just before lunch today I received one report which I believe came from the “North Korean School of Economics”. Apparently the suggestion there was that nationalising the entire electricity industry would somehow lead to lower power prices.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Surely it occurred to you that a Minister cannot knowingly mislead the House. You and I know that he did not receive anything from the “North Korean School of Economics” and yet the Minister got up and he said that he did. Perhaps you would like to bring him back to order.Mr SPEAKER: I do not accept that point of order. Would the Minister continue with his answer.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: If I could perhaps clarify my answer I should clarify that I received a report from the local branch of the “North Korean School of Economics”.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You know full well that there is no local branch and—[Interruption] No no no. The members can treat it with levity but he is knowingly misleading the House. Please do your job.Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Minister is entirely responsible for the content of his answer. If the member thinks that there has been a misleading of the House there is an appropriate way to raise that matter and the member knows that.Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. In fact I have two. The first is a relatively simple one. You let the Government members barrack during the right honourable member’s point of order. In fact you almost looked like you were going to do it yourself from the way that you were laughing. Can I ask you to treat this House—Mr SPEAKER: The member is now ruining a perfectly fair point of order.Hon Trevor Mallard: —with impartiality.Mr SPEAKER: And the second point?Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The second point of order is that you have already ruled that you do not accept letters about matters of privilege dealing with supplementary answers. That was a supplementary answer. Are you changing that rule?Mr SPEAKER: No. With regard to the first question the member is absolutely right. Points of order should be heard in silence and I certainly do not encourage barracking from either side during a point of order. With regard to the second point of order I make a decision on each alleged breach of privilege on a case by case basis. Further supplementary questions—has the Minister finished his answer?Grant Robertson: He sat down.Mr SPEAKER: No he was interrupted with a point of order.Grant Robertson: No he sat down.Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Minister was interrupted with a point of order. He has every right to complete his answer and will do so.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Thank you Mr Speaker. Just to accept the right honourable member’s point it certainly appeared to be the local branch of the “North Korean School of Economics” but I accept his assurance that perhaps it was not what it appeared. Anyway the suggestion was that nationalising the entire electricity industry would somehow lead to lower power prices. In fact as we have seen historically the world over it would simply lead to blackouts higher prices and considerably higher costs on taxpayers. That is the “back to the 1970s Government” proposal by the Labour-Greens coalition for running the electricity industry in this country.