English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:606;Page:3854] 
3.  
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Further to her response yesterday that the goal of being back in the top half of the developed world in terms of per capita GDP by 2011 is not a short-term goal what is her Government’s timeframe for achieving that objective? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 No time frame was established when the objective was set and I shall not be establishing one today. 
Hon Bill English 
: Given that she has just said that no time frame was set does she recall writing in the foreword of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: New Zealand 2001 the following statement: “These results are greatly encouraging of our goal of economic transformation and our return to the top half of the OECD ratings by 2011.” and if she can recall that statement why has she changed her mind? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: In the Prime Minister’s statement last year I made a speech around this document—[ 
Interruption 
]  
Mr SPEAKER 
: I am not having yelling like that. People will be sent outside. I am sick and tired of that sort of conduct. The Prime Minister can answer then I will determine whether the question has been addressed. 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The Government’s formal objectives were set out in this document—to reach it over time. 
John Carter 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister has not answered the question. The question asked by the Leader of the Opposition Mr English was very clearly about a statement made and whether the Prime Minister recalled the statement she made in 2001 and he asked her whether she recalled making it and if so whether she had changed her mind. The fact that she may have made a statement about it in the Prime Minister’s statement has nothing to do with the question asked and she should be asked to answer the question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I wonder whether the Prime Minister could add to her answer. 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I have no recollection and I will not stand by it because it is not achievable. 
Clayton Cosgrove 
: Why will the Government not set a specific date? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Because the advice we have is that there are simply too many variables involved including that we cannot predict how fast others will grow. The objective is to move higher up the rankings over time. We are prepared to take a long-term view. A Leader of the Opposition with 6 weeks’ future cannot. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: In the interests of helping the Prime Minister and her amnesia if it is a fact that she did write that statement and set a goal at 2011 against her name will she come to this House and apologise for the first time for misleading New Zealand many times? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: This document is the Government’s formal statement of policy. That is what stands. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am asking the Prime Minister whether she did make such a statement and put her name to it and if provided with that evidence she will come to this House and apologise. Waving around her changed position since the last election is not satisfactory by way of an answer. Can I have an answer to my question? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: February last year. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: No no. Will she come and apologise for having said one thing before the election and having changed her mind now?  
Mr SPEAKER 
: Does the Prime Minister want to add to her answer? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I have no recollection of that document. If it is there it is clearly wrong and does not reflect Government policy. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Increasingly when points of order are taken by members on this side of the House there is a barrage coming from the Government whips’ desk and many Ministers around the desk and there seems to be little desire on your part to ask them to be quiet. What we are getting instead is a general warning to the House about noise and interruption while such points are being made. That is very unfair on those members who do not engage in that activity and it would be unfortunate if a practice developed where if the noise came from the Government side of the House there was just a general warning but if that noise came from the Opposition side of the House there was specific mention of a member’s name. We would like to have all points of order heard in silence by all parties particularly Government whips. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is a very good point and I will adhere to that. 
Rodney Hide 
: When she declared that achieving the top half of the OECD within a decade on a gross domestic product per capita basis was a “totally unrealistic goal” did she include in her declaration her Finance Minister Michael Cullen happily confirming to  
Metro  
magazine 
journalist Mr Gilbert Wong that the “Government’s economic growth goal remains to return New Zealand to the top half of the OECD in 10 years” as reported in the  
Metro  
magazine last December; if not why not? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: A great deal of advice was taken before releasing a formal framework that does not commit to a specific date because it is not achievable. I will be amazed if an economic statement that I understand will be released later this afternoon commits to such a goal because Dr Brash knows that it cannot be achieved and has said so. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.  
Mr SPEAKER 
: What about? 
Rodney Hide 
: Well are you asking me to raise it? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member may raise a point of order but not in relation to the answer. There are far too many points of order raised by that member in this House. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I ask you to reflect on the answer that was given. My question was quite specific. I quoted an article. We got the same answer that the Prime Minister gave to every question and not once did she address my actual question. My question was not about her report. My question was: when she said it was unrealistic did she include Michael Cullen stating that goal? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No the Prime Minister addressed the question. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Why has the Government set a comparative target even without a time line that could be met in part by the rest of the world going into recession or not growing so fast rather than a target that looks at New Zealand’s real levels of well-being? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: We are interested in New Zealand’s real well-being and that measures up quite well in a number of OECD indicators. For example we are ranked ninth in the world for rates of unemployment and that is certainly within the first half of the OECD. We are also in the three top-performing countries on mathematical ability reading and literacy. So there is a range of indicators where we do very well. But as the House is aware for over half a century New Zealand dropped down the per capita GDP rankings and doing something about that over time is important. 
Hon Bill English 
: If it is the case that the Prime Minister will no longer stand behind her statement under her name that her goal was to return to the top half of the OECD ratings by 2011 and that Dr Michael Cullen made the same statement in December 2002 what now is the Government’s economic goal and why should we believe what she says because she will probably change her mind some time? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The Government put out a formal statement. That is what we stand by. 
Rodney Hide 
: I seek leave to table the  
Metro  
magazine where Michael Cullen states the goal as getting New Zealand to the top half of the OECD. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought for that purpose. Is there any objection? There is objection. 
Hon Bill English 
: I seek leave to table the report called  
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor: New Zealand 2001  
containing the Prime Minister’s statement. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is objection.