My
My question is to the Minister of
Dominion Post editorial that his Government
if not, why does he think they would
No, I don't agree with the dominion Post's take on the
answer
prebudget announcement. I also
disagree with their take on the commitment
commitment to infrastructure on the past 9
past 9 years. The former Minister of Finance
heavily in infrastructure over that period
they confused net debt with gross debt
debt in their criticism of the Government's
Government's debt targets and had to change the
change the editorial after they were finished.
So
So as to
So as to the motives as to why they would write these
thins I can only assume
assume not enough cups of coffee before
before they started writing. Can he now
before they started writing. Can he now answer the question posed in the
editorial, why did the Government stall for years
over a critical rail line, i (e),
stall for years over a critical rail
Government didn't stall for years, the Government
actually have brought it fonNard. When we came into Government that
CRL was
CRL was going to happen much later than it is happening even now.
So that's weird. Also Mr Speaker,
were busy electry tieing the whole commuter
commuter rail network in Auckland at the
the time. We were possibly busy organising
organising a whole bunch of new
electorate trains. We completely modernised
Auckland Council to do so and we were probably busy finishing
left office. When the editorial points
points out that his Government
does he take for their being a shortage
shortage of 40,000 houses in Auckland that has
on his watch. I have to say, there is something
is something slightly strange about a Wellingtonian
a Wellingtonian reading a Wellington news painer to
describe to an Aucklander about what's actually
going on in Auckland. I'd suspect
Mr Robinson should get up to
Auckland to
going on in the roading, rail and housing areas with record levels of
construction and get some new talking
talking points and come back the House. Does he think his
answers today go to prove the
editorial's comment that Mr Joyce
bluster about the country's economic
still mired far below those of other countries
chief blusterer of the Opposition. Mr Robertson is known for his
bluster. The rest of
for getting the work done. Mr Speaker,
Speaker, this Government is overseeing
overseeing one of the fastest
economic growth rates of the OECD right now. We were the fifth
fastest growing economy in the
OECD last year
year and, Mr Speaker, I would just say
say to the member before he starts treating
look at the printed version and look at the errors they made
at the errors they made about comparing net debt and gross
debt and go and find another source of
his knowledge of Auckland. Can
he understand why editorial
writers might write
might write this kind of piece, because he is trying to take
because
for solving a problem
created by reannouncing infrastructure
infrastructure funding to address his own
infrastructure funding to address
member is simply wrong. In terms of infrastructure spend, what
was announced last
announced last week is the largest addition to the New Zealand
Government's capital stock possibly
ever, Mr Speaker, certainly for a long time. When the member's
party was last
was last in Government, which I know was a long time
ago, they would spend
spend a few hundred million on new capital each year. This Government
has committed
the next four budgets, Mr Speaker, and
and the New Zealand public knows that
that this is the infrastructure
My question is to the Ministerfor Building
My question is to the Ministerfor
building activity in Auckland and nationwide
nationwide for the month, quarter, and
nationwide for the month, quarter,
Building
Building activity is booming with
the latest March figures showing new records in both residential and