fiscal risks, and he's left out the biggest specific fiscal risk of the
lot and
biggest specific fiscal risk of the lot and that is the Minister
of Finance. I never thought I
would see Steven Joyce as the Labour sleeper
in the National caucus,
until today when he actually asks for an
urgent debate for us to talk about a Budget
Policy Statement and a half yearly
update that we're proud of on this
I thank Mr Joyce for his generosity in giving me
that opportunity today. It was my great honour to release
the Budget Policy Statement
today, and to sit alongside that
Treasury's Half Year
Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update. What we were able to show
in our Budget Policy Statement
today was that it is possible
for a Government to be both fiscally
responsible and
responsible and implement progressive policies. That is
a lesson that the previous Government
completely forgot. So when
we look at the economic and physical
outlook that is in the
that is in the documents today, growth will be solid,
over the forecast period. I heard throughout the election campaign
from the National Party
that growth would
from the National Party that growth that
from the National Party that growth
Government, it would be all over. There
Government, it would be all over. would
Government, it would be all over. There would be no growth in
the future. Well, actually, what the
fiscal outlook says today is
that next year growth will be a
little softer
next year growth will be a little
financial year growth will be a little softer. That is
actually about activity in the second
half of 2017. By 2019, when the Government's
policies are being rolled out, guess
that that's the result of having a Government that invests in
the economy. Having a Government that
lifts the minimum wage. Having the
Government that builds affordable
houses, having a Government
that invests in the regions. That's
what you get. You get growth. And this
Government is proud of it.
Not the kind of growth that we've seen under
the National Government, that
is driven by population increase and
housing speculation. So, yes, the
forecast growth for 2018 is
a little softer, but in 2019 and
2020 we start to see the transition to
a productive economy and I am
proud that this Government will be
leading
Also in today's half yearly update is the news that The Treasury
expecting unemployment to fall to
is the news that The Treasury
by the end of the first term of this Government. That's a promise.
We have actually said we want
to do that. We're proud that The
Treasury realises that that will happen. But
it also says
realises that that will happen. But
important, that wage growth over the next five years will
important, that wage growth over the
Finally New Zealanders are going to get the dividend of their
hard work. Because the members
on the other side of the House seem to believe
that the reward for New Zealanders'
hard work should be a tax cut. But,
actually, we're
actually, we're more ambitious than that.
actually, we're more ambitious than actually,
actually, we're more ambitious than that. Because if that's how
you reward workers, where
actually invest in productive growth that lifts wages and that's what
this side of the House
We will see much higher wage growth under this
under this Coalition Government. Then we come to the issue
of surpluses, which Mr
Joyce included in his statement. On this
side of the House we've committed ourselves
to sustainable surpluses. They are
not surpluses manufactured
by underfunding public services. They
are not services manufactured by
failing to invest in
our infrastructure, they are real
surpluses, once we have
done what New Zealanders need us to do. And by
the end of the forecast period,
in the half yearly update, we see the
surplus
Higher than what the National Party's forecast was. So, not what
Mr Joyce said. In fact,
the opposite of what Mr Joyce said.
But, again, as I say, he is obviously now the
Labour sleeper
Labour sleeper in the National caucus. Then we come to
the question of net core
Crown debt. That's right! This is a very
important point because in the
last Government I, as an Opposition
member, asked many questions about the
issue of debt. And every single time I
got an answer from the Minister of Finance
about the personal of
debt relative to GDP, because that's
how Governments measure it. The
previous Government had a target to
lower that percentage. They didn't seem to
quite be able to
meet it. So they pushed it out and
pushed it out. That target
pushed it out and pushed it out.
adon'ted that target but said we will take longer to get there. The
reason that we're going to take a
little longer is because of the
infrastructure deficit that this
country is facing. So, in this
Budget Policy Statement there is
capital spending,
capital spending, extra capital spending from this Government. And
that is for the affordable housing
programme called KiwiBuild, because
we can either be a Government
that sits on the sidelines and says
housing will become more
and more unaffordable. The lowest home
ownership rates in 50 or 60 years.
They don't care! They
don't care about that. But we're
going to invest. So we're going to
make sure that we invest in the future and the
other element of
that increased borrowing is to restart
contributions to the
New Zealand super fund, and I am extremely proud
that after nine long years of
zero contribution to our
super fund, finally
contribution to our super fund,
that. That first payment lot happen tomorrow. So Mr Joyce
wants action. It's happening tomorrow. He can
come along, if he likes, and watch
as we start, again, to invest
for future generations. And it is
the combined commitment of the parties that make
up this Government that we will have
sustainable superannuation, the very
first thing a Government can do
is contribute to the super fund and we
are doing that. So, all of
that is the part of what contributes to the
fact that over the next
five year years with he reduce yet, an
as percentage of GDP
years with he reduce yet, an as
the same target that National had but over a longer period of
time, because there are investments to
make. What Mr Joyce now has is
an obsession with the cash
amount of debt. Well, let me
obsession with the cash amount of
side of the House we remember the fact that when we
side of the House we remember the
net debt in cash terms was tiny. It was even
net debt in cash terms was tiny. It
came back into Government it is at
To hear Mr Joyce blame the global financial crisis
To hear Mr Joyce blame the global
this House when Bill English said the global financial crisis was
over in 2012. That's right! What happened
in the remaining five
in 2012. That's right! What happened
to the issue of debt. We will pay down debt, reduce
New Zealand's debt, but we will do it in a
way that is responsible and allows us
to invest in the assets that we need to
invest in. At the half yearly and
economic fiscal updates
presents a picture of an economy that, yes, it was growing but
it is going to grow more and grow
sustainably under this Government.
It presents an economy that was
drifting along and not
delivering benefits to all New Zealanders. We
will return to the
Families Package that is a critical element
of this Budget Policy Statement. But
can I say right now that that is the
chance for all New Zealanders to
point in crowing about high growth rates if people are living in
cars and garages. Hear, hear. There
is no point in crowing about high
growth rates if our hospitals
are turning people away. Hear, hear. There is no
point in crowing
about high growth rates when our schools, the
average age of our schools is more than
40 years. We will invest in New
Zealanders' future to give them a
share in prosperity, not
allow ourselves to be by the
numbers that are on the sheet. All of this
means
New Zealand First and the Greens have delivered on our
budget responsibility rules. All of them
have been delivered on, and I am
extremely proud of that. I
now want to turn to what Mr Joyce seemed to
be obsessing about which is the
question of what is and what is not
in the half yearly update. Mr
Joyce has been part of enough budgets to
know that when you
actually do budget 2018, it happens in 2018.
What the half yearly update
does is tell us where the books
have reached halfway through the year. And
due to the excellent work of the
officials since this Government has
been in office, we've been able
to include in the half yearly update the costs
days to put those costs in there. Because think about what's in
that package. That is the first year free
post secondary school, training in
education. One of the most
transform tive policy
tive policy force the productivity of the New Zealand economy
that we will see in many, many years. And
to make out that policy only about universities, we know that the
vast majority of people who
will benefit from those policies will actually be
people who have never
studied before,
people who have never studied people
people who have never studied before, who will go and
train in polyteches, who will take up
apprenticeships, who will be in
the trades. That policy is costed in
to the half yearly
Economic and Fiscal Update. As is the families
package. As are the other commitments in the
River recovery agency, setting up the tax working group, starting
the work on the independent
climate commission. All of
work on the independent climate costed in. We're well
in advance of what
what previous Governments have been. We've got that work in there. It is
in the accounts. And then we come to
the Budget Policy Statement. The
operating allowances we have and
the capital allowances that we
have are over and above and beyond
what we have already committed to
in the
operating allowance for the 2018 Budget
operating allowance for the 2018
an ambitious Government. I don't an ambitious Government. I
don't wasn't any of my Ministers
to get ideas that they may be able
to spend all of that money. But we are an
ambitious Government. We have
ideas. They are contain mid the
Coalition agreement, contained in
the confidence and
confidence and supply agreement, and they are going to be
implemented. And right now all around Wellington
and New Zealand public
service agencies are working out how those
will be delivered. And when we
come to budget 2018, all of that detail
will be set out. But
those operating allowances, and those
capital allowances are larger
than the allowances that the member observe
the other side had. So,
bear in mind that we find ourselves in a position
now where with
careful financial management, we can actually make
a big difference in the lives of New
Zealanders. I want to
finish my contribution around the
Budget Policy Statement, because this is a
document that
document that outlines our big
document that outlines our prioritieser now the future. It does
something that I don't
think has been done before inside
a Budget document. It talks about the fact
that we as a Government will measure
our success differently. We will not
be satisfied simply by
having GDP growth. That is important. We need
the economy to grow. We
need activity in the economy. But we do
not learn about the quality
of that activity just from GDP numbers. And
so we are going to add to
that by looking at how we improve the
wellbeing of New Zealanders
in everything we do.
How do we support the
everything we do. How do we support
PM has already said in this House that there will be a piece of
legislation that will be
introduced very shortly that will mean that
when I get up to deliver Budget
2018 I will be obliged by law
to report on how we
on how we have reduced child poverty. That is exactly as
it should be. Because
it's not just about the numbers on the page, it's
about what good we can do for people
with the money that we
are privileged to lock after in
each Budget. And so we will our suck
measure our success differently. By the time we get to
the 2019 Budget, I have asked The Treasury to
make sure that when I am presenting that
Budget, I am able to
present it by looking at how we are improve
have improved heath outcomes, education outcomes, supported the
environment, reduced child
poverty. This is
Treasury have been doing a great job on their living standards
framework. I don't think Mr Joyce got
past page 1 of the Budget Policy Statement,
but if he got up to page 9 he would
see an excellent table,
which outlines the way in which we
are going to improve
living standards. I would be very surprised if he made
it to page 13. But if he had, he
would have found a description of
the provincial growth fund.
Now, of course,
the provincial growth fund. Now, of it
the provincial growth fund. Now, of course, the detail of that
has not been worked out yet. We have only
been in Government for 43 days. But
what is written down here is
the plan for reigniting the regions of
New Zealand. And I want to
thank the New Zealand First Party for their
contribution to bringing that to the
table during the coalition
negotiations. When we look
at the criteria in that provincial
growth fund, it says everything about
what I want this Government to
be marked out for. The
investments in that fund will be about
jobs and sustainable economic development.
Social inclusion and participation,
climate change and environmental
and sustainability
sustainability and resilience. That's the kind of economy
we're going to grow. One where
we are resilient. Where we are adaptable
and we're inclusive. One
where we don't think leaving out
people's rights,
don't think leaving out people's don't
don't think leaving out people's rights, when we don't think
child poverty growing is actually OK
in this country, but a Budget where
we actually try to build a
fairer and a better New Zealand.
Because
Because it's about what we do with the economy that matters. We
will grow this economy sustainably. We
grow this economy sustainably. We
will be responsible in how we spend
will be responsible in how we spend
money but we will be ambitious
for our people and our environment. We
will never ever, on this side of
the House, settle for the status
quo. New Zealand is a great country. It
will be greater still. It will be
will be greater still. It will be
fairer and better when we implement
the policies in this policy
I
I call
I call Fletcher Tabuteau. Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am proud to
be standing on behalf of New
Zealand First, a New Zealand First
that has proudly chosen to form a Coalition
Government with this Labour Party
and working with the
Green Party here together for the benefit of New
Zealand. I