﻿Mr SPEAKER: Question No 2, Grant Robertson.
GRANT ROBERTSON (Labour— Wellington Central) to the PM:
Does he stand by all his statements?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY (PM): Yes.
Grant Robertson: How did he get it so wrong in November 2014
when he advised farmers not to worry about the dairy price
and that it would bottom out soon, given that he had been told
in July that year that there was a 5-year global milk glut?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: How did the member get it so wrong
when he thought he would be the leader twice and lost?
[MEMBERS LAUGH]
Chris Hipkins: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. [Interruption]
Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! I will hear from Chris Hipkins.
Chris Hipkins: The PM has to at least make some attempt
to get vaguely close to the question that was asked.
That answer came—[Interruption]
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I remind members that this is a point of order.
It will be heard in silence. Could the member please continue.
Chris Hipkins: The point that I was making is that the PM
has to at least get somewhere near the question
that was asked by the member.
He did not even come close even to addressing the question.
Mr SPEAKER: I will hear from the Hon Gerry Brownlee.
Hon Gerry Brownlee: The PM responded to some very direct remarks
made by Mr Robertson, and it simply serves to point out the vagaries of prediction.
Mr SPEAKER: No, I think on this occasion—[Interruption] Order!
On this occasion there must be some attempt to answer the question.
I am going to invite the member to repeat the question.
Grant Robertson: How did he get it so wrong in November 2014
when he advised farmers not to worry about the dairy price
and that it would bottom out soon, given that he had been told in July
that year that there was a 5-year global milk glut?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I remain of the view, as I did back then,
that the long-term and medium-term outlook for dairy
is very strong. But as we always know, it is always possible
to not be able to count and to get your numbers wrong from time to time.
Grant Robertson: Does he not think farmers are owed a response from him
to serious questions that is better than juvenile politicking
when they are facing 44% of them defaulting on their loans
and farm prices dropping by 40% by 2018?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Offering a serious view
about what I think are the long-term prospects for dairy,
it remains that you have got a global opportunity out there
emerging in Asia, and the changing markets are very relevant.
But if the member now wants to say that he is supporting
the dairy farmers of NZ, here are a few suggestions:
vote for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP),
because by far the largest beneficiary is dairy;
reform the Resource Management Act, because that affects farmers;
take a constructive view to a range of different issues around tax;
and do not whack a massive emissions trading scheme on farmers.
Coming into this House and claiming that he is the friend of the farmer
when he does everything he can to put them out of business
is not going to fool anyone.
Grant Robertson: Supplementary question—[Interruption]
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I am just waiting.
Grant Robertson: Does he accept the Reserve Bank’s severe scenario
for a payout of $4.10c above the current forecast—
which would mean 44% of farmers defaulting on loans
and farm prices dropping by 40% in 2018?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: The member is actually misrepresenting the Reserve Bank.
He says that if that was the payout—under $4,
and I would point out that, actually, the total payout
is still predicted to be above that, at $4.35—
those loans would be non-performing.
That is quite a lot different from defaulting.
Grant Robertson: Does he think that farmer shareholders
should be satisfied with the performance
of the Fonterra chief executive officer (CEO)?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I do not have any responsibility
for the performance of Theo Spierings, any more than he has
any responsibility for the performance of Andrew Little.
[MEMBERS INTERJECT]
Hon Damien O'Connor: Does the PM still stand by
his previous publicly stated position of supporting
the opening up of Fonterra to share trading on the NZX
as a way of bringing outside equity into the company?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Those comments were made a long time ago,
but what I did support was trading amongst farmers,
and I think, from what I can see, it has worked pretty well.
Grant Robertson: Does he not think he should offer a view
to farmers about the performance of the CEO of Fonterra,
given Fonterra is having a debt to equity gearing ratio of 49%,
demanding 90-day terms from its suppliers
so that it has actually got some working capital,
and changing its payout forecast three times in 7 weeks?
Does he not think he owes it to farmers to say
what he thinks about that performance?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well, it is not my responsibility
whether Theo Spierings does a good job or not.
I do not have that responsibility,
any more than I have the responsibility for whether
a bank chief executive is doing a good job,
or the CEO of Telecom is doing a good job.
Mr SPEAKER: Question No 3.
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