7. Hon Sir ROGER DOUGLAS (ACT) Link to this
to the Minister of Finance
What steps has he taken, and does he intend to take, to ensure the pressure of economic adjustment does not fall entirely on the productive sector, in particular small business?
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Associate Minister of Finance) Link to this
The Government has taken a number of steps to assist small business. These include the small and medium enterprises package worth $480 million, which gives small businesses more time and money to get on with business while also providing a better environment for business; investment in infrastructure, which provides more certainty about jobs while bringing forward infrastructure work programmes across housing, education, and transport sectors and which is worth a further $483 million; and a strong focus on regulatory reform, with steps such as the review of the Resource Management Act, which is now well under way. The collective impact of these actions will greatly assist New Zealand businesses; further announcements will be coming shortly.
Hon Sir Roger Douglas Link to this
How does the Minister reconcile the Prime Minister’s undertaking not to reduce public sector job numbers with the goal of not imposing all of the forthcoming economic adjustment costs on the private sector?
The Government has made it clear that it is focusing its changes in the public sector on increasing productivity and on moving money and resources into front-line services.
Hon David Cunliffe Link to this
What might those changes be? What is the Government actually doing in addition to the policy commitments to support small business that were announced by Labour prior to the election and that are already in the process of being legislated for?
There have been a number of changes. Some of them are continuations of what the previous Government said it would do, yet did not do. I note that in August of last year the previous Minister of Health signalled to the Director-General of Health that further output gains in the Government sector should be driven by the reprioritising of resources through to the front line, rather than through significant fulltime-equivalent growth. The previous Government failed to deliver on that; this Government will deliver on it.
Hon David Cunliffe Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am sorry to trouble you, Mr Speaker, but my question was specifically about initiatives not proposed by the previous Government. In response to the question the Minister quoted an initiative that a Minister of the previous Government—namely this former Minister—took. He cannot—
Mr SPEAKERIn fairness, I think that the member should reflect back on his question. It was sufficiently vague that I thought the Minister answered it reasonably effectively.
Hon Jim AndertonHas the Minister seen any reports that the period in New Zealand’s history when the productive sector of New Zealand faced its greatest pressure was the period when the member who asked the substantive question was the Minister of Finance; if so, can he rule out that member’s policy of historically high interest rates, the fastest rate of small-business failure in history, and the slowest period of New Zealand growth since the Great Depression?
A fair bit of that is ancient history, from where I am sitting. This Government will be resolutely focused on maintaining confidence, particularly in private sector, that it will deliver the economic growth that will ensure New Zealand grows quickly into the future.
Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga Link to this
What has been the response by small businesses to the steps taken by the Government?
The small-business relief package has been almost universally welcomed across the small-business sector. For example, John Cook, the managing director of Stainless Design, which employs 75 people in Hamilton, said he expected to see a flow-on in the wider community. He welcomed changes to provisional tax and he also added that the Government’s actions would allow small businesses to climb into the next tier.