1. Dr DON BRASH (Leader of the Opposition) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Is it still the goal of her Government to have New Zealand “return to the top half of the OECD ratings by 2011”; if so, will tomorrow’s Budget ensure that New Zealand achieves that goal?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) Link to this
That statement was first raised by the previous Leader of the Opposition more than 3 years ago, at which point it was made clear that that target date was not Government policy. If Dr Brash is going to keep asking Bill English’s questions, perhaps he should move aside and give Bill English the job.
Has the Prime Minister forgotten that she made that commitment in the Speech from the Throne in 1999?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I am certainly not aware that a 10-year date was set in the Speech from the Throne in 1999. Given that the member is so interested in the OECD, perhaps he should accept what the OECD actually said, which is that for New Zealand, increases in real GDP per person have outpaced the OECD 10-year moving average since 2000.
Is the Prime Minister aware that the Australian, American, and Canadian economies are all forecast to grow at over 3 percent annually for the foreseeable future; and can she tell the House, with any confidence at all, that New Zealand’s economy will grow as fast as any one of those economies as a result of tomorrow’s Budget?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
It is fair to point out the New Zealand economy has been growing faster than all of those economies while Labour has been in Government.
Can the Prime Minister confirm that, having promised that only 5 percent of New Zealanders would pay the top rate of personal tax when that was increased in 2000, 11 percent of taxpayers and 20 percent of full-time earners are now paying the top rate of 39c in the dollar; and can she tell the House how poor incentives like that will help New Zealand to claw its way back into the top half of developed nations?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
The incentives cannot be too poor; 300,000 more Kiwis are in jobs today than there were under a National Government 6 years ago.
Can the Prime Minister confirm that skilled New Zealanders earning less than 1½ times the average wage are taxed at the highest personal tax rate, and can she tell the House why, if those New Zealanders are so rich, they qualify for welfare payments under her Government?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
My understanding is that the family tax relief offered by the Labour Government is entirely in line with the kind of targeted family tax relief offered in many other Western countries.
Peter BrownDoes the Prime Minister accept that to have a successful economy we need to minimise unemployment, maximise productivity, pay reasonable wages, and develop first-class infrastructure in areas such as roading and transport, and, further, does she accept that that is the exact reverse of what National achieved when it was last in Government?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I entirely agree with the member, because I have a very clear recollection of the Employment Contracts Act and what it did to workers’ wages in New Zealand, making us lag well behind Australian wages.
Can the Prime Minister confirm that average after-tax Australian incomes were 20 percent higher than those in New Zealand in 1999 and are now 33 percent higher than those in New Zealand, and that the Australian economy will grow at more than 3 percent this year while the New Zealand economy has stalled; and will she explain to the House how, on those trends, New Zealand after-tax incomes will ever again equal those in Australia?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I can confirm that after years of growing more slowly than New Zealand, Australia may have a better year than we have this year. I can also confirm that 9 years of the Employment Contracts Act kicked the struts out from under Kiwi wages. That was accomplished by Don Brash and friends.
Hon Jim Anderton
Madam SPEAKERWill the member please be seated. Members know that when members are on their feet to ask a question, they are heard in silence. If there is another interruption, members will leave the Chamber.
Has the Prime Minister seen any reports that indicate that for the 30 years from 1970 to 2000, mainly under National Governments, New Zealand underperformed against the Australian economy to the extent of 30 percent per capita GDP in that time, and that since the year 2000 New Zealand has outperformed Australia in GDP per capita in those last 6 years?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I can certainly confirm the trend—that under a Labour Government in recent years the performance has outranked Australia’s—and I further note that National, having lurched from Muldoonism to “Ruthanasia”, never found an answer for New Zealand.