Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): The Large Scale Asset Purchase (LSAP) programme was part of a range of measures that the Reserve Bank took in the early stages of 2020. This was done as part of a coordinated fiscal and monetary policy response to the pressing economic conditions that New Zealand and the global economy was facing at the time. The steps that we took to support the economy in the teeth of that crisis were crucial to New Zealand's strong economic recovery from COVID-19. The indemnity was recommended by Treasury because the policy was seen to be in the public interest and to ensure that the policy could be implemented. Interest rates have shifted since that time and, as with our fiscal response, there are costs associated with the measures that the Reserve Bank took. The latest estimates from Treasury of this cost are around $8.46 billion. However, the economic and social costs of not providing that support at the time is something that the member might want to reflect on. The specifics of the indemnity are not set in dollar terms; rather, the limits of the indemnity are set by the percentage of bonds on issue in the period of time in which purchases can be made. With the benefit of hindsight, the member may disagree with decisions that were taken in 2020, but that is a privilege of those who did not have to make those decisions at the time.