Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): In its fortnightly economic update, Treasury reports that, while weaker exports earlier in the year drove the March quarter contraction in GDP, business and household demand has remained strong. While there is no doubt pressure on many households and businesses, the New Zealand activity index—which is a composite measure of eight indicators—showed that activity increased in May, with particularly strong gains in the hospitality sector. Card spending also rose 1.4 percent in May, following a 7.3 percent rise in April. Despite this solid demand, there are, of course, still challenges ahead, with the high global inflation and supply chain constraints continuing to affect our partner economies as well as New Zealand.