Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): Today, ASB have produced their quarterly economic forecast for New Zealand, entitled A demonstration of resilience. It states that they now expect that the economic decline as a consequence of COVID-19 to be "around half the decline we anticipated". They state that this reflects the level of Government support, the quick exit from lockdown, and continued consumer spending. As ASB has put it, "Fear of losing jobs has quickly given way to fear of missing out on a bargain or some fun." Their quarterly report also states, "[New Zealand's] economic activity bounced back remarkably quickly once alert level restrictions were gradually eased through May and June, and by July the [New Zealand] economy almost felt like business as usual." While there are many New Zealanders who continue to struggle with the impacts of COVID-19, the New Zealand economy is recovering.