Key: Two years and out of ideas
new-zealand-labour-party
Tue Feb 08 2011 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Key: Two years and out of ideas
Tuesday, 8 February 2011, 2:07 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
Phil Goff
Labour Leader
8 February 2011
Media Statement
Key: Two years and out of ideas
John Key’s speech to Parliament today is dull, seriously lacking in vision and shows he’s thrown in the towel, says Labour Leader Phil Goff.
“This is a guy who swept into power promising a brighter future for New Zealand. Just two years later, he can’t even summon up the energy to come up with a single new idea for creating jobs and growing the economy.
“All John Key has done is give the very highest earners tax cuts worth thousands of dollars a week while 700 Kiwis are going on the unemployment scrapheap every week. All but the very well off are now going backwards or going to Australia.
“John Key is out of touch with real New Zealanders who are struggling to cope with skyrocketing power, petrol and grocery bills.
“He claims wages are rising faster than prices. That’s not true. Last year, inflation was 4% - more than double the 1.7% increase in wages. Food price inflation was even higher.
“He claims New Zealanders earning the average wage are taking home $64 a week more. That’s not true. Household incomes are going backwards – median weekly income fell 1.7% to $529.
“He claims Labour left government debt spiralling out of control. That’s not true. In fact, Labour left the government with net credit of $8.4 billion dollars or 4.7% of GDP.
“Bill English even admitted Labour left the country in a good position when he said this in December 2008: ‘I want to stress that New Zealand starts from a reasonable position in dealing with the uncertainty of our economic outlook. In New Zealand, we have room to respond. This is the rainy day that Government has been saving up for.’
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“John Key’s now trying to rewrite history. But people know it was Labour that saved up for the rainy day and it’s National that’s borrowing $2.5 billion dollars to pay for tax cuts for the very highest earners who don’t need it as much as middle and low income families.
“John Key said we’d come aggressively out of the recession. Now he’s admitting we may be slipping back into recession.
“He said he wouldn’t increase GST. He did.
“He said he’d make sure early childhood education was free. Fees are rising.
“He said he’d cap the public service not cut it. Now he’s slashing and burning as fast as he can. That means healthcare and schools will take a hit this year.
“He’s now asking New Zealanders to believe him when he says he’ll only hock off parts of our state assets supposedly to mum and dad investors. That’ll be another broken promise when they end up in the hands of foreign buyers pushing for profits at the expense of consumers.
“What John Key’s lacklustre speech shows is that he’s giving up. As he heads into his third year in the job, he’s run out of ideas and excuses.
“Labour has a plan. We will stop asset sales. We will introduce a tax-free zone to help all New Zealanders cope with the rising cost of living. We will create a stronger export economy, a fairer tax system and strong public services.”
ENDS
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