No plan to deal with economy in trouble

new-zealand-labour-party

Sun Apr 10 2011 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

No plan to deal with economy in trouble

Sunday, 10 April 2011, 11:34 am
Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party

Phil
GOFF
Leader of the Labour Party

10 April 2011 MEDIA STATEMENT
No plan to deal with economy in trouble

The New Zealand economy is in trouble with no plan from the Government to address the worsening outlook, says Labour Leader Phil Goff.

“With the rising cost of living and more people worried about their job security, middle and low income earners are worse off.

“There is growing pessimism about the economic outlook and recent surveys show business confidence dropping

“The best Bill English can do is trumpet that New Zealand wages are 30 percent below Australia’s giving us an ‘advantage’. This from a Government which campaigned at the last election on closing the gap with Australia,” Phil Goff said.

“New Zealand’s depressed position despite record highs in export prices will only get worse, with National planning cuts in the Budget which will further reduce demand.

“It’s hard to understand why National’s plan on behalf of the New Zealand taxpayers is to sell off successful assets like power companies producing a total average return of 17.5 percent while bailing out failed private companies.

“The extensions of guarantees to failed South Canterbury Finance and continuing protection for other at risk finance companies and bailing out foreign owned Mediaworks collectively sends the wrong message,” Phil Goff said.

‘What this country needs is a real plan for the future, not gimmicks.

“It needs a strategy for up-skilling New Zealanders including for the Christchurch recovery. It needs a plan for a clever and innovative economy through research and development. It needs changes to monetary and taxation policy that promote growth in the productive and export sector and growth in real wages.

“And if savings have to be made, then John Key needs to look at hauling back some of the windfall tax cuts he gave himself and his wealthy mates of $1000 per week,” Phil Goff said.

ends

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from New Zealand Labour Party on InfoPages.