Budget Keeps Kiwis on Treadmill Says NZ First
new-zealand-first-party
Thu May 16 2013 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Budget Keeps Kiwis on Treadmill Says NZ First
Thursday, 16 May 2013, 3:11 pm
Press Release: New Zealand First Party
Rt Hon Winston Peters
New Zealand First Leader
14 February 2013
Budget Keeps Kiwis on Treadmill Says NZ First
New Zealand First says the Budget does little to help struggling New Zealanders off the treadmill of high costs and low wages and uses asset sales to blur the real state of the economy.
Rt Hon Winston Peters says the Government is following a blind path of selling assets and undermining the future with further delays to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.
“There is nothing in the Budget to address the crippling current account deficit and international indebtedness and future generations are going to face a mountain of debt.
“Unemployment is dramatically higher than expected and there is no sign of the 170,000 extra jobs promised in election year 2011.
“The only increase is an extra 354 WINZ staff to deal with the ballooning dole queues around the country.
“This Budget continues the theme of keeping the fat cats at the top of the heap while ordinary families struggle to keep their heads above rising costs and static incomes.”
Mr Peters says the much vaunted housing package is a patchwork of intentions rather than a comprehensive plan to meet the huge demand for homes in Auckland and Canterbury.
“The Government is palming off its obligations to rich property developers to build houses that will be snapped up by rich foreigners anyway.”
Mr Peters says Heartland New Zealand misses out again with regional needs ignored and no extra jobs – just extra WINZ staff.
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“Our manufacturing and export sectors are let down again and the only relief in sight for them is New Zealand First’s Reserve Bank Bill drawn out of the ballot today.
“There has been a lot of talk about tackling poverty before the Budget. The only way to stop poverty is to get manufacturing and exporting thriving to provide extra jobs.
“Today the Minister danced around the way ordinary Kiwis are struggling and showed the Government is indifferent to the plight of ordinary people.
“Any concessions given today are very minor and given in poor spirit,” says Mr Peters.
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