Hide & Douglas Expose Govt Mis-Management

The Fisher and Paykel closure is painful evidence that the number one issue for this election is the Labour-led Government's mis-management of the New Zealand economy, ACT Leader Rodney Hide and founder Sir Roger Douglas said today.

"The true extent of that mis-management has been masked by the best global conditions in our lifetime - but the chickens are now well and truly coming home to roost for Prime Minister Helen Clark and Finance Minister Dr Michael Cullen," Mr Hide said.

"What they don't seem to get is that the big driver of people's wealth is productivity - how much we produce with our time, energy and money. Under Labour, productivity growth has slumped to lows unheard of since Muldoon times. Kiwis are having to work harder than they should to produce less.

"On top of this, regulations are strangling our businesses with red tape. All of these things place a totally unnecessary burden on export companies like Fisher and Paykel. No wonder they throw up their hands and eventually export themselves," Mr Hide said.

"Raising productivity is the first thing a competent government should address. This Government has over-taxed New Zealanders by $20 billion - that's money that could have been left with people to unleash a whirlwind of initiative and productivity of the kind we've seen in countries like Ireland," said former Finance Minister Sir Roger Douglas.

"But Dr Cullen took it from them and wasted so much of it on silly, short-sighted schemes - what he's done is just tragic. Central and local government spending is now 45 percent of everything we produce - in Australia it's just 35 percent. Local government has been promoted above its ability to spend efficiently - it should stick to its knitting," Sir Roger said.

"Further, the Government talks knowingly about a knowledge economy - yet it doesn't seem to understand what it means. It runs an education system where 40 percent of school leavers can't read, write or count well enough to contribute to that economy - and when those people try to buy a house, they find that the Government won't release enough sections to let house prices come down to a level where they can afford them.

"The only solution is to elect leaders who know how to run an economy properly for all people in the medium and long term, not just their own supporters in the short term," Sir Roger said.