National drifts with no plan for jobs

The National Government is beginning 2012 the same way it finished its first three years in office ---- with no real idea about how to create jobs and grow the New Zealand economy, says Labour’s Finance spokesperson David Parker.

Commenting on today’s Westpac-McDermott Miller Confidence Index, which shows that New Zealanders are more pessimistic now about the jobs market than they have been for two years, David Parker said National’s approach to growing the economy was “inadequate at best”.

“Kiwi companies are trimming back any plans they had to take on more workers,” David Parker said. “There are simply no signals from National that it has come to grips with a need to be pro-active about growing our economy.

“While middle-income New Zealanders are not thriving and are feeling vulnerable, the economy will continue to drift.

“Labour’s priority is simple. We want Kiwis to have good and worthwhile jobs paying a fair wage. But for that to happen we need to encourage investment into jobs and the productive export sector, and away from the housing market,” David Parker said.

“That’s not happening. Where is the encouragement from the Government for businesses to invest in R and D? Where is a fresh look at monetary policy to allow our exporters to plan with greater certainty?

“The Government’s tax reforms have resulted in a bonanza for the top five to 10 per cent of already-wealthy Kiwis, but the vast bulk of Kiwis are facing a future which is steadily becoming bleaker,” David Parker said.

“Business confidence is clearly affected by global economic concerns, but that is all the more reason for a government to be pro-active and to show New Zealand can buck international trends.

“It’s all become too hard for National,” David Parker said. “The best they can come up with is selling off our most profitable assets. The only Kiwis who will benefit from that are the same rich mates who have already reaped the rewards of National’s tax cuts.

“A structural fix is required if we want to develop a robust economy and own our own country,” David Parker said. “That’s what Labour’s mix of tax, monetary policy and savings initiatives will achieve”.