Another tragic closure as economy founders

The closure of yet another South Auckland factory, with the loss of another 85 jobs, is a tragic indictment of the Government’s continuing failure to get the New Zealand economy moving again, says Labour’s Employment spokesperson Su’a William Sio.

“Of course, the Government cannot be expected to intervene in individual business failures, but all its talk about promising to create 170,000 more jobs is completely hollow and cruel when Kiwis know the jobs just aren’t there, and won’t be there while this Government stands by and makes excuses.

“This National Government is great at one thing --- and one thing only,” Su’a William Sio said. “It’s the best target-setter ever across a range of ambitions from reducing social welfare dependency to reducing crime. But there’s no point setting targets if there’s no plan to achieve them.

“The targets the Government announced this week failed to address job creation, economic growth, investment in research and development, or pro-growth tax reform.

“No wonder the alarm bells are sounding in the worst-affected communities like South Auckland. The closure of Norman Ellison Carpets today is just another blow for a community experiencing the full impact of continued unemployment and joblessness,” Su’a William Sio said.

“How do they support themselves and their families if unemployment remains constant?

“Instead of making up new excuses all the time, the Government needs to modernise the economy with pro-growth tax reform, a universal savings scheme, and game-changing investment in innovation, technology and education,” Su’a William Sio said.