Out of touch Key says: 'Crisis? What crisis?'

John Key’s Crisis? What Crisis? response to the thousands of jobs being lost in manufacturing shows he has lost touch with the reality on the ground in New Zealand, says Labour’s Economic Development spokesperson David Cunliffe.

“John Key jetted in from schmoozing in Hollywood to be greeted with a mounting manufacturing crisis. His response was to blindly say ‘there’s no manufacturing crisis in New Zealand’.

“To say: ‘Crisis? What Crisis’ when 40,000 jobs have been lost in the industry in the past four years, factories are shutting down and whole communities are being hollowed out is the mark of man who has lost his grip on the problems of our country.

“The Prime Minister and Steven Joyce are the only people in this country who still believe manufacturers are doing well. Certainly the industry doesn’t believe them, that’s why they’re having a jobs crisis summit.

“The facts prove John Key’s unrequited optimism is way off beam. The key performance of manufacturing index shows that employment has been declining since June and the industry has been in contraction for a third of the year. If that’s not a crisis, what is?

“His approach confirms he has no intention of supporting the manufacturing industry and helping the thousands of people losing their jobs in this country,” says David Cunliffe.