The definition of madness... English on jobs

“Bill English’s belated admission that the Government is nowhere near on track to create the 170,000 new jobs it promised over four years is cold comfort for the 300,000 jobless Kiwis,” says David Shearer.

The Finance Minister yesterday conceded the Government is “behind the 170,000 track” and in the last quarter there were no new jobs created at all.

But in almost the same breath Bill English dismissed the 7.3% unemployment rate as a “slow patch” and a “blip.”  And he said the Government needed to “crack on” with its economic policies, adding that “we’ve got the balance about right.”

“It beggars belief that Bill English and John Key can remain so relaxed about their Government’s appalling record on jobs.  Unemployment is at a 13-year high and would be even worse if a thousand Kiwis a week weren’t giving up on building their future here and moving to Australia.

“This is not a blip.  This is a rudderless economy that is leaving tens-of-thousands of families on the scrapheap without work or hope.

”What will it take to get through to the Government that its policies are not working for New Zealand?

“As the saying goes, the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  Well, that is exactly what National is doing with our economy.

“They keep trying the same old failed policies – selling our assets, cutting workers rights and driving down wages.  And we keep getting the same results – job losses, low wages and a stagnant economy.  It is economic madness.

“The next Labour government will not sit on the sidelines like National and watch New Zealand slide backwards.  We need a hands-on Government that is prepared to back Kiwi workers, families and businesses,” says David Shearer.