Press Release – New Zealand Labour Party

John Key’s National Government has saddled New Zealand with an extra $37 billion in debt in the past three years, but the country has no growth to show for it, says Labour’s Finance spokesperson David Cunliffe.David

CUNLIFFE

Finance Spokesperson

28 September 2011 MEDIA STATEMENT

Key saddles us with $37b in debt for no growth

John Key’s National Government has saddled New Zealand with an extra $37 billion in debt in the past three years, but the country has no growth to show for it, says Labour’s Finance spokesperson David Cunliffe.

“Before the last election John Key strutted his line that New Zealand had a ‘growth problem, not a debt problem’,” David Cunliffe said.

“Well, $37 billion of extra debt later, National has not only ensured New Zealand now has a huge debt problem, but it has done nothing to create growth in the economy, and it still has no plan to create growth in the future.

“Bill English’s increasingly defensive answers in the House today, when challenged on the fact that yesterday’s National Employment Indicator showed almost 47,000 fewer Kiwis are employed now than when he took office, reveals how uneasy the Government has become in trying to justify its lack of an cohesive economic plan,” David Cunliffe said.

“This is a hapless government doing its utmost to ‘muddle through’ to the election, but with no plan to make things better for struggling Kiwis in the future.

“National’s ‘muddling through’ has resulted in 3.6 per cent lower GDP today than when it took office,” David Cunliffe said.

“The GDP per capita gap with Australia has widened from 30 to 35 per cent, and record numbers of Kiwis joining the economic exile across the Tasman.

“New Zealand’s situation will deteriorate even more if National gets the opportunity to hock off our prize state-owned assets to overseas investors.

“Kiwis have had enough of ‘muddling through’ and government by photo op. They want real leadership for tough times. They want a real plan for jobs and growth.

“It has been clear for at least two years that National has no plan to tackle the tough economic issues, including the need to address high private and public debt, a lack of savings for investment, inadequate policies to promote exports and innovation, and a stubborn refusal to modernise monetary policy,” David Cunliffe said.

“National’s only ‘strategy’ is to borrow and ‘muddle through”.”

ENDS

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