Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi
I am looking forward to another busy year as the government focuses on locking in the hard-won gains that New Zealanders have made under National.
I want New Zealand to seize the many opportunities available over the next few years to get more jobs and higher wages to support New Zealanders and their families.
Good progress
We begin 2015 in good shape. The economy is in its fifth year of expansion and economic growth is expected to average around 3% over the next four years, better than the Euro area, USA, UK, Japan, and Canada.
Employment is growing, with 72,000 more people employed than a year ago, and an additional 153,000 people are expected to be in work by mid-2019.
The average full-time wage is expected to rise by $8000 to around $64,000 by mid-2019.
Unemployment, currently down to 5.4%, is expected to fall to 4.5% by 2018.
Interest rates are staying lower for longer, and household disposable income is increasing faster than inflation – rising 9% in real terms over the past four years.
It is forecast to increase another 9% over the next four years.
Positive performance
Our positive performance and outlook in an unpredictable world led one international bank economist to call New Zealand ‘the rock star economy.’
However, our goal is not to be a rock star but to be rock solid.
We want stable, sustainable growth over the long term to support New Zealanders and their families.
We will continue to do this by spending taxpayers’ money wisely and responsibly managing the country’s finances – just like you would expect us to do.
We will continue to build a more competitive and productive economy because that is the best way to create more jobs and increase your wages.
Better services
We will continue to work at delivering better public services. These include lifting educational achievement and upskilling our workforce, providing better and more convenient healthcare, getting more people off welfare and into work, supporting the vulnerable, and making our communities safer.
We will continue to support the rebuilding of Christchurch because we pledged that we would stand with our second-largest city, and we are.
This is a remarkable country and there are many opportunities for us all.
After a refreshing holiday with family and friends, I am looking forward to continue our work of building a brighter future for our community and for all New Zealanders.
Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi is Member of Parliament on National List.
