National has deliv
ered a Budget that will have more New Zealanders heading for airport departure lounges as they look for opportunities and a brighter future offshore.
This truly is a zero Budget. It has zero growth and zero aspiration for New Zealanders. It offers zero hope that it will grow our economy now or in the years ahead. It fails to make the tough choices.
Prime Minister John Key and Finance Minister Bill English claim that this Budget is about giving Kiwis ‘confidence in uncertain times.’
That is just a slogan from a couple of confidence tricksters who keep making promises but do not deliver.
National keeps promising growth without doing anything to encourage it – the political equivalent of putting a seed on a windowsill and wishing it into a forest.
Last year, they promised 4% growth. Today they have cut it to 2.6%.
They promised year after year that there will be more jobs. Last year, the figure was 170,000 more over four years. Now it is 16,000 fewer than that.
Broken Promises
Just two days before the Budget was placed in Parliament (May 24), Mr Key promised that exports were rising under National. New figures show exports in fact fell $799 million or 17% compared to April last year.
National promised a brighter future. They keep saying the good times are just around the corner. But they never arrive.
What we have instead is the worst growth in 50 years, more than 50,000 Kiwis fleeing to Australia and a 50% increase in unemployment.
Kiwis are tired of National’s excuses. The government blames earthquakes, global financial woes and even other politicians for its failure to deliver. No one should make promises they can’t keep. It’s time to take responsibility.
Reaching surplus is important. Labour is committed to doing that. But it cannot be the only focus. We need to grow our country for the benefit of all Kiwis.
Labour will support our exporters and help Kiwis get the education and skills they need to seize the job opportunities of a 21st century economy. We will invest in science and innovation to create more high-wage businesses and make it easier for Kiwis to save for their retirement.
Labour will provide the strong economic leadership needed to give hard-working Kiwis the future they deserve and a reason to stay.
David Parker writes:
Mr Key is in complete denial about the structural imbalance the New Zealand economy faces.
Budget 2012 shows this would get worse with imports increasing at much faster rates than exports over the next four years.
This will blow out the Current Account deficit to -6.7% of GDP and New Zealand’s net international liabilities will be a record $205 billion in 2016.
That’s well over $120,000 in overseas borrowing for every household in New Zealand. This is not sustainable.
S&P Warning
On March 24, Standard and Poor’s said that failing to address this could result in a lower rating. It is one of the major reasons for the double-downgrade last year that the Government has simply put in the too-hard-basket.
We have to tackle the tough issues holding back the economy. National’s only plan is to sell our assets. Changing who owns what already exists does nothing to grow our exports.
The Government’s unwillingness to tackle serious issues like pro-growth tax reform, increased savings and the age of eligibility for superannuation, is why it has to cut the number of teachers and tax paperboys and girls.
Labour is committed to providing economic leadership that makes the tough calls for the long-term benefit of New Zealand.
David Shearer is the Leader of the Labour Party (and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament) and David Parker is the Party’s Finance Spokesman.
