The National Government’s Budget (2012-1013) pinches pennies from paper boys and forces parents to pay more for educating their children, yet fails to make the bold decisions needed to grow our economy and give New Zealanders the chance to get ahead.
We should be instilling a work ethic in our kids and encouraging them to save, not penalising them for getting part time jobs.
This sort of tinkering around the edges, in a single-minded bid to get back into surplus, is not the solution.
Yes, it is important to get back into black and Labour would do that too, but we also have to make the tough decisions that will help us grow our economy.
There are some pretty big issues facing New Zealand and we need to tackle them. Ignoring them is the equivalent of willful neglect.
Within three years, this country will be spending more on superannuation than on all education combined; that is pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary.
If ever the time was right for a national conversation about how we would pay our Superannuation bill into the future, it is now.
Tax Reforms
We need pro-growth tax reform to shift the investment focus away from speculation on property towards our productive sector.
We must help our innovative companies grow, support them with research and development, boost our exports and invest in our children’s education.
Prime Minister John Key keeps telling New Zealanders that the Government is selling their assets to pay down debt. It’s not.
He also keeps telling us that exports are growing under National’s economic ‘management’.
That is not true either. In fact, the latest figures show that under this government, exports have dropped by 17% or $800 million over the last year.
There is nothing aspirational or ambitious in this budget. There is nothing in it that will change our growth rates. Put simply, it fails every growth test.
The brain drain
It is a beige budget and it will drive more New Zealanders to the departure lounge as they head to Australia looking for a brighter future.
A zero budget means zero hope for all those New Zealanders who are working hard but not getting ahead.
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.
Mr 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 that they don’t deliver on.
National keeps promising growth without doing anything to encourage it, which is 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 had promised that year after year there will be more jobs. Last year, the figure was 170,000 more over four years. Now it is 16,000 fewer than that.
National promised a brighter future. They keep saying the good times are just around the corner. But they never arrive.
What we have got 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 that they cannot keep. It’s time to take responsibility.
Supporting exporters
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 Shearer is Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. The above is an extract of the statements he made on Budget 2012.
