18 August 2004

National Party challenged on Australian comments

Finance Minister Michael Cullen has questioned what National Party leader Don Brash hoped to achieve with criticism of the New Zealand economy in an opinion piece published in today’s Australian Financial Review.

“After his spectacular embarrassment over comments on nuclear ship policy surely Dr Brash has learnt to stay out of commenting internationally – and stick to learning the ropes at home.

Dr Brash suggests in the article that “down the track [there is a risk that] New Zealand would become just another Pacific island state, larger than most, to be sure, but potentially suffering from the same kinds of problems.”

Dr Cullen reminds Dr Brash that New Zealand’s growth performance continues to outperform the OECD average with the economy growing at more than twice the rate of the OECD average in the recent quarter.

ENDS

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