Warren Kyd National Manufacturing Spokesperson

18 April 2001

Govt exacerbates confidence slide

"While we're experiencing positive exporting times, value and skill added areas are alarmingly pessimistic," National's Manufacturing spokesperson Warren Kyd said today.

Mr Kyd's comments follow the WestpacTrust-Manufacturers Federation survey that showed manufacturing business confidence slumped badly in the March quarter. A net 12 percent of manufacturers expect the general business situation to worsen in the next six months. In contrast, in the December quarter a net 24 percent expected the economy to improve.

"Manufacturers are concerned about the impact on our economy from slower growth in Australia and the United States, and they doubt we have sufficient economic momentum to carry us through any temporary external downturn

"The Government has ridden a wave of higher commodity prices thanks largely to the lower dollar. But in the domestic environment the Government is doing all it can to drag down the economy with discouraging moves such as higher taxes and changes to our labour laws and ACC.

"The Prime Minister talks about an 'economic transformation' which will embrace the knowledge economy and propel New Zealand to the top half of the OECD. But since the election manufacturers have had their competitiveness stifled, with costs and barriers put up thick and fast.

"This lack of confidence is likely to result in the Reserve Bank again lowering interest rates in its Official Cash Rate review tomorrow," Mr Kyd said.

Ends

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>