Media Release
17 March 2004

Reserve Bank – Same Direction

New Zealand First MP Craig McNair today questioned the Governor of the Reserve Bank during a hearing of evidence of his Budget Policy Statement to the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee.

Mr McNair asked, “from looking at the experiences of other successful economies, do you believe that a move away from such a strong focus on inflation and concentrating more on the needs of the export sector would be a positive move? The Governors response which indicated that he would continue on the same track embarked on by the now National leader Don Brash and continue to be obsessed with its myopic focus on inflation, was a disappointment”, said Mr McNair, ‘and serves as an indicator of the continuing adherence to past failed policies’, suggested Mr McNair.

“While New Zealand First welcomes such moves as the Reserve Banks request for more power to influence the value of the New Zealand dollar, we must also note that interest rates are still too high and should be brought down to reduce the value of the New Zealand dollar and increase returns to exporters”, Mr McNair concluded.

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>>