David Cunliffe
Finance Spokesperson

15 July 2009 Media Statement

Key speech on economy exposes lack of plan

Prime Minister John Key’s speech on the economy today exposes National’s lack of a plan to boost the economy and keep New Zealanders in work, says Labour finance spokesperson David Cunliffe.

“With more than 1200 New Zealanders joining the dole queue every week, John Key needed to outline his plan, yet all we got was a rehash of National’s election promises,” David Cunliffe said.

“Mr Key’s six-prong approach has been fundamentally undermined by actions his Government has taken since it entered office.

“This is a government that has savagely cut funding from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise grant programmes, slashed R and D tax credits, knocked the stuffing out of the Fast Forward Fund, gutted adult education programmes and put community skills training programmes on the back-burner.”

David Cunliffe said John Key talked of the importance of New Zealanders saving more. “Yet this is the same Prime Minister whose government has cut KiwiSaver incentives, and stopped contributions to the Super Fund for 10 years.

“This is simply empty rhetoric from Mr Key. KiwiSaver was the first real attempt to lift private sector household savings in New Zealand, and National’s response has been to undermine it.”

David Cunliffe said National lacked the ideas and capacity to produce a plan to lead New Zealand out of the recession. “On the basis of today’s empty rhetoric, New Zealanders will be waiting a long time for those ideas to emerge.”

ENDS

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