David
CUNLIFFE
Economic Development Spokesperson
28 June 2012 MEDIA STATEMENT
Steven Joyce continues attack on jobs and clean growth

Steven Joyce today continued his attack on the Pure Advantage group of respected business leaders in Parliament, says Labour’s Economic Development spokesperson David Cunliffe.

Last week the Economic Development Minister accused Chair, Rob Morrison, and Trustees including Sir Stephen Tindall, Phillip Mills, Jeremy Moon, Joan Withers and Mark Solomon, of ‘bias’ in seeking self-interested ‘subsidies’ in their recent report New Zealand’s Position in the Green Race .

Mr Morrison has since publicly confirmed that the Pure Advantage report did not advocate specific subsidies.

“This is another ugly and unwarranted attack on respected members of the business community by a senior minister,” David Cunliffe said.
“Mr Joyce’s refusal to apologise in Parliament, or to withdraw his baseless slurs against the Pure Advantage report, only digs deeper a hole of his own making.

“The Minister had previously slighted the report as ‘value destroying’ and representing a ‘highly dislocating shift, that would leave us poorer for an extended period of time’. National refused to allow the report to be tabled in Parliament.

“Pure Advantage advocates lifting New Zealand’s game at capitalising on the $6 trillion potential global market for green business. That means more jobs and opportunities for New Zealanders,” David Cunliffe said

“So it’s hard to see how the Minister’s perverse claim that green growth is value destroying can be justified – particularly because the National Government has proven to be an inept economic manager, delivering nothing but high employment, a 4.4% decline in exports for the year to May, miniscule productivity growth and deterioration of the current account.

“Steven Joyce’s emotional outbursts do nothing to help this country get a genuine economic development plan. That’s what the Minister is supposed to be doing, instead of attacking public-spirited business leaders who are doing their best to take New Zealand forward,” David Cunliffe said.

ENDS

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