More bad news: Dead cat bounce for manufacturing

After declining for three months manufacturing has just eked into positive territory, signaling a dead cat bounce, says Labour’s Economic Development spokesperson David Cunliffe.

“The figures just get worse for the Government. Their deficit is blowing out, their job creation target is way behind, job ads are down and unemployment is the highest in 13 years.

“Now manufacturing is suffering from a dead-cat bounce after declining for three straight months and has been in negative territory for almost half of the year.

“The worst news is that employment in the industry has dropped for five straight months. There’s no surprise unemployment is the highest since Jenny Shipley.

“The Government is out of ideas and can barely muster the enthusiasm to respond coherently. Bill English refuses to acknowledge bad numbers and says anecdotally the economy is fine. The finance minister cannot even agree with his own Treasury officials whether the current account matters.

“We need answers not anecdotes. John Key has admitted he admires the reporting of Fox News. That’s because Fox and this Government live in an anecdotal alternate reality.

“In the real universes in the last four years 40,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost. But the Government refuses to act. It is content to sit on the side-lines and watch as New Zealand’s manufacturing base slowly crumbles.

“The crisis in manufacturing is all too real and no amount of spin can change that.

“The Government m
ust join the cross-party inquiry into manufacturing and look for solutions.”
ends

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>