31 January 2013

More Kiwi jobs sacrificed by Nats’ inaction on dollar

Another 192 Kiwis have had their jobs sacrificed because of the National Government’s devotion to a failed monetary policy and its unwillingness to change with the times, Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said today.

Summit Wool Spinners, an iconic 130 year-old manufacturer and exporter based in Oamaru, has announced it is closing its factory at the cost of 192 jobs. The company has cited the high dollar as the cause of the closure.

“Another 192 Kiwi workers and their families are facing unemployment because this National Government has failed to act to bring the dollar down,” said Mrs Turei.

“This week, manufacturers came to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Manufacturing and warned us that more businesses would close and more jobs would be lost unless the Government gets the dollar down to a fair level quickly.

“These 192 redundancies, and the other jobs that will surely be lost in Oamaru as the shock of the loss of its iconic employer ripples through the community, are proof that the manufacturers were not exaggerating in their plea for government intervention.

“For four years, John Key has cracked jokes, Steven Joyce has hurled insults, and the Reserve Bank has done nothing while our exchange rate has risen by over 66% against the US Dollar. In those four years, 40,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost as the over-valued exchange rate has hammered exporters’ earnings and helped importers undercut local businesses.

“The time has long past when Mr Key and Mr Joyce could pretend the high dollar doesn’t matter. Kiwi workers and business owners deserve a government that will stand beside them and use the smart, modern tools available to get the dollar down to a fair level. National has made clear it won’t be that government; the Green Party will,” said Mrs Turei.

ENDS

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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>>