Another Kiwi business sold offshore

The sale of Kiwi business Pacific Steel to an Australian company is concerning to all New Zealanders who want to see locally-owned industries thriving, Labour Leader David Cunliffe says.

“Pacific Steel is an excellent New Zealand business. Its sale to Australian buyers is a worrying development, yet National simply shrugs its shoulders and lets it go.

“When Fisher and Paykel was sold overseas barely a murmur came from John Key and Steven Joyce. They don’t seem to care.

“Foreign investment is not a bad thing but in New Zealand it is going too far. Too many of our local companies have been snapped up by overseas buyers and the profits are flowing into the hands of overseas investors, rather than staying in New Zealand and keeping Kiwis in jobs.

“The problem is there isn’t enough money in New Zealand to invest in keeping Kiwi companies here. Our dismal savings rate means we don’t have the investment pool here to put money into New Zealand companies. Meanwhile most investment in New Zealand goes into housing speculation, not the industries that need it most.

“That’s why our manufacturing sector is only being propped up by primary industries and the Canterbury rebuild.

“Our policy of making KiwiSaver universal will boost our investment pool and our capital gains tax and research and development tax credits will get that investment into companies that need it most.

“That’s how Labour will help keep Kiwi companies Kiwi. National will continue to stand by and do nothing.

“BlueScope Steel and Fletchers have pledged to keep workers employed until after the Otahuhu mill is decommissioned at the end of 2015. Labour will make sure they keep that pledge,” David Cunliffe says.

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