More job cuts, monetary policy upgrade needed

The loss of 70 jobs at Alloy Yachts shows the pain being inflicted on exporters by the high New Zealand dollar and the need for an upgrade of our out-of-date Reserve Bank Act, says Labour’s Finance spokesperson David Parker.

“Our overvalued New Zealand dollar is having a huge impact on manufacturers, especially those like yacht-building that rely almost wholly on exporting. In January Fitzroy Yachts in New Plymouth said it would have to close down. Now Alloy Yachts is slashing its workforce.

“It is a heartbreaking time for the families of those workers who often have to leave the region or go overseas to find jobs; all because our dollar is overvalued, by up to 15 per cent, according to the IMF.

“Families shouldn’t need to suffer through that. Changes can be made. Our Reserve Bank’s tunnel-vision mandate and limited tool kit means that its approach to the control of inflation ignores the damaging side effects to exporters like Alloy Yachts.

“The Act is past its use-by date and needs to be upgraded.

“Changing monetary policy is now mainstream economics. Countries around the world have upgraded their monetary policy to adjust to changing times. Under Labour New Zealand will do the same,” says David Parker.

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