Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

National equals the record: seven deficits

National equals the record: seven deficits

Dark clouds are hanging over the National Government’s tattered image as a responsible manager of the economy following John Key’s hollow pre-Budget speech, the Green Party said today.

“John Key’s speech lacks a vision for a better New Zealand. All he announced today is a lower-than-inflation adjustment for research and development spending and a standard school-building programme to keep up with population growth,” Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said.

“For years, National has always said that returning the Government’s books to surplus is their key economic goal, but in today’s pre-Budget speech John Key said the word ‘surplus’ only once. Their failure to achieve a surplus for the seventh time in a row equals the record set from 1966 to 1972.

“John Key is doing everything he can to backpedal on his previous statements about getting back to surplus this year.

“The fact that John Key tried to divert attention to business-as-usual core spending on school buildings just to keep up with population growth shows how far he’s willing to go to avoid talking about his Government’s failure to reach surplus.

“Today’s announcement of $80 million research and development funding over four years is underwhelming and doesn’t even keep up with inflation. The Green Party’s plan to invest $1 billion in R&D over three years would kick start the innovative economy.

“It’s clear that businesses can see through National’s empty economics talk. Four out of five businesses don’t expect any improvement in the next twelve months, according to the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research's quarterly survey of business opinion, released today.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“Achieving surplus is not the only important economic goal, but it’s the one that National chose to highlight, and they’re failing to achieve it.

“The myth of National as a responsible economic manager has been busted. New Zealand needs new ideas and a change of direction to a smarter, greener economy.

“Last year, the Green Party released an independently audited plan to achieve surpluses and pay down Government debt faster than National.

“Our fiscal costings showed that responsible economic management is possible at the same time as better funding for health and education, R&D, cleaning up rivers, taking action on climate change, and lifting hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty. National is failing on all these key measures,” said Dr Norman.

ends

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.