7 July 2015

Joyce’s PR fluff won’t help neglected regions

National’s latest piece of marketing fluff won’t address the Government’s failure to invest in our regional economies, Labour’s Economic Development spokesperson David Clark says.

“National has released a flimsy PR document in an attempt to pretend it is addressing a woeful record in regional economic development and offset today’s bad economic news about business confidence.

“After nearly seven years, all National can come up with a committee of bureaucrats charged with implementing a collection of clichés.

“Since National came to office, unemployment has risen in every region, except Canterbury.

“National was happy to ride the milk wave when it was high, instead of diversifying the economy.

“Now dairy prices are down, Steven Joyce’s cabinet paper identifies primary industries as a key focus for foreign investment, raising the spectre of vital dairying land transferring to foreign owners.

“We know that a high proportion of dairy farms will be making a loss in the next year. National has banked the future wealth of our regions on high dairy prices, and now we are seeing the results.

“National’s response to difficult economic conditions is a flimsy marketing strategy with no real plan beyond opening important land up to foreign ownership,” David Clark says.

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