29 March 2016

Growth per person lower than UK, US, Japan

New Zealand’s growth per person is significantly lower than countries like the UK and America, showing our economy is driven by population growth rather than productivity, says Labour’s Finance spokesperson Grant Robertson.

“Along with flat per person growth, we have seen a fall in per capita real incomes. This means on average Kiwis are getting poorer. That’s because the key driver is population growth, not new businesses, industries and exports which is what’s needed to boost growth per person.

“Bill English’s contortions in Parliament today shows he knows the damage this is doing to New Zealand. At first he denied real per person incomes were falling, then conceded he had said the opposite last week, and finally said he was wrong to have admitted it.

“He’s all over the place. The fact is that real disposable income per person has fallen and that growth per person is flat, meaning people overall are worse off. That’s a shocking legacy after eight years as Finance Minister.

“It’s not quality growth if people aren’t seeing the benefits. New Zealanders need to have economic growth driven by productivity, not just an airline economy, driven by population growth, international students and tourism,” says Grant Robertson.

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