Simon Bridges - Leader of the Opposition
8 June 2018

Govt sends business confidence into ‘free fall’

Plummeting business confidence should be sending shivers down the spines of Government ministers, with Auckland businesses sending a clear signal that Government policies are taking the economy in the wrong direction, Opposition Leader Simon Bridges says.

“Almost half of Auckland businesses surveyed by the Auckland Business Chamber believe that the economy is going to deteriorate over the next six months.

“That’s compared to just 8 per cent this time last year under the National Government.

“This ‘free fall’ in business confidence is a direct result of the poor decisions and uncertainty created by the Ardern-Peters Government which has done nothing to give businesses a boost.

“With 122 working groups or reviews set up in the last eight months, it’s easy to see why businesses don’t have confidence in the Government’s ability to make decisions.

“When it does make decisions, they’re bad. Anti-business and anti-growth policies continue to mount – like giving more power to the unions at the expense of workers, taxing more for petrol, or slashing foreign investment.

“For the last few years, New Zealand’s economy has been the envy of the world.

“But deteriorating business confidence will mean lower investment, fewer jobs and less money for public services – undoing all the good work of hardworking Kiwis over the last decade.

“It’s well past time for the Government to start listening.”

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