PM should take responsibility for biz confidence

The Prime Minister and her Government need to stop making excuses and start taking responsibility for poor business confidence, National’s Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

“The Prime Minister today dismissed the latest business confidence survey as just a ‘snapshot of opinion.’ But virtually every snapshot for the past 18 months has been getting worse.

“The reality is that’s because of this Government’s poor policy making decisions. Business confidence has plummeted to the lowest it’s been in ten years, the same as the depths of the Global Financial Crisis.

“The former Minister for Economic Development David Parker described business confidence surveys as ‘junk’ which shows just how seriously this Government treats business.

“The Prime Minister is blind to the impact that her Government’s anti-growth policies are having. It’s no wonder businesses are reluctant to invest and take chances when the Government has introduced more than 250 working groups, dangled the prospect of a Capital Gains Tax, introduced union-friendly industrial laws and banned new oil and gas exploration. It’s also demonstrated that it’s unable to deliver on its promises such as KiwiBuild and delivering quality infrastructure.

“It’s time the Government stopped blaming everyone but themselves for being the handbrake on our economy. We need a credible plan to help New Zealanders get ahead.”

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