Scorecard shows anti-growth environment

Media release
8 December 2003

Scorecard shows anti-growth environment

The latest Changing Gear scorecard again shows the difficulties faced in growing business and the economy, says Business NZ.

Releasing the latest update (attached), Business NZ Chief Executive Simon Carlaw said the scorecard showed New Zealand either static or falling behind on most key indicators.

The Changing Gear scorecard is a set of objective indicators of the environment for accelerated economic growth, devised in 2001 and updated regularly since.

"The key indicator - wealth of New Zealanders - is declining," Mr Carlaw said. "We are not catching up with the citizens of the richest countries. This has a direct relationship with the length of our hospital waiting lists and our ability to shorten them.

"Our work stoppage figures are far from the target, as are indicators for the tax burden, roading expenditure and local government expenditure. Only six of the 22 indicators show improvement over 2002.

"The scorecard represents an objective measure of our progress towards a growth culture. On current performance, we have a long way to go."

The 2003 scorecard was completed before the introduction of the Employment Relations Law Reform Bill and other recent legislative initiatives that will also impact negatively on New Zealand's growth potential.

*The Changing Gear scorecard 2003 is on http://www.businessnz.org.nz.

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