Deputy Prime Minister Jim Anderton must be on another economic planet, ACT Finance Spokesman Rodney Hide said today.

“Jim Anderton clearly has no idea what is happening in the NZ or the world economy,” Mr Hide said.

Mr Anderton claimed in an address to an Alliance meeting in the Hutt Valley last night that the economy shrank by 0.8% in the year to June 1999.

“It actually grew by 2% in the year to June 1999, according to Statistics NZ. I know which figures I believe," Mr Hide said.

He said the Deputy Prime Minister had failed to distinguish what happened prior to Mr Anderton being put in charge of economic development.

“The contrast is stark,” Mr Hide said.

“Real GDP growth in the six months to December 1999 was 4.7 per cent.

“Real GDP growth for the first 6 months of this Government’s tenure was negative, at -0.1 per cent.”

“Jim Anderton concludes that the new GDP figures are very encouraging. That can only be on what ever planet he is on,” Mr Hide said.

Mr Hide said Seventeen other OECD countries had so far posted their June quarter results.

“All show economic growth. New Zealand alone is going against this trend and contracting."

Mr Hide said the Deputy Prime Minister also “cheerily” told his Hutt South Alliance audience that New Zealanders had more dollars in their pockets and “those dollars are buying more."

“You can tell that Jim Anderton does not have to pay for his petrol, that he does not smoke, that he is an investor rather than a mortgage holder, and that he seldom frequents the supermarket.”

Mr Hide said the Deputy Prime Minister should “step outside of his taxpayer-funded bubble “and try talking to some “real people” who were struggling to pay for the extra costs his Government was responsible for.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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