30 November 2005

Cullen on OECD report

“The latest OECD report on New Zealand should silence the clamour for tax cuts,” Finance Minister Michael Cullen said today.

Dr Cullen was commenting on concerns by the OECD at the impact on the economy of an additional fiscal stimulus beyond that already projected.

“This is the reason that Labour took into the election campaign by far the most fiscally conservative manifesto of any political party,” Dr Cullen said.

He said the OECD’s projections for economic growth to remain at around 2.5 per cent over the next two years and for exports to recover as the exchange rate came down were encouraging.

“I agree, however, with the OECD that the current account deficit poses a potential risk to this outlook and that continued careful fiscal management is necessary to mitigate that risk,” Dr Cullen said.

ENDS

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