Bill English MP
National Party Finance Spokesman

9 May 2008

Labour buries head in sand over job losses

Labour’s view that an unexpected 29,000 job loss is not bad news shows how dangerously asleep at the wheel of the economy this Government is, says National’s Finance spokesman, Bill English.

Mr English is referring to comments this morning by senior Labour minister Ruth Dyson who has described the fact the economy has shed almost 30,000 jobs in the first three months of the year as ‘a very small change actually…not a dramatic change’, adding ‘I don’t think that this is bad news at all actually’.

“The Minister is at odds with economists and commentators who are describing the drop as ‘a shocker’. She is the only one who appears unconcerned.

“Ruth Dyson doesn’t want to acknowledge the gravity of the situation because she knows that employment is a key measure of how successfully a government is managing the economy. These figures show that Labour hasn’t taken heed of all the signs which have pointed to a slowing economy, and that ministers will continue to bury their heads in the sand.”

Mr English says Ruth Dyson’s comments follow on from Helen Clark’s statement that interest rates aren’t going through the roof and Parekura Horomia’s comment that children miss out on breakfast because they are dieting.

“This is a Government that has totally lost its grip on reality.

“Households have been struggling with crippling interest rates and rising costs of living all year before this new pressure on job security started to bite.

“Labour prefers to preoccupy itself with political manoeuvres over asset sales and climate change, rather than coming up with any solutions to address the very serious impacts of a slowing economy.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media