Paul Goldsmith - Finance

16 August 2019

For the first time since 2012 New Zealand’s manufacturing sector has contracted, according to the Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI), National’s Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

“Of course there is some global uncertainty out there, but it doesn’t explain New Zealand’s economic slowdown. The manufacturing sector has been slowing for some time now.

“When Labour, NZ First and the Greens were in Opposition they declared a manufacturing crisis. The reality is that confidence in manufacturing is now much worse and the PMI is lower now than it was then.

“The IMF expects global growth to increase from 3.2 per cent this year to 3.5 per cent next year. Our terms of trade, which reflects the prices we receive for our exports relative to the prices we pay for our imports, is near historical highs. New Zealand should be booming.

“The Government has only made life more difficult for New Zealand businesses, in particular manufacturing firms.

“The Government keeps adding costs to businesses, it has created massive uncertainty with all its working groups and left-field decisions like the ban on new oil and gas exploration, and because it has demonstrated incompetence, most famously with KiwiBuild.

“National will restore confidence and revive our economy so that we can lift our aspirations, both in what we can earn and in what social challenges we can overcome.”

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