The economic and jobs crisis is looking even worse on the back of news that confidence among small businesses has plunged to an all-time low, National’s Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

ANZ’s latest composite growth measure, which takes into account firms’ views on growth indicators, sank to its lowest level since records began in 1999. A net 48 per cent of businesses are now pessimistic about the year ahead.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of New Zealand’s economy, employing almost a million Kiwis and supporting their families,” Mr Goldsmith says.

“The Government has no plan restore this confidence. It is just borrowing money on an industrial scale and wasting much of it with loose spending.

“The Government keeps talking about shovel-ready projects, but it has proven many times that it can’t deliver. Fiascos like KiwiBuild and light rail have sapped confidence.

“National has a plan to deal with the economic and jobs crisis, and give businesses the confidence to invest and grow to create more jobs.

“Our $31 billion transport plan is the largest infrastructure package in history. It is the 20-year vision this country needs to get projects up and running, creating thousands of jobs.

“Connecting the 2.5 million New Zealanders who live between Whangarei, Hamilton and Tauranga for the first time with proper transport infrastructure will ignite the economic potential of the upper North Island.

“It appears the Government’s only plan is to wait for another economic lockdown and wing it from there.”

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