“Business needs the confidence to invest and hire to deal with our growing unemployment problem,” National’s Economic Development spokesperson Todd McClay says.

“Today the EMA has called for better rules around employment conditions. They want the confidence to invest and take on new staff.

“National has committed to repealing the Resource Management Act, to not go ahead with minimum wage increases, and stop 70’s style fair-pay agreements that the government plans to implement.

“With hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders now on unemployment benefits, we need to find ways to make it easier for employers to get Kiwis back to work.

“National will create an environment where businesses can grow and prosper. We will work with businesses, not against them, to create more jobs and higher incomes for Kiwis and their families.

“Labour has gone in the opposite direction committing to lifting the minimum wage; increasing sick leave requirements; creating another public holiday, and more union friendly fair pay agreements.

“Labour has decided that it will load higher costs on business, making it harder to hire and more expensive to keep staff on.

“Labour needs to stop hitting businesses while they’re down. Many of these businesses have already made a huge sacrifice during the Government’s two lockdowns and were forced to take on debt just to keep their businesses open.

“This October New Zealanders have a clear choice over plans for our economic recovery: higher taxes and more costs for employers which ultimately means fewer jobs and less money in Kiwis’ pockets under Labour; or more money in their pockets from 1 December through tax relief to support small businesses and create jobs under National.

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