9 August, 1999

GERRY BROWNLEE
MP FOR ILAM

PRESS RELEASE

LOWER UNEMPLOYMENT GREAT NEWS FOR CANTERBURY

"It is great news for Canterbury," said Ilam MP Gerry Brownlee in reaction to the positive unemployment and employment figures released yesterday.

Unemployment in the Canterbury region is down from a year ago, as outlined in the latest Household Labour Force Survey.

Mr Brownlee said it is the Government's aim to bring nation-wide unemployment to below 6%, and the latest figures show that this goal will likely be achieved.

"If the Labour-Alliance bloc ever got the chance to govern they would put such progress in serious jeopardy. Simply put, higher taxes, higher interest rates, and scrapping the Employment Contracts Act would cost jobs.

Mr Brownlee said the Employment Contracts Act is largely responsible for unemployment falling by more than 3% in recent years.

He said since 1991 284,000 new jobs have been created and unemployment has fallen by 32,000. In contrast during Labour's last three years in office, unemployment increased 52,700.

"More New Zealanders are in work than ever before. National has made some substantial headway in both employment and unemployment this decade. We can't afford to let the Labour-Alliance bloc stunt our economic and employment growth".

In the June 1998 quarter Canterbury unemployment registered at 7.6%. Today it stands at 7.0%. At the same time the number of Canterbury people in work rose a staggering 27,800 to 254,100.

"The sustained fall in unemployment shows that our economy is growing and the National-led Government's policies are indeed working".

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