Time to look elsewhere for strength of the Coast's economy

Jim Anderton MP Tue Aug 17 1999

Alliance leader Jim Anderton says two thousand new jobs on the West Coast could be created as a result of the Alliance economic development policy Partnership 2000.

He says the need for new jobs and economic development is made all the more urgent for the West Coast by the release of a new book which discredits Timberlands' public relations campaign.

'The demolition of Timberlands credibility means that time is running out for native forest logging. The urgent challenge facing the Coast is to back investment in new job-rich, high technology industries,' Jim Anderton said.

'A well-run regional development programme based on partnership between the government and the private sector could provide thousands of new jobs on the Coast.'

The Alliance economic development plan creates 76,000 more jobs over three years than would otherwise be created, and Jim Anderton says many of them would be on the Coast.

'New Zealand needs more companies like Tait Electronics, which employs nearly a thousand people and exports high-tech equipment worth $150 million a year.

'Instead of being over-reliant on commodity exports, we need to diversify our exports into new areas.

'Jobs on the technology frontier offer a much more sustainable future for the Coast than chopping down ancient rimu trees, especially when that sort of logging is dependent on a public relations campaign which has been thoroughly discredited,' Jim Anderton said.

ENDS

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