NZTE’s $62 million pavilion unveiled
today in Dubai is an unseemly
extravagance during a pandemic, says the
New Zealand Taxpayers’
Union.
Union
spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “NZTE has completely
misread the room by proceeding with the Dubai expo during
COVID-19. Tens of thousands of Kiwis are stuck overseas,
fighting for limited MIQ spots, while 400 bureaucrats and
businesspeople get to skip the queue for the sake of a
glorified convention.”
“Reportedly, some MPs plan
on attending the expo. If they know what’s good for them,
they’ll skip it. No-one wants to see photos of Kelvin
Davis greasing up Arabian princes.”
“Spending tens
of millions to have bureaucrats brown-nose billionaires
sends the completely wrong signal about our business
culture. New Zealanders pride themselves on having a fair go
– that means getting ahead with hard work, not by
hobnobbing with politicians and regulators.”
“If
the Government wants to woo international business, it can
do so by removing regulatory barriers or winding back our 28
percent corporate tax rate – one of the highest in the
developed
world.”
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