Speech Extract
Hon Richard Prebble

WCC Business Show: " "10 by 2010" –
Making New Zealand 10th in the world in standards of living, education, welfare, health by 2010"

Westpac Trust Stadium

NZ$ Plummets, Interest Rate Hike Looks Unavoidable

Last night the New Zealand dollar fell to the lowest level since its all-time low on 29 March 1985, said ACT Leader, Hon Richard Prebble.

Last nights trading on the Foreign Exchange markets saw the dollar fall to below US45c.

“The level of the Kiwi is near crisis level. This means a further wave of price increases, lead by increased petrol prices is inevitable.

“On a trade weighed basis the Kiwi is now at an historic low. The New Zealand dollar is at its lowest ever level against the Yen which means all Japanese goods must increase in price.”

ACT has been told by the financial market that foreign investors are not investing in New Zealand. This is compounded by the fact that thousands of New Zealanders continue to take their money off shore.

“The country is paying a very high price for anti-business laws like the Employment Relations Act.

“Statements like ‘we won, you lost, eat it’, from the Finance Minister do enormous damage to the economy.

“It appears just a question of time before the Reserve Bank is forced to hike up interest rates to protect the Kiwi dollar from a total melt down,” said Hon Richard Prebble.

ENDS

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