‘Economic transformation’ papers offer nothing new

The economic transformation papers Trevor Mallard released today are simply a grab-bag of obvious initiatives grouped under cute headings, says National Party Finance spokesman John Key.

“Trevor Mallard has outlined five themes, including ‘growing globally competitive firms’, ‘developing world-class infrastructure’, and ‘making Auckland an internationally competitive city’.

“These are obvious aims and the grab-bag of initiatives grouped under these and other cute headings are all obvious as well.

“But economic transformation does not come about because of rhetoric. These papers are a regurgitation of existing policies and buzzwords.

“These papers do not address some of the major issues that are holding New Zealand back – like the Resource Management Act, the increase in the size of government relative to the economy as a whole, and comprehensive tax reform.

“The business tax review is mentioned but there are no specifics, and there’s no mention of other taxes.”

Ends

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