Bizarre English floundering in his under-performance

Finance Minister Bill English is becoming increasingly bizarre and desperate when he attacks Labour’s record in managing the economy, says Labour Finance spokesperson David Cunliffe.

“Of course, it is very hard for him to find positives in his own economic management, so it’s not surprising he is trying to divert attention from it,” David Cunliffe said.

“The Finance Minister has been claiming that annual GDP growth in Labour’s last three years of office was less than one percent a year. Official statistics show GDP annual growth over those three years actually averaged 1.74 percent a year.

“More significantly, over the nine years Labour was in government, the average GDP growth per year was 3.2 percent. This was streets ahead of the years National was in office during the 1990s.

“But more significantly still, GDP growth under Bill English’s stewardship during this government has been minus 2.2 percent.

“No wonder Bill English is so keen on attacking Labour. He’s only got negatives on his own side. No growth. No economic plan. No vision. No idea how to get employment moving. No fresh ideas on monetary policy. No commitment to trying to make life a little easier for low to middle income Kiwis struggling to buy groceries.”

David Cunliffe said Bill English constantly tries to have things both ways. “His answers to oral questions in Parliament on Tuesday really took the cake in this respect.

“First up, during a patsy question, he accused Labour of running a poorly performing economy. A few minutes later, in response to questions from me about how National plans to reward the top 8 percent of earners with tax cuts at the expense of the vast bulk of Kiwis, Bill English had the gall to admit that the economy grew significantly under Labour.

“The reality is that National is floundering in terms of economic management. Labour handed over to National an economy averaging 3.2 percent annual GDP growth, achieved at the same time as reducing net Crown debt to zero, cutting gross Crown debt in half, achieving unemployment at less than half the current rate, lifting thousands of New Zealanders out of poverty, and raising the minimum and average wage every year for years.

“Bill English is presiding over an increasingly sorry picture. He now faces increasing analysis of National’s sickly performance. No wonder he is trying to re-write recent history, but, sadly for him, his bodgie figures just don’t add up.”

ENDS

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