Wage Gap With Australia No Surprise

It comes as no surprise to anyone that the wage gap between Australia and New Zealand has widened by $40, to $580, per week – Labour’s policies did nothing to stimulate any growth for our country and the National Government's policies are simply more of the same, ACT New Zealand Finance Spokesman Sir Roger Douglas said today.

"The Government must address four key issues if we are to achieve growth in real incomes – the first being to improve workers' skills. Skilled workers are more productive, yet far too many students continue to leave school unable to read or write. A comprehensive reform of the education system which puts students' needs first – as set out in ACT’s ‘Free To Learn’ policy – is needed to ensure a highly skilled workforce," Sir Roger said.

"Experience is also crucial. Easing constraints to entering the job market – for example reinstating the youth minimum wage – will result in more young people gaining employment. This will enable them to gain experience, and set them up for a far more prosperous future.

"The second issue that must be addressed is capital formation. The Government’s wasteful spending on unproductive investments – such as KiwiRail and interest-free student loans – has seen little return on investment. This has stifled our growth. If we want to see real increases in our incomes, the Government cannot keep throwing money into poor investments.

"Third is improvement in technology. Sound investment in technology will result in huge productivity gains as we are able to produce more with less. Increases in technology investment will only occur when we have strong property rights and when the Government encourages private enterprise through regulation and low taxes.

"Finally the Government must improve our economic organisation – which can only be achieved by improving regulation and getting rid of red tape that restricts business unnecessarily. ACT’s Regulatory Responsibility Bill would go some way toward achieving this.

"If National is serious about closing the wage gap between New Zealand and Australia - as it claimed during the 2008 election - it must adopt policies that address these four key issues. Any failure on the Government's part to do this will see the wage gap continue to grow," Sir Roger said.

ENDS

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