New data confirms the New Zealand economy has deepening cracks that are putting more Kiwis at risk of financial distress, National’s Finance spokesperson Nicola Willis says.

Data released by Statistics NZ today shows that the New Zealand economy shrank by 0.6 per cent in the final three months of 2022.

“This result is worse than many had anticipated, with the Reserve Bank having forecast 0.7 per cent growth for the period,” Ms Willis said.

“Excluding Covid-19 lockdowns, it is the weakest quarterly growth since the Global Financial Crisis.

“A stalling economy is yet more bad news for New Zealanders already battling sky-high inflation and rapidly rising interest rates.

“Under Labour, the economy is in trouble and New Zealanders are paying the price. Workers are already suffering from badly-stretched after-tax incomes and a weakening economy means things will get worse.

“We also learnt this week that New Zealand now has its largest current account deficit since records began, meaning we are collectively living beyond our means.

“Taken together, the outlook for the New Zealand economy looks increasingly worrying: the cost of living crisis is dragging on even while interest rates climb, debts grow and businesses stall.

“It’s time for better economic management. National would immediately bring discipline to Government spending to take pressure off inflation and interest rates, remove a range of extra costs and taxes, unblock the immigration pipeline, re-focus the Reserve Bank on inflation-busting and reduce the tax burden on workers.

“We would also strengthen the long-term drivers of productive growth; lifting education standards, encouraging innovation and technology up-take, minimising red tape, delivering essential infrastructure and strengthening business connections with global markets.

“National understands that a strong, growing economy is the key to New Zealand’s financial security and being able to fund the public services citizens deserve.

“Today’s data confirms once again how badly our economy is travelling under Labour. The key question now is how much worse things will get.”

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