Employers and Manufacturers Association claim wrong

16 July 2004

The claim by Employers and Manufacturers Association (Northern) Chief Executive Alasdair Thompson that “the biggest cost increases driving inflation over the past 12 months have come mainly from local councils putting up their rates and fees” is both misleading and wrong says Local Government New Zealand.

Local Government New Zealand Chief Executive Eugene Bowen said today that weighting given by Statistics New Zealand to local body charges when calculating the CPI was only 2.23%. This means that only a small proportion of the annual inflation to June 2004 of 2.4% would have come from rates.

“The media release by Government Statistician Brian Pink announcing the June quarter CPI figures was titled ‘Petrol and Construction Prices Drive CPI Up 0.8 Percent’, which clearly identifies the main factors,” said Mr Bowen. “His statement does not even mention rates”.

ENDS

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