New report pointing the way to prosperity, ‘breath of fresh air’

New Zealand must respond seriously and meaningfully to the New Zealand Institute report "A Goal is not a Strategy" released today if we are to raise incomes and living standards, the largest private sector union, the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), says.

The New Zealand Institute report draws attention to the lack of government commitment over many years to fostering the development of a manufacturing sector focused on sophisticated manufactures with high margins that are easy to transport. It says this should be done without compromising our commitment to our thriving primary production sector.

"The new report is a welcome breath of fresh air to an economic debate for so long dominated by the view that there is little the government can and should do apart from letting the so-called market decide," says EPMU national secretary Andrew Little.

"There is no question that the principal challenge facing us, if we wish to maintain our place in the developed world, is to change the mix of our economic activity to business that is much more capital intensive, that has scale and requires a skilled workforce employed under good conditions,” he says.

"A genuine emphasis on the right kind of manufacturing activity through good government policy is just the sort of intervention we need and we shouldn't be diverted from this direction by meaningless calls for more free market.”

"The only measure of a country's economic success is how its people are doing and the fact is that on average New Zealand wage and salary earners have been going backwards for far too long.”

"Something needs to change and the New Zealand Institute report points us in a useful direction. We should take it seriously."

ENDS

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