Media Release: FIRST Union
Thursday August 16, 2012

Monetary policy debate very timely

As manufacturing again contracts in a survey out today, news that Parliament will debate our out-of-date monetary policy settings is very timely, FIRST Union said today.

Winston Peters’ bill amending the Reserve Bank Act was drawn from the ballot at Parliament today.

It would broaden the focus of the Reserve Bank from not only inflation, but require an exchange rate that is conducive to export growth and job creation.

“Export manufacturers have been completely let down by successive governments’ refusal to take any initiative in tackling our highly overvalued dollar,” Robert Reid, FIRST Union General Secretary said.

“While the government does nothing, in the real economy our high currency punishes exporters, and it is workers who pay for this inaction through job losses. Our union is regularly dealing with redundancies in the textiles and wood processing sectors.”

“Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders working in manufacturing deserve a proper debate over whether our Reserve Bank’s sole focus on inflation is appropriate”

“It is welcome news that Parliament now must consider a bill that will prompt this debate,” Robert Reid said.

Ends.

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