3. Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour—New Lynn) Link to this
to the Minister of Finance
By what amount will the cancellation of the Government’s plans to mine sensitive conservation land reduce GDP growth projections in the next 5 years?
Hon BILL ENGLISHHon David Cunliffe Link to this
Why, if there was no projected GDP impact from mining, did John Key describe it as central to the Government’s plans for a step change in the economy?
Because we have a visionary and aspirational Prime Minister who can see what this economy needs over the next 10 years. That is backed up by a Minister of Energy and Resources who has done an excellent job of building a profile of that industry. After the Government’s decisions on schedule 4, investors now have certainty and encouragement to expand mining and resources significantly. I expect that it will show up in the GDP figures in the future.
Hon David Cunliffe Link to this
What contribution to GDP growth projections will the proposed fire-at-will labour legislation make, and is it true that the Government’s step change plan is now centred on reducing the cost of labour?
I do not know what legislation the member is referring to as “fire-at-will”, but I can confirm for the member that the Government has announced that it will extend the 90-day trial period. We believe it will give businesses, particularly smaller business, more confidence to hire, and give employees who need it a better opportunity to get their foot on the bottom rung of the ladder.
Chris AuchinvoleMining is one of the sectors that exports and competes directly with the rest of the world. This sector performed poorly under Labour’s mismanagement. Currently output from tradable industries remains below 2002 levels. By contrast, output from non-tradable sectors has grown by over 20 percent. The mining analogy is apt. Labour mined the economy for all it was worth with no thought to the future. It left the country with a pile of toxic sludge, and we are cleaning it up.
Hon David Cunliffe Link to this
Given the cancellation of plans to mine sensitive conservation areas, the tyres of the national cycleway going flat, and the end of the 9-day working fortnight, is the dangerous proposal to reduce labour rights now the centrepiece of the Government’s strategy for jobs and growth?
One of the centrepieces of the Government’s strategy for jobs and growth is the multibillion-dollar infrastructure investment programme, which is employing thousands of skilled New Zealanders at a time when no one else would be employing them. Another policy at the centre of our plan to turn round the economy is the significant decreases in income taxes and a switch to consumption taxes. We believe, unlike that party, that savings, investment, work, and exports are good, and that over-consumption and too much borrowing are bad. I understand that the Opposition has the opposite view.