29 October 2004
Boom Or Bust?
New Zealand First trade spokesperson Dail Jones says New Zealand’s record-high trade deficit figures are no surprise
given the Government’s increasing interest rates.
“Successive interest rate rises and an over-valued New Zealand dollar is crippling New Zealand’s export trade, while
importers make the most of a good deal,” said Mr Jones.
“New Zealand is now sitting on an annual trade deficit of four billion dollars - its largest ever. September’s trade
deficit figures alone show a 47.4 percent export deficit.
“While the Government is trying to ride on the back of an ill-fated, immigration-fuelled consumption-based economy,
ordinary New Zealanders are failing to see any tangible benefits of the so-called economic boom. “It bears all the
hallmarks of the old fashioned Muldoon era ‘Boom and Bust Economy’,” concluded Mr Jones.
ENDS