Brownlee’s own website gives lie to his claim that National is focused on catching up with Australia

Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee’s own MED website gives the lie to his claim that National is “a very active, economically focused government’, says Labour Economic Development spokesperson David Parker.

“This is a government without a plan for economic development. It has no targets that will allow us to judge whether it is keeping its promise to catch up with Australian incomes. It has no idea how we are going to create the jobs and incomes that Kiwis, particularly young Kiwis, so desperately need.”

David Parker said the website contains eight developments in its ‘industry and regional development’ pages, all put in place under the last Labour government.

“Gerry Brownlee has added no new developments at all. The same is true of the NZ Economic Development menu on the website. The only update is for a ‘Large Budget Screen Production Grant’ put in place by Labour. The lack of activity not only mocks National’s claims of being busy, but it is also frightening to see such proof that this government has so little idea of how New Zealand can get ahead.

“Prime Minister John Key embraced Gerry Brownlee’s notion that mining in National Parks was going to provide the economic step change New Zealand needed to catch Australia, but, thank goodness, even that so-called bright idea is now gone for good.

“It would never have caused the necessary step change anyway,” David Parker said. “Only about 10 percent of the difference between New Zealand’s and Australia’s incomes arises from mining. National has never had any idea what to do about the other 90 percent, and now it’s been forced to drop the 10 percent plan as well.

“It’s becoming clearer every day that Gerry Brownlee and John Key have no economic plan to catch up with Australia. They have no objectives, no targets.

“Instead they move from cloud to cloud,” David Parker said. “Look at Mr Key’s other big ‘idea’ of New Zealand becoming a financial services hub for the world. Gerry Brownlee admits he hasn’t taken a single paper to cabinet about this proposal.

“All the so-called ‘big ideas’ --- the cycleway, the nine-day working week, building broadband using Chinese money, the 2025 Taskforce --- have failed to stack up in terms of creating jobs and wealth for New Zealand,” David Parker said.

“When I asked Gerry Brownlee at select committee how National could be held to account in terms of its promise to catch up with Australia, he told me they had no target other than an ambition to get there by 2025, long after they will be gone. Instead the gap between Australian and New Zealand incomes is growing larger.”

ENDS

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