31 January 2013
More Kiwi jobs sacrificed by Nats’ inaction on dollar
Another 192 Kiwis have had their jobs sacrificed because of the National Government’s devotion to a failed monetary
policy and its unwillingness to change with the times, Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said today.
Summit Wool Spinners, an iconic 130 year-old manufacturer and exporter based in Oamaru, has announced it is closing its
factory at the cost of 192 jobs. The company has cited the high dollar as the cause of the closure.
“Another 192 Kiwi workers and their families are facing unemployment because this National Government has failed to act
to bring the dollar down,” said Mrs Turei.
“This week, manufacturers came to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Manufacturing and warned us that more businesses would
close and more jobs would be lost unless the Government gets the dollar down to a fair level quickly.
“These 192 redundancies, and the other jobs that will surely be lost in Oamaru as the shock of the loss of its iconic
employer ripples through the community, are proof that the manufacturers were not exaggerating in their plea for
government intervention.
“For four years, John Key has cracked jokes, Steven Joyce has hurled insults, and the Reserve Bank has done nothing
while our exchange rate has risen by over 66% against the US Dollar. In those four years, 40,000 manufacturing jobs have
been lost as the over-valued exchange rate has hammered exporters’ earnings and helped importers undercut local
businesses.
“The time has long past when Mr Key and Mr Joyce could pretend the high dollar doesn’t matter. Kiwi workers and business
owners deserve a government that will stand beside them and use the smart, modern tools available to get the dollar down
to a fair level. National has made clear it won’t be that government; the Green Party will,” said Mrs Turei.
ENDS