National’s Legacy – Debt Growing at $370 a Second
NATIONAL’S LEGACY – DEBT GROWING AT $370 A SECOND
The truth behind the mirage-like ‘rock star economy’ is that it is a massive debt bubble that has mushroomed under the National government.
“Since National came to office, household debt has shot up by $65.3 billion, farm debt by $16.7 billion and business debt by another $9.9 billion,” says New Zealand First Leader and Northland MP Rt Hon Winston Peters.
“The only rocks in this economy are the ones in the heads of the so-called cheerleaders who won’t face up to the underlying truth about this economy if they fell over it.
“National has been in office for 2,875 days and during that time private debt, as opposed to government debt, has grown $92 billion or $370 every single second.
“National promised to cut debt but their policies have encouraged it as the housing bubble shows.
“And despite National’s record-breaking immigration, with the population swelling by 440,000 people, average per-person debt has been record breaking alongside declining per-capita GDP. That means that whilst the economy might be growing the share of that growth per person is declining. A measurement the experts are at pains not to reveal. If they were to reveal this simple fact, declining capital GDP, then it would reveal how shallow their thinking is.
“National is playing a dangerous game of deceit and while private debt grows so too has total government debt. Core crown debt ignores the $54 billion owed by students, councils and by state-owned enterprises.
“National claims to be responsible economic managers but its debt-fuelled policies prove it is not. People may have trusted them for a while but as middle-income New Zealanders struggle those days are coming to an end,” says Mr Peters.
PRIVATE DEBT GROWTH DECEMBER 2008 V AUGUST
2016
Period | Agriculture | Business | Total household claims |
($m) | ($m) | ($m) | |
Dec 2008 | 44,074 | 82,036 | 174,979 |
Aug 2016 | 60,819 | 91,945 | 240,370 |
Debt Growth | $16,745 | $9,909 | $65,391 |
Source: RBNZ C5 Sector credit
ENDS