“A slush fund of taxpayers’ money announced less than two weeks before the election has created just five percent of the
jobs promised and New Zealanders are owed an explanation,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.
“Information revealed by the ACT Party shows that 158 full time jobs have been created by the Provincial Growth Fund’s
$96.5 million to renovate marae. None of these jobs are permanent.
“At the time I called this for what it is, a slush fund of taxpayers’ money to buy votes. The timing so close to the
election was cynical – but somewhat expected from Shane Jones. But Jacinda Ardern and her cabinet allowed it to happen
and she needs to explain why it’s been such a huge failure.
“The press release from Government promised it would create 3100 job. So far, with around half the fund spent it’s created just five percent of the
promised jobs.
“The Government needs to be up front about how many jobs will actually be created from this fund. A hundred million
dollars is a lot of money and taxpayers are clearly not getting value from this.
“At a time when we’re drowning in debt, we can’t afford for wasteful spending like this which will take generations to
pay off.
“The Provincial Growth Fund has been a failure. It hasn’t created the jobs that were promised. The money has to come
from somewhere, and New Zealanders are smart enough to work out it’s from their taxes.”