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National Party Leader Judith Collins says New Zealand is at risk of losing kiwis to Australia as its immediate economic impact from Covid-19 has been less.
The Treasury opened government books ahead of Wednesday’s elections, estimating a 16% contraction in the economy in the three months to June, compared with a 7% contraction in Australia.
Collins said Australia’s lightest lockdown had kept the economic damage more limited, meaning the government had “a lot to answer for.”
“We will not only see a big drop in activity, but we will see a loss of trained personnel as soon as they can move to Australia, because they will be in a much better situation to get jobs, good income and have a future that does not involve well-being”, Collins said.
Robert Kitchin / Things
National leader Judith Collins said that more Kiwis would travel to Australia.
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He said that more of the country could have been safely working at level 4, particularly pointing to construction.
The Australian figures do not take into account Melbourne’s second lockdown. Australia currently has a higher unemployment rate, 7.5 per cent in the June quarter, compared to 4 per cent in New Zealand, although the wage subsidy will have significantly softened the blow in New Zealand.
The Treasury expects New Zealand’s unemployment rate to peak at 7.8 percent in March 2022 and stay above 7 percent for about two years.
The Reserve Bank of Australia estimates that the country’s unemployment rate will reach 10 percent in December, drop to 9 percent in June 2021, to 8.5 percent by the end of 2021 and then to 7.5 percent by the end of 2021. cent by June 2022.
Collins said that after seeing the books she was “even more convinced” that the public would be interested in the “medicine” that the National Party was offering to grow the economy.
He has criticized Labor’s plan to introduce a new top tax rate on income above $ 180,000, saying that no government had levied taxes to get out of a recession.
“We are looking back and we are in the worst recession in living memory. The only answers we have from the current government are to collect more taxes, borrow more and add more welfare, “he said.
Collins said his plan, which is expected to be released this week, would be “all about growth.”
Labor finance spokesman Grant Robertson has repeatedly criticized National for not yet releasing detailed costs for all of its election policies. National finance spokesman Paul Goldsmith has repeatedly said that this cost would come after the opening of the government books.
Goldsmith had committed to National to reduce the crown’s net central debt to about 30 percent of GDP in about 10 years, about $ 110 billion less than currently forecast, although Collins has distanced himself from this promise. .
Collins has said National will do this while continuing to invest in infrastructure and without cutting spending on health, education or welfare, something Robertson argues is impossible.
ACT leader David Seymour wants to bring net debt closer to 20% of GDP.
“It is not enough for us to kick the can down the road. We need an honest conversation now about our out-of-control spending and debt, ”he said Wednesday.
“All the other political parties are now in a race to spend even more taxpayer money. Every vote for ACT is a vote for lower debt, less taxes and a faster recovery. Only ACT has a full cost plan to get back into surplus and start paying down debt now.
ACT wants to seriously cut public spending by cutting billions of dollars in benefits, cutting Working For Families, and ending KiwiSaver subsidies.
NZ First leader Winston Peters said the big picture shows why “experienced” parties are needed in government.
“The parties on the left are making spending promises that the country cannot pay, while the parties on the fragmented right have no plans,” Peters said.
“With unemployment expected to skyrocket, voters also need insurance from a party like New Zealand First, which is fully focused on driving economic growth to create jobs.”
