The further collapse in businesses’ confidence and in expectations of their own activity is an indictment on the Ardern Government’s economic management, National’s Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.
“The most recent ANZ Business Outlook survey shows a net negative 52 per cent of businesses are pessimistic about the economy under the bad economic management of the current Government.
“To make it worse, businesses’ expectations of their own activity have fallen to a net negative for the first time since 2009 when the New Zealand economy was in the midst of the Global Financial Crisis.
“There’s nothing good to say about it.
“When businesses lack confidence in the economy, as they do under the current Government, they are less likely to expand, invest in new staff or lift wages.
“There has been a sharp decline in the New Zealand economy under this Government. Economic growth has decreased from around 4 per cent down to 2.5 per cent, per-person growth is amongst the worst in the OECD and business investment has fallen from 5 per cent a year under National to just 0.6 per cent under Labour.
“New Zealand should be doing well. The prices for goods we export are near historical highs meaning any effects from global uncertainty and trade tensions haven’t affected our exporters as of yet.
“Sadly the current Government’s bad economic management have hurt our economy.
“The Government have added costs to businesses and families with higher taxes and more regulations, they’ve created massive uncertainty and they’ve demonstrated incompetence, most famously with KiwiBuild and their woeful infrastructure policies.
“National will restore business confidence and revive our economy so that we can lift our aspirations, both in what we can earn and in what social challenges we can overcome.”
