CTU Report Card Simplistic And Wrong

  • Bill English
Finance

Finance Minister Bill English said today the Council of Trade Unions's report card on the Government's performance was simplistic and wrong.

"The CTU's report card is simplistic, and wrong on a number of issues such as tax reductions and employment.

"A family earning $30,000 with two older children is now more than $100 per week better off than in 1996 because of tax reductions and extra family assistance. A family earning $35,000 with four children under 13 now gets $118 more each week in the hand with tax reductions and extra family assistance.

"These families understand how they have benefited from tax reductions much better than the CTU understands.

"Each week since 1991 nearly 600 New Zealanders have found a job. Unemployment has dropped from 10.9% to 7.4%. That's a good record, but it is still too high and we need to look at how we tackle underlying problems such as unemployment.

"I would have been looking for a more thoughtful contribution from the CTU rather than this sort of simplistic score card," said Mr English.