Labour-Alliance Policies Bad For Business

Firms do close factories and head overseas from time to time, but even more would shut up shop and head to places like Australia if a Labour-Alliance government was elected, Enterprise and Commerce Minister Max Bradford said today.

"Labour is in no position to comment on Bendon's decisions, because under a Labour-Alliance administration Bendon would be one of many more.

"The only thing the Labour party is promising industry is to repeal the Employment Contracts Act, hand control of the workplace back to unions and increase tax rates at a time when Australia is reducing theirs. These things will do more than anything to drive firms offshore to Australia," Mr Bradford said.

"The tariff regime was put in place with the agreement of industry. As a result of consultation, tariffs will not be fully removed until 2006. Bendon's move to Australia has more to do with the fact that an increasing share of Bendon's market is in Australia," Mr Bradford said.

Mr Bradford said the economy was constantly changing. "Although these jobs have been lost and we have a great deal of sympathy for those who are unemployed as a result, under National-led Governments this decade jobs have been growing at an average rate of 650 a week.

"Even in the last year, when New Zealand was feeling the effects of a drought and the Asian financial crisis, the number of jobs grew by more than 20,000.

"This compares with the 110,000 people who lost their jobs under the last Labour Government," Mr Bradford said.