Labour Party Offering Old Solutions To New Problems

Enterprise and Commerce Minister, Max Bradford, said today that the Labour Party was offering old solutions to new problems.

In a speech to the Plastics Industry Conference in Rotorua this morning, Mr Bradford said that the Government did not support subsidies which he described as "little more than bureaucrats ensconced in cosy offices indulging in gambling with tax payers' money."

"Spoon feeding only teaches the shape of the spoon," he said.

"What this Government wants to do is encourage self-sufficiency. We want to give businesses the management skills and information they need to thrive in today's environment. That is what the new BIZ programme is all about."

"Nor will there be export guarantees. Overseas experience shows this is risky and expensive for Government," said Mr Bradford. "We also will not set ourselves up as lenders of last resort. If an idea is not good enough to get funding elsewhere, then the tax payer should not be funding it either. We want to improve the market, not replace it with a bureaucracy."

In his speech Mr Bradford criticised Labour Leader Helen Clark's promise last weekend to abolish the Employment Contracts Act.

"Unlike the Labour-Alliance bloc which wants to hand power back to the unions, we will maintain the Employment Contracts Act and ensure it continues to deliver the labour flexibility industry needs," Mr Bradford said.

Mr Bradford also said that it was "grossly irresponsible" for the Labour-Alliance bloc to be talking of increasing taxes at a time when New Zealand's competitors - for example Australia - were reducing their tax rates.

"We need to keep our best young educated and skilled people in New Zealand as well as attracting people with skills we require for the knowledge-based economy. They are the very people who will be hit by Labour's tax increases. Where is the sense in this?"

Mr Bradford said that the Government wanted to ensure more of employer and employee's hard-earned money stayed in their pockets, while at the same time ensuring value for money for the tax dollar.

"When the millennium kicks off, we want to make sure New Zealand business is in great shape to take on its opposition. We want New Zealand to be the best place in the world to live and do business

"To provide the leadership needed to build a knowledge-based, innovation-led economy in New Zealand, the Government has developed a Five Point Plan and embarked on a series of 24 business forums called Five Steps Ahead," Mr Bradford said.