At their Annual Conference, Labour Party Leader Andrew Little said that his top priority was going to be jobs. What he failed to mention was that over the past three years the number of working people has gone up by 160,000, the number of people out of work has gone down by 19,000, the unemployment rate has dropped by 1.2 per cent, and the average wage has increased by around 8 per cent.
His big idea (which was the same 'new' idea their two previous leaders also had) was for the Government to spend more money when purchasing goods and services. His plan would force Government departments to buy from companies that say they would employ more people, instead of focusing on getting the best value for taxpayer's money.
National knows our responsibility to you, the taxpayer, is to make sure that we spend your money just as carefully as you would. Instead of spending more for a product or service than needed, we would rather reduce Government expenditure where possible. This means taxes can stay lower and you keep more of your own money.
We do not discriminate against overseas companies when purchasing, because we know a competitive market is the best way to get value for money. It also means that New Zealand companies are able to bid for contracts overseas. In August we signed up to the World Trade Organisation's Government Procurement Agreement, which secures access for New Zealand firms to US $1.7 trillion in annual overseas government contracts across 43 countries. Labour's plan would mean that New Zealand businesses would be cut off from this significant opportunity.
National understands that it is not the Government who create jobs; it is businesses. This is why we reduced tax on work to encourage more jobs, introduced a 90-day trial period, negotiated New Zealand's largest ever trade deal, invested in infrastructure like Ultra-Fast Broadband, and are working through a Business Growth Agenda with 500 specific policies to assist with more investment and more employment.
