Headline: Lies, damned lies and Steven Joyce
National has ignored the overwhelming evidence of a tipping point in manufacturing and seized on one statistic that is based on early slaughtering of animals because of the drought, says Labour’s Economic Development spokesperson David Clark.
“Steven Joyce and John Key are yet again skewing the statistics to hide the plight of manufacturers.
“The performance of manufacturing index that Mr Joyce is singing to the rafters about comes off the back of the drought and the Canterbury earthquake. It shows a rise in primary sector manufacturing only because herds had to culled early because they couldn’t be fed.
“It was a one-off boost created from misery in our rural heartland. Steven Joyce should not be happy about that.
“The other boost comes from construction manufacturers supplying Christchurch. Again it is human misery that Steven Joyce is cheering about.
“The truth is the manufacturing index was in negative territory almost all of last year and manufactured exports outside of the primary sector are down 17% since 2008. Over 17,000 jobs were lost in the sector last year.
“The truth is primary is the only sector with the scale necessary to survive what Steven Joyce is doing to the economy. The rest of manufacturing faces a tipping point.
“That’s why we announced the Parliamentary Inquiry into Manufacturing with the Greens, New Zealand First and Mana. It creates the blueprint for an economy of better jobs and higher wages and has widespread support from manufacturers.
“There is a new consensus on manufacturing. Sadly National refuses to be a part of it,” says David Clark.
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