CTU media release

10 February 2010

There is precious little comfort for workers, for the poor and for the environment in John Key’s speech yesterday, said acting NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff today. “The devil is in the detail, and we are worried at what will emerge when the Government finally confirms those details,” he said.

“For a so-called blueprint for growth there was very little real economic policy. There was remarkably little that was new, and what was new was either short on specifics, or alarming in its implications, including raising GST, discarding asset taxes and undermining conditions of employment.”

“We have major concerns at the suggestion of a further squeeze in tightening criteria for sickness, unemployment and domestic purposes benefits. These are difficult times and the numbers on benefits reflects this rather than lax benefit rules. Some of our greatest child poverty remains among families relying on benefits, and making them more difficult to access will only make poverty worse. What is the point in forcing people off benefits when there are too few jobs to go to?”

“At the same time the government is signalling greater targeting of early childhood education. While we support increasing access to this important service by Māori and Pacific people, it is not made clear how that will be achieved. We need further detail to understand whether this means a move away from universal provision.”

“Similarly the Prime Minister hinted that there would be further restrictions on student support, making it dependent on the results or length of their studies, but details are yet to be announced. Altogether his recipe for education was focused more on clawing back money and imposing untested national standards rather than supporting the phases of education and training which will have an immediate impact on our skills shortages.”

“We are strongly opposed to private prisons which are confirmed in the speech, as is increasing use of ‘public private partnerships’. These have been shown to provide lower quality services at greater cost overseas. They take private interests into areas that should be reserved for the state.”

“Deepening of capital markets is a positive direction but the Capital Market Development Taskforce’s report is a curate’s egg. It has some positive suggestions but others that we reject, such as selling shares in SOEs. We await government decisions on this, which the Prime Minister says will be released in ‘the next week or so’.”

“Opening up further Crown land to mining raises concerns around the environment and sustainable development. We would welcome further funding going into conservation from mining royalties, but not if it is at the expense of sustainability and the integrity of New Zealand’s tourist industry.”

“Further support for science and innovation is welcome, but there is little there that is new, and we await detail of what is proposed in changes to funding of Crown Research Institutes. We note with concern the continued freeze on public sector funding. Its rationale is weakened by the stronger than forecast government accounts of the last few months and the lingering recession conditions for many, as indicated by the latest unemployment statistics.”

“A positive direction for the Government would include improving conditions of employment for New Zealand workers, involving workers in raising productivity in their workplaces, and ensuring they share the benefits in their wages. The determination to press ahead with wholly unnecessary labour law reviews, however, points to a disappointingly negative approach to workers.”

“If Mr Key has described a step change in the economy it is a very small step with a poor sense of direction.”