National will explore innovative tools and funding mechanisms to deliver the high-quality infrastructure New Zealanders want faster and cheaper, Infrastructure spokesman Paul Goldsmith says.

“When it comes to infrastructure, a government’s actions speak louder than its words; and Labour has been so incompetent that it won’t get any major infrastructure started this term.

“National won’t make the same mistakes. We won’t spend more than two years going virtually nowhere on big projects like the Government has on light rail for Auckland.

“To speed things up we are considering new approaches to infrastructure financing and procurement, including commercial revenue schemes, partnerships with the private sector, and capital injections from general government spending.

“Fast-tracking consents for projects of national importance has produced great results for this country. We’re keen to explore further fast-track arrangements for other major infrastructure projects.

“National is also considering increasing the number of agencies we have to manage infrastructure delivery. One example could be establishing a specialist crown entity inside the Ministry of Education to procure new school builds.

“Infrastructure investment is critical to improving our water quality and resilience to climate change. The current Government has ended support for water storage infrastructure whereas National will look at expanding support with a new Water Infrastructure Fund.

As part of our commitment to deliver infrastructure faster, National is also considering:

• Requiring the Infrastructure Commission to review completed procurement projects so knowledge can be shared across the government sector.
• Ensuring taxes on road users are spent for the benefit of road users.
• Reforming local government so councils can make greater use of private capital

“It’s important this country has a pipeline of major projects in place, like the Roads of National Significance, and that governments refrain from cancelling or delaying them. That’s why we support drawing up a national pipeline of major projects.”

Today’s half year economic and fiscal update is a damning indictment on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s economic management as she puts New Zealand back in the red, National’s Finance Spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

“This Government inherited massive surpluses as far as the eye could see, and has blown them in two years.

“Treasury has slashed its economic growth forecasts which means fewer opportunities for Kiwis to get ahead, less money to go around and more debt. The Government has turned the strong growth and huge surpluses it inherited into deficits, weak growth and more debt with nothing to show for it.

“The Government is pulling the economy down with one hand through added costs, uncertainty and incompetence, and trying to pull it up with other through more debt. It’s confused, incoherent and chaotic.

“It has also broken its promise to New Zealanders to reduce debt below 20 per cent of GDP by 2022. This promise was only made because Labour knew New Zealanders didn’t trust them to spend wisely.

“That lack of trust has been fully justified.

“The Government would not need to break their debt promise by almost $5 billion if they had not wasted billions of taxpayer money on failed experimental policies like KiwiBuild, Fees Free or the Provincial Growth Fund.

“After spending its first two years deliberately stopping planned transport infrastructure, it’s a relief the Government has finally woken up to the need to get on with things. We, however, have little confidence it will deliver anything next year either.

“A National Government would restore confidence and revive our economy by getting on with infrastructure, by making it easier for businesses, large and small, to get on with it and by being disciplined and effective in Government.”

Increased capital requirements for banks announced today will add more pressure on an already slowing economy in the short term, National’s Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

“The two primary effects of today’s decision will be higher borrowing costs than would otherwise have been the case and businesses and farmers will find it harder to access the funds they need to grow.

“This comes at a time when the economy is already slowing, from close to 4 per cent a year under National to just 2.1 per cent now.  

“Growth per person is currently 0.5 per cent at a time when we are enjoying record high terms of trade and should be doing well.

“A slower economy means fewer opportunities for Kiwis to get quality jobs, higher incomes and for the country to afford public services.

“The Reserve Bank argues the economic costs are justified by the benefit of reducing the risk of a banking collapse from one in 50 years to one in 200 years. That may be the case, but there will still be short run costs to the economy.

“The costs are certain and, in some cases, are already being felt; the benefits may or may not be gained in 100 years’ time.

“The Minister of Finance should have been more forceful in insisting on an earlier, public cost-benefit analysis so independent analysts and economists could critique the analysis.

“The Minister of Finance’s passive approach to this issue is consistent with a Government that has been complacent about our economy.”

After two years in Government Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Finance Minister Grant Robertson have finally realised they’ve dropped the ball on infrastructure and are now frantically announcing big spending commitments before the end of the Prime Minister’s self-proclaimed year of delivery, National’s Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

“Why should New Zealanders have any confidence that the Government will deliver for them, when early promises around flagship projects like KiwiBuild and the slow tram down Dominion Road have amounted to nothing.

“This Government is first class at announcements, but third rate at delivery.

“It appears the Government has now formally abandoned its solemn election promises around debt. While it makes sense to borrow for quality projects, the reality is this Government inherited plenty of money and has wasted it on loose spending such as Shane Jones’ Slush Fund and strange priorities.

“This is a panicked effort to stimulate the economy, but the Government is refusing to acknowledge its role in slowing the economy in the first place.

“Just watch over the next few weeks as the Prime Minister characterises these hastily cobbled together commitments as examples of delivery, when in reality they are poorly conceived bribes.

“New Zealanders have begun realising how little Jacinda Arden’s Government has done, despite all her rhetoric about wellbeing and transformation.

“National on the other hand knows how to get things done, and would get on with building the infrastructure Labour is neglecting. We will implement our positive economic plan to restore business confidence and revive the economy. National will actually deliver for New Zealanders, rather than talk about it.”

Rather than congratulating himself on New Zealand’s modest economic growth, Grant Robertson should be honest about why we’re missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime, National’s Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

“New Zealand should be doing very well right now. Our export prices are at historically high levels, interest rates are low and the Government inherited big surpluses.

“What Grant Robertson fails to mention is that about three quarters of New Zealand’s economic growth is driven by population growth, not productivity improvements. 

“Our growth per person, which is the true measure of the progress we are making as a country, is currently only 0.5 per cent. That is well behind most of the OECD.

“What’s worse, business investment has fallen from 5 per cent a year under National to just 0.6 per cent under Labour, job growth has fallen from around 10,000 new jobs a month under National to just 3,000 under Labour and there are 22,000 more people on the dole.

“National has higher aspirations for New Zealand. We want to see Kiwis better off. Muddling along at 0.5 per cent growth per person is nothing to crow about.

“Business is in a funk in this country, primarily because they lack confidence in this Government’s economic policies – policies that have driven up costs and created massive uncertainty. They’re also disheartened by this Government’s lack of delivery.

“If National is elected in 2020 we’ll stop the excuses and get on with implementing our positive economic plan to restore business confidence and revive the economy.”

Simply telling businesses to be confident isn’t going to turn around their declining optimism, National’s Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

“The Prime Minister has today warned businesses about talking themselves ‘into a funk’, especially when the economy is, according to her, in ‘good heart’.

“Simply telling businesses to be confident doesn’t cut it. All the Prime Minister is trying to do is brush these very real concerns businesses are feeling under the rug.

“This Government is driving down business confidence by adding costs, creating uncertainty, making a hash of key projects like KiwiBuild, as well as overseeing a looming infrastructure crisis.

“Instead of falling back on excuses like ‘global headwinds’, the Government needs to start delivering for businesses.

“The effects of low business confidence is flowing into our weakening labour market, with job growth stalling under this Government’s mismanagement of the economy.

“If National is elected in 2020 we’ll stop the excuses and get on with implementing our positive economic plan to restore business confidence and revive the economy.”

The Reserve Bank has lowered its growth forecasts again as economic indicators continue to show New Zealand's economy is underperforming, National Party Finance Spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

"The Reserve Bank is increasingly pessimistic about the future due to this Government's refusal to implement any kind of economic plan to restart economic growth.

“This Government needs to stop blaming President Trump and everyone else and take responsibility for the things it has done to slow the economy.

“A slower economy means few opportunities for Kiwis to get ahead.

"The Reserve Bank started this year picking 3.0 per cent growth for 2019, it is now only expecting 2.0 per cent.

"This is despite New Zealand's terms of trade being near record highs.

"Losing this amount of economic growth is worth almost $3 billion to New Zealanders.

"Today's decision to leave the OCR at its record low of one per cent surprised the market, but monetary policy can’t do everything on its own.

"Finance Minister Grant Robertson deliberately leaving all the heavy lifting to the Reserve Bank to continually cut interest rates leaves nothing in the tank for a rainy day.

"Now it’s the Government's turn to make some pro-growth economic decisions.

"The Reserve Bank noted in its comments that, 'Potential GDP growth appears to be softer than previously thought, meaning that the pick-up in growth is less pronounced than projected in the August Statement'.

"New Zealanders are paying the price for Labour lacking any sort of plan for growth. They cannot afford this Government."

Rising unemployment figures released today show job growth is stalling under Labour's economic mismanagement, National’s Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

"National's job boom is a distant memory following the release of the latest Household Labour Force Survey from Statistics New Zealand.

"Low business confidence is now flowing through into a weakening labour market.

"In the last two years of the National Government, new jobs were created at a hectic pace of 10,000 per month. Under the first two years of this Labour Government, it's only 10,000 per quarter.

"Such a massive slowdown in hiring by companies is bad news for students looking to enter the labour market as well as families looking to get ahead by moving into a more rewarding job.

"As a result of slowing job growth, the unemployment rate also rose to 4.2 per cent.

"It's a real warning sign that companies just cannot afford to hire new workers like they used to.

"This Government's policies are hurting key sectors of our economy, even when New Zealand's international terms of trade are near record highs.

"This is limiting how quickly companies can expand or export their products and services to the world.

"New Zealanders are paying the price for Labour lacking any sort of plan for growth. They cannot afford this Government."

New Zealanders' financial standing is sliding backwards for the first time since the GFC, according to new Statistics NZ data, National’s Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

"The Government claims to be focused on lifting wellbeing, yet it is having the opposite effect on New Zealanders, according to the latest General Social Survey.

"In the period since 2010, we've seen the proportion of people reporting they have enough, or more than enough, money to meet everyday needs continuously increase.

"Now, thanks to Labour's poor economic management, the rising cost of living is hitting home and the proportion of people with enough money to meet everyday needs is falling.

"This decline is embarrassing for the Government. It must know this because it has not made any public comments on the wellbeing data despite it being a core issue for them.

"New Zealanders are paying the price for Labour lacking any sort of plan for growth. They cannot afford this Government.”

Perennially low business confidence and declining optimism from firms about their own futures demands more than just excuses from the Finance Minister, National’s Finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith says.

“The just-released ANZ Business Outlook survey shows business confidence remains in the doldrums and firms are becoming less optimistic about their own activity for the year ahead.

“Another emerging trend – not captured by the survey but impossible to miss – is the Finance Minister repeatedly falling back on ‘global headwinds’ as an excuse for everything that’s wrong with our economy.

“Grant Robertson needs to stop with these excuses and start delivering. His Government has driven down business confidence by adding costs, creating uncertainty, and making a hash of KiwiBuild as well as this country’s transport infrastructure.

“The ANZ survey found that firms’ expectations for the year ahead remained ‘uninspiring’, particularly for the retail sector, which is more exposed than most to minimum wage rises and is feeling the pinch on its margins. What is this Government doing to help them?

“This comes on a day when the crown accounts provided a sobering reminder that a slowing economy will deliver less tax revenue and leave the Government with fewer options

“The reality is our growth is slowing, we’re facing the prospect of deficits, and infrastructure is fast approaching a cliff where the work will dry up.

“If National is elected in 2020 we’ll stop the excuses and get on with implementing our positive economic plan to restore business confidence and revive the economy.”