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Current account blow-out further proof of hopeless economic management

Wednesday 20 June 2012, 2:01PM

By Green Party

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The National Government has once again failed to meet its own economic forecasts, which is further proof of its hopeless economic management, Green Party Co-leader Russel Norman said today.

Figures just released by Statistics New Zealand show that the current account deficit for the year to March was 4.8% of GDP. In other words, New Zealand sent $9.7 billion more overseas in profits, interest on debt, and payments for imports than it received in export receipts and returns on offshore investments. That compares to the Budget 2012 forecast of a $8.7 billion, 4.2% of GDP, current account deficit for the same period.

"The Budget is less than a month old and, already, the country's a billion dollars worse off than National promised," said Dr Norman.

"This is just the latest in a long series of broken economic promises from National.

"16,000 fewer jobs were created last year than promised, the gap with Australia is widening, and a growing tide of economic refugees are crossing the Tasman because they no longer believe they will get the brighter future that John Key promised them in New Zealand.

"John Key expects us to accept policies such as asset sales because he says the numbers stacks up. But when we examine Mr Key's record, we see the worst economic performance in half a century, the largest increase in government debt in history, and a future of ever-widening current account deficits and growing overseas debt.

"John Key's National Government have proven to be hopeless economic managers. This latest blow-out in the current account deficit just confirms that," said Dr Norman.