Cut, sell, hope strategy from Government sees unemployment rise

The Government must take its share of responsibility for figures released today that show unemployment has hit a sixteen year high in the Wellington Region, says Labour Deputy Leader and Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson.

“Unemployment is up to 7.6 per cent in Wellington. The economy is struggling to get moving, and the government must take some responsibility for this.

“First off, the absence of any real economic plan beyond the sale of state assets is affecting the country as a whole. Locally the indiscriminate cuts to the public sector are starting to hit home. This is a double whammy for the city,” Grant Robertson said.

“What Wellington needs, along with the rest of the country, is a relentless focus on jobs.

“The government needs to start investing in people to give them skills and supporting businesses that will create jobs. Instead they are sitting on the sidelines hoping that their sell, cut and hope strategy will be enough. It won’t be.

“I have seen the real impact of growing unemployment in my electorate office. People, many of them over 50, have lost their jobs and are facing the dole queue for the first time.

“My office is situated across the road from Work and Income. We have a steady stream of people coming over wanting to get more skills and support and feeling they are being ignored.

“All the while Bill English sits back saying; ‘a government can’t have a lot of impact on the job market. It is what it is.’ From the man supposedly steering our economy his comments show a remarkable lack of understanding and leadership.

‘The National-led government needs to get its act together and prioritise getting people back to work. It is one of the most basic roles of government and the evidence in Wellington is that they are failing,” Grant Robertson said.