GDP growth welcome, but wasteful spending still holding economy back

“Today’s GDP figures provide some assurance the economy is turning around, but real change to the cost of living will only come from a Government prepared to hold the line on cutting red tape and government waste,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“New Zealanders are working hard, but their efforts won’t translate into better paying jobs until our economy is growing consistently, alongside productivity and wages. For that to happen, the Government needs to spend less and let Kiwis do more without red tape getting in the way.

“The easy thing for politicians to do in a cost of living crisis is promise more handouts and subsidies. But that’s the thinking which left New Zealand with an enormous debt bill. It also keeps more money flowing through bureaucracy instead of staying with the people and businesses that earned it.

“Even without Labour’s spending making things worse, taxpayers are paying $27.9 million a day in interest. Debt servicing costs taxpayers more than law and order, or schooling. That is money that cannot go into tax relief, better roads, shorter hospital waits, or classrooms where children learn the basics.

“We will not unlock New Zealand’s potential while we are borrowing more to pay interest on the debt we already have. New Zealand needs a path to real, sustained surplus. That means continuing to find savings year after year and building a government that is smaller, more efficient, and capable of balancing the books.

“Taxpayers will benefit from a government that takes less of what they earn, interferes in their lives and businesses less, and returns to surplus faster. More productivity, more jobs, higher wages, and better public services all start with the Government finally accepting it must do fewer things, do them better, and stop wasting taxpayers’ money.

“ACT has driven the change that has helped get New Zealand back to surplus a year earlier than expected. The Government has not gone as far as ACT would alone in reducing spending, but it has gone a lot further than it would without ACT.

“If we want New Zealand to be the best little country in the world, we need a smaller, more efficient government that focuses every dollar on results. That is how we make life more affordable, rebuild trust in public services, and unlock New Zealand’s potential.”