New Zealand is steadily heading into economic and personal depression, according to data just released by the ANZ. Employment statistics have dropped for the fourth month in a row. Labour’s Grant Robertson is spot on when he says that ANZ’s figures showed the true state of the country’s ailing economy.
The collapse in milk powder prices has led to massive job losses at Fonterra, but it appears that employment in related business areas has already dropped. The Waikato region in particular has been hard hit by the decline in the dairy industry.
The Christchurch rebuild has either peaked, or is about to, depending on who you read.
The latest Roy Morgan poll is not just a wake up call for National on the political polling, it shows a dramatic drop in economic confidence. Gary Morgan, in his commentary on the poll results says:
“Other indicators are also negative for Prime Minister John Key. The Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating fell steeply in July – now at 118 (down 17.5pts) its lowest since September 2013 while ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence Rating fell to 113.9 in July – the lowest since October 2012. Consumer Confidence has now fallen for three straight months.”
So we are staring into the abyss. National have no answers. After squandering the positive economy they inherited from the last Labour Government, the Key Government is leading us into the doledrums. After 30 years of the neo-liberal economic consensus, we are not better off as a country. We are a country divided into the haves and the have nots. And even the haves are finding that they can’t afford a house in Auckland any more.
I don’t want a 2cheap country where exploitation is the norm. The gloss is coming off and DunnoKeyo’s strategy of a rockstar economy based on his selfies with celebrities is a flop. It simply doesn’t wash.
We have coasted for 7 years in a land of milk and insurance money. No more.
Something has to change. My suggestion is that the change should come from the top. Can we please have an early election? New Zealand can’t afford another two years of this mediocre and muddled leadership.
Put it to the people, John. If you’ve got the guts.
And now a song to cheer you all up:
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