Leaping into inaction

• Eddie
• 15 years ago
• Categories: economy, employment, national/act government
• Tags: recession

Cycling is a great way to travel, so it’s great that the government is going to back more cycleways around the country to make the experience safer and more enjoyable for cycle tourists. But the new plan will only see a national network completed in “10-20” years time. That’s not going to help the recession now.

So let’s review National’s recession package:

• Restart: 1,303 are getting some extra assistance after losing their jobs. Good but tens of thousands have lost their jobs, what about the rest?
• Bank-Govt business equity scheme: killed by banks
• Mortgage holidays: killed by English
• SME package: already planned, minor changes
• Tax cuts: smaller than planned, targeted at wrong incomes, cuts for middle incomes to be cancelled
• 9-day fortnight: two businesses signed up, possibly a third
• $1 billion for roads: stolen from public transport and road safety
• Cycleway: 4000 jobs over next two years? Not happening.

They have at least given a $30 million boost to the pavillion industry. Oops, most of that will be spent in China.

It adds up to whole lot of nothing. We’ll start to see the cost of National’s delicition of duty when the unemployment numbers come out.