National has borrowed $37 billion in less than three years and delivered no growth for it. In fact, it has repeatedly failed to meet its growth projections and GDP per capita has fallen. That failure has now resulted in the credit rating agency Fitch downgrading our credit rating. Makes a lie of the Nats’ line that we’re in better shape than in 2008. Will Bill English resign?
Here’s some of what the Nats have been saying about the consequences of a downgrade:
“The No. 1 way to see New Zealanders down the road from their jobs is if their businesses cannot be funded. That is what happens when we have a credit downgrade,” – John Key
“learn something about economics, and then apologise to the New Zealand public for wanting to ensure that their credit rating was downgraded, that they had to pay more for their interest rates, that they could not borrow money, and that their jobs were put at stake. Those members are a credit card” – John Key
“Credit risk premiums for lower-quality debt have increased, and economically sensitive commodities, such as oil, have seen declines in prices, while gold, which is seen as a safe haven, has risen in price. Our markets are increasingly differentiating between the strong and the weak. New Zealand is among those countries that are seen as having strong creditworthiness” – Bill English
“there is no doubt that a credit downgrade would generally lead to somewhat higher interest rates. New Zealand faces that risk not just because of Government debt. In fact, the credit rating agencies would say it is the large private debt, alongside the Government debt, that gives them some concern about New Zealand. We are very conscious of the risks of a downgrade and believe that we are making the right considered choices to deal with those risks.” – Bill English
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