Truth is the first casualty when Bill English tries to reinvent economic history.
This afternoon at question time Bill English claimed that the NZ economy has grown more in the last 9 months than it did in the full four years from Sept 05 – Sept 09.
The figures compare growth rates between quarters as opposed to annual changes.
English claims growth between the Sept 2005 and 2009 quarters was 1.0%, and 1.7% between September 2009 and June 2010.
English’s figures aren’t cumulative and so aren’t particularly representative of what happened.
When you compare GDP annual figures you get different results:
For the years ending Sept 2005 to Sept 2009: GDP growth was 2.5%.
For the years ending Sept 2009 to June 2010: GDP growth was 1.1%.
If you take a more representative time period of years ending Sept 05 – Dec 08 then the GDP increased by 4.4%.
Point is, here we have a Minister of Finance who repeatedly shows he is willing to twist, misuse and abuse data for political point scoring.
New Zealand deserves better than that!
New Zealand rejected Bill English and his politics when he was leader of the nats, and rightly so, for obvious reasons.
Yet here he is, snuck in on Key’s coat tails, making the most of his only chance at basking in the spotlight.
It’s mediocrity by stealth.
A particularly crude misrepresentation by the MoF. But it’s any port when the economy is dependent on commodity prices staying up as its only prop, and there is no economic policy in play.
It’s like a couple a 4′ guy and a 4’2 guy arguing about whose taller…
Either way it’s anaemic and it means we have more in poverty than we would if we actually got serious about economic growth…
Doesn’t Bill English claim that only the national party know how to manage and grow the economy! lol
I still remember him on the TV years ago declaring kiwi saver would kill the NZ economy and bankrupt employers! Now he thinking out loud we just might have to make it compulsory. lol
Well, doesn’t matter about the truth just long as you can ‘sell’ the lie. That politics, just look at there ‘act’.
I do have a few major questions for Bill,
1. When are the nats going to do any serious financial reform, it still the wild west!
Yeah, a super regulator woo hoo, just grouping all of them into on big organization isn’t going to change a thing!
Need some better and fairer regulations, not a silly but bigger regulator.
2. Why hasn’t national bothered hasn’t tried to encourage people to save more. (this has a dual propose, saving invest in NZ economy and helps keep down inflation, that means we could lose up out tight monetary policy.)
3. When is national going to get serious and try to promote NZ exports and try to encourage local ownership. Being owned by foreigners has no benefits in the long term.
4. When are we going to decease our reliance from overseas creditors to fund our economy! The biggest cause balance of payment deficit is oversea investment and lending. (ties to question 3)
5. When are they going to do some serious tax reform.
6. When are the going to decrease NZ reliance on its primary export sector! We do have good farmers but they shouldn’t have to carry the economy by themselves.
I’ve been in the Uk for ten days watching the John Key Clone in Mr. Cameron. So far, in ten days they have introduced three clone policies from Nat NZ. I’ve also seen working for families and other Labour clones, them to us. Nothing new under the sun…
Oh and they’re discussing raising retirement to 65…
Oh Tracey it’s good to have you back
So in four years NZ managed 2.5% economic growth (most interesting is that Labour were the Government for the vast majority of that time and National inherited the worst possible set of book. This is an average of 0.63% growth per year. Good ole Mickey Cullen’s astute management of the economy eh?
So having inherited the worst possible set of books due in part to the vindictive “leave nothing in the kitty” nature of Cullen who knew the 2008 election was lost, Billy has managed to drag NZ up by it’s boot laces and in less than a year show growth of 1.1% in 9 months.
David – Why don’t you just go and sit in the corner while the adults talk?
It’s mediocrity by stealth.
Yep Al1en, the depressing thing is compared the the rest of the government ministers, Bill English doesn’t look so bad.
Seriously: Gerry Brownlee, Murray McCully, Rodney Hide, Paula Bennett, Anne Tolley…
It makes mediocrity look good.
Point is, here we have a Minister of Finance who repeatedly shows he is willing to twist, misuse and abuse data for political point scoring.
Agreed David. If only a MSM political columnist could stop reporting the ‘sizzle not the sausage’, and do a straight statistical analysis of English’s statements about the economy’s “stellar” performance up his watch. I guess that is too much to hope for.
I’m still trying to locate the cycling track that was to create jobs and growth, anyone found it yet?
“Point is, here we have a Minister of Finance who repeatedly shows he is willing to twist, misuse and abuse data for political point scoring”.
mmmmmmm, a MP/Minister twisting, misusing and abusing data .. go figure
@Monty
lol
“NZ managed 2.5% economic growth (most interesting is that Labour were the Government for the vast majority of that time and National inherited the worst possible set of book. This is an average of 0.63% growth per year. ”
Do you want Bill English job
No, NZ growth per YEAR varied between 1% to 2.5% over those years so the economcy total growth is alot higher than that and you know it. It was never 0.63%!!!
Real issue with NZ economic growth is some regional economy’s (especially those on the mainland) have been growing quicker while places like Hawke’s Bay, Northland etc.. have had minimal growth.
“Good ole Mickey Cullen’s astute management of the economy eh?”
Yeah, good old spend spend bill, at least Cullen tried to pay off NZ debt, run a surplus.
Look at bill, running a deficit of 7%, borrow more and then decide huge taxs cuts for the top income rates (a 0.5% cut for the lowest earngs). Sure he closed one or two loop holes but that isn’t going to fix NZ big fiscal hole, and he not really serious about cutting spending…
“So having inherited the worst possible set of books due in part to the vindictive “leave nothing in the kitty””
Wait, wasn’t the a recession during 2008 or not. All over the world money was sucked dry. So, no, it not Cullen fault, (not bill either) just the economic climate.
“Billy has managed to drag NZ up by it’s boot laces and in less than a year show growth of 1.1% in 9 months.”
lol
While I won’t penalise bill for this low growth since the economy is in the process of recovery. We just come out of a recession remember. It good that he not doing some silly hair brain idea to kill it.
But I will penalise you thou, he didn’t drag up NZ by it boot laces (he didn’t do anything apart from carrying on as usual).
It just people are willing to buy NZ goods (exports) again and we have decide to import less and it also help the price of oil has dropped. (remember when it was $2 a liter, or was that labour fault as well.)
And hopefully soon will stop our credit binged. Unemployment is still high thou!
So having inherited the worst possible set of books due in part to the vindictive “leave nothing in the kitty” nature of Cullen who knew the 2008 election was lost,
Funny, Bill English didn’t see it as an empty kitty. In fact, at the time he said.
“I want to stress that New Zealand starts from a reasonable position in dealing with the uncertainty of our economic outlook.”
“In New Zealand we have room to respond. This is the rainy day that Government has been saving up for…”
Source of quote.
Michael Cullen left the country in a position that meant we could survive a recession. If he had followed Don Brash’s formula, we would be really suffering right now.
Thanks Mike!
I’ve said it before and I will say it again.
You can take the boy out of Dipton but you can’t take the Dipton out of the boy.