By Brian Fallow
WELLINGTON - In recent speeches Finance Minister Bill English has been talking about the truck driver earning $30,000 a year with two children who is $101 a week better off than two years ago because of tax cuts and extra family assistance.
But in 1996, before those tax cuts,
household disposable incomes in real terms were lower than they had been in 1982, according to a Statistics New Zealand study of incomes. The median household was 13 per cent or $4400 a year worse off, in 1996 dollars.
Despite such bleak statistics Mr English sees little point in further debate about the economic policy framework of the past 15 years, especially as there is "at least a tolerance [of it] on the centre left".
"There has been a discussion, particularly last year during the recession, about whether the framework has delivered on our expectations.
"That is a fair enough question," he said. "The response to that is more to do with the next step.
"Rather than trying to rearrange the foundations, it's what you are building on top."
The roadshow that Enterprise and Commerce Minister Max Bradford has embarked on, about drawing business, public sector research and development, and the tertiary education institutions together, was about encouraging a dialogue on what the common objectives were and how the Government could support it, Mr English said.
"It is about moving on from a stand-off over intervention. We have had that argument. We are not going to get into business, even if people want us to, because that means repeating past mistakes."
The United States showed how powerful strong growth was in dealing with a problem like unemployment.
"We have a set of views about how we can help the growth environment, like low taxes."
