The National Government’s failure to take meaningful action to curb property speculation is creating a serious risk to the financial and economic stability of the country, said the Green Party today. The Financial Stability Report released by the Reserve Bank today echoed warnings in the IMF mission statement yesterday that rampant house price inflation, fuelled by property speculation in Auckland, is a serious risk to the New Zealand economy. The Reserve Bank stated in its report, ‘Rising investor activity has...

A report released today by the IMF shows the Government’s inaction on the housing crisis is creating a significant risk to New Zealand’s economy, the Green Party said today. In its New Zealand Mission: Concluding Report, the IMF calls for more houses to be built in Auckland urgently, and for more tax incentives for housing speculators to be removed – which the Green Party believes should include a proper capital gains tax. “When the IMF is saying you’ve stacked the...

New information released by the Green Party today shows that the Reserve Bank has failed to forecast inflation accurately over the last four years meaning interest rates have been kept higher than necessary, hurting businesses and households. Analysis by the Parliamentary Library of Reserve Bank inflation forecasting versus the actual inflation rate shows that the Bank has consistently mis-forecast inflation over the last four years, resulting in a higher Official Cash Rate (OCR) than necessary to control inflation. Higher cash...

Stimulatory spending to help boost the economy can also help address climate change, the Green Party said today. ANZ Chief Economist Cameron Bagrie yesterday called for central and local Governments to move to a more stimulatory fiscal stance. “If the Government is smart, any new stimulatory spending to boost the economy can address climate change at the same time,” Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said. “For smart, new capital expenditure, the Government can move forward spending on Auckland’s City Rail...

National’s own fiscals confirm it plans big cuts to health and education, the Green Party said today. “National’s fiscals confirm the Green Party’s and BERL’s independent analysis that there will be sizeable cuts to health and education services,” Green Party Co-leader Russel Norman said today. “National will be cutting the education and health budgets by $1.5 billion which is around the size it plans to allocate for tax cuts, if they ever come. “With less than two weeks to go...

Two weeks out from the election, the National Party is in disarray over their fiscals and can't explain what their tax policy is, says the Green Party. "National's economic plan for the election is a mess. John Key and Bill English can't even say what level of tax cuts they will offer in three years' time or who will even get them," said Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman. "National are hypocritical. They attacked the clearly set out and detailed...

The Green Party has released its full fiscal costings for their 2014 election priorities which show they will deliver larger surpluses and pay down debt sooner than National.

Findings in an independent analysis of the Government's books, commissioned by the Green Party, reveal National is planning multi-billion dollar cuts to health, education, and environment spending over the next three years.