Key says economy in good shape

Rob Fischer: Yes a balance is required and as for natural resources you are on the money, but I believe we spend too much in the Govt sector. We don't want to have most services "state run" or subsidised like Scandanavia as it would harm our free trade deals.

As for Norway, it's also one of the most expensive (if not the most expensive) place to live in the world. I agree that Scandanavia is a great place to live but they also have issues. New Zealand on the other hand has 0.8% inflation (not that the media congratulate them on it after all that "cost of living" belly aching last year).

The Govt is doing something right despite the rest of the world crashing (Greece, US etc). I will however start to worry if the dairy farms and hospitals stop hiring foreigners and are overrun by Kiwis asking for work.

Norway may have oil and we do also have resources but the fact is every time someone mentions mining or drilling there is an outcry from the greenies and it gets litigated into nothing. Think of how much red tape a simple wind farm had to go through locally, let alone anything truly profitable.

GW_Scam: Dairying is a quality career and the fact is they are hiring. Until they are no longer hiring overseas workers, my point remains valid. Kiwis don't know how good we have got it.
Where did you get your figure of "100 or so" dairy farm jobs? There are more than that - it's this countries biggest single contributor to GDP. As mentioned, a worker gets many perks and decent pay so it's my best advice to those who are losing their jobs.
Did I mention bludgers? No, I did not. My point remains valid - many public service jobs needed to be cut, and National did this, hence more unemployment. However, there's no point in keeping those jobs if they don't stack up.
Anyway, there's nothing wrong with those guys going to Aussie if they want. It's the best financial decision a NZer can make because Aussie isn't afraid to use its natural resources and mine them so they are a wealthy country. No one I know going to Aussie is complaining about going. They are doing what everyone should do, and going where the jobs are.

Sv3nn0: Norway's had a labour government for the past 40 years and it is one of the the wealthiest countries in the world. Why? Becasue Labour didn't give away their oil wealth but set up a state run comapny to manage it and took a huge proportion of the revenue in tax. There is a huge public service sector there ... and it's one of the best countries for people to live in, according to many indicators. OK, not the situation for NZ, but your assumptions about tax and spend systems being intrinsically bad are just plain wrong. Perhaps a balance is required?

News is just coming in that bus companies all over the country are suddenly getting record numbers of applications for people wanting to become bus drivers...

SV3nno - so your answer to the 13,000 people who became unemployed in the last quarter in NZ (Compare to Australia where over 10,000 jobs were added) is to send them to work on dairy farms?  Hm, my maths isn't that great but the maybe 100 or so jobs on dairy farms doesn't really seem to be the solution to reducing well over 100,000 people unemployed now does it?

Are you unaware that not only do we now have the highest unemployment rate since the last National Gov't was in (Now there's a funny coincidence) but it is also increasing 1.5 times faster than anywhere else in the OECD.

Are you, like Key, not factoring in the 50,000+ leaving the country every twelve months (also a record) since this current Gov't took control, into our unemployment rate, you should do.  Many of those leaving state their main reasons as 1) To find work, and 2) Because there seems to be no hope of ever having a decent life staying in NZ under this Gov't.

You seem to be much like Key, believing that all our problems are due to 'bludgers'.  Are the 90 now out of work at Hillside bludgers?  Are the up to a thousand  other employees made redundant just in the last couple of months or so bludgers?  Am I a bludger too because I dare to point out the reality of living in NZ at the moment?  Keep in mind I am a full time employed health professional.

Much of what you see is simply a result of the Government no longer propping up houses of cards (aka the public servants, money draining SOE's) like Labour likes to do.
We can't afford a Labour government. They want to build 100,000 houses. They want to subsidise Hillside rail shops. They act as if there's money everywhere for them to "tax and spend, tax and spend".
Things like the teachers pay roll system or ACC blunders happen under any government.
As for unemployment, I say go door knocking on the dairy farms up and down the east coast of the South Island. They need workers now! Move the family to where the jobs are instead of moaning that the government won't subsidise whatever it is that you do. Dairy farm jobs are lucrative and training is provided on the job - accommodation too.

So we have high unemployment? How come dairy farmers and hospitals are bringing people in from overseas?

If we truly have high unemployment the people losing their jobs will move for these high paying jobs. It is yet to be seen of course, I don't trust predictions on the economy - good or bad! 

My thought was that he meant to say if New Zealand had been hit by a bus it would be in better condition than it is today.

I'm sorry, but I have never heard such arrogant and untrue rubbish in my entire life.

I was no fan of the last Gov't, but by memory when they were tossed out of Gov't by National, NZ had a surplus.  It now has up to a $50 billion deficit (No - you can't blame that on the Earthquakes, only a fraction relates to that!)

NZ also has:

Record unemployment; Huge unrest amoung teachers, police, health professionals and the military - possibly worse than ever before in NZ; a $29 million dollar total failure of a payroll system for teachers - which replaced a system that had no problem; Government deals with Casinos, some of which are only just being exposed now; Also growing social unrest as the gap between the very wealthy, and everyone else grows in leaps and bounds almost by the mont.

Key has a permanent smile on his face because - he is in love with, no not NZ, but himself.

Kiwis are waking up to Key's Government's total incompetence and highly questionable deals with large corporations, and even his media worhshippers are now starting to question the mess Key and his cohorts have got this country into.

I predict the Gov't falls within 12 months.

If Key was hit by a bus he wouldn't be in 'good shape', would he.

Sounds like Key is only interested in data that suits him. That's politics for you.