The National Government has not done enough to rectify the country's serious economic problems nor catch up with Australia, its former leader Don Brash says.Dr Brash made the comments in a speech in Orewa last night, his fifth at Orewa since his infamous
The National Government has not done enough to rectify the country's serious economic problems nor catch up with Australia, its former leader Don Brash says.
Dr Brash made the comments in a speech in Orewa last night, his fifth at Orewa since his infamous one in 2004.
While the Government and Prime Minister John Key were doing well in the polls Dr Brash was deeply worried about some issues, including economic decline relative to Australia.
Dr Brash chairs the 2025 Taskforce set up to advise the Government on how New Zealand can catch up with Australia.
"But we will certainly not catch Australia on our current policy track and nobody that I've spoken to thinks that we will."
The only way to catch Australia was for the Government to look at every policy through a growth lens, he said.
"We need to govern in a way which builds prosperity and recognises the magnitude of the problems we face as a country."
Getting the Government's fiscal deficit under control, reducing tax on business income, selling state-owned enterprises and reducing regulation were areas where major change was needed to achieve faster and sustainable economic growth, Dr Brash said.
New Zealand must also be open to foreign direct investment, he said.
"The Labour government began withdrawing the welcome mat and I regret to say that we've continued that trend...if we want to catch Australia that attitude needs to change."
National had "not done nearly enough" to rectify the economic situation nor catch Australia.
Dr Brash also returned to his old stamping ground, saying there was no case for treating Maori differently in general legislation, no grounds for separate Maori seats and the replacement foreshore legislation had serious implications.
"We urgently need to reaffirm that what the Treaty of Waitangi plainly meant was that New Zealand would be one nation not two, that in return for Maori chiefs ceding sovereignty to the Crown their property rights would be respected and that all New Zealanders, regardless of race, would be equal before the law."
He said New Zealand was at more risk today than at any time since World War 2.
"It's safe to say that our relative decline -- both in terms of our economy and in terms of racial harmony -- will never be reversed if our political leaders allow themselves to be driven entirely by political polls," he said.
