Labour thinks it is scoring points over the growing wage gap with Australia and today could again try to embarrass the Government in Parliament.Opposition MPs yesterday armed themselves with statistics after Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee sa
Labour thinks it is scoring points over the growing wage gap with Australia and today could again try to embarrass the Government in Parliament.
Opposition MPs yesterday armed themselves with statistics after Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee said the wage gap between the two countries was "certainly a lot less" under National than it was when Labour held office.
National campaigned on closing the wage gap, and Labour is attempting to prove it is failing to achieve that.
The problem is they are both using statistics selectively and neither side has won the numbers game.
Compared with some of the years when Labour was in power Mr Brownlee is technically correct, but Labour's official figures show New Zealand's average adult wage has increased $43.14 from the time National took office to February this year, while in Australia wages rose by $A85.90 ($NZ105.66) during the same period.
Prime Minister John Key said the wage gap was smaller now than it was every year from 2003 to 2007 when Labour was in power.
Mr Brownlee's reply to a Labour Party question lasted nearly three minutes and involved figures, currency conversions, purchase price parity and adjustments from gross to net wages.
At the end of it, no one was any the wiser.
