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Source: ONE News -
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The man given the task of chairing a government summit on employment next month says it won't simply be a 'talkfest.'
The summit has been prompted by predictions that unemployment could rise above seven percent and core Crown debt could reach 40% of GDP by 2014.
NZ Stock Exchange chief executive Mark Weldon says those dire predictions are not set in stone and he is confident the government will produce a plan to get the economy back on track.
Weldon says he is interested only in what works and he believes there is hope for growth this year.
"The main thing here is to ensure there are great ideas generated, that they are implementable and that if you look back at them afterwards that great results happen," says Weldon.
The government has been told the economy is in worse shape than it was a few weeks ago and officials are preparing for a worst case scenario of shrinking growth and rising unemployment.
Prime Minister John Key and senior Cabinet ministers met in the Beehive with advisers on Thursday for an update on the economy and how to deal with the fallout from a global recession.
Key has been told the New Zealand economy for 2009 is expected to stand still but he says the government will not stand back and do nothing. Next month it will reveal how it will bring forward public spending on things like roads, housing and schools.
"What we've got to do is make sure that we provide as much stimulus for the economy as we can without blowing the budget," says Key.
Former National Party leader and Reserve Bank Governor Don Brash says while the financial future looks bleak in New Zealand, it's worse in the rest of the world.
Brash says while the country is looking down the barrel of a very uncomfortable budget situation in the next few years, he doesn't believe there is any reason to panic. He says our unemployment levels started off low, government debt has been low and our banks are still in good shape compared to those in the United States and Europe.
However he says people who cater to the luxury end of the market may struggle. Brash says they are going to find life pretty tough as people curb their spending.
The business sector admits there is only so much the government can do when it comes to fixing our economic woes. Business analyst Roger Kerr says the government doesn't control or run the economy, but is a major participant.
He says they are cutting income taxes and increasing spending on infrastructure and projects like the water storage dams in the Canterbury highlands would be good for the agriculture business.
Kerr says there is heat on government department bosses to cut excesses.
