Work needed on attitudes towards economy—Caygill

Press, 1 August 1989, Page 6

Work needed on attitudes towards economy—Caygill

Wellington reporter The Government has plenty of work to do changing New Zealanders’ attitudes to the way the economy works, the Minister of Finance, Mr Caygill, said last evening. “We still have a way to go in convincing New Zealanders themselves and the international community that this country has what it takes to compete with the world,” he said. “The concept of living

within one’s means still seenis to be alien to some. “There needs to be a greater appreciation of the direct relationship between the amount the Government has to spend, and the amount it is prepared to raise in taxes.” For example, the advent of new medical treatments, and the increasing number of elderly people mant impossible expectations were placed on the health services.

"The truth is that we will never be able to

afford to meet all the demands,” said Mr Caygill. “Priorities have to be set.” J The relationships between education, productive effort, and economic growth needed to be strengthened, he said. “When protection was stripped away, thousands of New Zealanders were left high and dry without adequate skills to take on something new and with no real appreciation of what was required to survive in the real world.

“In comparison with our international competitors, our workforce is still woefully under-educated. “There are still some managers and unions whose attitudes belong back in the ’thirties. “There are still too many New Zealanders who would rather rip someone off than put in a good day’s work. “These attitudes have to change if we are to capitalise on the structural changes we have made,” said Mr Caygill.