Goff's Key speech aims to derail PM

Labour leader Phil Goff will seek to upstage the prime minister's major speech this week - delivering one he says John Key should make to the nation.

To mark the start of the parliamentary year, Key will on Tuesday lay out his government's agenda for 2010 with a strong emphasis on the economy and tax reform.

Goff will reply with a speech of his own. His speech, obtained by the Sunday Star-Times, says the government's priority this year is to deliver growth and real gains for hardworking Kiwi families.

In it, "Key" says sorry on behalf of the government for wasting 2009 and to those who lost their jobs.

"I apologise for saying just before Christmas that, 'My message to New Zealanders is I think they can feel a bit more confident as they go into Christmas that their jobs will be retained.'

"Since I said that, 18,000 more New Zealanders have joined the dole queue.

"To those who bore the brunt of a tough year, I accept I shouldn't have said last year that 150,000 New Zealanders losing their jobs was a 'pretty good result'. I apologise to them."

Key's speech, as written by Goff, promises a better deal for the low paid and the jobless, a fairer tax system - without increasing GST - more spending on innovation and science, and more investment in skills training and capital markets. He would also scrap billions of dollars a year in subsidies for big polluters under the emissions trading scheme and use the money to resume contributions to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

"We haven't yet kept the promise I made to New Zealanders in 2008 that we would increase New Zealanders' incomes to those of Australia. That's why the government is today increasing the minimum wage to $13.75; and to $15 an hour from next April. We can't close the wage gap by cutting tax for the wealthiest, or cutting protections for working people," the speech says.

"The fastest way to close the wage gap with Australia is to boost wages.

"Evidence I've seen shows clearly that our previous plan to increase the minimum wage by only 25 cents was not enough to cover increases in the cost of living. Not enough to pay for a packet of Weetbix for the family.

"From April 1, the government will introduce changes to benefit abatement rates so that New Zealanders on a benefit can take on more part-time work before their benefit is reduced.

"Under current rules, a person can earn up to $80 a week before their benefit is abated. We will lift that threshold on April 1 to $100 a week, and if circumstances permit, raise it further - to $130 next year."

Goff's speech takes a swipe at what he sees as the government's failure to address growing unemployment.

Inaction, he says, cost the government a year of reform and meant that jobs that could have been saved were lost.

"Over two days in January, 3500 people queued up outside a supermarket in South Auckland for 150 jobs at a new Countdown supermarket.

"It's almost exactly a year since we held our Jobs Summit. It didn't even produce jobs for everyone who queued outside the Countdown supermarket."

Goff says the government has not done enough to stimulate the economy in tough times and says Key should set out a programme of "active government investment in infrastructure projects".

"If your household gets into debt, you need to cut spending and earn more. If a country gets into debt, cutting government spending makes the economy worse by withdrawing demand when it is needed most.

"The government has a powerful weapon to ensure the economy doesn't languish - we need to use it."

Goff says the country wants and expects the government to act and Key ought to admit on Tuesday that "Rodney Hide was right - I was a do nothing prime minister".

- © Fairfax NZ News