Labour's Hugh Kininmonth Says Balance Needed to Sustain Coromandel’s Economic Development

Posted by Media Release: Hugh Kininmonth on 17/10/2011

Hugh Kininmonth, Labour Party candidate for Coromandel announced that the Labour Party’s Deputy Leader, Annette King, would be visiting Thames-Coromandel and Hauraki District Council on Friday 21 October to meet with the district mayors to discuss economic development opportunities for the local communities.

“Securing long-term meaningful work is the key issue for all of us and our communities and having more and more Coromandel people languishing on welfare benefits is no way to grow small business in our towns. We must secure long-term sustainable growth and the key to sustainable economic development for the Coromandel/Hauraki area is one of balance,” Hugh Kininmonth stated forcefully. 

“Balance in environmental protection and community development viz a viz economic benefit as what needs to be secured in the Waihi underground mine expansion.  Balance between job creation for local people and “exporting” our potential employment to other areas, such as what has occurred with the Kopu Bridge, where apart from cartage and rock supply few if any jobs have been secured for local people suffering protracted unemployment.  Balance between investment by industry participants and local ratepayers and taxpayers, such as in tourism with the Rugby World Cup and Hauraki Cycle Way.  Balance between ever increasing demand for food production in the dairying and aquaculture industries and environmental protection particularly around water quality.”

“Labour has the economic plan that will keep our assets, pay off debt and return us to surplus quicker.  It also includes expanded trade training to rebuild Christchurch and research and development grants to increase the value-added component to our exports.   I am looking forward to discussing the plan with the mayors and interested people,” added Annette.

Hauraki-Coromandel also needs balance with monetary and tax policy that promotes investment for productive development and not investment to avoid tax.  For example, we have world-leading niche engineering companies in our local communities, AG Price and Kopu Engineering to name just two.  Despite being large employers and contributors to our nation’s wealth, they get scant recognition and almost no support from national or local government and in fact government policies may even be detrimental to their export potential and therefore their potential to create more high-valued added jobs for pour communities,” concluded Hugh.