News Release: MADENZ

Friday 13^th June 2003. 11.30am

"It's Friday 13^th - And Madenz Has Bad News For Jim"

"New Zealand's trade negotiations Minister Jim Sutton is correct to declare that WTO trade liberalization is worth billions to New Zealand - but surely he must be referring to the billions of dollars of debt that New Zealand as a nation has accumulated since 1984 when Mr Suttons Labour party blindly lead us down the garden path of free trade." says Stephen Tindall - the woman, founder of MADENZ.

"Mr Sutton's ignorance may be due to his incessant gallivanting around the world on trade missions but there is no excuse for his officials not to relay messages to their boss such as the NZ Heralds announcement on 28 March this year, regarding New Zealand's record $100 billion net debt, which equates to around $25,000 for every man, woman and child."

"This debt has occurred simply because New Zealand as a nation spends more than what we earn."

Mr Sutton announced yesterday that since the Uruguay Round (between 1995 and 2004) New Zealand's agricultural receipts will be cumulatively worth an extra $6 billion, compared to what they would have been without the round.

It's Friday 13^th and MADENZ has bad news for Mr Sutton.

"New Zealand's footwear and apparel imports will cumulatively total $8.3 billion between 1997 and 2004 - $2.3 billion more than what we will earn from our agricultural products. This imported footwear and clothing will cumulatively cost 168,266 NZ jobs and in turn will cost the economy $4.6 billion in welfare payments, loss of spending power and loss of taxation."

"Yes Minister, while your back has been turned on New Zealand's manufacturing sector, our largest importers have been busy doing what they do best - sending hard earned agricultural export dollars to China rather than spending it here - thus rendering your efforts as useless." says Ms Tindall.

"To add insult to our manufacturers' injuries, Mr Sutton is now forking out $14.2 million of New Zealand taxpayers money to give to the World Trade Organization, which is nothing but an unelected body of corporate giants dedicated to maximizing their global financial interests."

"It would be more fiscally responsible for our government to spend this $14.2 million on a serious domestic "Buy New Zealand Made" campaign in order to alleviate our nations $100 billion debt burden and ever expanding trade deficit."