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High dollar killing the economy - Peters

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High dollar killing the economy - Peters

3News NZ

Winston Peters

Winston Peters

The New Zealand dollar is "wildly out of control" and is crippling exporters, NZ First leader Winston Peters says.

The currency was on Friday trading at a record against the euro and had broken through the 80 US cent mark.

Mr Peters, who was treasurer in the previous National-led government, says the New Zealand dollar is seriously over-valued and everyone from the International Monetary Fund to the governor of the Reserve Bank knows it.

He has drafted a bill to give the Reserve Bank flexibility in the way it deals with the exchange rate but can't get it on parliament's agenda.

The bill can't be debated until it is drawn from the members' bill ballot unless parliament agrees.

Mr Peters has tried that route twice but he's been thwarted by National MPs.

"It begs the question - why doesn't the government want to have a discussion given the crisis we faced?" he said.

NZN

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Comments

11/07/2012 8:49:48 a.m.

Mike wrote:

The NZ dollar is not high, it is the EU and the USA dollars are low.

Take our largest 2 trading partners, Australia and China - they have both had their currencies strengthen more than our Dollar. Take the Aus $, we have lost over 20% in 10 years, and with oppistion loonies blaming it for lost manufacturing we see the amount of the same goods imported from Australia increase. So how is it Aus with its higher wages cost, and higher dollar can export to NZ? Its not all about the dollar.

Print money the answer? And what do we do with the overseas debt? IMF said similar things that we should lower our dollar 15% as we have too much overseas debt, and lowering our dollar would just incidently increase our overseas debt which has to be repaid in foreign currency. 1/0.85 is an increase in debt of roughly 18% from a 15% drop in value.

Is Peters in bed with some foreign banks? He has had even stranger bed partners before. Given that he want to increase NZ debt to be repaid, its quite possible.

Printing money has never got a country out of trouble before, and causes inflation. Eg if we had the government just print money we would have a higher welfare/Education/health cost that would eat up that money in the blink of an eye, plus NZ would be paying more forever as these cost go up, they dont come down.

NZ is against subsidies. It doesn't want business subsidies. So why do we pay welfare as its a bludger subsidy?

8/07/2012 11:31:31 p.m.

RealWorldFool wrote:

Printing money is a crime called counterfeiting only the privately own Banks are allowed to do that.

7/07/2012 12:59:56 a.m.

Kim wrote:

If the govt printed 6 billion that would knock about 5% of the dollar and achieve the 6 billion the govt wants for the assets. two birds with one stone.