Phil Goff

The Prime Minister wriggled like a fish on a hook this afternoon as he desperately tried to explain why on earth his Finance Minister believes it's a good thing that Kiwi workers earn 30% less than Australians, says Labour Leader Phil Goff.

"John Key has tried every excuse in the book to cover up Bill English's gaffe. When confronted with the exact quotes from the Finance Minister, he couldn't wriggle out of it anymore, so he simply lashed out with lame personal insults. That's the Prime Minister's fall-back position every time he gets a question he doesn't like.

"John Key came into power promising his Government would close the wage gap with Australia. Today he claimed he'd achieved that. Yet the 2025 Taskforce that he set up says "we do not see any realistic possibility that the gap in real per capita income has narrowed in the last year".

"This Government may be happy to trumpet low wages as an advantage for those who want to invest here. It may be happy to see Kiwi workers struggling to survive on stagnating wage packets while the cost of living skyrockets.

"I'm not happy to do that. It's not the kind of New Zealand I want. I want us to be known around the world for being the best, not the cheapest," said Phil Goff.