The government has to ensure the Auckland building boom works to the advantage of New Zealanders and not foreign workers and corporations, says New Zealand First.

'New Zealand missed the boat with the Christchurch rebuild because not sufficient numbers of Kiwis were trained for skilled positions in the construction industry,” New Zealand First Leader and Northland Member of Parliament Rt Hon Winston Peters says.

'This mustn't happen again; the government has an opportunity now to boost training of young Kiwis.

'Also they must re-introduce tariffs on imported building materials and stop helping foreign cheap-labour producers of plasterboard, steel and cement.

'Too much of New Zealand's hard-earned foreign exchange is spent on bringing foreign produced building materials into the country when in many cases we have good domestically produced alternatives.

'The government has to take the lead and show it is working for businesses and workers in New Zealand's interests, not foreign factories and overseas workers,” Mr Peters says.

SOURCE: Office of Winston Peters