Back to the future, with a CGT to boot

“Chris Hipkins is going back to the future, higher taxes, higher spending, more complicated monetary policy, and another empty promise that somehow it will all add up,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“He has promised billions of spending to tickle every electoral itch, but today is promising to spend less with no explanation how other than more taxes that don’t come close to paying for his promises.

“Chris Hipkins has now promised free GP visits, free cervical screening, free maternity scans, free prescriptions, public transport fare caps, and a so-called Future Fund. He can’t seriously pay for any of this when in the same breath he says he wants to reverse ACT’s savings, whether it’s the $10.9 billion for pay equity, the $2.7 billion from public sector savings, or $427 million from school lunches.

“Many of the issues he is making promises about are important to New Zealanders, which is exactly why his brand of politics is so deeply cynical. He is trying to buy people hope with no intention of paying for it. It makes him the worst kind of politician, the kind who is in it for themselves but hasn’t thought about the people whose votes he wants.

“He is also going back to Ardern-era monetary policy, with their promise to restore the Reserve Bank's 'dual mandate'.

“The Reserve Bank is meant to be laser-focused on reining in inflation. Adding a second "jobs" target, totally at odds with the inflation target, will mean a higher cost of living for New Zealanders.

“New Zealanders are still feeling the consequences from the last time Labour tried this. Along with the COVID spending splurge, the dual mandate saw inflation surge to a 32-year high and mortgage rates reach their highest levels since the GFC.

“New Zealand cannot afford another government that spends without thinking about the consequences. But the challenge is bigger than locking Labour out. In order to unlock New Zealand’s potential we must keep finding savings year after year by forming a government that is smaller, more efficient, and capable of balancing the books.

"ACT Ministers have driven $14 billion of savings across three Budgets, helping avoid more debt, taxes, and pressure on interest rates. That discipline has helped put the Government on a path back to surplus a year earlier, but it needs to be delivered year on year.

“If we want New Zealand to be the best little country in the world, we need a smaller, more efficient government that focuses every dollar on results. That is how we make life more affordable, rebuild trust in public services, and unlock New Zealand’s potential.”