Free never means free with Labour

“Every single one of Labour’s promises of ‘free’ services will end up costing taxpayers. Chris Hipkins is building up false hope by promising people things that they can’t afford, the most cynical type of politics,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Chris Hipkins has promised free doctor’s visits, cheaper public transport and now free maternity scans. 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.

“All 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 they need.

"That is why keeping Labour and its rag-tag allies away from the finances is an urgent need. Even without Labour making things worse, taxpayers are paying $27.9 million a day in interest. Debt servicing costs taxpayers more than law and order, or schooling.

“We won’t unlock New Zealand’s potential while we’re borrowing more to pay interest on the debt we already have. We need a path to real, sustained surplus, now.

“New Zealand cannot afford another government that spends without thinking about the consequences. But the challenge is bigger than keeping Labour out. We must keep finding savings year after year by forming a government that is smaller, more efficient, and capable of balancing the books.

“Taxpayers will benefit from a government which takes less of what they earn, interferes in their lives and businesses less, and returns to surplus faster. More productivity, more jobs, higher wages – all the Government needs to do is less.

“ACT has driven the change that has helped get New Zealand back to surplus a year earlier than expected. The Government hasn’t gone as far as ACT would alone in reducing spending, but it’s gone a lot further than it would without ACT.

“If we want New Zealand to be the best little country in the world, we need a smaller, more efficient government that respects taxpayers, controls spending, and focuses every dollar on results.”