Labour’s prescription will bankrupt the country

“Another day, another ‘free’ promise from Labour which will end up costing taxpayers,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Prescriptions are already free for community services cardholders, while many pharmacies choose to provide free prescriptions already. This is not helping vulnerable people, it is just more reckless spending. Meanwhile, the Coalition Government has actually been providing hundreds of thousands more Kiwis with access to medicines by turning around Pharmac. Since I've been Minister, Pharmac has made 133 decisions to fund or widen access to medicines, including 46 cancer medicines. Over 360,000 patients have benefited.

“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.

"That is why we need to keep Labour and their ragtag allies away from the finances. Even without them making things worse, taxpayers are paying $27.9 million a day in interest. Debt servicing costs taxpayers more than law and order, or schooling.

“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 focuses every dollar on results. That is how we make life more affordable, rebuild trust in public services, and unlock New Zealand’s potential.”