Finance Minister Grant Robertson, Labour’s finance spokesman, said National’ fiscal plan “relies on more cuts to services and cuts to incomes of the poorest New Zealanders.”
Robertson said there was a $537m hole.
“To make matters worse, cutting incomes to fund tax cuts for millionaires is shameful.
“Within National’s plan is a so called buffer. This is a fiction.
“If we were to put Labour’s fiscal plans on the same terms as National’s we have a larger buffer.
“Also, National’s plan continues no further funding for climate action.
He said that was a “recipe for more emissions”.
“We intend to go through the detail of National’s plan in the coming days.
He said the buffer was propping up the plan.
“Today was an opportunity for Nicola Willis and Christopher Luxon to acknowledge their plan doesn’t add up.
“It’s right there under the preconditions line.
Robertson said any buffer has to be used for other cost-pressures.
“National took money out of the allowances to make their plan look good.
“The money is needed for cost-pressures. They’ll have to spend what’s in their buffer.
“It doesn’t add up.
“It relies on the tax plan that virtually no body thinks adds up.
Robertson said Labour had a $10.5b buffer – “that’s money that’s needed for cost pressures”.
He said when Labour came into government, they faced “astronomical bills” for prisons. He hit out at National’s plan for a “mega-prison”.
Robertson said “this budget is built on a sand castle”.
“The fiscal prudence we we’re looking for was that Nicola Willis would admit their plan doesn’t add up.
He said “we were all wanting to look at” congestion charging.
“Congestion charging has its place, but Simeon Brown needs to say how much revenue and when.
“I would be extremely surprised if it was possible [for revenue to come next year].
“You can’t base your fiscal plan on income no one thinks you’re going to get – it’s a sand castle.
National’s ‘plan’ isn’t trickle down economics, it defies political gravity and demands trickle up!
They are taking $2b from the poor and giving it to the rich!
This isn’t a plan, it’s Egalitarian vandalism!
Why take billions from the poor and hand it to the rich? The State’s job isn’t to cause more inequality, it is to erode it!
We all suspected National’s tax plan was a joke, their fiscal plan is a nightmare!
Some people are so bitter that Jacinda prevented a mass death event that they will vote in political vandalism over re-electing Labour.
National will throw thousands out of state homes with no where for them to go, while cutting 14 000 public service jobs while cutting 140 000 off welfare with sanctions!
If this is honestly your political preference, you are the problem!
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Yeah it’s pretty transparent by now.
And this is the party pretending to economic competence like Muldoon after listening to Lee Kuan Yu.
These clowns don’t have clue about how to grow an economy, much less govern a nation.
It may lose them the election – they don’t have the disingenuous charm of a Key to front their folly.
I assume you are talking about Labour as they were the ones saying they were going to be transparent and they certainly do not know how to grow an economy.They seem to know how to stuff it up.
Mood of the boardroom is top 5% in the most business friendly country on earth wanting more. Totally out of touch.
So proud it’s released on a Friday afternoon. This debt obsession is a f’ing embarrassment (that applies to Labour too). And slime time Seymour wants three times the savings. Isn’t he supposed to be the next Finance Minister?
Yes …Released on Friday afternoon….3 days after voting began..
This from the party who keeps bullshitting on about how Labour couldn’t deliver a pizza on time.
And yet their incompetence is already glaringly evident…
They couldn’t even manage to get their fiscal plan out on time before voting had started… and…. still can’t demonstrate to the electorate how they are going to pay for their tax cuts to the middle classes so they can buy Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and go to a movie.
The lack of surety is etched on their faces already. It’s obvious that they are guessing and hoping..
a sure recipe for disaster…
They think that they are going to wing it…make it up as they go along…..fools!
Fortunately they will not get that chance !!
We will be in for two elections as the 1st one will not provide a definitive result.
Labour /Greens/TPM will win the 2nd attempt!
Well if Blobberston says so, then it MUST be true. I’ll leave it at that.
It’s got nothing to do with what Robertson is saying. It’s completely examinable from what National themselves announced.
National have clearly indicated that they intend to save 2 billion dollars by putting people back into poverty and fund tax cuts which will benefit property speculators first and foremost. It’s not Robertson saying it, it’s literally in the plans that Willis and Luxon are touting.
If the Nats kept the settings as they currently are, and simply provided income tax relief, they wouldn’t need to cut the 2 billion from the poorest people in New Zealand. But they aren’t doing that – they are providing tax breaks for a class of investors that literally add no productivity to New Zealand’s economy …
Why don’t you just leave full stop? Trolls like you are so transparent.
Yes because you just want a Labour echo chamber. You’ll get one after October.
Labour has been quite happy to transfer money from the poor to the rich as has National for decades.
Its called neo liberal capitalism.
The rich get richer
The poor get the picture
You Can Read About It..
Peter Garrett… Midnight Oil
” It may lose them the election – they don’t have the disingenuous charm of a Key to front their folly ”
Those days are over. Most people accept they are all corrupt and liars and the figures they are arguing about goes over the most of the Hobbits heads.
Nationals deceitful tax cut is what most people will be weighing up and what that means to them every fortnight.
But they believed the shyster in 2008 that he wouldn’t raise tax to pay for the miniscule tax cut at the lower end but he bullshitted by promising a tax cut but everything else would be more expensive to pay for it.
The Nasties are up to their old tricks with a new face presenting it but the deliberately dumbed down shires will vote for it even though it will mean more misery through the austerity program they will unleash that only hurts the same dumb victims long after the tax cut promise is a distant memory.
Its all about maintaining the status quo of the rich who are donating to buy government policy. The Hobbits haven’t worked that out in the bigger picture. And that’s why unregulated capitalism is so successful.
Its the same BULLSHIT every three years and the time in between.
Bomber that image should be pasted across every rotten National party billboard throughout the country just to send the message that the Nasties should not win by default………despite LINO not doing anything to deseve a third term.
When I was a kid, I remember being taken to the Auckland Zoo. At one area there was a hippo with its arse facing a large group of people. Next thing it started comically spinning its tail to the amusement of the gathered crowd. Then it started to defecate like crazy, the crap slatering everywhere. The people still stood there thinking it was funny. Then they started getting spattered with hippo shit. They eventually decided to disperse realising it wasn’t such a good situation afterall. What I found interesting, was it took longer for this to happen than I expected.
Whenever I see 7 Houses Luxon or Nicola enthusiastically spinning their lazy superficial policies and litany of lies, for some reason I am reminded of that hippo.
The only thing I am left still wondering, is how long exactly will it take the public of New Zealand to tolerate being showered with their shit. More curiously, how long will it take NZders to realise the fact, turn, then quietly walk away.
‘Jacinda’ prevented a ‘mass death event’. Stop spreading disinformation
No matter who takes what from whom, lets ponder, who’s money is it?
It’s tourists! Despite there being no tourists during covid our economy grew slightly.
Oh wait? Can’t a been the tourists then can it a been? Must a been Auckland. Auckland must a woke up, went to work, came home with the money… but where from? Perhaps it was Wellington? pete bull-shit jackson aka jonky’s bestie must a made a giant monkey movie and with that pete flew about in the helicopter I saw him step out of up at Paradise ( Yep. It’s a place.) spreading money about like, well, bullshit.
I wonder, where does our money come from??? Is there some sort of sorcery afoot? Good quality Canterbury Cocaine perhaps? Southland Sativa? Omarama Opium? Lets cook Mount Cook Meth’?
Clearly, there must be some kind of mystical manifestation of materials and person power that conjures up substances and materials that can be sent to over the seas which finds favour with far off peoples who then pay us for that and what not. I do wonder what that could be? Wouldn’t it be intriguing to learn of such mythical things, like learning that Unicorns are real and actual. That it is indeed naughty Gnomes who steal the fucking clothes pegs and in return for their naughtiness they pay bills to those over the seas folk for our fuel, medicines, clothing and motor carriages not to mention luxon’s genuine, freshly squeezed Mermaid Oil scalp polish.
I wonder? Has anyone thought to explore the strange, fabled lands between the cities? Where no person dares to travel lest it be in a $220,000 Rangie or over at a safe altitude in a Gulf-stream? The Lands where no High Breed dares to trample, where no Warm Soft’er would touch with boot or flesh? Some say one cannot breath the air for fear of smelling foul beasts like cow arse smells after farts and shit. Others still who’ve survived, albeit emotionally scarred from daring journeys into the hinterlands where society’s diseased and infectious lurk, roam and yes, God forbid, breed still shave the wool off vile creatures called ’Sheep’ to sell for fuck all to rich cunts to rort foreign customers for which, of course, the sheep shavers never, ever, ever see. Hence fake Herne Bay and false Remuera aye fuckers?
Luxon and Willis’s attitudes declare they are born to rule and how dare anyone criticize their policies in any way. This doesn’t bode well for NZ. It’s what they are not saying is the most concerning If God forbid they get elected in October do they seriously think they can prepare a budget by Christmas if they have to work with NZ first. Winston Peters is not known for haste when dealing with any coalition partners and history tells us that they may not even be a sworn in government by Christmas. We are fast headed for the most catastrophic political disaster ever in this country and my bet is that we will be having another election in 6 months or less. People appear to want to get rid of the government at any cost. My warning to them be careful what you wish for because NZ will be sold and privatized to the highest bidder just to give a rich person more money
” National’s ‘plan’ isn’t trickle down economics, it defies political gravity and demands trickle up!
They are taking $2b from the poor and giving it to the rich!
This isn’t a plan, it’s Egalitarian vandalism!
Why take billions from the poor and hand it to the rich? The State’s job isn’t to cause more inequality, it is to erode it!
And the Nasties coalition partner has declared the following…..
” The ACT Party says its small business policy package will abolish Fair Pay Agreements, put a hold on minimum wage increases for three years, and remove the 2 January public holiday.
The party said the reason for the removal of the public holiday would be to “absorb the cost of Matariki” public holiday, which was first celebrated as a public holiday last year.
Instead of Fair Pay Agreements, which the party’s leader David Seymour called “anti business” policy, it would be “supporting freedom to contract”.
“‘Fair pay’ agreements amount to compulsory unionism that will reduce productivity and make it harder for employers to grow their businesses. ACT will get rid of them immediately ”
The ACT Party says its small business policy package will abolish Fair Pay Agreements, put a hold on minimum wage increases for three years, and remove the 2 January public holiday.
The party said the reason for the removal of the public holiday would be to “absorb the cost of Matariki” public holiday, which was first celebrated as a public holiday last year.
Instead of Fair Pay Agreements, which the party’s leader David Seymour called “anti business” policy, it would be “supporting freedom to contract”.
“‘Fair pay’ agreements amount to compulsory unionism that will reduce productivity and make it harder for employers to grow their businesses. ACT will get rid of them immediately ”
” National unveiled its fiscal policy today, announcing all the usual things which business cares about and I don’t. But it did finally tell us how National plans to pay for its handouts to landlords: by effectively cutting benefits:
The biggest saving announced on Friday was $2b cut from the amount forecast to be spent on benefits over the four-year forecast period.
In 2019, Labour indexed benefits to wages, rather than CPI inflation, meaning benefit levels increase more quickly. New Zealand’s main benefit, superannuation, is indexed to wages too.
National wants to change this back, costing someone receiving the basic rate of jobseeker $33 a week by the end of the forecast period. The benefit payments will still go up, but not by as much.
“Still go up, but not by as much” nicely obscures the fact that this is effectively a cut, made worse by the fact that poor see higher inflation than the rich because of what they buy.
So, National’s plan is to rip $2 billion directly out of the pockets of the poorest kiwis, in order to give that money to rich landlords. There is a name for that: it is pure class warfare. ”
” http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2023/09/pure-class-warfare.html