Luxon caught out in back room cut election lies

Election 2023: National leader Christopher Luxon walks off amid questions about National’s tax plan

National is still refusing to say which parts of what it calls the back office bureaucracy of government it would cut to fund its tax cuts. 

But the Council of Trade Unions has done an analysis and found the pool of money they are proposing to cut from includes the courts system, passport processing, national emergency management and search and rescue funding.  

National leader Christopher Luxon refused to answer our questions on what was off the table.

Dressed up as a pirate on Sunday, Luxon drew his sword, leaned in, and prepared to take a swipe. It will be government waste he’s swiping at if he’s elected.  

To pay for its tax cuts National needs to find $594 million a year to slice out of the public service. 

It’s ruled out any cuts from health and education, but everything else is up to be chopped.  

So that $594 million equates to a 6.5 percent cut in spending across the other organisations.  

“We think there are significant savings to be made, particularly in the back office functions,” Luxon said. 

But Craig Renney from the Council of Trade Unions has been buried in budget documents trying to find National’s cuts and says the pool they have to cut from is actually much smaller. 

That’s because National says it will only cut what it calls back room bureaucracy. 

“I would much sooner have nurses and midwives and doctors than communication consultants and spin doctors,” Luxon said.  

The total pool of cash among the ministries up for cuts is $9.1 billion, but when Renney calculated how much of that is back office, or things labelled policy research and communications, the pool shrinks to $1.9 billion. 

To find its $594m, National would need to cut 31 percent of that. 

It’s now blatantly obvious that none of what National have promised is even remotely costed. Every time they are challenged they are defensive and refuse to answer!

National won’t front on their foreign buyers ban revenue.

National won’t front their online gambling policy.

National won’t front their Housing policy.

National won’t front their roading policy.

Now National won’t front their slash and burn policy.

National have claimed to only attack the back room bureaucrats but it’s clear they will slash 31% of passport processing, national emergency management communications and search and rescue coordination!!!

Why slash 31% of that???

Here is Matthew Hooton on Luxon’s train-wreck interview on Q+A over the weekend…

…Luxon is no solution.

 

Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice – please donate here.

If you can’t contribute but want to help, please always feel free to share our blogs on social media