After nine years, it is One Dollar Bill Budget
Wellington, May 25, 2017
Finance Minister Steven Joyce presented his first Budget in Parliament a few minutes ago. This is his first Budget as Finance Minister and the Ninth for the National Party since occupying the Treasury benches in November 2008. We will bring updates continuously over the next few hours and conclude with our own exclusive analysis of the government’s Fiscal Policy later tonight.
-Editor
The country’s largest Opposition Party has the duty to hold the government of the day to account and question everything that it does or says. Since it left the Treasury benches in November 2008 (after nine years of running the government), the Labour Party has been fighting hard to make a comeback, against the backdrop of declining poll rating and other internal issues. However, the Party seems to be gaining popularity in recent months. Budget 2017 would be a good opportunity for Labour Party Leader Andrew Little (Pictured) to announce policies and programmes that would gain people’s attention. In the following reaction to the Budget, he does what the Leader of the Opposition is supposed to do: Criticise and call it a ‘bribe in the election year.’
Irresponsible election bribe
Andrew Little
National’s Budget 2017 is an irresponsible election bribe which after nine years exposes a government that has run out of energy and ideas to tackle the big issues facing New Zealand.
This is simply cynical electioneering that does nothing to address the shortfalls in health, housing and education, and in fact makes them worse.
It is not a Budget for the future, it is a Budget for September 23.
We cannot afford National’s election bribe when young couples cannot buy their first home, when our hospitals are turning away patients, when kids are living in cars, when education standards are slipping, and when roads are clogged.
For all National’s talk about tax cuts, the reality is that a single cleaner on a minimum wage will get just $1 a week extra.
It is One Dollar Bill Budget.
The big winners of this Budget are the top earners who take home most of the tax benefits.
Tried government
This is a tired Government whose only idea left is to splash the cash instead of a genuine commitment to fix housing, health, education and infrastructure.
In health, this Budget is $200 million a year short of what DHBs need to stand still.
In education, schools are short $70 million at a time when we have overcrowding and falling standards.
And in housing National is only building one affordable house a day in Auckland for every 100 new Aucklanders.
Labour’s promise
Labour is committed to fixing the housing crisis, clearing our roads of gridlock, and fixing the $1.7 billion hole in health.
Labour has the fresh ideas and the fresh team to take New Zealand forward.
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