And the MP for Port Waikato is . . .

The result of the by-election in Port Waikato will be announced soon.

Pundits are picking Andrew Bayley, who held the seat until the election and would have held it again if not for the untimely death of the Act candidate, Neil Christensen, which stopped the electorate election.

There is however, the risk of an upset because neither Labour nor the Green Party are contesting the by-election.

If enough of their supporters vote for the NZ First candidate, as happened in the Northland by-election which allowed the Winston Peters into parliament again, the party’s candidate Casey Costello could win.

Both Bayley and Costello are already in parliament as list MPs. A quirk of MMP will result in their party getting another list MP, bringing the number of MPs to 123.

Can’t afford complacency

The NZ Herald’s poll of polls gives Labour just .1% of being in government:

National leader Christopher Luxon looks set to become New Zealand’s next prime minister, according to the Herald’s poll of polls.

It would be the first time New Zealand has had three prime ministers in a year since 1990, and Labour looks set to record the worst result for one of the major parties after a stint in government in the MMP era. It would be the worst result for a major party after a stint in government since the Great Depression, nearly a century ago. . . 

National and Act have a 51.5 per cent chance of being able to form a government if the election were held this weekend, rising to 56.5 per cent for the actual polling day.

Labour’s odds continue to narrow. A Labour-Green-Te Pāti Māori formation has a 0.1 per cent likelihood of being able to form a government if the election were held this weekend. Those odds increase to 0.4 per cent if the election were held on polling day. . . .

There are some dangers in this.

Those wanting significant change could think it’s assured and that they don’t need to vote.

Some on the left could think that since their parties have such a slim chance of being in government they will attempt to undermine a National-Act government by supporting NZ First.

There is no room for complacency.

If people want positive change the only way to guarantee it is a vote for a National-led government. The best way to do that is to party vote National, the second best is give Act the party vote.

Party more than MPs

At a meet the candidates meeting a few weeks before the 2008 election then-Labour candidate for Waitaki, David Parker, conceded that he wasn’t going to beat sitting MP Jacqui Dean.

I ran into a member of the Labour Party a few days after this. She said she was furious and she said so were other members who were helping the party’s election campaign.

Labour Party members in Ohariu will be feeling similarly angry about their MP and candidate Greg O’Connor conceding the whole election:

Labour MP Greg O’Connor has conceded his party will likely lose the election, with his electorate opponent Nicola Willis appointed finance minister.

With National leading in all public polls it is an honest strategy – although not one which will endear him to colleagues. On the campaign trail leader Chris Hipkins has hammered home the message that the party can still turn the result around.

In a bid to hold on to his north Wellington seat Ōhāriu, O’Connor also said residents should give him their “electorate vote only” to ensure he remains in Parliament. . . 

Anyone who understands MMP knows it’s the party vote that counts but at least some of those who heard him say this won’t know that.

And there are advantages to having a government MP, especially a minister, as your MP.

O’Connor wanted to make it clear that he was campaigning for both the party and electorate vote. “I’m glad you’ve clarified this. Of course, I’m going for the party vote. The main point is that I’m not on the list. . . .

That admission to the media will be too little and too late for many of those at the meetings where he appeared to concede the election for his party and seek only the electorate vote.

Good MPs understand that they are there because of their parties, that the party is much more than MPs who come and go while many members stay loyal through good times and bad, and they value and are considerate of the party and its members.

Whatever O’Connor meant, what he said will have hurt his party and angered its members.

What matters most?

National leader Chris Luxon and Labour leader Chris Hipkins were asked to pick the policy of which they were most proud.

Free dental care up to 30 years old was Hipkins’ pick.

A world class education system was Luxon’s choice.

This shows big differences in priorities and philosophy.

While free dental care does have a wider benefit in that poor dental health can lead to wider health problems which in turn leads to higher demands on the health system, most of the benefit is individual. The policy also pays for people who could afford to pay for themselves.

A world class education system has a lot of individual benefit but it has a much greater societal benefit than paying for dental care for young adults.

Better educated children have a much better change of succeeding in life and many will become the skilled adults we need to thrive socially and economically.

What matters most – dental care that’s free for young adults or an education system that has far greater individual, social and economic benefits?

Better educated people are more likely to understand the need to look after their teeth, have work that would allow them to afford their own dental care, and pay more tax to help fund the world class education system.

Who spends our money best?

One clear message from last night’s debate between National leader Chris Luxon and Labour leader Chris Hipkins was a belief in who spends our money best.

National’s policies allow us to keep more of our own money and put trust in locals to address local issues.

https://twitter.com/NZNationalParty/status/1704043286611341483

Labour’s take more, redistribute it expensively through the public service and take a centralised approach to local problems.

The difference comes down to the belief in who’s better at spending our money – us or the government.

It comes down to which party we can trust to deliver.

https://twitter.com/NZNationalParty/status/1704046178185482713

It also comes down to who can get the economy growing to enable people to do things for themselves and so the government can afford what’s needed for better outcomes in education, health, infrastructure and other necessities.

Labour’s had six years showing it can’t do that. It hasn’t got the policies to do it, especially with the handicap of the Greena nd Maori parties in coalition.

National understands that economic management is fundamental to the country’s success and has the policies to do it well.

National will deliver.#GetNZBackonTrack #PartyVoteNational #TVNZdebate pic.twitter.com/4RSDk2eyBf

— NZ National Party (@NZNationalParty) September 19, 2023

Can’t trust to deliver

Labour has belatedly decided to get tough on gangs with an announcement of a policy to tackle some of their anti-social and illegal behaviour :

. . . The party also wants to develop new gang convoy legislation, which could include seizing vehicles without conviction when it is unsafe for police to intervene at the time of offending. Any breach of road laws by gang members when there are two or more vehicles involved would result in seizure. 

Agencies that come into contact with gang leaders or their importation networks will also be tasked with developing new legislative options to restrict gang leaders’ ability to operate, organise, profit and support offending in New Zealand.  

“This would include going after their ability to recruit in prison and in the community, communicate with their associates, fundraise and conceal their assets, and how they interact with international organised crime for the importation of illegal products.”  . . 

How can the party be trusted to deliver on this when the ones making this promise were part of the cabinet that turned down a proposal to stop funding them just a couple of months ago?

Chris Hipkins’ Cabinet considered whether to stop government contracts involving funding for gangs in July and deliberately chose to keep doing so, National’s Public Service spokesperson Simeon Brown says.

National understands the then-Justice Minister Kiri Allan lodged a paper for Cabinet on 17 July this year which included a proposal to not engage in or renew any contracts with gangs or persons actively associated with gangs, but Cabinet did not agree to the proposal.

“For Kiwis living in communities affected by rising gang membership and the crime, chaos and misery that comes with it, this will be the final straw. In the midst of skyrocketing gang crime, Labour’s Cabinet couldn’t even agree to a proposal that would stop the government funding gangs,” Mr Brown says.

“Hardworking people rightly expect taxpayer money and the Proceeds of Crime Fund to go to victims and worthwhile programmes, not criminal gangs. Chris Hipkins must explain to New Zealanders why his government refused to stop funding gangs.

“This proposal mirrors National’s own policy of stopping government funding for the criminal enterprises currently causing mayhem in communities up and down the country. If elected, we will enact this sensible change to stop government funding for gangs.

“Labour is soft on crime and has already funnelled money to the Mongrel Mob for an anti-meth programme. The scheme was likened to “money-laundering”, by one Hawke’s Bay police officer who was appalled by $2.75 million in funding from the Proceeds of Crime Fund being recycled back to the Mongrel Mob to run a programme designed to get people off a drug that the Mob have long experience in selling.

“Gangs are actively campaigning for the Labour Party around the country and specifically telling their members to vote for Labour. Now we know why. Given a choice to stop funding gangs or continuing it, Labour chose the latter.”

Labour has also announced a women’s policy which includes extending free breast screening from the age of 69 to 74.

This matches a policy announced by National months ago – and one that was part of Labour’s 2017 coalition agreement with NZ First in 2917.

If they couldn’t deliver on a coalition deal in six years, how can they be trusted to deliver in a new government?

A bigger question is, how can a party be trusted to deliver on any policies for women when it’s leader can’t even define what a woman is?

“. . . Um,” Hipkins began before pausing.

“To be honest Sean, that question has come slightly out of left field for me”’

Another lengthier pause followed before Hipkins said: “Well, biology, sex, gender, um …” trailing off before pausing again and saying: “People define themselves, people define their own genders”. . . 

In his own words:

But given how little Labour delivered in the last six years, the party can’t be trusted to deliver with the added handicaps of the Green and Maori parties.

Meeting the candidates

Oamaru Rotary has been hosting Meet the Candidates meetings for around two decades.

Last night’s was an opportunity for the six candidates standing in the Waitaki electorate to market themselves and their parties.

Waitaki has been held by National since it was created in 2008. Sitting MP Jacqui Dean is retiring and while an upset is theoretically possible, it will be going against a very strong blue tide if the party’s candidate Miles Anderson doesn’t win the seat.

The Labour candidate is only 19 and while he’s articulate and mature for his age he is very unlikely to make much headway with either the electorate or party vote.

The only other candidate who made any attempt to seek electorate votes was the Democracy NZ one. The Act, Green and NZ Loyal candidates didn’t even pretend they were trying to win the seat, they were only soliciting party votes.

The biggest claps of the night went to the candidates who were adamant that government shouldn’t be buying and then influencing the media and to those who stated firmly that their parties were opposed to co-governance of public services and assets – ie everyone but the Green and Labour ones.

Moderator Jim Hopkins made it clear at the start that questions were to be questions without long statements and he was firm on that which allowed a good number of issues to be canvassed.

The Opera House was more than half full which means more than a couple of hundred people cared enough to turn up.

Whether or not those who were decided before they came changed their minds is doubtful. It is possible some undecided made up theirs.

And the winner on the night? The local foodbank. Rotary had invited the audience to donate to it and the response in both food and money was generous.

One alone or a team?

National and Act hoardings seeking the party vote feature both their leader and deputy, Chris Hipkins and Nicola Willis and David Seymour and Brooke van Velden, respectively.

Labour’s have only their leader, Chris Hipkins.

That might be because of the confusion between their deputy (Kelvin Davis) chosen to appease the Māori faction in the party but without the ability to be deputy PM, and  Carmel Sepuloni who has that role.

It could also be because Davis has very little public visibility and inspires little public enthusiasm.

Whatever the reason, if a party leader doesn’t have enough confidence in his deputy to share space on a billboard with him, how can voters?

It’s another sign of the weakness of Labour’s team and a contrast to National which showcases several MPs in campaign advertisements like this one:

📷 Our first TV ad#GetNZBackonTrack #PartyVoteNational pic.twitter.com/G8dI9UChIL

— NZ National Party (@NZNationalParty) September 10, 2023

Labour wasn’t prepared for government in 2017 and its performance since has demonstrated the shallowness of its talent pool, too shallow to showcase anyone but its leader on its party vote hoardings.

We’ve got a stark choice between Labour with a leader looking increasingly alone, and National with the capable, disciplined and skilled team that’s needed to run the country.

Indebted by waste

Labour has borrowed too much, spent too much and wasted too much.

The Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU) gives very clear evidence of Labour’s mismanagement :

Treasury’s pre-election economic forecasts show that six years of Labour’s economic mismanagement has taken a toll on New Zealand, with forecasts showing a sustained economic slowdown, high inflation and high interest rates, National Leader Christopher Luxon says.

“Treasury’s latest forecasts show the economy isn’t working for Kiwis. The economic slowdown is expected to last for another 18 months, as interest rates stay high for longer in an attempt to combat persistently high inflation driven by Labour’s addiction to spending.

“Government spending is up by $6.5 billion over the coming years, the return to surplus has been delayed for the third time and Government debt has blown out by $13 billion, soaring above $100 billion next year.

“As Treasury says, ‘households and businesses are expected to remain under pressure’.

“New Zealanders deserve better. Wages have been growing slower than inflation, the fortnightly cost of a $500,000 mortgage has increased by $750 in the last two years, and food prices have been increasing at rates not seen since the 1980s.

“Sadly, there’s more pain to come with Treasury now forecasting:

• the economic slowdown to persist through to the end of 2024,
• inflation to stay above target levels until the end of 2024,
• interest rates to stay higher for longer in an attempt to combat inflation,
• a delay in the return to surplus to 2027 – meaning seven straight years of deficits, and
• debt servicing costs rising to $11 billion per year.

“These figures assume Labour will stick to their proposed spending limits – something they have never done. In the 2020 PREFU, spending was expected to be $116 billion this year. But Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s excessive spending has lifted this to $139 billion – a $23 billion blow-out. Indeed, Treasury even includes a scenario in their forecasts where the Government does not stick to their Budget allowances.

“Overall, it all equates to Labour spending over $1 billion more per week than when they took office in 2017.

“The economic outlook is a distinctly New Zealand problem. New Zealand is the only country in the Asia-Pacific region in recession and the IMF is forecasting that New Zealand’s economic growth prospects next year are among the very worst in the world. In contrast, Australia’s books are in surplus.

“As a result of our economic conditions, too many of our people are looking at opportunities overseas, with nearly 40,000 Kiwis permanently leaving the country in the last year.

“It is clear that Labour is out of ideas and has no plan to turn things around. New Zealand can do so much better.

“This election is an opportunity for change and a chance to get the economy working for all New Zealanders. National has a plan to do exactly that.

“National’s plan to rebuild the economy includes:

• stopping wasteful spending and getting the books back in order,
• delivering tax relief to encourage hard work and ease the cost of living crisis,
• cutting red tape to make it easier to invest and grow,
• building infrastructure for growth like roads and public transport,
• growing skills to expand our workforce,
• driving technology and innovation, and
• being open to the world by supporting trade and investment.

“National will rebuild the economy because that is how we lift wages, grow jobs and help Kiwis get ahead. A strong economy is how we end the cost of living crisis and get mortgage rates under control. It is also how we afford the quality public services we all rely on and deserve.

“New Zealanders now have a clear choice this election – a strong stable National-led Government with a plan to rebuild the economy. Or three more years of a high taxing, high spending Labour-led Government with no plan to address the economic issues facing New Zealanders.”

When National took over in 2008 it faced a decade of Labour-led deficits. Good management by National managed to return to surplus earlier than Treasury predicted and it will take a new National government to do that again.

pic.twitter.com/V1Wyc0nDGd

— Christopher Luxon (@chrisluxonmp) September 12, 2023

The PREFU has confirmed what a majority of people believe – the country is on the wrong track:

Although there is too much variation in the current polling to be confident of what specifically will happen on election night, we can say, with some certainty, a change of Government is coming. 

We can say that because, if for no other reason, we have yet another poll that asks the questions that give it all away – is the country going in the right direction? Is the country on the right track? 

The Post/Freshwater Strategy poll says ‘no’. Not only does it say no, it tells us 63% think it’s going the wrong way. 21% think it’s OK and 15% aren’t convinced either way. 

Here is the critical point; even if you allow for plus or minus, even if you asked the questions a different way, even if you did the poll over again, the number for the wrong way is so large it can’t be wrong. 

It might be 61% or 59% or 66% or 68% but it is indisputably the majority of the country thinking the same thing. 

We are not heading the right way.  . . 

Labour’s borrowing, spending and wasting is responsible for the dire state of the economy and the people who did the damage can’t be trusted to repair it.

The interest bill alone is now around $5 billion. That’s an eyewatering amount of money that isn’t available for education, health, infrastructure and other essentials.

The solution isn’t the left’s usual tax-more and waste-more policies.

The solution won’t come from  Labour which is responsible for much of the problem.

The solution is sound economic management that fosters productivity, rewards effort and provides a strong foundation for growth.

Vote them out #24

Thanks to Ruth Richardson’s Fiscal Responsibility Act, government’s can’t hide what they’ve done to the country’s books.

The sorry state of the country’s economy will be laid bare in the Pre-election Economic Fiscal Update (Prefu) today.

It will be evidence of Labour’s over-taxing, wasteful spending and legacy of debt.

That debt was approaching $158 billion in May’s Budget. It will be worse now.

Just how bad the debt is will become clear when the Taxpayer Union launches its debt clock outside parliament with a sausage sizzle between noon and 1pm.

The debt and the interest on it will be a handbrake on the economy, and on future government’s ability to properly fund services and infrastructure for decades.

Labour’s economic incompetence is a very good reason to vote them out and allow a National-led government to get the country, its economy and all it funds, back on track.

Vote them out #22

Ram raids and brazen thefts from shops are no longer unusual.

Foodstuffs North Island reports a 59% surge in retail crime.

Retail crime has continued to escalate in Foodstuffs North Island’s 300-plus grocery stores, with 3,900 separate incidents recorded from May to July this year, a 59% increase year-on-year, and up almost 19% on the last quarter.

Serious incidents reported by Foodstuffs stores such as assault, robbery and burglary have more than doubled year on year, and are already up 13% on the last quarter of this year. Repeat offenders were involved in over a third of all incidents, and the number of incidents they committed grew by 44% to 1,862 across the North Island’s New World, PAK’nSAVE and Four Square stores. . . 

Countdown also suffers from a massive increase in similar offences :

The massive increase in theft and physical assaults reported by one of the largest supermarkets in New Zealand is a sad reflection on the state of law and order under Chris Hipkins’ Labour Government, National’s Police spokesperson Mark Mitchell says.

“Over the last six years Countdown has reported a 663 per cent increase in reported stolen goods, a 303 per cent increase in physical assaults, a 326 per cent increase in thefts, and an 806 per cent increase in security incidents.

“In 2018 there were just over 5,400 thefts and that number has now grown to over 23,000. In 2018, 58 people were physically assaulted and that number has increased to 234. . . 

Retail theft isn’t confined to bigger businesses, smaller ones, particularly dairies, are also being targeted.

Yesterday’s announcement from Labour about more police if it’s re-elected is far too little, far too late.

Retail crime is a symptom of a break down in law and order.

It’s another very good reason to vote Labour out.

 

 

 

Becoming Liebour

When do mistakes become lies?

The Labour Party has come under fire for tenuous claims some of its advertisements and MPs have made about National and Act.

The spat reached a new level of absurdity on Thursday when Labour was found out for claiming National would repeal a policy that does not even exist. . .

Labour produced attack infographics (L) slamming National for wanting to cut assistance to disabled people that didn’t actually exist and that Labour had never promised, only allowed people to mistakenly believe it had (R)? pic.twitter.com/APoZzW764r

— Ben Thomas (@BenThomasNZ) September 6, 2023

The blunder comes on top of several days of criticism about Labour’s ads and MPs spreading false or misleading claims about the opposition.

Senior Minister Willie Jackson in the heat of the moment in a debate on Tuesday night said National and Act would “get rid of the minimum wage”.

Jackson quickly corrected himself, but only to say that National and Act would cut the minimum wage, which they have said they would not do.

Senior Minister and former leader Andrew Little said in a Facebook post that National and Act would “flog off the schools and sack all the teachers”, again something that is not part of either party’s policy. . . 

But wait, there’s more.

Another Labour minister engaging in misinformation.

In his latest newsletter, Duncan Webb claims "Matariki would be abolished" under National despite Luxon repeatedly ruling that out.
https://t.co/M7qAMAsSLk

— Craig McCulloch (@craigmcculloch) September 7, 2023

Once might be a mistake, twice is more than carelessness, a third time is turning Labour into Liebour.

Where’s the Disinformation Project when you need it?  It’s almost certainly ignoring this and using its taxpayer funding to continue its left wing political agenda.

 

Vote them out #21

Labour hasn’t got a record it can campaign on. It’s had so few successes and, as Alex Holland shows, far too many failures.

It’s a very long list an an indictment on people too long on ideology and too short on practicality; politicians who weren’t prepared for government in 2017 and a government too short of talent for Cabinet.

They spent too much time on things that weren’t important, they wasted took and spent too much money and have far too little positive to show for it.

The very long list of failures is a very good reason to vote Labour out and vote a National-led government in.

Mud sticks to hand that throws it

The CTU’s wrap around advertisement in yesterday’s New Zealand Herald demonising National leader Christopher Luxon has got a lot of publicity.

That was the aim, but it might have back fired on both the union and the paper.

The paper had a right to print the advertisement, although it begs the question of why a personal attack on a politician by a union is acceptable when an advertisement merely asking the question what is a woman? was not?

A paper that publishes some political advertisements but censors others that don’t breach advertising standards is showing bias.

If talkback calls can be believed, the Herald has lost some subscribers because of perceived bias over the union advertisement.

A union spokesman tried to justify the ad by comparing it with Taxpayers’ Union ads against the government, conveniently ignoring the important difference between ads that criticise policy and attacks against a person.

🎶 One of these things is not like the others… 🎶 pic.twitter.com/sJ0qDX6iv7

— New Zealand Taxpayers' Union (@TaxpayersUnion) September 4, 2023

Mud sticks to the hand that throws it and no matter the protestations from both the union and Labour that they are not aligned, the mud in this instance has stuck to them both.

The ad may well have done the opposite of what is was intended to do by garnering sympathy for Luxon from fair minded people who prefer political campaigns to stick to debating policy rather than personal attacks.

You deserve better. Party Vote National to get our country back on track. pic.twitter.com/RlB2ED4p2v

— NZ National Party (@NZNationalParty) September 4, 2023

 

 

Can’t afford to be fooled again

An email forwarded several times made it to my inbox. It was an attempt to persuade readers to vote for NZ First.

The reasoning was that two parties wouldn’t be able to form a government so National and Act would need the support of NZ First.

That reasoning isn’t reasoned.

A vote for NZ First is a vote that isn’t going to National or Act and therefore increasing the chances of something even worse than the current ineptitude – a Labour, Green Te Parti Maori shambles.

One of Winston Peter’s arguments in seeking support is that he was a hand brake on Labour but he doesn’t say that’s only because he put that party in the driver’s seek.

That is like an arsonist seeking support for helping to put out a fire he lit.

The only alternative to a Labour-led government is a National-led one.

If that’s what voters want the best way to get it is to vote for National, the second best is to vote for Act.

Any other vote is a vote against a National-led government.

Voters who don’t learn from history will doom us all to a repeat of the disfunction Peters brings to government and they’ll be helping to sabotage the urgent change that’s needed to get the country back on track.

We simply can’t afford what will happen if people let themselves be fooled again.

Positive vs negative

The usual rules of political campaigns have been reversed.

Labour is running a negative campaign and National a positive one.

Labour can’t run on its record – high inflation and high debts with nothing to show for it but  a cost of living crisis, health and education crises, immigration a shambles, and a bloated bureaucracy which clearly illustrates its mistaken policy of spending more rather than spending well.

Instead, and in defiance of the political advice to ignore your opponents, it’s putting a lot of energy into criticising National.

By contrast, while National does highlight what’s wrong with the current administration, it’s promoting positive policies for a much better future, based on an eight-point pledge card.

A National Government will:

1. 1. Lower inflation and grow the economy
   2. Let you keep more of what you earn
   3. Build infrastructure
   4. Restore law & order
   5. Lift school achievement
   6. Cut health waiting times
   7. Support seniors
   8. Deliver Net Zero Carbon by 2050

Unlike Labour’s 2005 pledge card, this one is being paid for by the party and not the taxpayers.

You can read Christopher Luxon’s campaign opening speech here.

Vote them out #20

In the wake of the announcement of National’s Back Pocket Boost, here’s a reminder that Labour’s policy is to complicating the world’s simplest goods and services tax, and do it at great cost:

David Farrar has some done calculations :

The annual cost of labour‘s pledge to remove GST on fruit and vegetables is $515 million. Over four years that is $2.06 billion. You can do a lot with $2 billion. Now if all that $2 billion went into reduced prices, then that would be one thing. But Sir michael cullen‘s tax working group assessed that any such reduction of GST for food would only be passed on at 30%. this was based on actual empirical data from other countries.

So of that $2.06 billion in reduced revenue, $1.44 billion would go to supermarket chains.

The remaining $618 million would go to households.

That is $154 million per year that would go to households.

Per week that is about $3 million a week, for around 2.3 million households. That is $1.30 a week per household.

So the centrepiece of Labour’s plan to help with the cost of living crisis they are partially responsible for is to give $1.44 billion to owners of supermarkets and to give $1.30 a week to households.

Yet another reason to vote Labour out and vote in a National-led government that trusts us with more of our own money.

Vote them out #18

Aucklanders have been paying more fuel tax than the rest of us to fund transport improvements that haven’t even started.

All of us have been paying fuel taxes not just for roads and related costs but cycle ways and other boondoggles that have nothing to do with roads.

If Labour is re-elected, with the help of the Green and Māori Parties, we’ll be paying even more in fuel taxes.

Almost half of the price you pay at the pump for fuel is tax, yet Labour wants to hike fuel taxes by a further 14 cents/litre. Sign the petition telling them to freeze fuel taxes at https://t.co/xRbZqxLpU7 pic.twitter.com/bKfFOZSDaj

— New Zealand Taxpayers' Union (@TaxpayersUnion) August 26, 2023

You can sign the Taxpayers’ Union petition to freeze fuel tax here.

David Parker has announced that he will be raising the fuel tax by 14c per litre, only months after having last hiked taxes on fuel by 29c per litre.

This regressive tax disproportionately hurts poor and rural households. Kiwis who are already struggling under this Government’s cost-of-living crisis will once again be hit even harder, as David Parker’s cash grab raises the cost of essential travel and pushes up the prices of food in our supermarkets.

This Government doesn’t seem to understand quite how difficult things are for Kiwis right now, so it’s about time we let them know.

Sign the petition and add your name to the fight against Transport Minister David Parker’s latest attack on your household’s finances.

The only way to keep fuel taxes down is to vote the government out and vote a National-led one in.

 

Taxi driver test

I asked the taxi driver who took us from our hotel in Wellington to the airport if his passengers discussed politics with him.

He said some do.

I then asked what they were saying about the election.

He said most were saying National.

The next question was, how would he vote.

He said he usually voted Labour but was thinking of voting National this time.

One taxi driver is very far from a reliable poll, and thinking isn’t doing. But his concern for the problems that are facing the country and the need for a change of government to fix them is growing.

Vote them out # 17

Remember how Labour criticised National’s education policy aimed at turning round deplorable literacy and numeracy? They’re now copying some of it:

After six years of being completely directionless in education, Labour has copied part of National’s policy in a desperate attempt to turn around plummeting educational achievement, National’s Education spokesperson Erica Stanford says.

“Labour is so completely clueless in education that they are waiting to see National’s policies and simply copying our homework.

“After six months of attempting to critique National, Labour has today announced one part of National’s four-part Teaching the Basics Brilliantly policy but leaving out core elements that make the policy effective.

“National has already said that it will rewrite the curriculum to outline exactly what kids should be learning each year to ensure consistency. Furthermore, a National government will ensure that reading, writing and maths are taught for an hour a day, with twice-yearly light-touch assessments to ensure that students are progressing.

“This is a complete 180 from Labour, with Chris Hipkins having strongly stated last year that the Government has no business telling teachers how to teach.

“Labour has spent six years floundering in Education and the refreshed curriculum is an inconsistent mess of competing approaches.

“More and more high schools across the country are showing their lack of faith in the Government’s curriculum and standards change package by ditching NCEA Level 1.

“Labour has spent an extra $5 billion and hired 1,400 additional bureaucrats but presided over worse achievement, terrible school attendance and growing inequalities between students in low and high-decile schools.

“Unlike Labour, National will ensure that kids spend at least an hour a day on maths, reading and writing with regular assessments to ensure they are on track with their learning. For our children to succeed and go on to live the lives they want, they need to be able to do the basics.” . . . 

That’s focused, clear and simple, Labour’s focus is anything but:

Labour want to mandate their Common Practice Model of how teachers should teach in our schools. Just a reminder of what the latest common practice model says about maths….. pic.twitter.com/Jl4LOpzQjR

— Erica Stanford MP (@EricaStanfordMP) August 21, 2023

That looks more like politics than maths.

The decline in educational standards can’t be blamed only on Labour, but the steep fall in the last few years can be.

If they can’t campaign on their record they can’t be trusted back.

This is yet another reason to vote them out.