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Dear John,
Today it’s exactly
six months until the election when you will have a stark
choice.
You can choose a National government that will manage
the economy well so we can afford the things Kiwis want and need, like
better education and a health system that works.
The alternative is a likely Labour/Greens/Māori Party coalition
that doesn’t know how to manage the economy, can’t achieve anything
and that will continue to take New Zealanders backwards.
Already this year National has been busy setting out
our plan to help Kiwis get ahead.
The new policy
you’re most likely to have heard of – because it sparked lots of
discussion - is Teaching the Basics Brilliantly which
will stop so many New Zealand kids falling
behind. I’ve also outlined Family Boost which will take some
of Labour’s wasteful spending on consultants and provide a rebate of
up to $75 a week for families’ childcare costs.
Most recently,
I announced Electrify NZ - a plan to make it
far easier to build renewable energy projects so that New Zealand can
double its green electricity. And in late February, I released
National’s Local Water Done Well plan. It
will replace Labour’s discredited Three Waters that was re-announced
yesterday but retains the most aggravating features of Labour’s
original scheme.
In addition to these policies, and in
response to the surge in crime, I last year
announced Backing Police, Tackling
Gangs and Combatting Youth Offending. National also
plans to help unemployed young people into work because the longer a
young person is on a benefit, the more likely they are to have poor
social and economic outcomes later in life. Under
National’s Welfare That Works plan
there’ll be sanctions for young people who don’t participate in
finding suitable work. National, as you know, is also the party that
supports lower tax. We’ll adjust tax brackets for inflation, and undo
Labour’s new taxes. If you’ve not yet had a look at
our tax calculator, do try
it.
That’s a lot to take in so there’s also a short summary
below. The links below will take you to the policy details if you’d
like to know more. And there are lots more announcements
coming.
Thank you for your support
and please help spread the word that a party vote for National
in October will help change the government so National can
begin the turnaround we all need.
Six months to go!
Christopher
PS. I’m on
Newshub Nation tomorrow, Saturday, morning if you’d like to tune in at
9.30am on Three.
PPS. To win the next election, John we need your support. With
just six months to go, can you help our campaign? Sign up here to volunteer or support our campaign by making a donation here. Every dollar helps fund
our campaign to change the government.
Teaching the Basics
Brilliantly
New Zealand’s education system is
failing too many children. A recent NCEA pilot saw two-thirds of
secondary school students unable to meet the standard in reading,
writing and maths the OECD says is necessary for success in further
learning, life, and work. Further, nearly half of Year 4 teachers are
only “moderately confident” about teaching maths, and some schedule
teaching maths less frequently.
National will:
- Require all primary and intermediate schools to spend an hour each
day teaching reading, writing and maths
- Set minimum requirements for what schools must teach every year in
reading, writing, maths and science
- Ensure regular standardised assessment and clear reporting to
parents
- Train teachers better and provide more tools to support
teachers
Family
Boost
The spiralling cost of living is hitting
all households but working parents paying childcare costs are
particularly squeezed because New Zealand’s childcare is among the
most expensive in the world. National will provide a childcare tax
rebate up to $75 a week. It will cost $249 million per year and will
be fully funded from money saved by reversing Labour’s blow-out in
wasteful spending on public sector
consultants.
National will:
- Provide families earning up to $180,000 with a 25 per cent rebate
on their early childhood education expenses, to a maximum of $3,900
per year depending on income
- The FamilyBoost rebate will be available to families using
licenced early childhood education providers, including kindergartens,
kōhanga reo, education and care centres, and licenced home-based
care.
- The rebate will be paid directly into parents’ bank accounts
Electrify
NZ
Greenhouse gas emissions have been rising
under Labour, and a National government will get New Zealand back on
track to meet its climate change commitments. We can take a big step
towards that if whole sectors of the economy switch to clean energy.
But there’s not enough of it, and right now, it can take eight years
to consent a new wind farm.
National will:
- Turbo-charge new renewable new wind, geothermal, and solar power
projects by setting a one-year limit for consent decisions, with
consents to last for 35 years.
- Unleash the transmission and distribution infrastructure – poles,
lines and pylons – required for an electric future by scrapping
consent requirements to upgrade existing assets, and introducing new
pricing rules to support new infrastructure
Local Water Done
Well
Labour’s undemocratic, unpopular and unworkable “Three Waters”
proposal, which lives on under a different name, is the wrong answer
to the problem of under-investment in the infrastructure that provides
stormwater, waste water and drinking water to local communities.
National will:
- Repeal Three Waters and scrap the four co-governed
mega-entities
- Restore council ownership and control
- Set strict rules for water quality and investment in
infrastructure
- Ensure water services are financially sustainable
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