Dear Friend,

Despite what the media would have you believe, the election is going down to the wire. Labour could cling on for another three years.

Last night’s 1 News poll puts Winston Peters, yet again, in the kingmaker role. Will Peters pick National/ACT, or will he go with Labour/Greens/Māori Party?  Under last night’s poll, Chris Luxon would need Winston Peters to form a government. But Chris Hipkins could form a government with him too.

Friend, I can’t go into detail, but I’ve just seen other confidential polling that suggests that things are getting even worse for the centre-right and Christopher Luxon – with Winston Peters in an even stronger position.

Winston Peters has said he won’t go with Labour this time, but he surprised us all before when he chose Jacinda Ardern/Labour over Bill English/National – despite saying before that election he would go with the highest polling party.  This means that the result of this year's election is far from certain.

Chris Hipkins was trying to claim he won’t work with Winston Peters. But he’s already walking that back! He told media earlier this week that “of course” he would pick up the phone to Winston Peters after the election. And in his position, who wouldn’t?!

And we all know Mr Hipkins’ colleagues are desperate to cling to power and that Mr Peters will trade the two large parties against each other – at huge financial costs to the taxpayer.

Which bloc is more likely to buy Winston’s support in the closed-door negotiations after the election? And at what cost to taxpayers? 

While the Taxpayers’ Union doesn’t endorse any particular party, it’s our job to expose bad policy and hold the Government to account. The New Zealand public still doesn't appreciate the fiscal disaster looming thanks to Grant Robertson's reckless fiscal management. And the path of undermining democratic accountability in favour of race-based unaccountable 'co-governance' needs to be exposed. 

That’s why we are working so hard to highlight the Government’s track record, but need one last push.

In addition to the full page anti-Luxon adverts and billboards, Labour's proxy, the Council of Trade Unions, has now been caught out distributing made up claims about opposition parties' policies! 

It’s just like 2005 when Labour sent letters to Housing New Zealand tenants telling them that Don Brash’s National Party would evict them. It is disinformation, smears, and lies, designed to hoodwink voters.

Sadly, these underhand tactics worked back in 2005 and, based on the latest polls, it seems they are working again. That’s why we need to respond and ramp up our efforts.

Unlike the CTU, our campaigns focus on policies and facts – not disinformation and smears. We are not funded by big left-wing union dues and special interests – our campaigns are made possible by people like you chipping in what you can crowdfund holding the Government to account.

Friend, in the next 24 hours, we must finalise our advertising spend for the last week of the campaign across radio, TV, digital billboards and online. We can't take on the CTU's misinformation unless we can raise the funds to confidently lock-in the bookings to make a splash. Will you help get us to the target of $42,000 so we can combat the Labour-backed CTU disinformation campaign?

You’ve seen our campaigns getting cut through. The Debt Clock has been all over the media, and 'Robbo’s Removals' is being shared widely and getting the message through to those who vote, but don’t follow politics closely. The Taxpayers’ Union has also been holding Grant Robertson to account about the alarming state of books and his own 'fiscal hole' related to Labour's fruity GST policy.

We have the ad campaigns ready to go – we just need your support so we can lock them in and get on the airwaves to reach the masses. Only with your support can we ensure a decisive result next week.

>>> Click here to make a confidential donation to secure a change of direction for New Zealand <<<

Thank you for your support.

Jordan Williams Executive Director New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

P.S. Unlike the political parties, we can (and do) respect the privacy of our financial supporters and only release the names of our supporters who give us permission to do so. You can make a confidential donation knowing that every cent will be used to hold the Government to account.