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Best ACT Polling in
16 Years
Both major TV polls are now showing ACT has its strongest support
since 2003 and 2004, respectively. The last three public polls place
ACT at 3.1, 5, and 3.3 per cent, enough to elect between 4-7 MPs. The
momentum is real with ACT’s events up and down the country well
attended and merchandise selling like hotcakes. If you’d like to
attend our events,
volunteer,
donate,
or even buy
an ACT t-shirt, please click on these
links.
Amongst the Madness
You may wonder what’s gone wrong with our politics. The world has
changed and New Zealand needs to change with it. At exactly the time
we’re facing really difficult choices as a country, the political
process appears to have imploded. ACT continues to put out serious
public policy proposals on everything from the budget to mental health
to firearms and the outdoors. If you haven’t checked out our policy
page, please do.
New Zealand’s Policy Choice in a
Nutshell
The Government is giving $51 million to schools to make up for
having no international students. There are 2,500 schools in New
Zealand and Free Press knows principals whose schools have
lost up to $1 million. Indeed, an Education New Zealand report found
that secondary schools took in $600 million a year back in 2016. The
Government cannot borrow enough to replace normal economic activity,
as the end of the wage subsidy will show.
Taxpayers
Can’t Pay For It
Schools don’t need handouts and taxpayers don’t need borrowing. We
all need to safely reconnect with the world. What the schools are
facing is what the whole country faces on a larger scale. Treasury
forecasts that interest on debt will cost more than the entire
education budget by 2034. This is not sustainable. ACT’s five point
plan includes balancing the books. It has been widely read and is
still available
here.
Not Going To Say We Told You So,
But...
ACT has said for months that, to safely reconnect with the world,
we need to get proactive, and smart. Victoria University
Vice-Chancellor Grant Guilford says universities can manage their own
isolation. It’s a very good example of how we could do better. The
Government now needs to tell us: Is it just battening down the hatches
until the election, or does it plan to keep the country locked up
indefinitely if it wins? Either way, it would be helpful for the
public to know.
The Free Market Solution for
Tiwai
If you missed last weekend’s Free Press, there is an
answer for Tiwai that is principled and effective. Simply remove the
regulatory barriers to a competing transmission line from Manapouri to
Tiwai. The threat of competition will make Transpower drop its $65
million per annum transmission price. This is a principled solution.
Legislating the price of power, as some have suggested, will never
happen. (Hint: The 12-year schmozzle that was the Electricity Pricing
Review produced little change).
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