12 Days To Go

We are at the business end of the election. The first votes will be cast on the morning of 3 October, 12 days away. Of course the election is still 26 days away on 17 October, but some votes will already be decided in 12 days.

David At Home

A sneak preview for Free Press readers, this video shows ACT Leader David Seymour at home. Working on the car and talking about his values and New Zealand’s. If you like it, please help share it.

The Change Your Future Bus Tour

The tour is attracting large, diverse crowds. You know something is happening with ACT when 50 people show up to a party meeting in a town the size of Balclutha. As the country moves down alert levels, the meetings will get bigger. Please check out the events section of ACT’s website for more details.

What Did PREFU Say?

The Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update said two things. One is that, under current policies, we face fifteen years of deficits. The whole forecast period is red. There are children learning to walk right now who will learn to drive before they see the government post a surplus. Compared with May’s Budget Economic and Fiscal Update, it showed better short term results and worse long term results. In other words, the economy is running on a sugar hit that must eventually be paid back.

ACT's Alternative

There is a better way. ACT has an alternative to Labour's out-of-control spending funded by high taxes and more debt. We can have a faster recovery with lower taxes and less debt. Every other political party is in a race to spend more money. But every extra dollar government borrows today means higher taxes or fewer services for our kids. Labour will borrow $165.6 billion between 2020 and 2030. That compares with $89.6 billion, or $76 billion less, under ACT’s fiscal plan.

Debt Destroyer Rolls On

ACT’s interactive Debt Destroyer is proving very popular. It’s been praised by Mike Hosking and used by thousands of New Zealanders. What choices are they making? It turns out the average Kiwi is more fiscally responsible than Grant Robertson. The average person makes policy choices to spend $65 billion less for the decade. What choices would you make?

Parental Responsibility

Last Tuesday, Labour promised free lunches and National promised free toothbrushes. Jacinda feeds the kids, Judith brushes their teeth. People are coming to ACT because they can’t tell the difference between the other two, and ACT is a consistent and constructive voice of reason.

Primary Industries

Farmers are the only people in New Zealand who have a financial incentive to be environmentalists. Next year’s income depends on looking after their land and animals this year. Yet, they have been demonised as eco-terrorists by the party that claims to stand for the environment. ACT’s policy opposes the Zero Carbon Act and one-size-fits-all freshwater regulations, as well as replacing the RMA and upgrading mental health nationwide. We have been pleased with the response from rural New Zealand. You can judge the policy for yourself here.

Energy and Resources

600,000 Kiwis have moved across the ditch because resources have made Australia wealthier, producing more jobs, better infrastructure, education and healthcare. Meanwhile, our Government is preventing us from taking advantage of our wealth by banning offshore oil and gas exploration and promising to ban new mines on conservation land. ACT's new energy and resources policy would repeal the oil and gas ban and fast-track resource development by introducing a streamlined process for mining projects.

Labour's Plan For Industrial Relations

Two days after we found out we were in the deepest recession in living memory, Labour decided it wanted to pile more red tape and compliance costs on businesses. The last thing businesses can afford right now is to raise the minimum wage and pay out more leave. Whoever forms the next government has a responsibility to support our businesses to recover, not kick them while they’re down. Labour isn’t just cutting open the golden goose, they’re wringing its neck.

Holding Them All Accountable

Last week, Jacinda Ardern was photographed taking a selfie with at least a dozen people in close proximity to her. Hospitality businesses are going broke at Alert Level 2 because of single server and social distancing rules. Meanwhile, the person responsible for the rules was breaking them. We’re glad Jacinda Ardern is finally taking a balanced approach to Covid-19. But it’s a pity she’s balancing it with her re-election campaign and not the needs of small businesses.