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Dear John, The Collins’ Courier July 2022 Survey results that my constituents have returned, show that overwhelmingly people are concerned about the cost of living in New Zealand today. The next greatest concern is fuel prices temporarily reduced by the government over the winter but with no permanent policy on keeping this basic cost of transport affordable, being put forward. We have gone from the giving and the “we will feed you” of the PM and the Minister of Finance in 2020, to all sorts of measures that are putting up prices of basic things – rent, food, private transport, power. Meanwhile the Government is spending double the money on polling, surveys and market research. In the last year their spending doubled to $28 million, twice the amount being spent when it came into office. The figures, gleaned by National's public service spokesman Simeon Brown from annual reviews of various ministries show a massive uptick in spending over the last five years. This research is not party political - the polls do not ask which party people will vote for - but the National Opposition thinks it raises questions about how much market research is acceptable for a government to do using public funds. In 2016/17 government agencies spent $13.7 million on polling, surveys and market research - this grew to $28.7m in 2020/21. Kiwisaver Tax Labour’s Hon David Parker announced at the beginning of the week that Kiwisaver savings would be taxed in respect of the service fees charged by fund managers. He was supported by the likes of Hon Megan Woods. This Kiwisaver tax would wipe out around $225 million of Kiwisaver funds every year if enacted. I was very proud of the way our National Opposition finance spokesperson Nicola Willis was immediately on to this bill when it was released. Very quickly a petition was set up to oppose and stop this tax on people’s kiwisaver savings. Many of you, in fact 22,000 in 12 hours across New Zealand, signed the National Opposition’s petition with the result that the Prime Minister very quickly advised that the Government had backed off from this very inappropriate tax on people’s retirement savings. This tax would have added to the many other taxes that Labour has introduced despite their election promise of “no new taxes”. They have enacted the ute tax, regional fuel tax for Auckland, tenant tax, jobs tax and the increase in the top tax rate. The Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media Bill The Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media Bill would establish a new public media entity, Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media, which would replace Television New Zealand (TVNZ) and Radio New Zealand (RNZ) as the Crown’s public broadcasters. The Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media Bill says Minister Willie Jackson would create an entity that would continue to support current media programming from RNZ and TVNZ while supporting the production of new content that will target new audiences which are currently underserved, such as Māori audiences, to better reflect Kiwi voices and culture. The new public media entity would help reach new audiences through streaming services and smartphones, which would further improve engagement. The Minister says it would keep the public informed while holding the Government to account. Our Nation Opposition say that the public do not trust current sources of public media, and the new public media entity provided for in this bill would not be any more trustworthy as the Crown would still be the sole owner and would be providing the funding, which could lead to biased content. The National Opposition believe the funding of $327 million allocated to support Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media in Budget 2022 could be used to support more important issues that New Zealand is facing, such as the cost of living crisis. We also believe the Government should support existing media outlets or switch to a mixed-ownership model of public media which would directly engage with the private sector and reduce governmental control. The bill passed its first reading after a party vote, with 77 votes in favour and 42 votes opposed. It was referred to the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee, which has opened the bill to public submissions until 8 September 2022. Aotearoa New Zealand Public Media Bill - New Zealand Parliament (www.parliament.nz) I strongly support people making submissions on this fundamental change to the way our Television and Radio media are controlled as a fair and unbiased news media is a pillar of our democracy in New Zealand. Best wishes, Judith Hon Judith
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