Dear John,

The New Zealand Herald’s annual Mood of the Boardroom survey, is out today and it blasts the Government for its woeful performance. “Government seems to be spending an astronomical amount of money to deliver an appallingly low level of outcome,” one CEO told the Herald. Another said, “We seem to have lost our ambition as a country as to what we stand for and our place in the world. We need our political leaders to set an ambitious plan for NZ that inspires people to want to live and work here."

The Mood of the Boardroom, I conclude, is both worried and worrying. My vision is for a more confident, positive, ambitious and aspirational New Zealand than we know today. A National government that can rebuild and properly manage our economy, in turn bolstering public services like education and health, will improve the lives of all New Zealanders.

Grim news from Russia has provided a sombre international backdrop to the end of the week. In addition to the support New Zealand is offering Ukraine, National continues to call for the Russian ambassador to New Zealand to be expelled.

It’s a stark contrast to the beginning of the week when the focus was on the late Queen Elizabeth II’s life of public service. Her death has prompted the media to ask me many times about New Zealand’s future constitutional structure. My view is that the current arrangements serve New Zealand well and there won’t be any formal debate about changing them until and unless there is a strong groundswell of public support for change. If I have the privilege of serving as Prime Minister, there are far more compelling matters that a National government will focus on.

Naenae Boxing Academy, which I visited yesterday, helps young people in many ways. Its founder Billy Graham is a true example of someone making a difference.

The National team continued to hold ministers to account in Parliament this week, especially on the Government spending more money and getting worse outcomes, and its poor policy design. For example, back-office papers reveal that more than 6000 people who’d given an overseas address to Inland Revenue received the Cost of Living payment. The numbers keep coming, but the story never gets better. We’ve also continued to ask about the tax that would have applied to KiwiSaver payments, until the Government was shamed into a u-turn.

I’m expecting New Zealanders will keep hearing about the Jobs Tax. This is the Government’s income insurance scheme that would pay people 80 per cent of their wage for up to six months if they lose their job. Many jobs already have redundancy provisions, and there’s a welfare safety net, too. To pay for the scheme, there’ll be a 1.39 per cent levy on everyone’s wages. That’s a cost of $834 each year for someone on the average wage. In addition, the proposal is for a 1.39 per cent wage tax on employers for every employee. Labour is devising stealth taxes like this one to support its addiction to spending. National is the party of lower taxes and we’ll repeal Labour’s taxes, including the Jobs Tax, if we win the next election. You can read more in Nicola Willis’s speech yesterday.

I’m pleased the Public Service Commissioner has agreed to take a look at contracts given by various government departments to Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s husband. National’s Public Service spokesperson Simeon Brown had written to the Public Service Commissioner asking for an investigation. Simeon will be talking about a range of topics on TVNZ’s Q&A with Jack Tame show this Sunday morning at 10am.

Chris Bishop and I had a great visit to Macaulay Metals, which buys, sells and exports scrap metal.

I was also pleased this week that the caucus welcomed back Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell. Sam had been stood down while Maria Dew, KC, conducted an independent investigation into allegations about Sam’s behaviour when he was a student, after he’d previously admitted to bullying at King’s College. Ms Dew’s report found there were differing versions of the flat incident and Sam was found not to have engaged in the serious behaviour alleged in the media. I fairly and accurately summarised the report’s main findings for the caucus and for the public and am pleased we can now move forward. As I’ve said, I believe in second chances when people have understood the impact their actions have had on others, and they’ve turned their lives around. Sam is committed to working hard in his electorate and at Parliament and I’m confident he’ll do just that.  

It’s a long weekend coming up with the special public holiday to coincide with the late Queen’s New Zealand memorial service on Monday. I’ll be attending with a group of National MPs and, for anyone in Wellington on the day, there’ll be big screens on the front lawn of Parliament. The service will also be livestreamed and televised so you can tune in wherever you are.

Best wishes,
Christopher 

Nicola Willis: Labour planning yet another tax

Did you know the Government is quietly planning a new jobs tax? It will cost an average worker $834 per year!

The new tax is being planned to pay for a gold-plated new unemployment benefit. The proposed “income insurance scheme” would allow workers who are made redundant to remain unemployed for six months on 80% pay. It would cost $3.5 Billion each year - that’s more than the entire police budget.

It’s a terrible idea that would damage the economy, worsen worker shortages and add yet more costs to everyday Kiwis.

Erica Stanford: Unenrolled kids more than double under Labour

After five years of Labour and an extra $5 billion in education spending every year, the number of children unenrolled from school has skyrocketed to 8,500 - more than double the number than when National was last in Government.

This is an incredibly concerning trend. We know that the longer kids are out of school, the harder it is for them to re-engage with education and the more likely they will be involved in criminal behaviour.

National has warned the Government that it needs to do everything it can to get our children back to school. This is not just a social failure but a future economic crisis. Labour’s lack of delivery is failing a generation of children.