Dear John,

Thank you to those who have signed National’s petition to stop Labour’s Jobs Tax before it starts. We launched the petition on Tuesday morning and yesterday it had already reached 20,000 signatures. If you don’t want Finance Minister Grant Robertson putting his hand in your pocket to use your money to pay for his ideological income insurance project, please sign the petition. The Jobs Tax would establish a gold-plated unemployment scheme that everyone will pay for, few will benefit from, and no-one wants.

The proposed merger of TVNZ and Radio New Zealand is another ideological project of Labour’s that everyone will pay for, no-one asked for, and no-one wants. It was hard to know whether to laugh or cry in Parliament this week watching Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson try to answer National’s Melissa Lee’s questions about why Labour is doing this. Labour has its priorities wrong and this is another example of its wasteful spending, and will cost at least $370 million. You can see a video clip of the exchange below, from Melissa.

Yesterday, I visited The Base shopping centre in Hamilton, where the Michael Hill Jeweller store was the subject of a brazen smash and grab raid last weekend.

The Michael Hill workers were simply doing their job at the time of the attack and you can imagine how it felt for them to be caught up in such a traumatic event. These attacks are abhorrent, reckless and increasing. Retail workers and owners everywhere are thinking, “will I be safe in the shop tomorrow?” They don’t feel supported and their families are worried. Word has got around among offenders that under this Labour Government there aren’t consequences. I can tell you under a National government that there definitely will be consequences! National will also be tough on gangs, will remind parents of their responsibilities, and won’t ignore shocking levels of absenteeism from schools.

You will all have seen the upheaval in the UK, partially in response to the British Government’s mini budget which included massive tax cuts and huge spending commitments, including on subsidising energy bills. Too much fiscal stimulus there is seeing the interest rate trajectory rise – just as is happening here under this Labour Government. Kiwi homeowners with mortgages are paying a big price for Labour’s addiction to spending which is making inflation worse than it otherwise would have been.

National is proud to be the party that helps people get ahead by lowering their tax burden, and our approach is very different to that in the UK, and to Labour here. A National government will bring discipline to public spending. We’ll go into the election campaign next year with a fully-costed, responsible programme that will reflect economic conditions at the time, and deliver the promised adjustment to tax thresholds. We have a plan to grow the economy, and that will pay for better public services. I only wish the election was sooner!

Many thanks for your support,

Christopher

Nicola Willis: Join our campaign to stop Labour's Jobs Tax

The 1.39% Jobs Tax would make an earner on $60,000 a year $834 worse off each year. That’s on top of rising prices, growing mortgage payments and the high cost of living.

The new tax grab is to pay for the Government’s latest pet project - an “income insurance” scheme.

The scheme would allow people who are made redundant to stay out of the workforce for up to six months on 80% pay, and would cost more each year than the total funding New Zealand puts into the Police. It’s a gold plated welfare scheme that New Zealand can’t afford.

The Government is coming after your wages to pay for it.
National opposes the jobs tax and we need your support to stop it.

Melissa Lee: Does Willie Jackson understand his own merger?

When I asked the Minister for Broadcasting and Media Willie Jackson why he was spending taxpayers’ money to merge TVNZ and RNZ in Parliament this week, he was completely unable to say what that spending will achieve.

At $370 million, the Government is going to spend more to merge RNZ and TVNZ than the combined net worth of those entities.

The fact that the Minister responsible cannot articulate why this merger is necessary clearly demonstrates how wasteful and pointless it is. The lack of a Regulatory Impact Statement or a cost benefit analysis shows no attempt at openness or transparency.

This Government is addicted to spending. In the middle of a cost of living crisis, it wants to spend $370 million on a merger that submitters on the legislation have said has ‘no vision or substantial rationale.

Dr Shane Reti: More than 200,000 Kiwis on a health wait list

Health Minister Andrew Little recently revealed that at the end of July, there were 69,874 people on the national wait list for surgery and other treatment. Among these, 42 per cent have been waiting more than four months – a new record for this Labour Government.

The number needing surgery may be significantly higher, with another 140,982 people on the national wait list for a first specialist assessment, a first step for those needing further care.

That means there are more than 200,000 New Zealanders on a health-related wait list – more than the entire population size of Hamilton. An absolutely appalling statistic.

It has been three months since Labour and Minister Little announced a ‘high powered’ task force to address the waiting lists but so far it has failed to address any of the issues. As time passes, more people are being added to the list.

All this Labour Government has done is spend money on a bureaucratic health restructure instead of on people, and the health sector has never been in a worse state. More money, more bureaucrats, worse outcomes.