Nats’ wealth tax claim ‘mischievous’

AUCKLAND: Labour Party leader Jacinda Ardern says National is desperately resorting to misinformation as the parties head into the final week of the campaign.

Ms Ardern was responding to National’s insistence a Labourled government would result in the Green Party’s wealth tax becoming a reality.

‘‘I consider that the last roll of the misinformation dice,’’ Ms Ardern told media after a Labour rally yesterday.

‘‘We’ve obviously put forward our tax policy. That is what we’re taking to voters this election. Any suggestion of picking up other parties’ plans is mischievous and wrong, and I don’t know how many times we’ve had to restate that.’’

National leader Judith Collins called yesterday Stop of Wealth Tax Day, claiming a LabourGreens government would ‘‘tax your retirement’’.

Ms Ardern and Labour finance spokesman Grant Robertson have repeatedly kiboshed the wealth tax.

‘‘It does appear that the Opposition and the National Party are trying to cause distractions,’’ Ms Ardern said.

‘‘That is not going to stop us from focusing on our plans.’’

She said Labour had played all its major policy cards because of early voting, and the final week would be about reminding voters of what had already been announced.

The Labour faithful packed into the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington yesterday for a rally featuring music, jokes from MC Oscar Kightley and speeches by Mr Robertson and Ms Ardern.

‘‘Talofa — I’m Samoan, I can say that,’’ Mr Kightley said, in a reference to Ms Collins’ use of the term when answering a questions from Aorere College head girl Aigagalefili Fepulea’i Tapua’i in the first leaders’ debate.

‘‘My husband is Samoan so, talofa,’’ Ms Collins had said at the start of her answer.

The crowd was treated to performances from singer Deva Mahal, and then Mr Kightley introduced the ‘‘Stardust Orchestra’’, saying dryly their appearance at a similar rally in 2017 had clearly powered Labour to victory.

Mr Robertson warmed up the crowd with references to Ms Ardern’s Covid management, calling her ‘‘Dr Ardern, Medicine Woman’’ at one point.

He also said the National Party had more holes in its budget than a ‘‘rabbitrun golf course’’, and had shifted border policy positions as it moved from ‘‘leader to leader to leader’’.

‘‘They’ve had all the consistency of a bored cat.’’

In her speech, Ms Ardern laid out a vision of New Zealand in 2030 where noone was on the

state housing waiting list, child poverty had been halved and farmers were selling IP to the world on how to reduce emissions.

The state house waiting list is about 20,000 now, up from about 6000 when the current government took power. It has built about 4000 state houses but that has not kept up with demand.

And halving child poverty by 2030 is actually less ambitious than the Government’s 10year targets, announced in January 2018, to do just that by 202728.

Ms Ardern also talked about National’s fiscal plan.

‘‘The alternative is an opposition party that is focused on itself, that has lost its focus on economic responsibility and produced a plan with an $8 billion dollar hole.

‘‘Mistakes like that cannot be laughed away. They threaten our economic recovery and put health and education at risk.’’

National has admitted to a $4 billion mistake but says it does not amount to much because it moves its 2034 net debttoGDP target from 35% to 36%. — The New Zealand Herald