BUDGET Tax relief a mirage say rivals
Relief for low income earners will prove a mirage for many and the Budget underlines National’s lack of vision, opposition parties say.
In a speech to Parliament, Labour leader Andrew Little said the spending on tax changes spoke to Finance Minister Steven Joyce’s other role — as National’s campaign chairman.
However, Little said the tax changes would only benefit many low income earners by $1 or less a week, and thus named it the “one dollar bill Budget”.
The Budget was a chance to show the Government took problems like poor mental health services, low wages, congestion and overcrowded schools seriously, “and they muffed it”.
“Labour is committed to fixing the housing crisis, clearing our roads of gridlock and fixing the $1.7 billion hole in health,” Little said. “[This] is not a Budget for the future, it’s a Budget for September 23.”
Green Party co-leader James Shaw said the Budget gives with one hand and takes with the other. It showed National as the “masters of the shell game” — delivering most relief for high-income earners while maintaining the appearance of helping those earning less.
“National couldn’t just give — they had to take away as well. New Zealanders will be paying the social and financial cost of National’s inaction for many, many years to come . . . looking busy is not the same as achieving actual results.”
The Government had given up on solving the housing crisis and put up stop-gap, piecemeal measures for other issues like transport.
“National says new motorways will drive productivity.
“But Aucklanders now spend the same amount of time stuck in traffic every year that they spend on holiday . . .
“Nine years is a long time to put your trust in a government that is big on announcements and short on results,” Shaw said.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the Budget was “wilful, wanton, weak, woeful, wobbly” and voters would quickly realise it delivered nothing for them.
The spending plan showed National’s lack of vision and underlying philosophy, and the party’s desire to “hang on” for three more years, Peters said.