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Clear choice

Voters have a clear choice this election: more austerity and small tax cuts for middle and upper income earners, or Labour’s programme to rebuild our hospitals, schools and state houses.

For pensioners, National’s tax cuts equate to $8.50 a week for a single person or $442 a year.

The $14 a week Sarah Dowie quoted in her recent letter to the editor presumably includes the routine increases that happen each year regardless. What Ms Dowie failed to mention was that Labour’s Winter Energy Payment of $450 a year for a single pensioner and $700 for a couple will more than offset any lost tax cut.

Further, Labour’s primary healthcare policy will take at least $10 off each visit to the doctor.

Perhaps the biggest benefit however, is that under Labour there’ll still be an extra $8 billion left over to invest in our health services over the next four years.

As what’s the point of a cappuccino sized tax cut if you’re in so much pain waiting for your hip or knee replacement that you aren’t able to enjoy it? Dr Liz Craig Labour candidate for Invercargill Invercargill MP and National candidate Sarah Dowie replied:

A growing economy that generates a surplus gives us the opportunity to invest in all New Zealanders and keep our country moving in the right direction.

This means more jobs for graduates and school leavers, higher real wages for workers and real opportunities for businesses to grow.

Over the next four years we are investing $32.5 billion in public infrastructure and an extra $7 billion in public services (including more for health and education) to prepare us and make us more resilient for the future.

And $1 billion to further diversify and grow the economy.

A strong economy allows everyone to get ahead. No New Zealander will be left behind. National’s Family Incomes Package will put more in the back pockets of 1.3 million hard working singles, families and of course, our retires.

The package will also lift 50,000 out of poverty and we are committed to lifting another 50,000 children out of poverty in the near future.

We have to keep the economy growing or the hard-won gains that pay for our public services and support the most vulnerable could so easily slip away.

This also allows us to tailor services to each individual’s needs to get on top of often intergenerational challenges and issues that hold people back from achieving their dreams.

We risk choking our growing economy through Labour’s illconceived ideas like picking on responsible farmers through a water tax, hitting you with a regional fuel tax and increases in your personal income tax.

Voters certainly have a clear choice at this election – a growing economy that supports New Zealanders or a raft of taxes that risk stalling the economy and costing you your job.

One-eyed boards

ACT leader David Seymour is proposing a $25,000 pay rise for teachers and to do away with their unions.

Would that mean chairs of the board as well?

I say this because boards can be as one-eyed, over the top and as dictatorial as unions, particularly where there’s a principal whose same.

Why would more money make any difference to under performing staff, for example, teachers who have an attitude of ‘‘I’ll teach you if I can’’ and that’s towards parents.

Or a parent may ask about reading, writing and maths and the teacher looks bewildered, as if the parent is speaking Sri Lankan, not English.

It’s parents who should be getting a pay rise for having to put up with the crap of boards, principals and their colleagues.

Generally the board eats out of the hand of the principal and teachers hide behind the union.

What about teachers who have children?

What about them, do they still have children?

There’s so much said about education and student failure.

Perhaps they are being set up to fail by those entrusted with its stewardship and the fundamentals of teaching it. James Smith Alexandra