National claims $11.7b hole

A war of words erupted yesterday over Labour’s spending plans.

National’s finance spokesman, Steven Joyce, claimed to have found a $11.7 billion hole — an assertion which drew fire that he was deliberately misleading voters.

Joyce said he had found five errors in Labour’s fiscal plan, in which it has set out its spending for the next four years and forecast the impact that would have on debt and surpluses.

He said the errors totalled $11.7b, which would result in higher debt than Labour had accounted for. Labour, he claimed, would have to increase debt by $20b on current levels, not the $7b it had projected.

“That level of spending and increased debt can only lead to one thing — higher interest rates for Kiwi mortgage holders,” Joyce said.

Labour leader Jacinda Ardern was sticking by the fiscal plan, saying Labour had it independently assessed by BERL to ensure it was robust.

Labour finance spokesman Grant Robertson slammed the claims, saying it was “a desperate and cynical attempt to create a diversion”.

The costings were robust and had been independently assessed, Robertson said.

BERL executive director Ganesh Nana issued a statement last night disputing that there were errors in the work.

“The alleged ‘hole’ is a fiction arising from a disagreement over definitions,” Nana said.

“[We] make no assessment of the individual policies themselves, nor do we judge their worth. That is for the voters of New Zealand to judge. But the numbers do make sense.”