“I have never understood why it is ‘greed’ to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else’s money.”
– US Economist Thomas Sowell
The election that started out as the Labour Party sleepwalking to victory on the back of the Covid-19 crisis has become a contest of ideas.
In the red corner are Labour and the Greens promoting higher taxes, less freedom, and more State control. In the blue corner are National and ACT championing lower taxes, more freedom, and less regulation.
Setting aside the matter of the wasted vote going to parties that will not reach the 5 percent MMP threshold, the latest Colmar Brunton poll puts Labour on 47 percent, the Greens on 6 percent, National on 32 percent and ACT on 8 percent. The significant 13-point difference between the two blocks makes an election victory for National extremely unlikely, but not totally impossible.
The polling gap is largely the result of some 200,000 former National voters – mostly women over the age of 45 – switching their support to Jacinda Ardern for her management of the Covid-19 crisis. If enough of those voters returned ‘home’, Labour’s support would slide and if the Greens dipped under 5 percent, National and ACT would have the numbers to govern.
The election result therefore hinges on whether Jacinda Ardern can hold onto those former National voters, or whether Judith Collins can attract them back.
While some of the policy stances taken by the main parties are not too dissimilar – see the Herald’s summary for an excellent review of policies – others give voters a clear choice.
One such area of significant difference is tax and the economy.
With the country in a recession and facing a mountain of debt, boosting economic growth is a priority. This raises questions over whether higher taxes and more government spending is the most effective approach to growing the economy, or whether freeing up the private sector to invest and create wealth through lower taxes and less regulation delivers a greater economic benefit.
At the heart of this debate is a concern that in a free society, increasing the size and scope of government power is dangerous – as President Gerald Ford once warned: “A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”
Essentially, Labour and the Greens are proposing higher taxes because they believe they know best how to spend your money. In contrast, National and ACT want lower taxes to allow families to keep more of what they earn so they can use it to build a better future for themselves – and the country.
Labour is promising a higher tax bracket of 39 percent for those with incomes over $180,000, while the Green Party, in what has variously been described as a ‘bottom-line’ and ‘top priority’ policy in any coalition arrangement, not only wants higher income taxes but a wealth tax as well.
The Greens are proposing two higher tax brackets of 37 percent from $100,000 and 42 percent from $150,000, along with a wealth tax payable each year of one percent on all assets – including the family home, bach, land, and super savings schemes (even if they are held in family trusts) – valued at over $1 million, with 2 percent on assets over $2 million. Those who are asset rich but cash poor – including many farmers and pensioners – will be expected to borrow to pay the tax.
In comparison, tax cuts form the basis of a growth agenda being promoted by National, which is promising to lower income tax thresholds to effectively give middle New Zealand an average of $3,000 a year. ACT supports tax cuts, but would like to see taxes flattened further to 17.5 percent in the longer term.
Labour’s response to the promise of tax cuts has been to go on the attack. Their strategy is to scare voters with claims that tax cuts will result in less funding for health and education. But that is a lie. Tax cuts target ‘wasteful’ public spending – and under this Labour-led Government, there has been plenty of that.
Many projects of dubious benefit have been financed by the Government’s $3 billion Provincial Growth ‘slush fund’, which has been liberally splashed all around the country.
The same can be said of the $3 billion ‘shovel ready’ Covid recovery fund. Vast amounts of taxpayers’ money is being ploughed into hastily assembled and poor quality projects, like the $12 million allocated on the recommendation of the Green Party’s co-leader James Shaw to an elitist private Green School that charges New Zealand students almost $30,000 a year in fees and international students $50,000.
With the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Jacinda Ardern, pouring hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars into the creative sector, there are growing concerns that the Government is using the Covid crisis as a pretext to “do special favours for their favourite interest groups”.
Questions have also been raised about the value for money of some of the 647 grants worth $16 million that have been allocated by Creative NZ under the PM’s new Arts Continuity fund, including $13,000 to research and write the first draft of a novel about male affection in hypermasculine spaces, $17,798 to fund poetry that explores indigeneity and love in the time of climate change, and $26,000 towards a novel about the collapse of democracy in an association of alpaca breeders!
Was the architecturally designed slide on Parliament’s lawn that over-ran its $400,000 budget to cost over $570,000 a good example of prudent spending by this Government?
Concerns have also been expressed about Labour’s expansion of the core public service over the last three years – not only have they significantly increased the regulatory burden on New Zealanders, but they have added more than 6,000 staff to create a 53,000-strong bureaucratic army. Reducing it back to 2017 levels would save around half a billion dollars a year.
With Labour’s love of regulation and bureaucracy, nothing epitomises the difference between the two main parties as starkly as farming policy.
National’s leader Judith Collins has accused the Government of regulating farmers “into oblivion” leaving them “feeling like they are bagged all the time by this government”.
During their time in office, Labour has piled regulations and costs onto the agricultural sector through new health and safety standards, animal welfare and biosecurity requirements, the Zero Carbon Act, a strengthened Emissions Trading Scheme, restrictions on natural gas, increased regulations on waterways fencing, fertiliser, fresh water, winter crop grazing, and even attempts to control the amount of mud on a farm in winter.
To cap it off, Labour’s requirement that everyone earning a living from the land must develop farm plans for annual inspection have been estimated to cost the industry over $100 million.
Under pressure to reduce the cost burden they have forced onto the agricultural sector, instead of promising to get rid of some of their over-the-top regulations, Labour has pledged to use $50 million of taxpayers’ money to subsidise the cost! In effect, they are turning farming into a regulated industry, totally beholden to bureaucrats.
In comparison, Judith Collins aims to encourage innovation, rather than constrain the sector with excessive regulation, by promising to review and repeal unwarranted requirements, including the need for farmers to obtain consents to farm.
She says farming will not be included in the Emissions Trading Scheme, and the Zero Carbon Act will be amended to ensure it complies with the fundamental requirement of the Paris Agreement, that climate change policies must “not threaten food production”.
When it comes to freshwater, with less than 2 percent of New Zealand’s resource captured and used, National plans to promote storage options so communities and farms do not run out of water.
And with regards to the ownership of water, National’s leader says water “belongs to everyone but is owned by no one”.
Labour on the other hand is promising to progress Maori rights and interests in water, and to ensure iwi are involved in the development of a new Resource Management Act to no doubt further enshrine Maori cultural values within the consenting process.
When it comes to the protest action over Ihumatao, while Labour wants to intervene to resolve the stand-off through a possible taxpayer funded deal with Fletchers, Judith Collins says it is private land and the Government should not be involved. She would not give in to Maori activists and says that no public money would go into a purchase of the land if she is Prime Minister.
The issue of free speech also provides a clear choice between the parties.
While the Bill of Rights Act guarantees everyone in New Zealand the “freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and opinions of any kind in any form”, the Human Rights Act prevents New Zealanders from inciting racial disharmony.
The Prime Minister has confirmed that if re-elected, Labour would beef up hate speech laws by including religion along with race as grounds for prosecution under the Human Rights Act. She also wants to add sexual orientation, age and disability to any proposed changes – and she would require all hate speech ‘incidents’ to be recorded by Police.
Neither National nor ACT support hate speech laws saying they would not commit to any change that would lead to a further loss of our freedom of expression.
While it can be tempting to think of an election in terms of a smorgasbord of policy choices, it is crucial to keep the long term interest of the country in the forefront of our minds.
Elections are not just about the here and now – they are about deciding which pathway we wish to take to protect the future for our children and grandchildren.
This week’s NZCPR Guest Commentator Sir Roger Douglas is no stranger to the long-term impact of good policy decisions having done more to improve our economic outlook than any other New Zealand politician. He was responsible for getting the country back onto a path to growth in the tumultuous 1980s, after Prime Minister Robert Muldoon just about destroyed the economy.
His policy programme was focussed on the plight of the ‘working man’ – those who work hard but struggle to make a headway because the tax and cost structure of the economy is skewed against them.
Sir Roger believes that if you can help hard working New Zealanders to get ahead, then their success not only lifts outcomes for the whole country, but inspires those on welfare to find jobs so they too can lead fuller and richer lives.
In his article, Sir Roger is critical of governments that load unaffordable debt onto future generations, because they only want to do what is popular, instead of what is right:
“Governments will need to remove the blinkers of self-interest, own up to our debt crisis, acknowledge the responsibility they have to future generations, and look to implement imaginative policies that are focused on the medium to long-term, rather than the toxic desire to hold onto power for three more years”.
The reality is that the public debt that Labour has burdened us with as a result of their hard-line lockdown and cavalier attitude to borrowing is expected to peak at over 56 percent of GDP in 2026, up from 19 percent in 2019. It will be a massive liability for future generations unless the next government can successfully get the country on track to rapid and widespread economic growth.
The polls are open. Labour and the Greens are encouraging everyone to vote early to capitalise on their favourable poll ratings. They are concerned that as voters begin thinking more about the future and less about Covid-19, they may switch allegiance to parties promoting freedom and growth. Whether enough do so to alter the outcome of this election remains to be seen.
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THIS WEEK’S POLL ASKS:
*Which do you believe is the most effective way to grow the economy – more Government spending or tax cuts?
*Poll comments are posted below.
*All NZCPR poll results can be seen in the Archive.
THIS WEEK’S POLL COMMENTS
| We already pay double tax – paye & gst | Liz |
| no comment | Tony |
| It’s very hard to get National’s message out with the left wing biased TV media especially the rabid journalist Tova O’Brien TV3 whom I have given up listening to while she continues her love affair with the lying communist Cindy Ardern. | Monica |
| people want choice with their own money | Judith |
| The Greens wealth tax will make it harder for anyone to keep or own a home. | Darag |
| its a no brainer | Francis |
| Only fools would support more government spending | Tom |
| Current government spending has no obvious benefits to enable an effective route of expansion out of our debt crisis | Tony |
| Tax cuts allow the people to grow economically whereas more taxes only allows the government more spending power and not necessarily to the advantage of the people | Ursula |
| The problem with the Labour Government is poor quality spending or in simple terms wasteful spending. | David |
| This Govt. has done everything in its powers to make all NZer’s reliant upon the govt with their handouts and not promoting ethical hard work by all NZer’s. Maori are being given ridiculous powers over all NZ. | Chris |
| Muriel’s post read like a National Party support speech | Lesley |
| Tax Cuts is a “no Brainer”…!!! | Bruz |
| I favour tax cuts as well as government projects provided the government projects have and very good economic return – not just created projects for employment sake. I also think the tax cuts should benefit the lower paid and average paid than what National is suggesting proposing. I do not think the higher paid need so much of a tax cut as most of it will simply be invested in savings. | Keith |
| We have seen the results tax cuts have on the fostering of a growing economy and a reduction in State dependency, within NZ. But the results obtained and shown by the USA Economy under President Reagan’s tutelage could not be more dramatic. Similar results were achieved by the UK under Baroness Thatcher’ tutelage. Increased Government spending simply means an increase in what it must drain from the the taxpayer and the market. It reduces freedom of choice from the taxpayer and indeed leads to a wider dependancy on the largess of the State. Marxism, despite its high ideals, has never succeeded and endured for overly long periods unless enforced by dictatorial governments, e.g. the USSR and the PRC. Greater control over, and application of the power granted by one’s earnings allows the market to flourish and respond. Centrist Government control and the spending of the nation’s wealth is not the road any logically thinking person is likely to voluntary choose. | Michael |
| It’s blatantly obvious that tax cuts are the best choice. | June |
| Tax cuts, step #1. Cut the fat, improve efficiencies. Reduce the Govt. bureaucracy. Acknowledge and reduce Govt corruption. Watching this current Govt. spray tax money around for votes and on one race is so offensive and insulting to all tax payers. | Sam |
| it will encourage companies and individuals to spent more on hiring and development of businesses and growth in the economy | John |
| Will benefit working people and perhaps wake up those who won%u2019t work | Sidwell |
| This Government is already deep in profligate spending as evidenced by the recent cash dump on maraes from the Regional Development Fund. Since when was the Regional Development Fund in the business of being a separatist based Marae subsidizer especially when the marae’s have access to Specially funded (Regional) Trusts to supposedly look after their interests. Govt needs to clean up its act in respect of indiscriminate spending on white elephant ideological projects and get back to adequately funding working infrastructure and hospitals. Cutting Tax not only ensures funds are more effectively put to use, it gives directional control back to the people that created those funds. | Richard |
| More choice for the population to spend or save for the future. | Gary |
| Tax cuts along with unnecessary regulation and controls. Let the economy grow. Study Ludwig Erhard’s post-war “economic miracle” of West Germany. It worked as history has testified and, against all opposition from his own economic advisors and those across the world. Just do it! | Don |
| Reagan had it right. Cindy and co are economic idiots who should’ve stuck to student politics and never been let near the levers of power. | John |
| Governments, especially Socialist ones are incapable of creating truly sustainable economic growth, the current consortium of the bad & mad labour, Green & NZ First have proven themselves amazingly capable at handing out bribes, but worse than average when it comes to building the economy as evidenced by the GDP. | John |
| Get rid of Ardern’s lot asap. | John |
| Labour and their running dog mates (greens and iwi) will cause more damage to the country … even worse than M did! | Dennis |
| Why work hard to pay more tax? If I can save, I may spend some. | Mark |
| Tax cuts place more money in the hands of individuals & the private sector | Brian |
| We need a ‘Business’ led Government not one that will Tax us back to the Stone-age. But I fear ‘Woke’ thinking has prevailed and another three years of Pain follows. Although, when this Woke Government legalizes Marijuana against the wishes of the majority, and with the results of that, they will never be voted for again for some time. | Geoff |
| tax cuts of course,and the more the merrier,come on you red feds, you all know the score so do the right thing for a change. | james |
| not only tax cuts but cut the size of the bludgers in the beehive and all their cronies on the gravy train then allow the govt to spend on important items not to wast money on painting/doing up obscene buildings or expensive fancy named schools and the list goes on. please let Mrs Collins and ACT get in to save this country before it’s too late. | Richard |
| No country has ever taxed its way to prosperity | David |
| No brainer | Gail |
| We need significant reduction in tax and tax write offs for investment in productive resources so we improve our woeful productivity. | john |
| Increasing tax’s to repay debt always results in damaging business’s, personal wealth and economies whether it be through council rates or government responsibilities. | Rex |
| Is there anything left to spend money on? | Warren |
| More Govt spending means spending more tax dollars! It is not the Govt’s money, it is yours and my money. The person who knows best how to spend it is me. When we spend more money it grows the economy and more tax dollars are generated to paydown debt and provide services. | Neil |
| labor have no clear way forward | Barry |
| sick and tired of being told by Politicians that they know better at spending peoples money than those who earned it | frank |
| Only the ideologically brainwashed and economically bereft would think that New Zealand can tax itself into prosperity. There are likely be 4 outcomes to increasing taxes particularly at the top end. 1) Acceptance – least likely. 2) Increase in prices of goods and services to reinstate earners to the pre tax increase position 3) Reduction and or withdrawal from investment in income producing ang employment creating ventures 4) Relocation of investors and funds to countries providing better rewarded opportunities. As an aside, the National Party will lose dramatically because of a poorly thought out election strategy. They have fallen into the trap of engaging Ardern on her battleground, being Covid-19 management. By contrast Collins should refute that we went hard and early – clearly we did not. Taiwan did, and no one is willing to talk about that for fear of offending China. Labour has crippled many businesses with their knee-jerk reactions and prop-up policies and therefore concurrently put tens of thousands of people out of work. Many New Zealanders blindly vote for personalities rather than policies and will get what they justly deserve; a crippling socialist bureaucratic administration. | Peter |
| Let the private sector loose from the shackles of bureaucracy and watch NZ – NOT AOTEAROA grow | Douglas |
| Labour want the socialist utopia that is Venezula making us USSNV United Socialist states of New Venezula | Roger |
| Tax cuts, plus a legal framework which requires them to use the income that they screw out of us, more wisely. The level of fiscal wastage and total lack of accountability in government spending, particularly over the past three years, is iniquitous! | Scott |
| It has been historically proven that governments cannot spend a nation into prosperity or tax a national into prosperity. NZ has an economic crisis not a medical crisis. Having said that the socialist government is “BROKE” as a result of its spending. It is now printing its own money to guarantee “SUPPLY” which a past parliament would reject. In layman’s terms it is like a father saying to his son. Would you like to buy my house? The son says yes so father starts the money press up and prints $750,000 and hands it to the son. The son then says here is the money for the house and the father says thanks its yours. Puts the money in a box and stores it in the attic! In the community it would be called counterfeiting! Due to the catastrophic state of the economy any tax cuts now would need to be tokens only as nothing will stop the path to come. It will likely happen like this:- 1. Within 6 months after the election the Credit Agencies will downgrade the NZ credit rating causing currency value to notch down and inflation to notch up. Raising our living costs. 2. The newly elected socialist government will tell us that we are nearly ‘there’ and they just need to increase money printing a bit more above the billion per week as more spending is the answer. 3. By the end of this year with no aviation markets operating widespread failure of small business will be the ‘real’ pandemic! Doll lines will increase and government spending will increase. Debt defaults will increase. Government records will be blended to ‘Keep you Safe!’. When the government money train ceases subsidising the worker and businesses, small and larger businesses will be impacted and private home mortgages will fail increasing rental housing costs and homelessness. 5. Consumption will unwind and larger companies will be unable to gain new debt and they will become an investment risk. Investors will vacate the share markets and the stock exchange will correct rapidly downwards. 6. The impending Depression will be countered by the socialist government further increasing spending creating temporary recovery. It will fund non-revenue earning projects. Politicians will hang onto every point and give us confidence that we are nearly ‘there’. By now the sovereign ratings will be heading towards junk and so will the currency. Inflation will now be significantly impacting on our cost of living. So how will we judge when the Depression is here?… The 1929 Depression happened on the 24th October 1929 and the stock market ‘crashed’ in the USA and was followed by most of the world. In NZ it may not be that dramatic but will be identified by a gradual descent into a steady unemployment rate of over 12% erratically rising from time to time. Small businesses will continue to fail breaking normal records. The government will again increase spending in an attempt to arrest falling revenue income and tell us we are nearly there. Comrade Adern has used an Unremarkable Flu Virus with a 98% recovery rate (The mild infection rate is also around 99% – President Trump recovered in 3 Days!) to gain your confidence and remove your freedoms! The private sector will continue in regression! A socialist government will take you down into poverty and the nation. NZ must change direction to fundamental economics! | Frederick |
| Socialism has never worked | Michael |
| Certainly not more Govt spending!! Govt must cut fringe overheads and reduce public service costs | Gordon |
| Labour & Greens are clueless about how to lead and manage. Alt-left fascist agendas, The tragedy is so many people have been taken in by a blitz of hollow words and platitudes, following like sheep to the slaughter. Covid was used politically and was far too late, too hard, too inconsistent, & too stretched out – to stop other parties getting a chance to present their policies. | Jack |
| It’s a no brainer answer. God help us if it’s a labour/green government. Pray for a miracle folks that it won’t happen. I can’t believe how so many people can’t see what our un elected PM is up to. It’s our money and we know what to do with it. | Peter |
| Governments should be there to do the basics and leave enterprise in private hands. | Dennis |
| My comments are unprintable!! | Merryl |
| Its a no brainer really | BRUCE |
| Less government control. Free market economy. Less BANK control. Tax cuts for me. Watch this for a clearer picture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2Qt_lWjYcI | Simon |
| As Churchill said, trying to tax your way out of a depression is like standing in a bucket of water while trying to lift it up by the handle. | Carolyn |
| It’s a no brainer | sheryl |
| as is shown by other countries | gerard |
| More and greater taxes will not stimulate the economy. This Labour Government is one of take, take, take. My money, my freedom of expression. And yes, at 78 I have a right to freely express myself without looking over my shoulder to see who is listening and likely to inform on me. | Paloma |
| As “I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”…Winston Churchill, and he was pretty intelligent guy. | Geoff |
| To answer the question: tax cuts. AND– to get rid of these red green perverts who have detached themselves from reality and are hellbent to destroy us and our values. | Michael |
| Socialism does Not Work | Alan |
| How short sighted to the point of being stupid are those who vote to the Left, just because they believed the lies told nightly on screen, by a leader who only gained power thanks to the decision of a MINOR Party. Under MMP, the Party gaining the most votes, should choose partners if need be, to form the government for the next three years. Not the other way round. We are now in the most dangerous period in the history of New Zealand, as Jacinda & friends whittle away our freedoms, one at a time. Indoctrinate our children, so they grow up believing the lies they have been taught, & consequently support unquestionably, the United Nations Marxist puppets that rule us now.. Summary: If Labour & the Greens become the government after this election, the next generation of voters will ensure they stay forever. This is the most vital election in our nations history. | A.G.R. |
| Quite frankly you cannot tax any community (Country) into prosperity. The Romans tried it and in the end they disappeared. The Greens claim they will get upwards of 8 billion in revenue, but the problem is that money will be taken out of circulation and that will effect each community accordingly. | Les |
| Tax cuts are one small detail in an economic recovery process. For an example I suggest that readers study the light handed government recovery of Germany after the second world war, then compare the economic restraints imposed by the British government during the same period up to the time that Margaret Thatcher led Britain to recovery. | Colin |
| labour are socialists and it does not work in a capitalist country where hard work should be main criteria | John |
| In the US, the greatest economic expansion in over 100 years was created over the last three and a half years by removing unnecessary regulations on small business, industry and farming and lowering taxes. New Zealand needs to pay heed and not fall into the same trap that put the US into the GREAT RECESSION less than 15 years ago! The US economy recovered because regulation was removed and taxes were lowered. | Gary |
| We must put more discretionary control to New Zealanders by way of tax cuts and incentive people to be more productive in the work place | Barry |
| Labour and the Greens want to give away more of your tax money, National want to let you keep some instead of paying it to them first. How can Labour say its good to give but bad to keep some when its actually the same money?? Labour will take with one hand and give back with the other, National wants to remove this step. BUT Labour takes from everyone and controls who gets the free hand out, to produce ‘the most equal society in the world’. Communism? National wants you to keep some of your own money, if you improve yourself and earn more you get to keep more. With Labour and the Greens, there is no point getting ahead because if you vote for them you can sit on your bum you get exactly the same income. | Rich |
| Maggie Thatcher did it in the UK and was successful. | Bruce |
| To be honest, I would agree with anything that opposes Cindy’s opinion. She is a muppet in terms of practical real world policy. A space cadet of the highest order. | LUKE |
| Let’s be clear about this: the referendum involves marijuana only. You seem to think that this would lead to other much worse drugs also being legalised. This is not the case, and also wasn’t the case in Colorada or Canada. You are confusing drugs from different classes. Marijuana is a natural plant – not made in a lab – and is currently class C. Heroin and other dreadful drugs such as P are class A because they are much worse than marijuana. You also confuse synthetic cannabis with natural cannabis aka marijuana. Synthetic cannabis is not natural cannabis, the ingredients have nothing at all to do with it. The scumbags who manufacture or market synthetic cannabis have no qualms about who it kills or injures. It should be a class A drug with high penalties for offenders. Driving impaired on any substance, including marijuana, is absolutely stupid and of course dangerous. Driving after getting high on marijuana is definitely not recommended or endorsed, by the government or anyone else. What you don%u2019t say is how many road deaths are caused by cannabis-alone impaired drivers, ie without any alcohol or other drugs also being involved, perhaps because that number would be very small? You are blaming the drug when you should be blaming the driver. Your claim that cannabis can be as addictive as heroin or alcohol is incorrect. Marijuana is far less addictive than other drugs, such as P, alcohol or tobacco. Yes, 10% of marijuana users get some sort of mental (not physical) addiction. But the proportion of drinkers who become addicted to alcohol or smokers to cigarettes is much higher: 16% of people who try alcohol become addicted to it and 32% of people who try cigarettes become regular smokers. You say that cannabis use doubles the risk of psychosis and schizophrenia. This would appear to be incorrect. Studies in the UK have shown that during the last twenty years, despite more potent marijuana, schizophrenia cases have not increased. Furthermore it is prohibition itself – the fact that marijuana is illegal – which is the driver for increased potency. This is also why, during the Prohibition era in the USA (1920-1933), when alcohol was illegal, there was a massive shift to making only the strongest possible distilled liquor – simply because the stronger it was, the more units of illegal alcohol more could be covertly shipped in a given space – this is why they didn’t simply make beer! So moonshine drinkers had no choice but to drink this strong, unregulated, often methyl-contaminated hooch, to the detriment of public health. In fact, alcohol is a much more direct cause of mental health issues than just about any other popular substance, including marijuana. Some studies seem to show that marijuana may cause brain damage in under 25s, but when tobacco and alcohol use is taken into account the results are inconclusive. Conversely however this same research proves that if marijuana is not taken before the age of 25 years, then there is no connection between brain damage and marijuana. To conclude, marijuana definitely seems to be much safer than alcohol or tobacco, but just to be on the safe side, the legalisation of marijuana should also involve regulation, just the same as alcohol and tobacco. | Ned |
| Less Regulation and very much less hand outs by Labour. We have voted early but not for Labour & Greens. | David |
| Give the working people a tax cut and their wealth will grow, and will also help the retail sector. What come around , Goes around. | Wayne |
| Its a no-brainer. | Chris |
| Sir Roger should have been tried for treason for what he did to the economy ’84-’87, he has selective amnesia on the reality of what happened back then, runaway inflated commercial property prices that saw huge amounts of money leave NZ to pay the off shore lenders after the crash, which was worse for NZ that just about any other country. Good ideas but abysmal implementation | Allan |
| Because it is a proven way of rescuing an economy in deep trouble. As the NZ economy is now. Two ticks Blue!! | Grahame |
| Surely reasonable people realise there is a limit to debt | Bev |
| Muriel, It amazes me that NZ can’t see this? What is the problem?? They are voting for personality, not policy. There is a clear divide emerging between the sol called have’s and have not’s. This along with the race based policy is dangerous, I personally believe that NZ is almost ruined and I will be looking to depart if they get back. | peter |
| Govt spending unreliable. | John |
| The Labour and Green government is leading our country to disaster in a totalitarian regime | John |
| Labours ‘Home’ colour is red; so too is Communism and the similarities are not that far apart! It stands patently clear, that the combined efforts of the Greens and Labour, are to essentially suffocate our freedom and place a stranglehold on this Nation. God help New Zealand! | Alan |
| The current government doesn’t have a clue about controlling their expenditure – Aderns’ recent grants for spurious artistic projects is a good example of that. Their proposals for the agriculture sector will cripple the “goose that lays the golden egg” and will decimate our export-led economy. They haven’t delivered a thing of substance in the last three years and don’t have the skills or experience to do any better in the next three years. | Kerry |
| Tax cuts is the only way, but electricity and transmission costs must be lowered by having real competition, not greed. | Steve |
| Governments demonstrate every day, that they do not have a clue about business, and cannot pick winners…. | Lionel |
| Too much spending now especially on worthless none essential works eg Walk way under the Auckland Harbour Bridge. | Wendy |
| Tax cuts put more money in our pockets so that we can spend it however we want to. Labour is just making it harder for our children and grandchildren | Lois |
| Personal Spending is more efficient and effective than Government Spending, history is proof of that. | Pierre |
| People more money generally spend more money, businesses prosper,can employ more staff, less unemployed. More people win. | Helen |
| Gerald Ford said it all. | Philip |
| No country has ever TAXED its way out of a recession. Contrary to the comment in the article re Muldoon, he wrested control of the country back from the militant Trade Unions, organisations which supported Labour. Douglas destroyed more employment than he created. Nz was just recovering from Rogernomics when the media convinced the electors to chose Comrade Clark; much as the media has been doing during the last three years re Comrade Ardern | Bob |
| This Labour lot are LOST…. | Carl |
| More spending by this government automatically means more waste, more bribes to the unemployed – and in many cases, the unemployable – and to the racial group (who shall remain un-named lest I be arrested for hate speech) who are intent on taking over this country by stealth. Miss Ardern’s 3 year reign over NZ has resulted in almost total destruction of the economy for no good reason. Do not give her a chance to cause more damage. | TOBY |
| Surely | David |
| Got to be as people will have more to spend and it will come back to the govt in the 15% gst | Andrew |
| Let the ordinary person make decisions how to spend their money not power hungry politicians who think they know best. | Robert |
| Tax cuts are, in fact most sensible. I don’t say this out of an attitude of “Oh, goodie! I want a tax cut!”. If you cut the taxes you grow the economy and that will provide funds to do whatever is needed. Unfortunately the Labour folk just cannot understand that. | Rob |
| This govt policy is to buy their way back for three more years with money and lies. We will be burdened with debt for many years and JA’s “go early go hard ” was a lie. | Graeme |
| Sick of all the waste by this lot | Warren |
| Common sense. But socialist scum want to dumb everyone down . Divide and rule | Greg |
| Socialism never works, it just runs a country down and buries the country in massive debt and bureaucracy. | Chris |
| WHY on earth has,nt someone point out how successful Magaret Thatcher was in putting trust in people after the 2nd world war with tax CUTS.She REALLY pulled England up-jacinda & greens will ruin NZ with their OVERBOARD rules & OUR freedoms will be cut & ONLY the 20% of a certain race will get what they want FROM OUR TAX MONEY.Tanui iwi is worth $50 BILLION but has NOT helped maori health,children in winter going to school with no raincoats & shoes,they give jacinda a lot of exaggerated stories & get OUR TAX MONEY which should be spent on things that benefit ALL KIWI,s.GO ACT & everyone give ACT YOUR PARTY VOTE at least David Seymour cares about kiwi,s & has common sense. | Cindy |
| FAT bloated bureaucracy eventually kills an economy’s growth as it heavily sucks on the productive tax generators. Just look how New Zealand’s earlier development and wealth evolved. Hard work, blood sweat and tears! Now days so many prefer to live on – and are encouraged – to live on ‘financial assistance (benefits) as of right – which some (or many) see as vote buying bribery! And then the control of (and over) society kills the human spirit and the innate drive to grow. More Government spending for their own benefit is in the long term massively socially destructive. | Stuart |
| GOD help NEW ZEALAND, I am sick to death of all this token use of maori place names and phrases especially Aotearoa on TV This countries name is NEW ZEALAND!! | phillip |
| NZ has too much tax as it is. | Lyn |
| Governments and councils love spending (wasting) other people s money and most have never even had a proper job in the real world | Laurie |
| Government cannot tax and spend its way out of this crisis. | Ray |
| Labour is an absolute disaster and the sooner people wake up to that the better | John |
| Cindy horse teeth doesn’t have a clue and her (red)green allies are far worse. To me they are like something from a children’s book. I can’t help imagining a princess character riding across the sky on a winged unicorn that farts rainbows sprinkling pixie dust on the people and hoping it will make them love her forever. | Igor |
| We must vote with our eyes to the future, not just on today and our immediate circumstances. | Pieter |
| Jacinda Adern’s government has knowingly committed crimes against humanity in its Covid response as complicit players in this global fraud now subject to international litigation, https://youtu.be/kr04gHbP5MQ. https://youtu.be/AEG5wUtkS2I | Robert |
| Government spending creates nothing more than a larger bureaucracy and invariable waste, just look what has happened during the last three years. The answer is is simple, less tax less government bureaucracy. | chris |
| When will the teaching of history ( real history) be part of the education system in New Zealand. Just look at a short history of the world and you will see that less Government and more freedom is the way to go ( Maggie Thatcher Hong Kong and Singapore) just to name a few and on the other side ( North Korea Venezuela Rhodesia) We need tax reductions and far less Government. Let free enterprise create the wealth and remember that there are two ways to reduce the debt and it is all to do with the ratios Pay down the debt or increase the value of the asset it is secured against. The second choice will automatically lead to the first as surplus income will take care of the repayments . Unfortunately Socialists do not understand or refuse to believe such basic economics | Robin |
| This is a no-brainer. Sadly the current government has just enough brain between them to not see the truth staring at them. | Kerry |
| Complex subject but yes. | Chris |
| The people know best where to spend their own hard earned money, rather than trusting loony left wing idealists to waste it on their behalf. | Mike |
| History tells the truth. | Kerry |
| but no tax cuts for corporate’s | steven |
| Labour does not stand for improvement in managing the country’s affairs but merely taxing to cover the ineficiencies larger | Harvey |
| The RBNZ is our money being spent to help the people of our country .. all .. including Business | Rochelle |
| Labours Government spending does nothing to increase GDP and only encourages Welfare dependancy. | Don |
| Putting money into people’s pockets and letting them decide how to use it is certainly the best way to get the economy moving. The surest way to strangle our economy even more is to raise taxes which takes more money out of the economy. | Laurence |
| Anyone with an ounce of sense, can know that lowering taxes is correct. You CAN beat a draught horse to pull harder for a while, but very soon it will stop and die – Labour/Greens would simply use a bigger stick on the animal, then wonder why it does not work! | Carl |
| Tax cuts help individuals and businesses to grow and invest more in the countries economy. | Brian |
| Tax cuts. The Man who saved NZ from the financial disaster created by Muldoon was Roger Douglas and if he says tax cuts then he should be listened to. | John |
| It is the Government’s duty to spend taxes wisely not throw the money away at ridiculous schemes or non essential operations e.g. private green schools, Quilting Societies, vote buying such as the latest hand out to Iwi when they have billions in assets that do not trickle down. The list goes on. | Ian |
| Can anyone give an example of a free market economy where a tax rate increase has resulted in more tax revenue longterm for a Gvt. Examples of reducing tax rates resulting in more Gvt revenue are manifold. Increasing tax rates has nothing to do with fiscal advantage but all to do with short term political advantage of promoting “equality”. It is just the application of the politics of envy. | Mervyn |
| makes sense to me! | norman |
| I certainly know how to spend my own money better than any government | Richard |
| Definitely tax cuts as that is the best way to grow the economy. A Labour/Green Government is going to see our economy hugely ruined. Let’s hope the people can see the difference between the two major Parties. It’s going to be vital for our recovery. | Helen |
| Tax cuts will put more money in the hands of consumers. | Jenny |
| Big tax cuts | Kate |
| Let the people use their own money. That will stimulate the small business’s and Kiwis getting out to see their country (tourism). | Andrew |
| If people can keep more what they themselves earn, they will have more to spend, and they will, making money go round. | Sheila |
| National, Act and New Conservative are pretty much on the same page over this, and despite what Colmar Brunton says, NC has a chance of being a player, as has happened with previous CB polls. | Ted |
| down with socialism | russell |
| IF we were to get any new taxes, a CGT would be less iniquitous than the Greens proposed wealth tax which is undemocratic and plain mad. EVIL. | Geoff |
| spend it wisely. | RICHard |
| I worry where this nation will be in 3 years if Labour and the Greens are returned to power. I will not vote for either. | Carol |
| National under Judith Collins would be a great step forward and a slap in the face for all the bleeding heart policies of the left. | Warren |
| Taxing will put a damper on growth | Dave |
| Self evident | Robbie |
| I ticked tax cuts but it is a flawed question as it requires both but the Govr spending must be high quality not income redistribution to the useless who will never ever work. | Tony |
| This Government has wasted our taxes on frivolous things, working groups, bungee jumping, a private green school, wasteful arts funding and buying votes, to name a few. It is the Government’s job to use hard earned tax payer money responsibly. | Vivienne |
| How do we turn the 200,000 stupid women around and change their minds re voting for a clueless, empty headed bimbo who is busy following UN doctrine to bring NZ into the New World Communist Govt. comrade Ardern is dangerous and God Help NZ if she has 3 more years to carry out her instructions from the UN? | Carolyn |
| $100m for R&M of Marae is the last straw. Hopefully it will break the camels back? This is corruption at the highest level and to think that charlatan Winston Peters denied it on Wednesday morning radio. Just shows how much you can believe that spews from his mouth these days. | Chris |
| Government needs to butt out of our lives. Allow us to be free and independent. No more Nanny State. | Elizabeth |
| When is the population going to wake UP we need 100 per cent turn out not just sit at home and hope for the best | Peter |
| Why has the main stream media not shown. or talked about these labour/green policies? | Hugh |
| Labour lack the ability to spend wisely. | Chris |
| I fail to see how a group of individuals with little to none business experience or acumen know what’s best for MY money. as let’s not forget I earned it not them! | Jason |
| It keeps the cash in the hands of those how go out each day and do productive labor. | warwick |
| If people have more spending power then jobs will be created which will bring in more tax for the government. | Sharon |
| More govt spending has never done anything for the betterment of mankind! | Cedric |
| Wasted taxpayers funds have not helped this country. Tax returns are a far better option. | Robyn |
| Neither – Step 1: Repeal all these draconian laws that strip our people of their liberties. | Rossco |
| The Govt should Swallow their pride and do what Donald Trump did, lower taxes, then with more money in our pay pack we spend more thus this gets the economy moving again | David |
| Raise taxes? You cannot tax your way to growth. More holidays and sick leave? Can somebody explain how working less grows the economy out of recession? | Frank |
| We can spend our own money more effectively than guvmint who tend to waste most of it. | Maurice |
| Obvious | Graeme |
| What worries me most about the outcome of the election, is the IQ of the voters! | Carole |
| People who earn the money will use it the best | Willy |
| Labours tax and waste my money policies are indicative of their inability to understand how the country should be run for future generations. | John |
| If govts keep taxing and spend you end up just working for the govt so you become a communist country and lose all freedom | Colin |
| Where are all the Billions coming from, Sindy? | Coral |
| Common sense. | Graham |
| Why give these incompetents more power? | John |
| This is counter-intuitive. Keynes said that during a down turn in the business cycle, instead of taxing and reducing Government spending – the Government should do the exact opposite and lower taxes while increasing spending. Taxes should only be raised when the business cycle was on the up – but what Government would have the guts to do such a move. Now is not the right time to raise taxes. | Brenton |
| Tax cuts are the only sustainable way to create jobs and growth. | John |
| Big government is not the answer for New Zealand. We already have too much! We need less government in our lives. | Ron |
| Taxes are way too high in New Zealand. Give back our money and watch us grow the economy! | Cathy |
| We earned the tax so we should decide how to spend it. I have no faith at all in the government’s spending decisions. | Kevin |
| World history has shown that the most successful countries with the highest growth rates are low tax economies with a limited government. That’s what NZ should be aspiring to put in place, then our future would be bright. | Graeme |