Column by Hon Barbara Edmonds, MP for Mana.
Many of you will have seen the flashy slogans and clever lines about the Government’s tax cuts rolling out this month. Unfortunately, they don’t shine as bright as they seem.
The National Party’s tax plan promised a lot but is delivering peanuts, especially for those in our community who need it most. Many of you have told me that it feels like National is giving with one hand while taking away even more with the other. The Government could be choosing to invest in Mana’s health, housing, and education while keeping down everyday costs like public transport, housing, GP visits, prescriptions, and school lunches. Instead, cuts to public services that we all depend on will leave families worse off than before the National Government took office.
Very few people are getting the $250 a fortnight that was repeatedly promised by Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis during the election. To make things worse, they’ve irresponsibly borrowed $12 billion to pay for these tax cuts. The self-proclaimed “better economic managers” titles that National gives to themselves are not credible given they are running higher deficits than Labour ever did in the last six years, except in 2020…and we all know what happened in 2020. They’re leaving future generations to pick up the tab for something that won’t deliver the benefits they’ve promised and as a Chief Economist of a large bank said to me recently, “You can’t cut your way to a surplus!”
25% of our children in Mana travel outside of our electorate to get to school, so many of us know firsthand what it will be like spending double the amount on public transport for our kids and now being charged $5 for most prescriptions. If you own a home, rates and insurance have risen by double digits! This is a direct result of this Government being soft on climate action and repealing the Affordable Water Reforms; leaving a black hole for ratepayers to fill while we all wait for their grand plans to fix their decision-making. And if you don’t own a home, you’ll be spending more in rent, have greater uncertainty in your tenancy, while also losing the First Home Grant which could have helped boost your deposit. Unemployment will go up, and the situation is even more dire for pensioners – who will get just $2.50 a week.
No matter which way you look at it, many families are worse off and it’s harder for you to get ahead.
Our local health and education system are in desperate need of support and I’m not convinced this Government sees that as a priority. The large housing programme in Porirua East is on hold, our graduate nurses from Whitireia and Weltec are no longer guaranteed jobs at the end of their degree, and the future of Kenepuru After-Hours is still in the air. As it stands, Telehealth companies are being called in to help with staff shortages at Kenepuru. Meanwhile, landlords are getting a $2.9 billion tax break and the tobacco industry has been given a $216m tax cut in this year’s Budget. This Government has all their priorities wrong and is making bad choices.
Doctors are also calling on the Minister of Health, Shane Reti, to urgently increase funding for GPs. National promised GPs a 14% increase in funding but delivered less than what officials advised: a measly 4% increase. I encourage you all to join them in their call and let the Minister of Health know how important our GPs and our Kenepuru After-Hours are to you.
The Government can make up all the stories and excuses it likes. They will blame everyone but themselves. But the buck stops with them, and each day it becomes clearer that we are all going backwards under this National-led Government.