No more lavish promises

Helen Clark
Helen Clark
Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday ended speculation that Labour would keep releasing big spending election promises and turned the debate back to her slogans of trust and leadership.

She also raised the spectre of a secret National Party agenda for after the election.

Speaking at a Wellington rally, Miss Clark said it was important those in Labour were "utterly realistic" about the international context in which New Zealand found itself.

Without doubt, the world was experiencing the worst financial crisis since the 1930s. No matter how resilient the New Zealand economy was, it would be affected.

"But we also know that this international financial crisis has turned the New Zealand election campaign completely on its head.

"A change to a leader with the learner wheels on no longer seems as interesting as it might have even a few weeks ago," she said, alluding to the relative political inexperience of National Party leader John Key.

Last week, National claimed Miss Clark had released about $1.3 billion of unfunded election promises, including the home ownership on the public estate (Hope), plans to retrofit damp, old and unhealthy homes, infrastructure spending, lifting the number of modern apprentices and phasing out parental testing for student allowances.

Miss Clark said she was not at the rally to announce any more significant spending initiatives.

"Nor do I plan to announce more. This election is certainly not about who offers the biggest tax cut, especially when those who over-hyped their claim ended up offering the worker on the average wage with a family $1.92 more a week under Labour.

"This election is about who New Zealanders trust to move our economy forward at this time."

The developments she announced last week were all aimed at supporting the growth and development of the economy and the ability of people to be in work at this time of an economic slow down, she said.

In recent weeks, she had seen National "utterly fail" to grasp the reality of the international crisis.

"Does anyone seriously believe that a mantra about national testing in schools, slashing public spending, throwing $1.5 billion at Telecom, further deregulation of the economy and the labour market, and a tax package delivering big time to the wealthiest is any kind of response to the needs of our country now?"

Miss Clark showed she was not above using scare tactics to win votes by reminding voters that after the 1990 election, National cut benefits, brought in the Employment Contracts Act, means tested New Zealand superannuation, imposed market rentals on state houses and charged people to go to a public hospital.

She warned that a National-led government would privatise prisons, ACC, schools and health care.

"It's an election between a government which has shown that it is principled and can take tough decisions and an Opposition which says what it thinks the audience in front of it wants to hear, and flip flops on every major issue."

 

 

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