The electoral horizon draws ever closer with the promise of free lunches for all and (likely) unachievable delivery.

The horizon always appears as though the sea and the sky meet but of course never do -- which is too often the case after the election when delivery of promises is analysed. Perhaps a better analogy is beware of Greeks [political parties] bearing gifts.

Enter the newish political kid on the block offering to save us all from ourselves by trying to sell voters a Trojan gift horse called $20,000 and then deducting an annual land tax called – well -- an annual land tax.

All citizens who own a house are to receive a bill for 1.75% of their land value which will be around $8000 per year, depending on where you live.

If you can’t pay that annual account while you live, you will after you die. The same applies to rural land where you will pay (circa) $40,000 annually.

If that figure appears unaffordable now, wait for another 10 years and you will owe the government $400,000 which they will claw back from your estate.

One kicker for most of us is that unemployed gang members will also receive their 20K per member to remain as they are. Good luck trying to claw any of that money back.

The Opportunity Party has yet to explain whether occupation of land and buildings in a retirement village qualifies, as the occupier owns neither the land nor the house, just the right to reside there.

Imagine if you will, the new government department laden with public servants trying to administer our current and future ownership status.

As the great Tom Sowell said; ``If you vote for a political party who promise to give you goodies at someone else expense, then you have no right to complain when they take your money and give it to someone else, including themselves’’.

All political promises are a combination of a re distribution of existing tax along with any new tax.

Governments produce nothing of tradeable value. Governments and councils are the prime source of inflation within New Zealand, which is characterised by continuous increasing debt along with cost-of-living increases as they increase the money supply.

It would be entirely disastrous if both the Green Party and Te Pati Maori are invited into Cabinet to offer advice, should they become part of a left-wing coalition.

Labour will not govern alone so not only will Opportunity’s new tax be imposed, imagine the treats in store

of death taxes inheritance tax, asset tax, wealth taxes, along with the new land tax.

We will soon realise that we entered this world with nothing and so we will leave with even less. One assumes that no adult has ever reviewed their policies for credibility and affordability.

Imagine the cost blowouts under Green fiscal management. The Auckland city rail link blew out $3 billion. The concern over that one project appears to be met with a shrug of the shoulders.

That is a tale of only one city so imagine the savings if councils all over the country, along with government were ever to come under stringent financial management.

It is likely our country will find massive savings with little or no need for tax and rates increases.

Question. Was $303,000 warranted to send 17 public servants from three separate government agencies to Brazil for a recent climate change conference? How does such expenditure of taxpayers’ 

money get through even casual scrutiny by the public service?

A huge problem — and getting worse — is housing affordability. Surely a policy to require all banks to offer long-term loans at moderate interest rates to new and first-home buyers would help.

It’s done in many overseas countries, including 30-year fixed interest rates in the United States and 20-year rates in parts of Europe.

Sadly, the political system merely offers a solution of doing nothing very much at all to address our obvious problems, so the decline continues. Political aromatherapy at election time is of no value.

Despite what some think, elections are about the future and how best to manage the inevitable changes. The past belongs only to the past.

  • Gerrard Eckhoff is a former Otago regional councillor and Act New Zealand MP.