“ACT has today released a range of measures to bring real change to Government spending, cutting untargeted and wasteful spending that is funded by hardworking Kiwis,” say ACT Leader David Seymour and Associate Finance spokesperson Damien Smith.
“The Minister of Finance’s Budget Policy Statement significantly increased the operating allowances available to fund new spending, compared with his Budget in 2021. ACT’s Alternative Budget would reverse 80 per cent of these increases,” says Mr Seymour.
“Under ACT, the operating allowances would still be higher than the Government’s own proposals in 2021, without reaching the absurd heights of the Budget Policy Statement.
“This more moderate approach to spending growth would allow us to cover the unavoidable costs imposed by higher-than-expected inflation, without pouring fiscal fuel on the inflationary fire.
“ACT would shrink the Public Service back to its 2017 headcount. We would also tie pay increases in the Public Service to inflation, this would not apply to Police, front-line health and education workers, or the Defence Force.
“We would also scrap demographic ministries. Most of these ministries replicate work which should already be done in policy ministries or the Ministry of Culture and Heritage. Any additional influence they do have over Government policy is likely to undermine the unity of New Zealand as a modern multicultural society.”
“Labour is addicted to spending, it has no respect for the fact that it’s other people’s money that they’re throwing around, leading to high inflation. While families are being forced to cut their budgets left, right and centre, Labour is fiscally incontinent,” says Mr Smith.
“Successive Labour and National government have used taxpayers’ money to pick winners. The decisions are always political, rather than what’s good policy.
“We would get rid of Corporate Welfare including the Provincial Growth Fund, Callaghan Innovation, the Cultural Sector Regeneration Fund, R&D Tax Credits, and domestic and international film subsidies.
“Kiwis are being squeezed from every direction, they’re tightening their belts and making tough choices, it’s time Government did the same.”