Labour is writing cheques it can’t cash

new-zealand-national-party

Tue Oct 14 2008 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Labour is writing cheques it can’t cash

Tuesday, 14 October 2008, 8:59 am
Press Release: New Zealand National Party

Helen Clark needs to tell New Zealanders how she plans to fund her parade of new spending announcements, including the big spending plan to introduce universal student allowances.

“Helen Clark has decided she is going to spend her way to the election. That is what she is telling us today. But she has given herself a ‘get out of jail free card’ with a mini-Budget after the election.”

National’s Finance spokesman Bill English is responding to another big spending initiative on student allowances this afternoon.

“A Universal Student Allowance is an admirable goal and National will be making some changes to the allowance in its own, yet to be announced, tertiary education policy.

“It will be more generous than the current scheme, but won’t be universal.

“However, our priority is literacy and numeracy, and the one in five kids who never get a qualification - let alone make it to University.

“But Helen Clark is being reckless by making these sorts of promises and offering no advice on how any of it is to be funded.

“The most we’ve got from Helen Clark is that Labour will have a mini-budget after the election when she will reveal how unaffordable all the promises have been. Which promises is Labour planning to break?”

Ends

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from New Zealand National Party on InfoPages.