In the No 1 spot is reducing the cost of living, quickly followed by lifting incomes; building a resilient infrastructure; restoring law and order; and delivering better health and education services. The detail of these is available on our website — www.national.org.nz/priorities
But it includes FamilyBoost a tax rebate of up to $75 a week toward household childcare costs for families earning up to $180,000 so parents can afford to work; our Combatting Youth Offending Plan targeting serious offenders; Backing Police/Tackling Gangs plan with greater powers for Police, our Welfare that Works policy and, last but not least, unlocking economic growth. We’ve also been clear about what we won’t do like taking water assets from communities, under Labour’s flawed Three Waters policy. Our Local Water Done Well policy keeps drinking, storm and wastewater management where it belongs — local — rather than under four co-governed mega entities. And while we’re cleaning house, we’ll get rid of Auckland’s Regional Fuel Tax and the Clean Car Discount Scheme (ute tax). In the first part of our national education policy, Teaching the Basics Brilliantly, we intend to rewrite the New Zealand Curriculum to detail non-negotiable knowledge and skills primary and secondary schools must cover in reading, writing, mathematics and science. Once world leaders in education, our current state is alarming, with a NCEA pilot revealing two-thirds of students are unable to meet minimum standards in reading, writing and maths. As this newsletter goes together, we’ve just announced our newest policy — Electrify NZ. While we all want a future powered by clean electricity, National’s ‘how to get there’ differs very much from Labour. Despite the current government’s declaration that ‘climate change is this generation’s nuclear free moment’, all they’ve done in six years is triple coal imports and increase emissions. For example, it makes no sense to drive everyone toward buying electric cars if the electricity to power them, comes from burning tonnes and tonnes of coal. We need to double the amount of renewable electricity we produce from our abundant natural resources — especially solar, wind and geothermal — and we need whole sectors to switch over. We’d also drop a lot of the red tape. Did you know the current planning system puts barrier after barrier. For example, a new wind farm can take 10 years to complete! We’d require decisions on resource consents to be issued within a year and those consents to last for 35 years. And we’d unleash investment in transmission and local lines by eliminating consents for upgrades to existing infrastructure and most new infrastructure. But these are just a start, there’s a lot more to come. Again, go to our website to read the detail — www.national.org.nz/priorities I think many Kiwis would agree — we’ve been subjected to a government which has for the better part of six years, made plenty of announcements with little or nothing to show for them — apart from the colossal price tag. Above all else, that staggering spending needs to stop — our first priority if National becomes the next Government. |
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