One of the nasty little fishhooks in the budget was the cutting of the home insulation scheme (Warm Up New Zealand). The scheme had a benefit-cost ratio of $6 for every $1 invested. Around 1,600 people die in NZ a year of cold-related factors. Hope the tax cuts are worth it eh?
In the wake of the accommodation supplement fiasco Joyce has promised that the government will monitor the rental market.
Questions that the media may wish to ask Mr J – Where do tenants send reports of rent gouging? – Exactly what action will the government take when they receive these reports?
Apparently the Nats can’t even run a lolly scramble.
Campbell: “As I asked Joyce at the Budget lockup: ‘What is to stop landlords from treating this increase as a green light to hike up rents?’ … In reply, Joyce said that the government would be ‘keeping an eye’ on landlords, to ensure they did not abuse the situation.”
It was National’s best budget. Which means there are only three critical areas of failure.
Andrew Little calls it the ‘The One Dollar Bill Budget’, a $1 tax cut for cleaner on minimum wage.
As usual it is the already well off who do the best out of National’s election year tax cut bribe.
Richard Harman at Politik: A “Families’ Income Package” is likely to be at the core of this week’s Budget. Sources close to the Government have “leaked” details of the Budget to POLITIK.
National does the bare minimum that it thinks it can get away with for those in need. This positioning is just preparing the ground for a budget that does more the same not enough.
Some great ideas in The Greens “Budget for All Mothers”. Surely no “data driven” “social investment” party could be opposed?
