The Standard line: Showerheads

So, you’re talking with someone about politics and they say something really dumb and wrong and you know it’s wrong but you don’t have the arguments and facts at your fingertips to make a decisive point. That’s where our election series, The Standard line, comes in. The info you need in bite-size form. Today, showerheads:

Counter-points:
- It is not and was never Labour policy to limit the flow of water through showerheads.
- There was a policy proposal from within a ministry that suggested a limit of 6 or 9 litre per minute for new showerheads as one option to help families reduce their power bills. As is normal, the Ministry consulted with interested groups on this proposal and the resounding reaction has been it is not a goer. 
- Ministries come up with policy ideas all the time. It is important that new ideas are discussed. Some of them are pretty oddball but unless they have been accepted by the politicians they are not official policy. The Minister for Housing, Shane Jones, has firmly said the Government and the Labour party will not be accepting this idea.

Attack points:
- National wants to make a big deal over this because they would rather Kiwis are distracted by trivial issues than ask the important questions like ‘can John Key be trusted given his history of lying (eg TranzraiL)?’ ‘What is the secret agenda that National MPs refer to in the secret agenda tapes?’ ‘why should Kiwis give up their Kiwisaver for tax cuts for the rich?’ ‘who has the policy to get us through these economic conditions keeping employment high and wages up?’