The difference between Labour and National

mickysavage
2 years ago
Categories: benefits, climate change, labour, national, poverty, science, tax

I understand lefties, in the pursuit of a perfect world, are frustrated at the pace of change shown by the current Government. My personal view is that given we are in the middle of a one in 100 year health crisis and the huge amount of work required to address this that the level of pace of change is not surprising. Others are more critical.

For instance there is this piece from Verity Johnson who expresses disappointment about the lack of transformational change by toying with the idea of voting for National.

She said this about Labour:

They were great at getting us through Covid. Even after the RAT test debacle, Auckland’s feeling so ignored last year, and the suffocating stress of running a small business with ever-changing rules. I agree with what they keep reminding us, that this has been a world leading response. And yes, we’re grateful.

As for the RAT test debacle the country is awash with them and there is no price gouging. And there are many, many, many reports on how inaccurate they are. Who would have guessed that in the middle of a pandemic a centrally controlled system of testing using high quality tests and ensuring the central aggregation of important data would have been so important?

As for thinking about supporting National can I offer the following comparisons of policies to suggest that for any progressive supporting National would be a strange thing to contemplate. These lists are not exhaustive.

Support for people

Labour has or shortly will:

reduced fuel excise duty by 25c;
instituted half-price public transport;
lifted 65,000 children out of poverty;
increased the minimum wage to $21.20 per hour;
increase Working for Families, which will make around 346,000 families better off by an average of $20 each a week;
adjust the income thresholds for childcare assistance annually in line with average wage growth, benefiting 1,500 children;
increase benefits up to $35 a week from 1 April, bringing the total increases for beneficiaries with children to an average of $175 per week, including to $207 per week during the 2022 winter period;
increase student allowances by $25 from 1 April;
increase superannuation by $52 per fortnight for a single person, and $80 for a couple from 1 April.

National has proposed to cut taxes which will result in:

1.1 million taxpayers on incomes under $14,000 would get nothing;
1.7 million taxpayers on incomes between $14,000 and $48,000 would get up to $2 a week;
700,000 taxpayers on $48,000 to $70,000 would get up to $15 a week;
700,000 taxpayers on $70,000 to $180,000 would get up to $20 a week;
90,000 taxpayers on more than $180,000 would get an average of $180 a week.

Roughly half the tax cuts would go to the top 10 per cent of earners, while the bottom quarter get nothing.

Climate change

Labour has

passed the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act 2019;
banned off sea oil drilling;
instituted the Climate ~~Change~~Commission;
designing light rail for Auckland;
halved public transport fares at least temporarily.

National will or prefers to:

scrap the ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration;
remove all public subsidies from public transport fares;
cancel Auckland’s light rail project.

By all means be critical of the Government when it does not go far enough although realise that it is currently operating in a one in 100 year health crisis. But do not ever think that National will be better. From its policies already announced it would take the country back decades and cement in a level of inequality that we have not seen since the 1990s.