Hon. NICOLA WILLIS on the BUDGET
A report from Colin Lucas this week....Introduced by Alimac and Thanked with a Ruby's Teatowel by Bill Strand...Our guest speaker at our meeting at Remuera golf club on Tuesday evening was Nicola Willis deputy leader of the National Party.
Nicola is a member of not only the parliamentary National Party but also Wellington Rotary Club.
In her introductory comments she told us that we in New Zealand face significant challenges, our economy is in a fragile place, need in the country has expanded, foodbanks are overwhelmed and people with mortgages are nervous.
Government debt has grown from 10 billion to 90 billion full stop the country is not paying it's way as there is a significant balance of payment deficit.
So what would a national lead government do?
First send a message to the economy that they want the economy to grow,
Second the government should do what every household in the country is doing that is to say tightening it's belt.
Thirdly modest and affordable tax reductions.
Nicola suggested there were 10 key points that needed to be addressed by the incoming National lead government. They are,
1. Ensure the focus of the reserve bank is upon inflation. 2. undertake a review of the decision-making process during the covert period to see what is wrong and what went right. 3. Undertake a review of the backrooms of government to cut costs for example consultancy charges, wasted costs such as Cycle/Footbridges across the Waitemata and Light Rail. Also bring back discipline to government spending. 4. Make sure we have the workers. We don’t have enough nurses. Put them on the immigration green list, Give immigration flexibility to alter rules as need changes. 5.Get serious about cleaning up red tape at that strangles innovation as well as productive activity. 6. Careful tax reduction eg, inflation adjusted tax brackets comma, provide rebates for childcare and return to landlords the ability to claim tax deductions for interest on borrowings. 7. Attack the infrastructure deficit using public private partnership supported by the government balance sheet. 8. Recognise that across the country we have the best innovators in the world you need access to capital. 9. Back farming instead of strangling with red tape.
10. Address Law and Order. There needs to be consequences for breaking the law. The current outbreak of lawlessness shows that people recognise there are no real consequences and offend with impunity. We need to concentrate on gangs by making life difficult for them instead of paying them money.
