6 April 2004

Hon Matt Robson MP, Progressive Deputy Leader

National wants both tax cuts for rich & more military spending

The National Party's promises to both substantially reduce tax rates, while also significantly increasing military spending, don't add up, Progressive MP Matt Robson says.

"Last month, National parroted the government's commitment to financial relief for low to middle income families. Since then, it has promised to reducethecompany tax rate and more recently it has clarified its position on income tax by saying tax cuts for the rich would be forthcoming in the first term of a National government after all.

"But while National proposes reducing government income by up to $4 billion a year via tax cuts when fully implemented, it is also promising to significantly increase military spending so that a National government could follow the Bush Administration into any foreign war no matter whether it is in the New Zealand national interest and in accord with international law, or not," Matt Robson said.

"We haven't seen the prospect of this level of mismanagement of the government's books since the Third National government of Rob Muldoon that bankrupted the country," Matt Robson said.

"The more National outlines what it actually stands for, the less credible it appears as an alternative government," he said

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>