Nats' economic policies encouraging, should be bolder

ACT Leader David Seymour says the National Party is moving in the right direction on economic policy, but should be much bolder.

"They’re mostly promising to do things we encouraged them, and they refused, to do last time we were in government. Tax bracket inflation, and RMA reform are great ideas, but not as good as a flat tax and replacing the RMA.

"Similarly, reducing the company tax rate and pricing road use properly are not just things New Zealanders should be thinking about, they are ACT policies and things the rest of the world has been doing for some time.

"We are pleased to see that, two years after announcing they will raise the age of entitlement to superannuation in 2037, National are not backing down. 2037 is now only 18 years away, but we all know it should be done sooner as the superannuation bill for taxpayers skyrockets.

"Deleting two old regulations for every new one will predictably lead to longer more complex regulations as bureaucrats seek to fit their meddling into fewer documents. The real answer is to put the fear of the courts into regulators by letting ordinary people get bad laws struck out.

"Altogether we’d give the Nats a 5/10 for their economic policy. They’re going in the right direction, but the next government cannot simply return us to the way we were before Jacinda Ardern. It will need originality and courage."

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