Rt. Hon Winston Peters
Leader NZ First

December 21 2011

Government Plan Full of Contradictions - Peters

New Zealand First has described the government’s plans outlined in the speech from the throne as a concoction of backroom deals and contradictions.

Rt Hon Winston Peters says the most outrageous plan is the billion dollar bribe given to the Maori Party to fund the separate welfare, education and housing system called Whanau Ora.

“We know that a billion dollars is being siphoned off other government spending to pay for this – and it was not mentioned once by the National Party before the election.

Mr Peters says the government also has an extraordinary plan to cut jobs by reducing spending while at the same time demanding that unemployed people go back to work.

“Someone should have told the National Party and its hangers-on that it is physically and financially impossible to cut jobs and create them at the same time.”

On the subject of charter schools, Mr Peters says the government is simply privatising under-achievement and failure.

“The state is obliged to educate New Zealand children. The government must fix its educational failures and look within the Education Ministry ranks for solutions.

“Charter schools are for private organisations to make money. It’s as simple as that.”

Mr Peters warned against the progression of what the government called “high quality” trade agreements, describing them as licences for job losses.

“How many times must we get into free trade agreements that benefit the other parties before we finally wake up?”

“The government’s plan as outlined today will not improve New Zealand socially or economically.

“We will eventually lose our valuable power stations and other state assets and most people will be much the poorer,” says Mr Peters.

ENDS

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