New Zealand First Deputy Leader, Mr Peter Brown has expressed his concern at the discrepancy between the Alliance and Labour parties’ tax policies and opinions stated by their local candidates.

“I was surprised yesterday to hear an Alliance candidate state to a Bay of Plenty Grey Power meeting his belief that proposed Alliance tax increases should not take effect at $60,000 but rather in excess of $85,000.”

Mr Brown said he listened incredulously as the Alliance candidate then proceeded to advise a questioner as to how to avoid the extra tax at that level of salary.

The Labour candidate appeared to concur with these assertions.

“This is absolutely disgraceful”, said Mr Brown. “The Alliance and Labour have committed themselves to a coalition and are advocating huge tax payer expenditure, yet their candidates openly express their disagreement with the proposed tax increases.

“To date, Alliance policy pledges appear to total in excess of $4 billion per year, to be funded by only the top 5% of taxpayers. This equates to $44,000 per person”, claims Mr Brown.

New Zealand First has pledged not to decrease taxation so as to fund core social policy. Longer term solutions lie in growing our economy through exports and providing a savings base through a compulsory superannuation scheme.

Mr Brown says Labour and the Alliance should follow New Zealand First’s lead, and clearly spell out their position.

“I challenge the Alliance candidate to advise New Zealanders how his party intends to fund their promises of free tertiary education, increased benefits and free health care.

“When that matter has been clarified, the Labour candidate needs to state whether he supports that policy fully, in part, or not at all”, concluded Mr Brown.

“Let the truth be known.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media

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>>