ACT Finance Spokesman Rodney Hide today said the Labour/Alliance Coalition's lack of agreement on a spending cap for government over the next three years was very disappointing.

"Following the election Dr Michael Cullen promised a fiscal track in the Coalition Agreement. The Agreement, announced by the parties today, provides no such track.

"There is clearly no agreement on how much taxpayers' money the new Government is planning to spend.

"Labour's promised spend-up is bad enough. But how much extra is Jim Anderton going to wring out of the taxpayer?

"It's very disappointing that the Coalition hasn't passed this most basic test of fiscal prudence," said Rodney Hide.

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>>