John Key's deceptive justifications for selling off our assets

MANA believes John Key's plan to sell our assets to pay for education investment that should be normally funded out of taxation is an utter failure of political leadership, says MANA economic justice spokesperson, John Minto.

He says the use of education is little more than a smokescreen to hide the investment into South Island irrigation

"To flog off our assets using the guise of education is Machiavellian politics at it's worst. Firstly those education investments should be coming out of taxation and secondly the investment fund National wish to create from flogging off our assets will be used for more environmentally damaging irrigation in the South Island to benefit National's wealthy farming industry friends.

"The reason National have run out of ideas on how to fund our normal investment into education is because they still refuse to tax the rich, implement a capital gains tax or even look at a financial transaction tax.

"National have run the tax base so low that they have to sell off our assets just to pay for the costs of today. It is short term planning at it's worst and only the most one eyed National Party supporter will fall for it."

Mr Minto says we need to restructure our tax system so that the wealthy and the corporates pay their fair share so that education investment is never considered a special extra and is always part of core Government responsibility.

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