Bill English MP National Party Finance Spokesman

28 October 2008

Clark's 'Could've Been' campaign all about spending

National Party Finance spokesman Bill English says after nine long years in Government, Helen Clark has been reduced to running a 'Could've Been' election campaign.

"It's now all about how she would like to spend more taxpayers' money to get herself re-elected, but can't.

"After nine years, we're hearing daily apologies for far off spending promises that have been axed. It is proof positive that Helen Clark's Government has been focused on dreaming up new ways to spend people's taxes rather than on growing the economy.

"She only has a spending plan - she doesn't have a growth plan."

Mr English says the fact that Helen Clark is being forced to axe her big spending announcements shows them to be election-year sweeteners rather than policies to lift our economic performance or our living standards.

"And the 'Could've Been' campaign is trying to hide the fact that Helen Clark has still not shown the impact on debt and the deficit from her 29 actual spending announcements since the pre-election opening of the books.

"That will come in the mini-Budget after the election, when Labour will also cancel its 2010 tax cuts, just as they did after the 2005 election. That'll be the 'Has-Been' part of the 'Could've Been' campaign."

Mr English says National's economic package is focused on improving growth and lifting New Zealand out of its decade of deficits sooner.

"We have released a fully-costed and fully-funded fiscal programme, which involved us making some clear choices about what we will and won't sign up to.

"This balanced approach has been the subject of much Labour criticism, but neither Michael Cullen nor Helen Clark has said how their programme would be paid for.

"Voters will be looking forward to Helen Clark's next announcement of what she can't do. She only had a spending plan. Now that Labour has spent all the money, she has no plan."

ENDS

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