Key should shine bright light at dark corner English is hiding in

When asked to detail precisely which of Labour's policies he would reverse in order to deliver his proposed 'Bright Future' under a National-ACT government, John Key made it clear that a National-ACT government only has one bottom-line, non-negotiable commitment: That is to take the country backwards with greater reliance on energy-guzzling incandescent light bulbs.

"It is a pity that Mr Key does not use one of his large, energy guzzlers to light up the dark corner where he has hidden Bill English on every single day of the final week of this democratic election campaign.

"On Wednesday, National finance spokesman Bill English refused to appear on Radio New Zealand's Morning Report programme to discuss the outlook for the economy and Crown accounts following the publication by Treasury earlier in the week of its October Monthly Economic Indicators report and its three-month Financial Statements of the Government. Bill English yesterday refused to be interviewed for today's New Zealand Herald feature on the economy and Crown accounts.

"In the face of weakening global growth, it is a breach of trust with electors for Mr Key to hide the man that Mr Key says he would like to be the finance minister. New Zealanders have all week been denied the right to hear Mr English questioned on the economy and the Crown's finances and the real intentions of the National-ACT coalition,"Dr Cullen said.

"National's finance spokesman needs to explain why his party demands Kiwis use higher energy-guzzling light bulbs; why his party would impose higher taxes on innovative firms conducting Research and Development; why his party would significantly demolish by many tens of thousands of dollars the size of families' KiwiSaver nest eggs; why his party wants Roger Douglas's ACT Party to sit at the Cabinet table and why his party would instruct Public Service Chief Executives to slash education, health and welfare services before Christmas.

"Mr Key has a responsibility to, on this last day of the democratic election campaign, allow if not require Mr English to fulfil his duties to justify his party's backward policies,"Dr Cullen said.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On The Government’s Smokefree Laws Debacle

The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out - for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable view is that the government was being deliberately misleading. Are we to think Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is a fool, or a liar? It seems rather early on in his term of office to be facing that unpleasant choice. Yet when Luxon (and senior MP Chris Bishop) tried to defend the indefensible with the same wildly inaccurate claim, there are not a lot of positive explanations left on the table.... More