"How will Chris Hipkins fill his $13 billion hole?" asks ACT Leader David Seymour. "Will we find out this weekend at Labour’s conference, or will he kick that question down the road?"

"It’s nice that he wants to have a “mature conversation” about tax and spending. But he needs more than talk, he needs numbers that add up.

"Left with a massive deficit from Labour, we've dialled back unnecessary spending, and we need to keep going. The problem for Hipkins is that he's called our cuts "austerity" and wants to reverse them.

"Even just reinstating Labour's payequity regime will leave a $13 billion hole in the books, so you can practically hear Hipkins' new taxes rolling into the station. His capital gains tax doesn't save him, it will take years to raise a single billion and Hipkins needs thirteen.

"Higher taxes hurt firms and families, but they also don't solve our problems. Labour's previous spending increases failed to deliver better public services. Emergency rooms were left in chaos and schools weren't teaching kids to read.

"Instead of spending more, we need to spend smarter. With savings from our so-called austerity, we've been able to invest in things that matter, like new medicines and more nurses.

"We're also working smarter. It doesn't cost anything to free up GPs from paperwork, or set expectations for school attendance, but it works to fix what matters.

"Labour had their chance to fix public services with record spending, and failed. Now they want a second go, and their election strategy hinges on voters having short memories, and the media failing to ask difficult questions.

"The deficit question is too important for Hipkins to dodge. We need to pay our bills, or else we’re borrowing our children’s money and mortgaging the country they will inherit."

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