Government Finally Wakes Up To Spending Blow-Out - ACT

ACT finance spokesman Rodney Hide today said that it was a relief to see that Treasurer Bill English had finally woken up to the 'fiscal creep' that had driven up government spending over the past five years.

"ACT has been telling the Government to get its spending under control for the last three years.

"Bill English is right. Government spending has increased by one billion a year. Government is now spending $6 billion more than it was five years ago - that's an extra increase of $100 a week for each and every household in the country. No one has noticed any improvement in government services. That $100 would be far better off in each and every householder's weekly budget.

"The Government should be freezing the blow-out and forcing government departments to live within existing budgets.

"The fact is that if government spent next year, what it spent last year, we could move immediately to a flat rate of tax of 20 cents in the dollar. That would mean more jobs, more growth and more money in everyone's pay packet," said Rodney Hide.

ENDS

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