Craig And Mcvicar Have Some Explaining to Do

3 SEPTEMBER 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on Garth McVicar and the Conservative Party to explain how much the Party’s ‘tough on crime’ election slogan will cost. On Monday the Party was added to the Taxpayers’ Union Bribe-O-Meter, but the Conservative Party figures rely on assumptions about what the Party’s criminal policy actually means.

Ben Craven, Spokesman for the Taxpayers’ Union, says, “Without detail of how Garth McVicar will reform sentencing, costing the Conservative’s manifesto is a stab in the dark."

"Throw away lines such as ’tougher penalties for crime’ might work for the Sensible Sentencing Trust, but it’s a slogan not a policy. The pubic are entitled to enough detail to know what the Conservative Party sentencing policy will cost."

The Conservative Party’s justice policy is the only ‘policy commitment' which promises spending. The rest are either constitutional changes or tax cuts.

Former NZIER economist, Dr Michael Dunn, who provided the independent figures for the Bribe-O-Meter, says, “Assuming that the Conservative Party policy will lead to 20% more prisoners, I’ve estimated their ‘longer sentences’ policy will cost taxpayers $400 million, or $236 per household, in the next Parliamentary term."

Mr Craven says, "The fact that this is the only ’spending’ policy by the Conservatives means that they should be upfront about the detail and the cost.”

ENDS

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