Budget of broken promises
Hi [Name],
Two weeks ago the National Government announced a Budget of broken promises and lost opportunities. They've broken their pre-election promise not to raise GST. That’s going to make it even more difficult for families to pay the bills and buy groceries.
National tried to tell hardworking kiwis that they’d be compensated with a tax cut. But a third of all the tax cuts dished out went to the top 5 percent. National also made cuts to health and early childhood education, despite promising they wouldn’t cut public services. Now kiwis will have to dig deeper into their own pockets to pay for essential public services.
The small tax cuts that most kiwi families get will be wiped out by 5.9 percent inflation before they even get to the checkout.The truth is a family with 2 young kids end up $55 per week worse off after GST, inflation and early childhood education charges are all taken into account.
National's Budget was a lost opportunity to help the many, not the few. It's not the sort of Budget a Labour-led government would have delivered.
Nats break promise and raise child education costs
Some early childhood education centres estimate National's Budget of Broken Promises could force parents to pay an additional $60 per week per child.The top two subsidy rates will be cut despite National's election promise that they would keep 20 hours free ECE including the same subsidies and fee controls.
That makes it three broken election promises from National on early childhood education alone.The Government has also scrapped its election promise to remove the six hour daily limit for 20 hours ECE and also to improve staff/child ratios for children under two.
Celebrating hard workers
Recently I had the opportunity to acknowledge some of our local hard workers at the Pride in Workmanship Awards organised by the Upper Hutt Rotary Club. I was delighted to have the opportunity to present the award winners with their plaques and certificates detailing their achievements.
Almost every day I meet people around our local community who take pride in their work. Many never receive formal recognition of their dedication to excellence, so it was great to have the opportunity to give them a pat on the back for a job well done.
The winners on the night were Judith Chattington, Margarite Weatherburn, Michelle Morehu, Veronica Godfery, Rhys Burns, Lorraine Moore, Wendy Horne, Peter Ingram, Kirsty Monk and Alma Dunstan. My congratulations to them all.
Nats set to sell Kiwis' bank
One day after National's Budget of broken promises, Bill English let slip National's plan to sell Kiwibank, claiming 'mum and dad' would invest and buy shares. But mums and dads and other New Zealanders already own Kiwibank. National's real agenda is to sell Kiwibank to pay for its tax cuts to the rich.
If part of Kiwibank goes up for sale, it won't be mum and dad ivestors who buy shares. It will be large foreign institutions who want to grab a slice of this popular and growing young bank that is actually owned by kiwis.
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