During a press conference, the Finance Minister urged Labour leader Chris Hipkins and other senior party members to clarify the discrepancy between their spending proposals and revenue plans.
This criticism coincides with Labour’s announcement to cap public transport fares at $20 per week in major cities and $10 elsewhere if they win the election.
Willis denounced this initiative, labeling it as “yet another dubiously-costed policy.”
“There is no magic money tree that can be plucked to pay for Labour’s election promises. The government’s books are in deficit,” she stated.
According to her, even under conservative assumptions, there is an $18.2 billion gap between Labour’s spending plans and their capital gains tax strategy.
“This is Labour’s $18 billion hidden bill for New Zealanders,” she added.
Willis highlighted that the economy is on an upward trajectory, with forecasts showing decreases in unemployment and debt.
She attributed these positive trends to a “disciplined approach” to budgeting and argued that Labour’s latest proposals suggested they were not up to the task.
“Labour claimed this week that its proposal to cap public transport fares at $20 a week would save people an average of $1200 a year for a total cost of $65 million a year,” Willis said.
“However, as some of your colleagues have noted, this simply cannot be true. I am happy to provide Mr. Utikere [Labour MP Tangi Utikere] with a calculator to work this out. If he requires one, I’ll send it over.”
Labour has been contacted by RNZ for their response.
