The final week of election campaigning is getting testy as Judith Collins stands by her allegations of a wealth tax under a Labour-Green government and Jacinda Ardern accuses National of spreading misinformation.
Despite Ardern and finance spokesperson Grant Robertson repeatedly ruling out a wealth tax in any potential negotiations with the Green Party, Collins says “the Greens have been able to bully Labour in the past”.
Greens co-leader James Shaw told RNZ yesterday his party would expect to have negotiations about a wealth tax with Labour if in the position to do so following the election.
1 NEWS columnist John Armstrong has delved into the issue and says National’s wealth tax allegations “amount to a last desperate throw of the dice on Judith Collins’ part”.
He says any conversation between Labour and the Greens about introducing a wealth tax would be “very short” .
It’s a topic that will no doubt crop up during the final election debate between Ardern and Collins on TVNZ 1 this Thursday. The public is being called on to submit questions ahead of the debate – so if you have one, you can email it to onlinenews@tvnz.co.nz with QUESTION in the subject line. A selection of those questions will be put to the leaders during the debate.
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Looking at Labour’s record
With Labour currently on track for a second term, some have been looking back at what the coalition government achieved during their first term.
The Australian Associated Press writes Labour is facing a lonely landslide at the election and will therefore fail in one of Jacinda Ardern’s own measures for a successful government.
Ardern told AAP she decided early in her tenure as Prime Minister that the return of her coalition partners to parliament was a personal goal. NZ First has been polling at around 2 per cent support of late, while the Greens are hovering just above the 5 per cent threshold.
Meanwhile, RNZ has examined Labour’s record on reducing child poverty, an issue that formed the centrepiece of the party’s 2017 campaign. You can find that investigation here .
They’ve also returned to the Waikato town of Morrinsville, which was the scene of a 500-person protest three years ago about the treatment of farmers to see if feelings have changed now .
Some students to return
A new border exemption could see international students return to New Zealand as early as next month . The move currently only applies to PhD and postgraduate students who hold a 2020 visa.
Students will still need to isolate for a fortnight and pay for their stay in managed facilities when they arrive in New Zealand.
More information about the new border exception can be found here .
Meanwhile, National talked about plans to encourage PhD candidates to come to New Zealand while re-announcing their tech policy yesterday.
The party is promising to fund hundreds of $50,000 scholarships if elected to government.
Kiwi pushes for pardon
A man who helped thrust euthanasia into the spotlight in New Zealand still plans to push for a pardon if the ‘yes’ vote succeeds at the referendum.
Sean Davison admitted in 2011 to helping his cancer-stricken mother die in 2006. He then moved to South Africa, where he’s under house arrest after accepting a plea deal over the deaths of three other people.
But as Davison expresses his support for the End of Life Choice referendum, many lawyers remain opposed to the act.
Senior lawyer Grant Illingworth QC told 1 NEWS the act is already not fit for purpose.
More information about the End of Life Choice referendum can be found here .
Young candidates vie for votes
Young people have been making a mark in politics of late with School Strike 4 Climate marches and the Make it 16 campaigners arguing to lower the voting age in the High Court.
With more than 30 candidates under the age of 30 standing in this year’s election, 1 NEWS has spoken to the youngest candidates running for National, Labour, the Greens, New Zealand First and ACT to find out what makes them tick and why they’re running for parliament.
Other news of note this morning:
- The British government has carved England into three tiers of coronavirus risk in a bid to slow their resurgent outbreak.
- Analysis by one of the world’s largest insurance companies has found one-fifth of countries are at risk of their ecosystems collapsing through the destruction of wildlife.
- NZ’s Government has signed an agreement to purchase 1.5 million Covid-19 vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech, while British scientists are looking into whether one of the world’s oldest vaccines could lessen Covid’s impact.
- Helen Clark has criticised the NZ Medical Association following a “very late” clarification on their cannabis referendum stance.
- Selfie hunters posing with little blue penguins in Napier could face a $100,000 fine if caught.
- And a Christchurch woman has won her battle with an electricity company after being sent an $8000 power bill .
And finally...
Winston Peters’ diplomacy skills have been put to the test after he became the latest target of political baker Laura Daniel.
The NZ First leader was the latest politician to be recreated in cake form, which included a delicately iced pinstripe suit, Grey Power buttercream hair and a SuperGold Card.
It may just be Daniel’s best baking effort yet – which is a shame seeing as Peters says he gave up eating sweet treats back in 1980.
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