"Labour loves tax like a shark loves blood,"* says National Party deputy leader Nicola Willis. This week was all about taxes - one of the three surest things in life - the other two of course being death - and political rhetoric. This week, the team discuss how big of an issue tax will be this election.
Read on and listen below.
This week, Labour leader Chris Hipkins ruled out capital gains and wealth taxes under his leadership - "end of story".
In a statement released yesterday, he said with many households struggling, now was "simply not the time for a big shake-up of our tax system".
“I’m confirming today that under a government I lead there will be no wealth or capital gains tax after the election. End of story," he said.
But documents released by the Treasury revealed the Government did take a good long look at them.
Hipkins acknowledged it had but said he'd made a captain's call to nix any major tax switch in that vein from Budget 2023. Hipkins has previously expressed a support for a capital gains tax.
On her Instagram story, Nicola Willis said Labour loved tax "like a shark loves blood" - strong words. National leader Christopher Luxon said the announcement was a "pretty desperate move".
Green Party leader James Shaw said if political leaders were not willing to make decisions to lead, "then why be in politics at all?"
ACT leader David Seymour said a Labour coalition with the Greens and te Pāti Māori would force new taxes.
Meanwhile, tensions in Parliament are also rising, as the election campaign kicks into gear in earnest.
1News political editor Jessica Mutch McKay discussed the anxiety buzzing in the House of Representatives in an analysis on the 1News website.
In it, she said she'd covered politics since 2006 and this election felt different - "a bit hostile, a bit grouchy and a bit messy".
Maybe political sharks are circling - all of them knowing there are only so many fish in the sea to catch between now and October 14.
* According to the Australian Museum, while sharks do have an acute olfactory sense, it is largely exaggerated in literature, and sharks are not particularly blood-thirsty. Its website says most shark attacks are due to poor water visibility or curiosity, rather than "predatory intentions".
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