With the National Party and ACT leading in recent polls and looking like a viable option to form a government, the parties' points of difference and contention are slowly coming under the microscope.
Christopher Luxon was hustling in Hamilton today, pitching for votes with every policy and every picture, as he addressed a large crowd at a meeting and also met with school students.
“We'll be a very constructive, stable, strong government,” Luxon said.
But National and its likely coalition partner ACT don't always see eye-to-eye.
For example, ACT wants to scrap fees free.
“It hasn't increased participation in tertiary education,” leader David Seymour said.
Luxon responded, saying that was not National’s policy position.
As for a nationwide gun registry, the National Party says it would keep the new tool, but ACT disagrees.
“It's $200 million we can't afford it needs to be gone,” Seymour said.
In fact, Seymour is promising a billion dollars-worth of cuts on day one alone of a National-ACT government, which Finance Minister Grant Robertson has labelled “economic vandalism”.
He said the proposed cuts present a big risk.
“One of the things here is the major events fund, that's the fund and the people who work there, who've brought the FIFA Women's World Cup to us, who brought the Women's Rugby World Cup to us."
Public service jobs would also shrink, including a 50% reduction at the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment.
“The ACT Party says they should be gone so we save taxpayers money and businesses bureaucracy,” Seymour said.
“There's no analysis behind it and frankly if we put out that kind of poorly thought through policy we would get slaughtered for it,” Greens Co-Leader James Shaw said.
Luxon has refused to reveal how far a government he leads would go when reigning in spending.
“Not gonna get into any of that we'll deal with that in a coalition arrangement,” Luxon said.
While the National leader talked about a coalition of chaos on the left it is clear his own partnership will have its own headaches, especially with ACT's bold policy ideas.
One of those policy’s announced today would allow a minister to override decisions by regulatory health authorities.
It’s a move the chairman of General Practice NZ said required further consideration.
“Political interference is one of those things we need to be careful about and ensure that that isn't interfering with the maintenance of healthcare standards in New Zealand,” Bryan Betty said.
Seymour though was unequivocal.
“It is political interference, it's on behalf of patients who don't have enough doctors because the restrictions are unreasonable,” Seymour said.
Another policy position to work through for a coalition on the right.
SHARE ME