Lights dim on Labour in 'do nothing' budget

National Party Leader Bill English says Michael Cullen's 4th Budget charts a course that leads New Zealand down the road to nowhere.

"Where are the initiatives that would promote economic growth?" asks Mr English.

"The New Zealand business community is being strangled by an increasing amount of red tape, this budget claims a victory for them - but delivers nothing of substance.

"Where is the promised relief for our tertiary students?

"Instead the Government's paved the way for huge fee increases.

"Rather than targeting our long term growth, this Government is putting its surplus in a war-chest so it can buy votes ahead of the next election.

"Michael Cullen won't hand any of it back by way of tax breaks, he doesn't trust New Zealanders to make their own spending decisions.

"This is not a 'rainy day' budget, it's a budget that will allow Labour to reward its loyal servants in the future.

"How can Labour justify a policy that could lead to big student fee increases, when it's stashing increasingly vast amounts of money into an account that will be plundered ahead of the next election?

"The Government's doing nothing to remove the impediments to economic growth, while the number of people on welfare is forecast to grow year upon year.

"We'll all be paying for the electricity crisis too, by way of a Helen Clark energy levy, but the Government's found millions more to spend on the Treaty industry, including $6.5 million on an information campaign," Mr English says.

"This is the Budget of an increasingly dishonest Government, one that doesn't know what 'smarter growth' is let alone how to make sure it happens.

"What's worse is they're already conceding defeat and all New Zealanders will pay the price for that," Mr English says.

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