National now backs Jim Anderton's KiwiBank

Friday 4 Mar 2005

Rodney Hide - Press Releases - Economy

ACT Leader Rodney Hide today said it was clear that John Key has not only wrestled control of National's economic policy, he's imported all the Left's dopey ideas.

" There is increasingly little point of difference between the two old parties.

"National agrees with the unions' four-weeks annual leave, Helen Clark's top tax rate of 39 cents, Jim Anderton's 30-cent corporate tax rate, Cullen's super fund, and now the Alliance's KiwiBank.

"National hasn't signed up to KiwiBank because it thinks it's a good idea. It has done so solely for political expedience. National wants to cuddle up to the Labour Party and old Alliance policies."

Back in May 2003 at PricewaterhouseCoopers Annual National Tax Conference Don Brash railed against (http://www.donbrash.com/Speeches/Achieving_economic_growth.htm) Labour's opposition to privatisation and added:

`Another misstep was the Kiwibank sop to old political warrior Jim Anderton to sustain support from his latest political vehicle.'

In March 2004, he repeated his belief that the state had no role owning a bank in a Holmes interview and elaborated in the Dominion Post on 26 March 2004:

`It's hard to see that [Kiwibank] has a big impact on the degree of competition in the banking sector. It's therefore not clear why the taxpayer should be risking his or her money in such a project.'

"These weren't the views of just any old MP. These were the views of the man whose job it was as Reserve Bank Governor to regulate banking in New Zealand.

"Don Brash won't have changed his mind. But it's now clear that his caucus control National Party policy.

"A year ago the National Party was promising policy substance. The question now is whether National is going to have any policy of its own," said Mr Hide.

ENDS

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