Media Release

29 August 2014

ACT Leader Dr Jamie Whyte

Spot the difference - the leaders debate- Dr Jamie Whyte

I watched the Leaders' debate last night and was struck by the fact that John Key accepted all of David Cunliffe's basic assumptions. For example, he did not say that the government should not tell farmers who they could sell their land to; he said that it was National who had established the rules about being allowed to sell to foreigners only if it created jobs.

Neither man ever argued on principles (even economic ones) but just quibbled about facts and figures, about what the government had and had not achieved. Both men think taxpayers' money should be spent on housing. Even on capital gains taxes, John Key's answer was the government already has a capital gains tax. Both claimed that a government they lead can increase spending and balance the books. It seems ACT is now the only party that believes in free enterprise capitalism.

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