Responding to the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update, ACT Leader David Seymour says:

"We won’t sugarcoat it, the Government books are grim. The real accounts were worse under Labour than were published at the time. Only now are we seeing the full picture with revised figures.

"Successive Governments threw money at every problem, taking easy choices instead of making tough decisions. ACT has been ringing the alarm bells about wasteful spending for years. Now the results are clear, it's time for real discipline to clean up the mess.

"The figures are bad, but at least we've got a Government that gets it. We must continue to cut waste, keep to tight operating allowances, and climb out of the hole. The Government’s commitment to a $2.4 billion spending allowance is far less than the effects of inflation and population growth on its operating spend.

“The tight spending allowances mean the Government must make real per capita spending reductions every year. It must become more efficient every year to keep up with demand for its services, just as every business must do.

"Honest, consistent, disciplined management by Government can give households the confidence to spend, businesses the confidence to invest and hire, and workers the capability and incentives to be excellent in their work.

"Besides cutting wasteful spending, the Government is also cutting red tape to make it easier for Kiwis to generate wealth. That’s because the only path back to prosperity is to liberate Kiwis’ creativity.

“In labour law, the Government has a comprehensive reform program. Brooke van Velden is making it easier for one Kiwi to offer another a job and get the work done. She’s simplifying contracting, the Holidays Act, and personal grievances so workplaces can focus on producing wealth instead of arguments.

"Nicole McKee is simplifying Anti-Money Laundering laws that make it so hard for New Zealanders to make ordinary transactions. One of the greatest areas of complaint about the ease of doing business is being fixed so people can get back to productivity.

"Andrew Hoggard making it easier for farmers feed Kiwis, and the world, by chopping back pesky SNAs, farm plans, and costly climate laws. It is insane that the most efficient farmers in the world lose business to competitors who pollute more thanks to environmental regulation, and that Government is fixing it.

"Simon Court is working to replace the Resource Management Act so it's easier to get things built and produce real wealth.

"We're busting red tape in every part of the economy with the Ministry for Regulation, from Early Childhood Education to hairdressers to agricultural product approvals to bakeries, so people can spend more time being productive and less time being compliant with rules that don’t make sense.

"We're empowering future generations with the confidence to prosper, with new charter schools that offer real choice in education, and Karen Chhour is working to ensure that every child can grow up and contribute to New Zealand's prosperity.

"We’re getting government out of the way so people can make a difference in their own lives. That's how we return to real growth and real prosperity, and that's how we get the revenue to fund the world-class infrastructure, health services, and education that Kiwis deserve."

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