“The cost of the recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle is going to be enormous, the only way New Zealand can afford it without heaping more pressure onto households is if the Government reprioritises to reign in its spending,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Both Labour and National believe the recovery can be paid for through extra borrowing. ACT recognises that will only fuel inflation. The money for recovery should come from existing government baselines, reprioritised. No borrowing should happen until every line has been examined.

“One of the reasons why New Zealand has a cost of living crisis is deficit spending. Labour has spent more than it has taken in. Since the onset of COVID-19, core Crown net debt has increased by $97 billion.

“Grant Robertson’s wasteful spending was irresponsible before the country had to pay for a major rebuild, continuing to be so stubborn when the country has a recovery to pay for would just be showing disdain for Kiwis.

“ACT’s fully-costed alternative budget identified $16.3 billion in savings across this year and next - comfortably covering Treasury’s initial estimate of $13 billion worth of cyclone damage.

“These savings do not include the scrapping of Auckland Light Rail ($14.6-29 billion) or Let’s Get Wellington Moving ($6.4 billion). Labour has created a target-rich environment for financial reprioritisation, but refuses to face the music and scrap its eye-wateringly expensive policies which no-one asked for. Only ACT will respect Kiwis' wishes and ensure their taxpayer money gets where it's most needed.

“Any cyclone recovery programme must be focussed on solving a particular recovery problem, have a rigorous cost-benefit analysis, have regular independent review, and be strictly time-limited. The country can’t afford “temporary” programmes that exist indefinitely and don’t serve a purpose, like the $1.2 billion Jobs for Nature programme created during COVID-19.

“The Government has to focus immediately on what matters and urgently reprioritise its activities so it can fund the big rebuild without fuelling the cost-of-living crisis.”

ACT's policy document for the Cyclone Gabrielle rebuild can be found here.

© Scoop Media