From the “no frills” Budget to the “blowout” Budget, the speeches in the House on Thursday had plenty of one-liners and no shortage of over-used catchphrases. Political editor Jo Moir was there to watch it all.
Analysis: “If you've got a farm, watch out; if you've got a KiwiSaver account, watch out ... if you're doing the right thing, trying to build up a nest egg for the future, watch out because they're coming for you.”
National’s Christopher Luxon took an inch from Finance Minister Grant Robertson’s Budget on Thursday and intentionally ran a mile on what Labour might tax next after changes to the trustee tax rate.
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When the Government introduced a new 39 percent top tax rate in 2021 it resulted in high-earning New Zealanders moving nearly $6 billion of income a year into trusts to benefit from a lower tax rate.
At the time, Inland Revenue was told to monitor the situation and changes were forewarned if it was being used as a loophole.
That loophole came to an end on Thursday when Robertson announced the trustee tax rate would be moved in line with the top personal tax rate.
It handed a stick to National to beat it with after Labour said there would be no “major” new taxes in this year’s Budget.
It won’t kick in until next year, which asks the question why it wasn’t left for Labour’s election manifesto to take any oxygen out of National’s inevitable narrative.
Revenue Minister David Parker told Newsroom the Government could have done that but decided it was a fairness issue that needed addressing and was more about “housekeeping” than any big change.
The tax move opened the door wide for Luxon’s speech in response to the Budget for a direct attack on Parker.
“He’s down there in the basement somewhere, and he’s noodling away, and he’s dreaming up new ways for new taxes.”
Luxon also took a swing at the Government for not supporting New Zealanders.
“New Zealanders are extraordinary. They are determined and creative and innovative and hard-working people who want to get ahead, and we want Kiwis who get up and milk cows and go to work and get their kids to school and want the best for their family,” he told the House.
There were a lot of references to Robertson’s spending addiction, him having a problem and promising to get better, which over time sounded less and less related to spending.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins sat across from Luxon throughout the 20-minute speech, clearly enjoying the quips that came at his expense, and unable to wipe the smile from his face as Luxon pointed out the country’s education track record at the hands of the former education minister.
His jab at Hipkins about the cost-of-living crisis, and sausage rolls going up by 36 percent under his watch, drew gasps and faux shock from his colleagues.
When the clock finally ran down on 20 minutes of critique and criticism, with a whole heap of padding in between, Hipkins jumped to his feet to throw around some of his own potshots.
Straight out of the starting gates he referred to the only blowout seen so far as “the release of hot air from the Leader of the Opposition opposite”.
“It is no wonder his own colleagues have started to refer to him as 'Captain Cliché', because after three years to come up with a credible plan for what National would do for New Zealanders, we heard nothing today from the Leader of the Opposition about what a National government would stand for, about what a National government would do.”
Hipkins had a mostly pre-written speech and after a few cracks at Luxon and his colleagues he reverted to the script, which focused on what the Budget offered and why it was important to show restraint.
“This is a Budget for the times. It is a no-frills Budget that's delivering for New Zealanders. Well done, Grant Robertson. I am proud of the Budget that you have delivered.”
ACT Party leader David Seymour, known for his colourful displays in the House, was fast on the attack against Hipkins.
“I just want to give a tip to the Labour backbenchers. You could see in the Stalin-esque way they weren't sure when to stop clapping—let me clue them in: 14 October is when the show stops after that performance by your excuse for a Prime Minister.”
Uninterested in any references to Covid when it came to the gloomy economic situation the country finds itself in, Seymour declared it as over.
“Excuses are the one thing that Grant Robertson has more than anything of. He's got even more excuses than he's got deficit dollars to spend. You see, Grant Robertson blamed Covid. Well, I'm sorry, it's officially over.
“The world moved on over a year ago now. And then he blamed Vladimir Putin. And I can understand that as a political tactic because he's an extremely bad man. But the facts are that the oil price is now lower than it was before Putin started his war. So that excuse is gone,” Seymour told the House.
The speeches in reply to the Budget statement will carry on for some hours and days, yet with MPs all repeating the same one-liners as their colleagues beforehand.
By the time the House rises in August, expect many of those catchphrases to spill into the campaign period too.
