Table of Contents
Remember when last week the media and the politicians joked about how Nicola Willis was talking about Grant Robertson’s big hole? Well, it turns out he does in fact have a big hole that needs filling. Labour’s crazy GST-off-fruit-and-veges had a quarter of a billion dollar hole in the calculations.
National’s Nicola Willis says Labour made a mistake in the costings of its GST policy, which meant the cost of the policy was $235 million more than Labour had claimed – an error Labour acknowledged was in its early material but was quickly rectified before the public release.
Labour said the error was only included in the first version of the policy document, which was sent to media before the announcement. It was not in the material released publicly on Labour’s website after.
The error was fixed on Sunday before that announcement, but media were not advised so the figures used in many news stories remained inaccurate.
The initial material said the four-year cost of it would be $1.985 billion and costed from the 2024/25 financial year – it is actually about $2.2 billion with $115 million of it being tied to the 2023/24 financial year.
Labour finance spokesperson Grant Robertson used the $2.2b figure and the correct years of spending during a press conference yesterday after the policy announcement.
“The correct cost of the GST policy has always been accounted for in our fiscals and was discussed in the media conference yesterday,” a spokesperson said.
“References to ‘holes’ or ‘uncosted’ by the Opposition are false.”
Willis said it was a “schoolboy error equating to quarter-of-a-billion-dollar hole”.
Claims of mistakes in the books are a common theme in election years as parties try to cast doubt on their opponents’ credibility.
Grant, pal, explaining is losing. You cocked up. But you know what: I reckon Nicola Willis started a rumour about GST off fruit and veges so they would rush it and screw it up. Which they have.
My cynical side is tempting me to wonder if these very basic ‘errors’ aren’t deliberate, designed to further undermine the policy, which can all be given as a reason, later on, to break their promise and not introduce it or campaign on it again.
It’s a dopey policy from a dopey bunch of economic vandals.
Mind you Grant Robertson learned all his book-keeping skills sitting on the knee of his fraudster father.
Help Fund Our NewsDesk
We are building a NewsDesk, hiring journalists and taking the fight to the mainstream media. Will you help fund our NewsDesk?
- For security reasons, credit card donations require Javascript. Please enable Javascript in your browser before continuing.
Your Donation
Your Recurring Donation
Donation Period *
Your One-Time Donation
Details First Name * Last Name * Email * Address Address 2 City State Postcode Country Afghanistan Åland Islands Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belau Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo (Brazzaville) Congo (Kinshasa) Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba CuraÇao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Republic of Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea North Macedonia Norway Oman Pakistan Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin (French part) Saint Martin (Dutch part) Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines San Marino São Tomé and Príncipe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia/Sandwich Islands South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom (UK) United States (US) Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican Venezuela Vietnam Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Western Samoa Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Phone Number Payment Name on Card * .StripeElement { border: 1px solid #ccc; padding: 1em; } #charitable_stripe_card_errors { color: #eb1c26; font-size: .8em; margin: .5em 0 0 0; } Credit/Debit Card Donate
Please share this article so others can discover The BFD.
