Government announces $209m in corporate welfare

ACT Leader David Seymour is appalled at the $209 million in corporate welfare doled out via the Endeavour Fund, announced today.

“This is Steven Joyce doling out eight flag referendums’ worth of corporate welfare to research programmes that should be funded by industry groups and private investors,” says Mr Seymour.

“$14 million alone has gone to a study on the storage life of fruit. Even if this is a worthwhile study, surely it’s not the taxpayer’s job to fund research on behalf of private growers?

“Steven Joyce seems to think MBIE has a crystal ball showing where to best invest taxpayer money. But the Government, unlike private investors, has no skin in the game and thus no incentive to spend sensibly.

“Aside from an excuse to use the word ‘innovation’ another 56 times, this spending gives Steven Joyce political favour with the selected industries who benefit from these grants. But wouldn’t all businesses be better off if we didn’t tax them so much in the first place? That way they could decide for themselves how to invest the $200 million.”

ENDS

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