“ACT can reveal that Te Whatu Ora turned up to negotiations with the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists unable to make a pay offer because they had not been told how much they could afford to pay,” said ACT Deputy Leader and Health Spokesperson Brooke van Velden.

“It’s disrespectful and sends terrible message to some of our most valuable public servants, that either the Government doesn’t care or is a total shambles Or, worse, they’ve wasted so much money on frivolous nonsense that they can’t afford to pay doctors properly and are afraid to admit it.

“This latest news is another sign of a weak, visionless Labour Government lurching from one crisis to the next, without a plan or a clear set of principles to guide them.

“Their failure to settle the teachers’ pay agreement which has resulted in a seemingly endless series of strikes, undermining the education of the latest generation of school leavers, already disadvantaged because of Covid.

“The cost-of-living crisis, fuelled by this Government’s spending addiction and their woeful approach to immigration. First, they created a worker shortage and wage inflation by shutting the gates; now they’ve created an unprecedented flood of migrants, adding more inflationary pressure. Mark my words, inflation – and interest rates – are going up.

Then there’s crime, which just keeps on getting worse, but they’re trapped like a rabbit in the headlights without a plan. ACT has a plan, to ensure criminals face consequences and keep law-abiding businesses Kiwis safe.

This Government’s only plan is to force Co-Governance on us, without consultation, but that will only create a divided, unhappy nation. ACT will put a stop to this division with policies which address issues like crime, housing, health, and poverty on the basis of need, not race.

New Zealand needs a new Government. One that is aspirational for the future of New Zealand, one with a plan for Real Change, one that puts New Zealanders first.

ACT will be the party that brings that change.

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