“With 78 per cent of those surveyed in the NZ Herald’s Mood of the Boardroom saying the next Government needs to implement major cuts to government spending, it is clearer than ever that ACT and its well thought out plan to cut $25.5 billion of wasteful spending is needed,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Business leaders told the Herald that the wasteful spending needs to end to fix the economy. ACT lays out how to do this in our alternative budget. Some of the quotes from business leaders were:

• “the incoming government needs to take a critical look at the 40 per cent spending increase in recent years and ask what is being delivered for it”
• “reduce the bureaucracy and as a consequence the cost of government across the nation”
• “while the debt level is not alarming by international levels, the situation will continue to worsen as we continue to live beyond our means”
• “they (Government Departments) are over-resourced with staff busy getting in the way of getting things done at the coal face and with limited experience in policy and strategy”

“By cutting corporate and middle-class welfare and reducing the size of the public service ACT shows how to cut $25.5 billion in spending over four years. This means we can afford to make essential investments like boosting GP capitation grants, paying good teachers more, increasing prison capacity, increasing defence spending, and sharing GST with councils to build infrastructure.

“ACT’s Alternative Budget is the most realistic and responsible economic plan being proposed. It’s not about who gets what and how much, it’s about setting New Zealand back on a path to prosperity, with a strong economy that will serve generations to come.

Other key facts:

• ACT’s policy to establish public private partnerships for road infrastructure construction is the highest rated policy
• 82% see ACT as a strong coalition partner
• ACT’s education policies all ranked among the top policies of all parties

“There’s a mood for real change out there. The Government can’t carry on with the same tax, borrow and spend attitude or New Zealand won’t be the place we want it to be for current and future generations. ACT is willing to tell the truth about the state of our economy and our country. ACT has the courage to make the tough decisions required for real change. New Zealanders face a choice: more of the same, or real change. The choice is ours.”

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