Monday, September 22, 2008

Maori Party policy - dreamland

According to the NZ Herald today;

The Maori Party, meanwhile, reiterated its hopes of removing gst on food and scrapping tax on income under $25,000. Speaking on TV One's Agenda programme yesterday, Maori Party MP Hone Harawira dismissed suggestions that those two policies alone would cost $5 billion and said they could be funded by the tax on cigarettes.

I have blogged before about the flight of fantasy that masquerades as Maori Party policy.

The tax on cigarettes, last time I checked, is around $1 billion. A black market already exists. Massively hike up current taxation on cigarettes and tobacco and all that will happen is less tax will be collected. And the gangs will get another gift.

Perhaps Hone could arrange for that to be their Waitangi Tribunal settlement.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

More important thing: On RadioSocialism's PANEL,

the Maori Party said they would support the largest party in the house on confidence & supply.

That's Helen's last lifeline chopped away.

Anonymous said...

Hone assumes every Maori is poor. He isn't interested in those who have succeeded; none of his policies acknowledge them. What an insult Maori! Actually alot of the successful Maori have realised this anyway and gone to Australia.

I think it's rubbish, he should wake up and realise that Maori have been achieving with recent changes in policy. Many Maori are earning just as much as their European counterparts if not more and his policies for further funding of the poor will only remove the reward that exists for those who do succeed.

I don't have the answers for South Auckland, Northland or Gisborne but it's not more funding for the poor as far as I'm concerned the money that goes to some of those parents in South Auckland should be taken off them and given to the schools to provide food for their children!

Angry! Yes I'm angry at a party and government that doesn't realise that others opportunites are being diminished by the perpetuate cry of poor from the Maori.

Gloria