Beginning to slip out.
- Playcentres not to get the funding promised in Nats election policy for at least another year.
- Modern apprenticeships abolished.
- Polytechnic funding for trades courses slashed.
- Sparc budget slashed.
Happy to add to list.
Beginning to slip out.
Happy to add to list.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 at 2:51 pm and is filed under Budget, education, national. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Shameful from the Nats.
And how else do you lefties expect the Nats to deal with the massive deficit that they have inherited? – Personally I would love to see WFF slashed, and selected assets sold. After nine years of reckless spending and vote buying by Labour it is now up to National / Act / UF / MP to shake up the financials – stop the reckless spending and try and put the country back into the Black.
I think we (middle NZ) are very comfortable that we have Bill English and John Key – in charge rather than some history lecturer whose spend and hope policies have just about brought NZ to it’s financial knees.
Look forward to seeing your tax cuts put towards some of the worthy causes listed above. Thanks Monty, appreciate it.
So, so sad to see the Modern Apprenticeships go. I know of so many people who benefitted from this fab scheme. Oh well, at least in my safe, middle class, gentrified community we can all get $1,500 to insulate our homes even more than they already are. Shameful vote buying behaviour from National.
Monty in Middle NZ – the rest of us are over here on the pretty blue and green one…………………
Consistent budget surplus right through the Labour Government’s three terms – consistently rubbished by National, Cullen consistently slammed by the right, for posting a surplus instead of cutting taxes. NZ’s economy was the healthiest it had been in 15 years, third in the world. It was broken in 1999, it wasn’t in 2008 – the ‘history lecturer’ fixed it.
But as long as you’re comfortable with a mindless pair of me-monsters Monty, that’s alright then – you go well! BTW which bit of the middle are you in Monty? Would that be the bit that qualified for a tax cut – or the bit that’s paying for it. Good Luck with that over the next three years. Hope the budget works out for you.
Monty, unbelievable!
How do you remove the sand from your ears & nostrils?
So the Nats are at it again. They were the last to abolish apprenticeships and left the community without the necessary tradespeople to build infrastructure. I saw so many good young people working through apprenticeships in a variety of trades under this scheme…girls included, as mechanics. it always is Labour that has to rebuild after the Nats destroy community assets.
I have a question (having trawled through beehive pre-budget announcements, scoop etc and only finding this: http://www.3news.co.nz/News/Budget-to-include-home-insulation-package/tabid/209/articleID/105930/cat/87/Default.aspx).
What is the definition of “homeowner”? Will this apply to landlords or will they be excluded? If that’s the case then the policy will be missing those who really need it!!!!!
Would be good to see some Labour comment on it, in particular, with comparisons to Labour’s own policy.
Re Playcentre funding – I’d be angry at this fob off if I was a Playcentre parent. Their association campaigned for parents to vote National on this promise. I bet the media won’t mention it though.
(Hello Marian -it’s not a happy time to be in NZ at the moment).
Ugh…
I’m not expecting any plesant surprises in this budget. Suppose I’d better brace myself for another year of fee increases and huge tutorials that defeat the purpose of having them in the first place.
The Nacts cutting the paltry 300k for Rape Crisis was shameful.There’s Key harping on about bringing back talent from overseas then he is cutting modern apprenticeships.
How long before the student loan zero interest goes? Next budget maybe?
Monty – I’m interested in your claim that “And how else do you lefties expect the Nats to deal with the massive deficit that they have inherited?”. Is there some evidence of this, other than allegations by National MPs? NZ has one of the lowest levels of net govt debt in the OECD. This is one of the greatest achievements of the last Labour govt. Probably one of the benefits of having a economic history lecturer as finance minister – he looked at the long term. Would have been easier to give tax cuts than focus on the long term by rapidly paying down debt and building up savings.
Trevor – if you’re wrong about any of the above will you eat this blog post in Colin Espiner fashion?
Hell no.
“So the Nats are at it again. They were the last to abolish apprenticeships”
Marion – I could conclude from you statement that Labour must have been the first to abolish apprenticeships?
I suppose budgets like these are necessary following you lot spending like drunken sailors when you were there.
chez -”It was broken in 1999, it wasn’t in 2008 – the ‘history lecturer’ fixed it” and what do we have to show for it?? – kiwirail?? LMFAO
@Jon, and education that works, health that people can actually access, SUPERANNUATION! Sorry Jon, I know it’s difficult thinking long term but try your best!
Think about upskilling young people that want to work in their own country – that can find jobs in their own country – or that want to go elsewhere, gain experience and have something to come back to. People were coming back in the wake of an economic crisis elsewhere – changed their minds in November 08. There’s a new crop of our very best engineers, heavy op drivers and electricians hiking off to Aussie as we speak – they’re building again.
Remember when Prebble had his thought (?) and sold the rail services? Then your lot – campaigned on the dangers of the thought (because it was what people wanted to hear in a campaign), flew in and sold everything else?? See, the long-term difficulty with that thinking was that the whole exercise was purely economic and eventually, when you drive a thing down for years and years and you don’t maintain it or put a little bit by to protect it and keep it running – it loses value, when you suck the instant dollar out and don’t put anything back – you compound it by making sure that the very people who will keep it going can’t get the training, the employment, so they go elsewhere, leaving the old and infirm behind, who can’t work, need health care they can’t access and they don’t want to come back because the standard of living is just shite .. – it breaks Jon, & someone has to fix it.
Ah well 2011 eh? Now, pick your arse up off the floor, you’ll need it – on yer bike!