Election 2020: political leaders present their arguments to businessmen in the leaders’ speech

New Zealand’s political leaders are making their case to business people in the traditional BusinessNZ Leaders’ Address leading up to this morning’s election.

Each party leader currently in Parliament has been allocated a speaking space to present their ideas and plans to the audience.

The event format is different from previous election cycles, given the Covid-19 meeting restrictions.

Leaders are giving their addresses through Zoom from various parts of the country.

‘NOT MANY COUNTRY’

NZ First leader Winston Peters had a clear message for voters this morning: “Don’t fill the country.”

Speaking from his campaign bus, Peters boasted of his party’s track record and experience, which is why people need to vote for NZ First.

He told the businessmen not to “allow them to fill the country” with other parties, including Labor, his coalition partner.

Peters went on to say that it was a “fact that we live in extraordinary times.”

But he questioned “what the heck” is the South Island locked in, when Covid-19 is in Auckland.

What the government needs is a “steely focus” on economic recovery.

He also criticized Labor’s Matariki vacation policy.

“What does this say about the direction of our country?” he said, adding that it shouldn’t be New Zealand’s priority.

He was also critical of the Greens and what they were focusing on.

“We are entering a completely new era.”

Some of the policies you’ve heard have been “incredibly out of this world.”

He said the government has to rebuild New Zealand and “we are in the age of great government.”

He cited NZ First’s experience in government and said the planned capital gains tax was “extraordinarily silly.”

Peters said NZ First has brought “strength” to the coalition government.

NZ First, he said, has “rebuilt much of this country in just three years.”

The name verified how much money has been invested in railroads across the country.

Peters said Labor did not have the “sentimental conviction” to introduce the Provincial Growth Fund.

‘FISCAL CHILD ABUSE’

Earlier, the Law’s leader, David Seymour, said that the huge amount of debt the government is taking on to help cushion the impact of Covid-19 is nothing short of “child tax abuse.”

Future children will pay the price for the amount of debt New Zealand has been taking on, he said.

But more taxes wasn’t the answer, Seymour said, rather, “we have to look at our spending.”

He proposed to control public spending.

Much of Seymour’s speech was directed at the government’s response to Covid-19 and how some parts were not good enough.

“We need a simple goal: keep elimination [goal] without closures “.

Lockdowns, he said, are costly and damaging.

Other countries have done this: “why can’t we?”

And he also cited other countries that New Zealand should look to, in terms of its Covid-19 response.

“Why aren’t we more like Taiwan?”

Seymour said the government needs to open borders to countries that have the virus under control.

“We need to constantly seek to be better each week, not spin around and victory dances.”

Meanwhile, he said the private sector must be more involved in Covid’s response.

“The government needs to be a referee, not a player.”

Acting would facilitate this, he said.

Greens co-leader James Shaw said that even before Covid-19, New Zealand had an infrastructure deficit and “those chickens were coming home to sleep.”

He said that the huge amount of public spending that is being done right now should go to spending on green infrastructure.

That will mean that the private sector will have to readjust to meet the challenge.

He also noted that more money was spent in the first week of the wage subsidy than was spent on all of the Treaty agreements combined.

Shaw said that if he were Maori, he would be annoyed to know that the government can simply turn on this spending tap in a way that it previously said could not be done.

He said the Greens would like to see a digital trade center set up on Mfat to see how New Zealand can exchange the information that the private sector produces.

He added that he would like to see more electric planes and electric ferries to help cut carbon emissions.

There are New Zealand companies that are doing this right now.

“We have a niche industry that is starting to emerge here that I would like to see grow.”

Labor leader Jacinda Ardern and national leader Judith Collins will also give their speeches this morning.

Full list of speakers:
10.25 am Event Leader David Seymour
10.40 am James Shaw, Green Party co-leader
10.55am NZ First leader Winston Peters
11.10 am Deloitte and Chapman Tripp Electoral Poll Results Delivered by Deloitte CEO Thomas Pippos
11.25 am National Leader Judith Collins
11:45 am Labor leader Jacinda Ardern