NZ Centre for Political Research

This week's poll asks:

Do you believe government spending needs to be cut further, kept the same, or increased?

*Cut further but they won't. They'll further tax low-hanging fruit like tobacco again,?alcohol & baches but no fundamental reform
All Treaty of Wai.claims & Maori language entitlements need to be suspended until the rebuild of ChCh is completed. Monica

*'Cut further' is the obvious answer but there is no hope of this happening under MMP or the weak kneed Govts we can expect until the economy collapses under a mountain of debt. Irvine

*Rescind Laws that promote more & more Govt & Local Body Interference & associated cost. Paul

*If it is good for the Goose then the Ganders need to do the same. There is far too much waste with our Parliamentarians New Cars, first class Overseas Travel, no control over the increases to Rates, Fuel Insurances etc unnecessary luxuries too easy to get increaes to their wages rather than tightening their belts and showing they care with what is happening to NZ.
At present there is No-one in Govt that has the gumtion to say enough is enough they pander to the minority. MARYLIN

*Got reduce labours 10 years of a new floor a day policy. Wayne

*First there must be a debate on the definition of CORE SERVICES. Over the past century the concept of what is a core service has shifted considerably. One key criterion must be ... can this service be supplied by non-government actors within the context of the overall economy. By trimming the range os services provided by central government we force the population to allow the market to work its magic and achieve market balance between the cost and supply of services. The safety net is there for those who for no fault of their own fall through the cracks and for the innocent bystanders (children) subject to the poor choices of their parents. Save the children and sanction foolish adults until they learn the lessons of cause and effect. Peter

*Needs to be cut further. Number of MP's needs to be reduced. Less Govt meddling in things that don't concern them. There needs to be less expenditure in local govt also. Neil

*Absolutely. 120 Politicians cannot decide what the whole population wants. This is not a democracy never has been we have Dictatorship with freedom of speech and that will change in the not too distant future.
We must take stronger action against the state. Resitance to them is essential. If we have to march or have a general strike then so be it - whatever it takes to turn these governments around. A little hardship now for maximum gain later should sit well with us all.
Jerry

*Get rid of some of the departments that have passed their used by dates Eg OSH. Clark

*Rates need to be cut by 40%. Roy

This week's poll asks:

Do you believe government spending needs to be cut further, kept the same, or increased?

*Welfare is still way beyond what might be considered as reasonable. Further cuts to stop beneficiaries living a comfortable life style at the tax payers - ie WORKERS - expense must be brought under control. The individual empires in the Govt departme nts must also be scrutinised much more closely. Maurice

*It is no use to the country having politicians like Mr Key smiling to make himself LOOK good, and maybe improve his short-term popularity. We need ACTIONS that will be good for the country. Rob

*If you want a good stuffup you get the government or the council involved Private industry will always do things better as they have to or go bust. Colin

*We need to learn to live according to our means. Noela

*Flagrant gummint profligacy is long overdue for drastic cuts - DO IT NOW! Auntie Podes

*Govt. spending is out of control. Ian

*Start with Benefits, then special privileges for Maori. Cut all the Affairs, like Womens, Maori, Whanau Ora. Anyone wanting to have an affair etc can pay for their own. go back to the 70s before all this wastage crap began. Chris

*Too many people on welfare who shouldn't be. Josie

*Gvmt meddling gave us leaky homes Architects should be held responsible for the integrity of their constructions and required to be insured accordingly. Gvmnt. in so many fields is doing more harm than good. Why Women's Affairs? Don't they have enough of them? Max

*But they wont do it. this outfit is scared oflosing the next election, just like those before them. Sam

*NZ used to be a country full of self sufficient people who could make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. We have become a coddled bunch of pansies who expect the government to fix everything and prevent every ill in society. It is time government stepped back and made people take responsibility for their own lives again. Claire

This week's poll asks:

Do you believe government spending needs to be cut further, kept the same, or increased?

*A realtively good article. However, the one issue that is not addressed is that the consumer is not prepared to pay any more for what they receive - so, as an employee, we cannot increase wages. In fact, wages are decreasing because of Government and Council imposed costs being increased.

So the public has to get real with what they are prepared to pay.

Please address benefits because they are crippling the country.

Please address the ease with which people can elect to be bankrupted or enter a Nil Asset Procedure because there are no penalties imposed on the bankrupts - they simply get all their debts written off and start to incur more debt with, again, no repercussions. If everyting they did was monitored and regulated so that they actually paid back as much as they possibly could during the term of their bankruptcies, the whole country would benefit.

If bankrupts and beneficiares (excluding Superannuitants)lost their right to vote, this country would go ahead in leaps and bounds.

It is a crime for people who are capable of working to receive a benefit for more than two years (this includes people in receipt of the DPB). Delwyn

*Unsustainable social benefits spending such as student loans, whanau Ora,working for families etc should be axed. John

*SO TAXES CAN BE LOWERED.
GST ON NECESSARY
ITEMS FOR LIVING
REDUCED TO SAY 7.5 % NICK

*I do not wish to pay tax to meet the responsibilities of others or to subsidise their life or business. Govt can keep on trimming apart from Border Control and Police. Pete

*It is an unfortunate fact that it is when the worlds economies are booming that the governments should be paying off debt and trying to live within their means. To do so at the moment may be necessary but will undoubtably as in Greece result in voter backlash. As your article points out, the spendthrift governments from the good times are not the ones who receive that backlash. John

*We must live within our means. Further cuts could be made to - welfare (no DPB for second babies to solo mothers); MPs' perks after leaving office; handouts to Maori (haven't they had enough already?); get out of the silly Kyoto Protocol and any other such; any other wasteful spending. My household budget needs careful handling, so should the Government's. Sheila

*If we can't afford it, we shouldn't buy it. NZ doesn't have the tax take to 'keep up with the Jones's. (Aus, US, UK etc) David

*Government can be cut by at least 50%. First cut the number of MP's by 50%. Then remove all admin associated with welfare functionality by introducing just one benefit. That should be an emergency benefit with a maximum time limit of 6 months then if said person is still in difficulties they can reapply for a further 6 months with job training as an essential component of the emergency benefit. Banks need to suspend mortgage payments where people are in temporary difficulty. Emergency housing must be available on a short term basis and should be barracks style accommodation with soup kitchen type food supply. We also need to do something very serious about getting rid of the costs associated with the resource management act. That single piece of legislation costs our country so much money and removes so many employment opportunities that it is virtually snuffing out growth in New Zealand. There's a few ideas for immediate action. Dianna

*Cut Government spending further and allow private enteprise to operate more freely. Peter

*Keep the same but have more strigent application criteria and process. Bonnie

*Yes cut the Government spending by getting rid of half the staff, & the same applies to Auckland Super City & all other Councils they are the countrys big problem, they are non productive so put all that work out to private contractors if they do not preform fire them also. Also toll all Motorways in NZ & reduce Petrol Tax they will collect a lot more. Geoff

This week's poll asks:

Do you believe government spending needs to be cut further, kept the same, or increased?

*With a right wing government the answer would be to "cut further". Regretfully under the present MMP situation we have a Left Wing National Government posing under the banner of the Right.
No Government whatever the party it is formed from, will take the necessary steps to curtail Government spending. To do so would under the present electoral system be political suicide.
On top of ever increasing Government spending comes the fact that Local Councils are still failing to control their expensive non core schemes. Refer Auckland's Mayor placing his rail system before fixing the obsolete and potentially dangerous outdated Auckland drainage system.
Recently the Waikato Regional Council now wants to spend and increase their staff levels plus a new administrative building!
If Councils continue to finance projects outside historical core activities, then Super Councils totally controlled by Central Government will dominate our landscape. The result will be a further dis-enfranchising of small town New Zealand, and its rural ratepayers. Brian

*There is ample room for cuts to Gov't expenditure.
These departments could comfortably disappear -
Race relations office, Maori language commission, Pacific Island Affairs, Women's Affairs, Geographic board
Maori Affairs Maori health (based on myth) Whanau Ora, Waitangi tribunal, Maori Parliamentary seats (decades overdue) Parliament reduced to 95 reps. Cabinet reduced in half. All racist privileges be dispensed everyone treated equally. Colin

*Yes: slash welfare much further instead of just cosmetically; prune socialist/revisionist rubbish in Education; reduce 'special' spending on Maori grievance industry [that would free up a great deal of money]. But time we got rid of things like the office of Race Reations; Women's Affairs; Children's Commission and other areas of very dubious worth (apart from their PC value (not). Replace most of these with one Family Ministry. As an aside cancel many of the useless treaties with the UN e.g. the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Frank

*If it was you or I, the receivers would have been called in already. Malcolm

*Cut becuase there is much fat left from the Clark Years and all her buddies she left behind live on that income from those jobs in Wellington, as well as Auckland and Dunedin City Councils and many more councils. RAY

*The only way we can get New Zealand back onto it's feet is to force the polititions to give us low taxes, personal responsibility, personal freedom and prosperity. Ernest

*Government spending is crowding out the private sector. This will lead to further inefficient and wasteful outcomes for the tax payer dollars. Worse still the more they spend the more they will need to tax those who are earning the dollar incomes. Surely we are sick of having to meet the burden of this demand. surely we can see around the globe the folly of the excesses of Government expenditure increases. Eventually we will pay the price for this wastage just as Greece, Itally, Ireland and other European nations are finding. Lets not fall into the trap of increased Govt expenditure for it is a cancer on society. Greg

*High taxes are more of a drag on our economy than most people realise. Further comment can be found on www.growNZeconomy.co.nz Brian

*Spend what you have. Operate like most households have to. & explain it that way. I agree there is NO free lunch. Neville

*They should also take a substantial cut in salaries as well as they have in France. Lyla

*The longer we allow governments and local bodies to spend excessivly the greater the pain we will sufgfer in the future, however we do not have ANY politicians who have the courage and tenacity to act. John

*Money going into the government's coffers needs to be restricted to government's core business - protecting its citizens from enemies from within and outside the country, operating courts, ensuring a free and honest market, encouraging and rewarding decent behaviour, especially supporting and encouraging the nuclear family. Get government out of trying to run and/or pick potentially successful businesses. Get government out most of its "welfare" programmes - most of which are social engineering to promote socialism and Marxism. Duncan

*How else can the debt be paid back? Mary

This week's poll asks:

Do you believe government spending needs to be cut further, kept the same, or increased?

*We are in a bind but if we don't bite the bullet now we will have real strife sorting out an even bigger mess. Tim

*Govt must stop buying votes and be responsible - it is taxpayers money they are wasting!! Peter

*This government is full of donkeys and asses. They have deliberately hindered the progress of true economics. They have delayed everything to a point where individual facets of the economy are collapsing. Just look at the multiple delays they have encourage on the Christchurh earthquake. They delayed the dropping to a safe level all the tall buildings, they employed incompetent assesors. They failed to pay contactor for any work done for over six months, which cause some firms to fail and other work put on hold, through lack of funding. Then they put in an idiot of a minister that further delayed process and to cover up for the government incompetence. And now they are paying out their mates for work to be done so that no one else can be employed. They only hire their expensive mate to do work, which will not be completed for two to three years further delaying any rebuilds or repairs. What needs to happen is for more workk to be done bringing in more in the way of taxes, rather than having to pay for extra health vote to compensate for the ill health they are generating in many area of our economy. THIS INCLUDED S THE ILL HEALTH GENERATED IN CHRISTCHURCH BY THE STRESS THEY HAVE PUT THE PEOPLE UNDERS, NOT TO MENTION THE BROKEN HOUSES PEOPLE HAVE BEEN FORCE BY THE GESTAPO INTO INADIQUATE HOUSING. RAWIRI

*I think working for families tax credits should be abolished completely and that the level for a student allowance based on both parents income needs to be lowered and should not be given to any student whose parents income is derived from being self employed. Toni

*Not cut, SLASHED!

Let's start with parliamentary benefit rates: Prime Minister's benefit slashed to $60,000 p.a. (consistent with what he does NOT add to the GDP). All other MP benefits $50,000. No more bellamies; instead dormitory accommodation with a common kitchen of the same standard as our public health system.

No more free lunches.

No more overseas travel.

No parliamentary pension: if it's good enough for the real tax-payers who contribute to GDP, it has to be more than good enough for our parliamentary beneficiaries.

No perks. End of story.

Next, the public service.

If you want to work as a public servant and you are not in either health or education, then your salary is $50,000 p.a.

No more people polishing seats in "government". If you want a job-for-life then be prepared to take the financial HIT that comes with it.

If you want to earn a decent wage, then contribute to the GDP and the tax take.

Next, no more RACIST moari handouts.

Either youse moaris get youse act together and youse learns to live with the rest of us or youse can shut up and make do with the many HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS youse have already stolen from NZ tax payers.

Next, welfare.

How is it that folk who have worked and paid tax for 50 or more years have to scrape and scrimp every day when our parliamentary beneficiaries live such lavish lifestyles?

How is it that having a baby automatically qualifies you for a $35,000 after tax take-home salary?

How about we give every pensioner $35,000 per annum for all the hard work they put in and all the tax they paid?

How about we SLASH the DPB to be at the level the pension is now?

Time for government to become 43 members paid at a rate commensurate with their contribution to the wealth of NZ.

Time for welfare to be SLASHED.

Time to get NZ back on a footing where we can once again become a world leader and a wealthy nation. Mark

This week's poll asks:

Do you believe government spending needs to be cut further, kept the same, or increased?

*Gov’t spending needs to be reduced but it is more important for New Zealand that the GLPP (green/labour/peters party) does not get in next election, a lot of Kiwi’s don’t believe what is happening in Europe could happen here and it won’t, as long as the left stay on the opposition bench’s, but, they did such a good job of building their voter base during their 9 years of handouts that care is needed. John

*It should be cut so Govt. can be limited to it's only true duties - Law & Order & Defence. Chris

*Government spending needs to be kept at or below 10% of GDP. This will give gov the incetive to grow real GDP for them to increase spending. Ian

*National should have reversed Labour's Working for Families, free student loans and the like. The country would be in a much better shape if they had done what was right instead of what was popular. Paul

*Government spending is far too high - National needs to axe most of Labour's expensive social programmes so we can return to living within our means. Ken

*All politicians want to do is to fleece us and spend our money. Most of it is wasted. Government departments are bloated and inefficient. The bureaucracy is killing private enterpise. Will we ever have a "responsible" government? Donna

*This will be a zero budget so at least it is a step in the right direction. Still disappointing, but better than nothing. Simon

*All the opposition parties want to do is spend up large. God help us if they ever get into power. Mike