NZ First leader Winston Peters thinks National's trying to "bribe" voters with tax cuts, and he's taken crack at Labour over its plans to end the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF).
"With the greatest respect to them, it's never going to be implemented," Peters said on Friday of National's plan to lift the current tax thresholds for 16 months, leaving Kiwis with a bit more money in their pockets.
"They're not going to be elected on a policy like that. If they had smart policy to grow exports, manufacturing and incentivise growth, it would work. That sort of policy of hedonism at a time of economic crisis simply isn't going to work," said Peters.
"I don't believe the majority of New Zealanders contemplating the crisis we're in, think that they having less tax to pay is the solution. I don't expect to do that, I don't think New Zealanders expect to do that."
Peters said he believes National is trying to buy votes.
"Yeah I do. I think it's crude and extreme. It's not a recipe for salvation of this economy," he said. "Bribes only work if people take the bribes but they're not going to take the bribes because they're not going to vote for them."
Peters said that's not to say that Kiwis don't want extra money in their pockets.
"Well of course they do. But if you were to have a referendum amongst New Zealanders today from all sectors of society, they would not think that consumption and indulgence is the way out of this lot," he said.
"There's only one solution here and it starts with 'W' and ends with 'K' - work. Work smarter, work better, work more productively. That's what we've got to focus on."
Peters also took a shot at Labour's plan to replace the PGF with its own $200m Regional Strategic Partnership Fund to support the regions in partnership with regional economic development agencies.
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern said the Coalition Government allocated over $3 billion through the PGF to boost growth in our regions, but any PGF funding that has been allocated to sectors but is not yet tagged to a specific project will be reviewed.
"The PGF has delivered significant support into our regions, but the fund was only ever resourced for three years. We now want to take the lessons from this support and work to develop a new approach to regional development."
Peters said Labour is abandoning the regions.
"Labour's announcing of a $200 million Regional Strategic Partnership Fund to replace the $3 billion PGF is not a 'focused evolution' of the fund but a straight cop-out," he said.
"It's a gross mutation of what has been a flagship success during New Zealand First's term in Government."
The NZ First leader said it's "not difficult to discern" where Labour's money will go: "Digging up Dominion Rd for Labour's unfulfilled Auckland light rail dream, one of their signature mega-failures, alongside KiwiBuild."
National plans to axe KiwiBuild to pay for its tax cuts, along with suspending Super Fund payments and abolishing the fees-free university policy.
Peters said Labour was "happy to cut the PGF ribbons, accept the applause, and now they'd rather cut their ties" with provincial voters.
Ardern said Labour's "more targeted $200 million fund" will support the regions to put their "tailored" plans in place.
"Over the course of the next term we will work with regions on the further development and funding of these plans, particularly in light of the COVID-19 recovery and rebuild.
"A new Labour Government will continue to deliver a strong pipeline of capital investment with $42 billion of projects that will drive our economic recovery already funded and to be rolled out over the coming years."
