New Zealand Election Campaigns Bank On Economic Gains
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has left interest rates the same at 3.5 percent with no plans of increasing the rates for the rest of the year. With the central bank not taking any risks, Prime Minister John Key may be heading to an election where people are not worried of seeing drastic changes to their mortgage payments or loans.
According to the Wall Street Journal, latest polls show Mr Key's National Party gaining 46 percent of public support. The likely coalition between the Labour party and the Greens received 39 percent of voter approval. Despite the controversy surrounding the alleged "dirty politics" of the National party, Mr Key remains the favoured candidate in the upcoming election.
The Key government has relied on New Zealand's strong economic growth since 2006 for its election campaign. Finance Minister Bill English said New Zealand is heading in the "right direction" because of its positive economic performance. He added the same thing would happen if National will win in the Sept. 20 election.
English revealed the government is trying to reduce the country's net debt to less than 20 percent of its gross domestic product by 2020 aside from balancing the budget. The current national debt against the GDP is 26 percent.
Meanwhile, the Labour party has decided to anticipate the dangers of tight monetary policies, the end of rebuilding in Christchurch and commodity price weakness. David Parker, Labour's finance spokesperson, said although New Zealand is "not in a terrible state," there were challenges ahead to consider.
Labour campaigns for higher taxes for the wealthy and a new capital gains tax on investment properties, reports said. The party hopes the new tax will help address the housing market crisis. The expensive housing has stopped young New Zealanders from buying new homes.
In contrast, National proposes tax cuts in 2017 which is part of a six-year process to increase housing supply to keep homes more affordable. The housing market has sparked a debate over allowing immigrants to buy more property in the country.
The prime minister is seeking a third term in office. As the political parties prepare for New Zealand's election on Sept. 20, Kiwis are expected to keep the policies of each party in mind when they cast their votes.