Election Bribes - Have some now or more later?

It seems we're heading towards a dutch auction - not an election. After six years in power, Labour announced that it will abolish interest on Student Loans for NZ residents. (Being an electoral cynic, I wonder how much of a ploy this is to just trump the National Party policy of Tax Rebates on student loans.)

National's tax cuts will deliver more to students in the long run - rather than Labours savings for ten years, National is offering savings for a lifetime. But that's not the point.

More worrying is the prospect of both parties simply try to out-trump each other. We could end up with a short-term auction that ultimately have a negative effect on New Zealand if all is implemented.

So Don and Helen - please, for all our sakes outline how NZ will be better off overall from your policies rather than starting a big lollie scramble, trying to outdo each other.