National leader Bill English says a year's free post-school study is "dumb." Photo / Mark Mitchell
National leader Bill English says the Government's first 100 days included setting up 10 inquiries or working groups and was a sign of a weak and confused Government.
"That is the hallmark of a Government that has no idea what to actually do across a range of policy areas," English
said.
The inquiries include the Royal Commission into historical abuse in state care, an inquiry into mental health services, a film industry working group to replace the Hobbit law, a pay equity working group, a tax working group, and an advisory group to review NCEA.
English also listed for criticism the planned Climate Commission, a stocktake of housing and the inquiry into the fuel pipeline outage just before the election. Today is the 100th full day in office of the Labour-New Zealand First Coalition Government, which is supported by the Green Party on confidence and supply. It has put in place 17 priority policies including setting 10-year targets for the reduction of child poverty.
English said the target of a 100,000 reduction against one measure (children in low-income households before housing costs) was less ambitious than National, which had made the same promise over three years, not 10. He also said the "dumb" decision to fund the first year of post-school study was very expensive ($2.5 billion over five years), an inefficient way of increasing participation, and meant money could not be spent in more deserving areas.
