It would be preferable that the debate was centered around the facts, but alas honesty is not something we can expect from the National Party. One of the main proponents of their propaganda machine is the Nation program. Last weekend, the Nation ran a piece on Labours CGT that was completely unbalanced and inaccurate. Narelle Suisted started her piece by saying that a CGT is a poisoned chalice. FFS!
This is similar to John Key’s reaction when he said it would be a “dagger through the heart” of western capitalism. Shock horror! Rich people will need to pay their fair share of tax in New Zealand, it’s not going to kill anybody. It’s not a poisoned chalice or a dagger through the heart, with such arguments being ridiculous and childish.
Suisted follows up with a supposed quote from David Lange:
“It’s the sort of thing that you would put in place if you were sure you were going to lose the next election and be in opposition for the next 20 years.”For the life of me I cannot find a reference for this quote. Perhaps it is further disinformation designed to create an emotive response. It's a bit like playing the same Phil Goff quote twice, giving far more time to an opposing argument and referencing Phil Goff when he said "we haven't considered that as part of our policy," when he could have been talking about anything.
Suisted then referenced a spokeswoman for Michael Cullen who apparently said "basically it’s political suicide in New Zealand," again without any reference. However this time I found where Suisted gained her information. National MP Amy Adams referenced the apparent quote in her speech to Parliament on July the 6th 2011, however there is no record of the quote itself.
Are we simply to believe Amy Adam's recollection of what was said in 2002 and should a political program base its research on what a National MP says, without any supporting evidence? Amy says it was Michael Cullen who made the quote while Suisted says it was Cullen's spokeswoman. Perhaps it is best to not believe either of them.
Furthermore, Labour will spend only 10% on economic development from a CGT, making Bill English's bullshit about "tax and spend" complete rubbish! It’s fear mongering at its very worst, and is not honest or balanced reporting or debating by any stretch of the imagination.
