Luxon rules out TOP

The Post reports:

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has ruled out working with Opportunity after the election.

Opportunity has polled within a percentage point of the 5% threshold in three different public polls in recent weeks. If the party made it into Parliament on current polling its support would be needed for either the coalition or the Opposition parties to govern.

Part of the party’s platform is a stated desire to work with both sides of politics.

Luxon was asked at his post-Cabinet press conference about whether he could “coalesce” with Opportunity after the election by the party’s former comms chief Sean Plunket, who now runs online broadcaster The Platform.

Luxon responded: “We wouldn’t want to be in business with people who want to increase taxes.”

Luxon was referring to Opportunity’s main policy – a land tax that would pay for a universal basic income.

Very pleased to see this. Voters can now be clear that a vote for TOP is a vote for a Labour/Green/TOP/Te Pati Maori Government.

TOP are proposing the biggest ever increase in tax and welfare that the NZ economy has seen. They would increase the tax take as a proportion of the NZ economy from the current 27.6% to 32.9%. And they would use it to turn every single New Zealanders into a beneficiary.

Another key policy is to have violent and sexual offenders aged under 25 dealt with by the youth court. So 24 year old gang rapists would get a family group conference rather than prison.