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Judith Collins: 'I'm not going to waste any time' on Peters

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Mon, 20 Jul 2020, 9:11AM
Judith Collins has ruled out working with NZ First. (Photo / NZ Herald)
Judith Collins has ruled out working with NZ First. (Photo / NZ Herald)

Judith Collins: 'I'm not going to waste any time' on Peters

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Mon, 20 Jul 2020, 9:11AM

National Party leader Judith Collins has ruled out working with NZ First leader Winston Peters.

When asked this morning by Mike Hosking if she could work with Peters in charge of the immigration portfolio, she said it wouldn't be a problem as he wouldn't be around.

"I'm not going to waste any time on him. He said shifting the port north to Marsden Point was going to be a bottom line too and look [at that]".

Collins said caucus has made it clear it did not want to do business with him.

"It's just not going to happen."

When asked about increasing taxes as the debt levels at the moment were "monumental", Collins said it wouldn't be happening under her watch.

"The best way to get taxes up is to get more people working. I'm not going to be announcing any taxes. That's the politics of envy ... not destroying everybody's wealth and what they've saved for," she told Hosking.

"Why would you work as hard as you do if you don't get some reward for it."

When asked about the state of the economy and debt levels and that people will vote Labour because the money wouldn't be paid back anyway, Collins said Labour wouldn't be winning the election.

"They're not going to win, I'm absolutely determined that we will win. What we're seeing at the moment is that a lot of people have lost their jobs and are not turning up in statistics because the other partner in their couple is working so they can't get the job seeker allowance, or dole. We're about 200,000 out of work at the moment and I think it's just going to get a lot worse.

"Just today, The Warehouse is today having another meeting, it's not going to end well, you just know it's not going to end well.

"I think everybody is going to understand very quickly the economy is jobs, it's actually the ability to pay our way. I don't think New Zealanders are stupid ... I don't think they will care about what's happening in the rest of the world when they don't have jobs."

When asked whether Kiwis might not look to blame anyone for the current situation and put it down to Covid-19, Collins said it wasn't about blame.

"No one's blaming anyone, we know that this is a very difficult time ... but you actually have to have a plan to get out. You can't sit there wallowing in the economic depression saying 'oh it's not our fault', well too bad you can do things to get out of it and that's why we've started unveiling some plans around infrastructure but also there's a lot more coming."

Collins said the wage subsidy, while a way out for some people, couldn't continue forever.

"The wage subsidy, which I think was the right thing for the Government to do at that time, is obviously welfare but we're now coming to the end of the second tranche of that ... well what then?"

She said the Government's shovel-ready projects weren't anything new and ones which National had got consented in 2017.

"There's nothing new. So all the hype about how they're going to do these things, about shovel-ready projects it's all turned out, to be frank, fairy dust."

 

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