The ACT Party said whether National would adopt a 28% top tax rate if in government would depend on how “brave” it was.
However, National Party leader Christopher Luxon said the party is “comfortable” with its own tax policy - indexing thresholds to inflation.
It comes as the latest 1News Verian poll showed National and ACT would have a slim majority to form a government if an election were held today.
A Labour / Green / Te Pāti Māori coalition would fall shy with 59 seats to National and ACT's combined 61.
Today, ACT Party leader David Seymour said the poll result was “encouraging”.
“It makes me very excited for New Zealand, there’s a lot of people out there who want life to be more affordable, the streets to be safe and the Treaty to be something that unites us. This poll shows that can be a reality on October 14.”
He said a coalition with National would be a “different type of partnership”.
“It would be two parties, both very serious parties, working together for a better New Zealand.”
Asked if ACT would be able to secure a top tax rate of 28% - one of its flagship policies - Seymour said it depended on “how brave National are”.
“The way to make National braver is to give your party vote to ACT.”
Seymour said there was “momentum for change”.
Both major parties - National and Labour - saw a drop in their party vote support, with minor parties picking up the scraps. (Source: 1News)
“That’s why you see ACT rising in this poll and all others right now. People know what we’re doing doesn’t work, it has to change.”
Luxon focused on October 14
Luxon said he was only focused on one “poll” - the election on October 14.
He said he had been speaking with New Zealanders all over the country in recent weeks and they were concerned about the cost of living, crime, education and health - all areas of announced National Party policy.
He said National had been “single-minded”, “laser-like” and focused on proposing ideas.
Luxon said voters were “never wrong” in an election.
“Whatever they decide is the right answer… I think it’s obvious there’s a coalition of chaos [that] would be a very difficult government to manage.
“The alternative is a strong National-led government that is actually focused on building a stronger economy.”
He said National had been clear on its tax policy.
Asked if National would introduce a 28% top tax rate, Luxon said he was comfortable with National’s tax policy.
“For the times that we’re in, where we have high inflation, we need to inflation-adjust tax thresholds [to] be able to give average New Zealanders, on average incomes, back $1000 a year. It’s not lots but it helps, every little bit helps.”
Labour 'just getting fired up'
Labour and the Green Party both expressed concern about the influence ACT could have on a National-led government.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said his party’s campaign was “just getting fired up”.
“Right up until now, we’ve been really focused on governing New Zealand through a really difficult period.
“Now we’re turning our sights towards the election campaign and people can expect to see a lot more of that in the coming [89] days until the election.”
He said while there were many parties Labour could work with, its main focus was on “getting as many votes for Labour as possible”.
“I believe that’s how we can provide the most stable leadership to the country.”
He said the “big dominance” of ACT in a National / ACT government would give ACT “a lot more influence than they’ve had in a previous National government”.
“That means that we’re likely to see some of ACT’s more radical policies being adopted by National.”
Green Party co-leader James Shaw said the result was “pleasing”.
“Any political party leader is going to say that we want more, and we will be working very hard over the course of the next 12 weeks in the run up to the election to expand that voter base but I think it does show that people are liking what the Greens are offering at this election.”
He said looking at the average of poll results, the Greens were on average polling higher than on election night in 2020. He said that average was about 10%.
“The more Green MPs we have the more influence we’ll have over the agenda for the next government.”
He said the Greens were concerned about how much influence the ACT Party would have in a coalition with National.
“Some of what ACT [is] proposing would take the country back three decades or more, so we’ll be consistently using every opportunity we can at this election campaign to point out that risk.”
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