Labour's first election year policy shows they are straight back to their old ways of throwing money around rather than solving underlying problems, National's Campaign Chair Simeon Brown says.
"Labour is once again trying to bribe New Zealanders with their own money. This is yet another spending promise from the Labour Party with no plan for how they'll pay for it.
"The National Land Transport Fund is already oversubscribed. The idea of siphoning a quarter of a billion dollars from the NLTF to pay for this is fanciful. Ultimately this policy will require higher taxes or more borrowing.
"This comes on top of billions of dollars in other spending promises they have made with no way to pay for it - such as restoring pay equity, unwinding public sector savings, and how they will pay for their Future Fund.
"For New Zealanders that means more taxes and more borrowing, which ultimately means higher inflation and interest rates, and greater pressure on the cost of living.
"When it comes to tackling cost of living challenges, the difference between National and Labour couldn't be clearer.
"Labour's approach is more subsidies, more handouts, and more temporary fixes - none of which do anything to address the underlying causes of the cost-of-living pressures impacting Kiwi families.
"National is focused on stopping wasteful spending to reduce inflation and growing the economy so New Zealanders can earn more and get ahead. The best way to address the cost-of-living is a growing economy that sees wages growing faster than prices.
"It is time for Labour to be upfront with New Zealanders about how they will fund their hidden bill, either increasing taxes now or increasing borrowing to be paid back by future generations.
"Higher taxes, more debt and larger deficits is a recipe for more inflation, higher interest rates, and a slower recovery, with fewer jobs and lower wages. That is the choice on offer from Labour, whether they admit it or not."
