Peta Barker
Secretary, Eastern Bay of Plenty  branch, NZ Labour Party

Keith Melville (Beacon, February 4) has much to say about Labour’s proposed targeted capital gains tax, but offers no alternative solutions as to how we should pay our way and balance our books.

As residents and voters in a democracy we need to decide what we expect from our Government – for the many and not just the few.  

Do we want good healthcare, education, benefits such as superannuation, infrastructure (roads, rail, energy, safe drinking water), jobs and fair pay, affordable housing, plans to deal with the impacts of anthropogenic climate change?  

And how should we pay for it?  Through taxation, borrowing, austerity and cuts to public services?

Offering tax cuts is a winning election bribe, but a short-sighted and irresponsible one when it means borrowing more, deferring infrastructure projects and laying people off.

The words of Norman Kirk are as relevant today (perhaps more so) than they were 50 years ago: “People don’t ask for much; just somewhere to live, someone to love, somewhere to work and something to hope for.”