BROADCASTS.com

The good news is National has come up with a genuine alternative fiscal policy to the government's welfare program. The bad news is they didn't add the numbers up properly.
Mike Hosking spoke with National's finance spokesperson Paul Goldsmith this morning on the blunder
National used May's budget figures and not last weeks  Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU) figures which led to a $4 billion gap.
Asked if it was the "biggest cock-up ever?" Goldsmith says it's an irritating mistake but doesn't alter the fundamentals of National's package.
Those fundamentals are being able to offer tax cuts from the 1st of December and pay down debt faster than Labour.
How does something like this happen, considering National said they waited for the PREFU to be released before calculating their policy? Did they look at the numbers?
"We did look at the numbers, and it is an enormous document. There are a lot of numbers." says Goldsmith.
"I owned it. We made a mistake. Our external reviewers missed it as well but the good news is it doesn't alter the fundamental numbers which is to say we can still afford tax cuts."
Goldsmith compared National's now revised target of net debt to 36% by 2034 to Labour's 48% as a "colossal difference".
On top of the figures botch up, it probably didn't help that Gerry Brownlee's geography wasn't up to scratch and according to Hosking all in all it was a pretty inept Sunday for the opposition.
Goldsmith defended the mishaps "at the end of the day you've got to focus on what matters most to New Zealanders"
"They (Labour) are all very angry at the thought of tax cuts.... they will never willingly give you back a cent of your money. They hate the thought of tax cuts. They always believe that government's can spend your money better than you can."
"We have a different philosophy. We want to give it back and ultimately New Zealanders have that choice."
 
LISTEN ABOVE