Cullen Correction Needs Correction, says Birch

Labour finance spokesperson Michael Cullen's correction today of his statement yesterday would need further correction tomorrow-or at least major clarification, said Finance Minister Sir William Birch today.

"Dr Cullen is making and correcting an error a day in explaining Labour superannuation policy. He clearly has no idea how to make the policy work.

"Yesterday, he accused me of pretending '8 cents on every dollar of income tax' is the same as '8 percent of income tax'. They are identical. But he claimed the difference 'in terms of revenue raised is substantial'.

"Today, he says what he meant was taxable income, not income tax, and that makes a 'difference' to the sum Labour intends to raise. It certainly does! The difference is $4.3 billion a year more than he originally confessed to.

"The correct formula, he says, 'produces a figure nearer to 36%'. But 36% of what? His figure just floats in space. He could mean 36% of next Christmas.

"Finally, he tells us today that the 8% he was talking about yesterday, as a basis for costing this Labour policy, is 'not set in concrete'. Apparently it's not even set in jelly because, he says today, it doesn't exist in Labour policy at all.

"In other words, like the Wizard of Oz, he just reached up, and plucked a figure out of the air to make a point. That's typical of the airy-fairy approach he takes to policy, and it's exactly why people doubt his fiscal credibility.

"But he is totally wrong when he says he can 'build a surplus to meet increased future commitments' without higher tax or borrowing or any cut in present spending. He can't. Not even the Wizard of Oz could deliver that."