More for health

Labour is keeping up its theme of investing in the young with the announcement of a significant expansion of primary healthcare for children. This would include free hearing and vision tests to find problems early before they can affect learning, additional free Plunket visits for preschoolers, and a free health check for all children before they start school. The cost? A mere $13 million; you can do a hell of a lot for very little money in this area. But the effect in ensuring that every New Zealander gets a good start in life should be tremendous.

Again, this displays that clear point of difference, between a government which invests in its citizens and makes sure they have the basic capabilities (good health, education, equality) to achieve their goals, whatever they might be - and one which simply wants to abandon them to the whims of the market.