In practice debates before former New Zealand elections, Ms Nicola Willis used to work as the role of alarming female politicians. She performed the parts of Ms Helen Clark and Ms Jacinda Ardern whilst making reading the governers of her National Party for their head-to-head clashes during the 2008 and 2017 campaigns. Currently she is getting prepared to become a political heavyweight herself.
Should right-leaning National win the Oct 14 vote, which opinion polls say is to be anticipated , Ms Willis will have the opportunity to be the country’s first female finance minister in 30 years and just the second in its history. She would succeed a recession-impacted economy and a government budget that is so much in shortage, blotched by the costs of the Covid-19 pandemic and a calamitous cyclone earlier in 2023. Withering of what she names the latest Labour government’s “useless splurging”, Ms Willis is promising to enforce a tighter fiscal ship.
“I’ve been someone who’s originated through the National Party and has been very prideful of our track record,” she revealed when she was talking about this in an interview. “We are recognized for dealing with the books good enough, for being dedicated, for being conservative.” There is zero playing stand-in parts for Ms Willis these days. As National’s deputy governer and finance spokeswoman, the 42-year-old mother of four is front and centre in the party’s election campaign beside governer Christopher Luxon.
Springing up in the polls, National seems to be located on the right path to oust Labour and create a government with the support of the right-wing ACT Party. But it was not as easy as it looks like. National has pledged tax cuts that would be partly funded by permitting foreigners to purchase houses worth more than NZ$2 million (S$1.6 million) and charging them a 15 per cent tax for the bonus.
The ones who are against this are of the view that the planning immensely overestimates the number of houses that could be purchased , leading to a huge shortage in income. Ms Willis has supported the rule and revealed latest week she would resign as finance minister if National could not succeed to provide tax relief.