By HELEN TUNNAH
Don Brash says people's taxes are being wasted on an expanding bureaucracy and National would shun a culture of "big government" in office.
However, the National party leader said he was not advocating a hands off government.
Dr Brash used a meeting of Rotary club members in the Hutt Valley to try to contrast National's position of less government with what he described as an interventionist Labour Government, which decided for families and taxpayers how their money should be spent.
"Do you believe the Government knows how to spend your family's money on your family better than you do," he said.
"I don't. National doesn't. Every dollar spent by government is taken from taxpayers. We should never forget that."
Dr Brash said in the past five years the Government had an extra $34 billion in tax revenues to spend, due mainly to the growing economy.
But he asked if that extra money had led to improvements in education or healthcare, claiming a lack of improved public services despite the increase in the tax take was "a tragedy".
Dr Brash did not specify how National would limit government spending. He indicated the party preferred increased choice in education and reduced compliance requirements for principals.
He also criticised an expanding health bureaucracy, saying since 2000 the health budget had risen 30 per cent while the number of operations has fallen 2 per cent.
Dr Brash said National would be an active government, but it would not get involved in every aspect of a person's life.
Acting Finance Minister Trevor Mallard said Dr Brash should just join Act.
He said Dr Brash was stuck in a 1990's timewarp, and supported running down the public service and privatising everything in sight, from schools to hospitals.
He said 3000 extra nurses and almost 2000 extra teachers had been employed since 1999, and under Dr Brash, they would be "gone by lunchtime".
Brash plans to limit Government spending
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