Budget an attempt to buy back votes for Government says poll

By HELEN TUNNAH

Voters have labelled the Government's Budget a vote-buying exercise in a TVNZ Colmar Brunton poll, even though the $3 billion Working for Families package had been in the planning for months.

Almost six out of 10 questioned thought the Budget showed Labour was trying to regain votes following a poll slump, while 29 per cent said it was a long-planned announcement.

The survey reflected the trends shown in a snap Herald-DigiPoll survey published on Saturday, with support for tax cuts well ahead of support for increased Government spending.

Two-thirds, or 66 per cent, of those surveyed supported tax cuts, while 24 per cent backed more spending to redistribute wealth.

The DigiPoll found almost six out of 10 people supported tax cuts.

Last night's poll found just 11 per cent who thought they would benefit from the Budget's family assistance package in the next year, while 19 per cent thought they would be better off in three years.

Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday defended the $21 million spending to advertise the Budget changes, saying that was needed to ensure people could be directed to the support they were entitled to.

But she appeared to acknowledge perception issues surrounding the tax cuts versus Government assistance debate promoted by National.

"This package amounts to very targeted tax cuts for a portion of the population."

Party support had shown a lift for Labour, although the poll was smaller than regular Colmar Brunton surveys, with 500 questioned, and was taken over a weekend and not over week days. It had a margin of error of 4.4 per cent.

Labour had 41 per cent support, to National's 44 per cent, compared with 37 per cent and 47 per cent in the latest full TVNZ poll.