Wasn’t it only a very short time ago that Dr Cullen and Helen Clark were accusing National have having a secret, hidden agenda? Wasn’t it only August when they were making very loud noises about how irresponsible and wrong it was for National to be funding its policies by taking on more debt?

So would someone care to explain this to me?

Finance spokesman Michael Cullen said: “The Government is not going to allow the economy to slip into a depression because it has some fear of lifting its short-term borrowing position. That is not sensible fiscal economic management.”

The Government is already facing a debt blowout after the Treasury forecast a decade of deficits.

But Dr Cullen said he would borrow more if necessary to fund road, infrastructure, forestry, housing and rail projects, including expanding the electrified network to Auckland’s North Shore and a rail tunnel under Waitemata Harbour.

His plan marks a U-turn from Labour’s scathing attacks on National’s plan to borrow more to spend on infrastructure.

In August, Prime Minister Helen Clark said: “I just think it’s mind-bogglingly stupid. You go out and borrow at a time when the international markets are in crisis.”

Labour is planning a mini-Budget before Christmas, when it will also seek a full update on the economy from officials.

But National’s Bill English called on Dr Cullen to tell taxpayers before the November 8 election the likely size of the bill.

Dr Cullen said it was impossible to say the size of the package now but he would do what was needed.

The release of Labour’s economic policy followed moves by the Australian Government to avert an economic slowdown with a $12 billion package, including more money for pensioners, low- and middle-income families, first-home buyers and training.

We’ll borrow more if it’s needed says Labour – Dominion Post

Hold on a second here. This week we also learned that Labour are planning a “mini budget” in December. What on Earth could that possibly be for? They’re the Government. Every single day, Treasury gives them reports on the current financial situation of the Government coffers if they want it. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand reports directly to them. How is it that they are unable to provide us with full details of what can and cannot be done right now?

“Oh, but the international money market is too unstable for us to do that right now.”

Really? And if you know anything about the markets, what makes you think it will be any more stable in December than it is today?

The whole job of the Minister of Finance is to make assumptions based on all scenarios and to go with the most likely while hedging his bets as much as possible against the worst. Personally I see the current climate as a massive opportunity to make money. I’d be pulling all that American money the Reserve Bank bought last year and moving it to Australia and then keeping an eye on the Euro, Yen and Yuan.

But thats just me. I’m not a financial analyst, nor a history teacher for that matter, so what would I know? I can’t give financial advice.

Point is, right now, the Labour Party is the ONLY political party that knows the true state of the books in New Zealand at the very moment. They are the only party that can make an accurate statement about what their financial policies will be if they are re-elected to the Government. And yet here we are with a vague promise of a mini-budget in December?

How can that be anything but a secret agenda? How can that mean anything short of large scale borrowing they want to keep from us? How can that mean anything but an increase in taxes?

I can understand any other party making the same assertion. No other party has access to the books as they stand at this moment, so they can be expected to state that once they are elected they will assess the situation properly and then make changes in December once they’ve had that chance.