Those shocked by Act’s strong showing in the weekend’s election and its likely influence in any National-Act-United Future government should look off the beaten path for the policies Act is likely to push for.

The first assumption after any such result is that Act would want to restart privatisations, slash government spending, drastically reform health and education delivery, and generally turn back the clock on Labour’s policies through 1999 to 2008.

I think that’s unlikely. Firstly, John Key really is a centrist and also wants to be re-elected. Secondly, Act are a bit more subtle these days and like doing things that are likely to stick (i.e. past the next election).

One of these more subtle and more sustainable policies is a Taxpayers’ Rights Bill. Act leader Rodney Hide pushed this quite hard during the election campaign, not that many people noticed. Most voters didn’t get beyond the yellow jacket and flat taxes.

The Taxpayers’ Rights Bill is designed to limit government spending growth to inflation plus population growth. It would effectively do for fiscal policy what the Reserve Bank Act did for monetary policy. It would be one way to take the politicians out of government.

I don’t know if this is a Rodney Hide bottom line, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was very near the top of the list.

Your views?

Last 5 posts by Bernard Hickey

• Dear John: Please tell us the truth about the economy - we can handle it - February 23rd, 2009
• Kill the glass white elephant in Dunedin with a rates revolt - February 9th, 2009
• A ‘rolling maul’ budget is better than an ‘up the jumper’ miracle - February 8th, 2009
• Why we should give thanks when Telecom ‘exports’ 250 jobs to Manila - February 4th, 2009
• Freeze public-sector wages and lift the minimum wage - February 2nd, 2009