Sir Roger Douglas has waded into the election campaign with a trademark statement accusing the government of wasting $17 billion.
The former finance minister in David Lange's Labour government is standing as a candidate for Act, the party he founded.
He has been given third place on its party list, which gives him a reasonable chance of returning to parliament.
"The reason taxes have increased so much over the past 10 years is the rapid rise in government expenditure - which has risen 89% at a time when inflation has increased by only 29%," he says.
"That is a $17 billion or 60% increase over and above inflation and, of course, taxes have risen to cover this massive expenditure increase - costing every New Zealand household or family around $230 a week or $12,000 a year."
Douglas says voters should ask themselves what they would have been able to do with $12,000 a year.
Act leader Rodney Hide says he would like Sir Roger to be in a National/Act coalition cabinet, but National's leader John Key has ruled that out.
