By Ana Kailis
AUCKLAND — 1400 people packed into the Civic Theatre on October 10 for the campaign launch of the Alliance (Democrats, Greens, the Maori party Mana Motuhake, NewLabour, Liberals). Alliance candidates speak on their environmental, economic and social justice policies for the national election.
Deep-rooted dissatisfaction with the two major National and Labour, has resulted in many people looking for an alternative when they vote on November 6.
Labour and National policy has resulted in the large-scale sell-off of many public assets (including Telecom, Air New Zealand and NZ Rail), a trebling of unemployment since 1984 and a dramatic increase in the disparity between rich and poor. Policies such as the introduction of a GST and tax changes benefiting the wealthy (both brought in by Labour) and the Employment Contracts Act (brought in by National to make individual contracts mandatory) have contributed significantly to this disparity.
In a recent report published by the United Nations Children's Fund, New Zealand was particularly mentioned for the social and economic impact of recent policies.
Despite a drive for "economic efficiency", stringent monetarist policy has produced not only high unemployment and greater polarisation in wealth but also a decline in GDP. Between 1985 and 1990, New Zealand's GDP fell by 0.7%, the worst record of any industrialised country.
The Alliance policies of free health and education, abolition of the Employment Contracts Act and the setting of minimum wages and conditions and environmental sustainability are some of the policies that are winning support.
Speakers at the launch included Jim Anderton, leader of the Alliance, and co-deputy leaders Jeanette Fitzsimons and Sandra Lee.
"We formed the Alliance because people are feeling powerless and angry at the politics of the last 10 years where they have been betrayed by the two old parties", Jeanette Fitzsimons told the audience. "The new politics is about people. Not about inflation, the share market, the needs of big business and overseas investors, although these have their place. It is about meeting the needs of people to work, to have their say in decisions, to bring up their children in security, to have decent housing and health care and education. It recognises that our future is threatened by climate change, ozone destruction, massive loss of forests and soils."
Fitzsimons described the emergence of the Alliance as the "birth of a new political movement". Sandra Lee continued this theme. "This should be a society of participants rather than spectators. It is clear that for the last two governments, the only acceptable participants have been the Treasury and the Business Roundtable. The rest of us have had to sit back and watch as our wishes over the sale of public assets have been ignored."
Jim Anderton's address to the launch audience gave a more detailed picture of Alliance policies. These include:
- immediate creation of 40,000 jobs in areas such as home building, health, maintenance of schools and hospitals, bush regeneration and energy conservation programs;
- free health care, with the removal of all fees for doctors, hospitals and prescriptions;
- free education including the abolition of tertiary fees;
- fair trade rather than free trade, using import controls and tariffs to protect new industries, jobs and environmental standards;
- restoration of Social Security payments to pre-1991 levels (in 1991 benefits were slashed);
- abolition of the Employment Contract Act, an introduction of minimum wages and conditions and pay equity;
- an increase in overseas aid and withdrawal from ANZUS;
- honouring of the Waitangi treaty.
Funding for these programs would come from an increase in company tax and on those earning more than $32,000 per year (60% of New Zealanders have an income below $32,000). The ANZUS frigate project would be scrapped, saving $170 million a year.
Alliance candidates must sign a pledge that if they are elected they commit themselves to implementing Alliance policy. If they don't, the pledge states they must resign from parliament and seek a new mandate from the people.
Winston Peters, the ex-National Party maverick who has formed the New Zealand First Party, has not been able to field a full slate of candidates and has not formulated a coherent economic and social program.
The nature of Peters' party is beginning to emerge, however. On October 11, he was quoted in the daily New Zealand Herald calling for a return of women to the home and a raising of the school leaving age to 18 to decrease unemployment. He also called for subjects like "self-discipline" to be introduced to the school curriculum. Peters' popularity is dwindling amongst the electorate.
The progressive policies of the Alliance are forcing the major parties to give lip-service to social justice and environmental issues. Labour Party leader Mike Moore stated at the Labour Party launch, "We will tell [the Nationals] that some things in New Zealand are not for sale".
Jim Bolger, leader of the Nationals, stated at his launch, "For us, economics is about people or it's about nothing".
Whatever the result in the election, the Alliance is looking particularly to the referendum on Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMP) to increase the representation of progressive forces in parliament. "The Alliance believes that New Zealand's democratic process and the parliamentary system itself will only serve ordinary New Zealanders effectively if we change our electoral system into one which will result in fair and representative governments", Jim Anderton said.