May 7 2002
Speech To The Seafarers Highlights Key Policy Priorities

Laila Harré has signalled some future policy priorities for the Alliance in a speech to the Searfarers Union Conference in Rotorua today.

Highlighting family poverty and the cost of tertiary education Laila Harré reiterated the need for the Alliance to be back in government with Labour after the next election.

“Even with lower unemployment, re-distributing income to low income families remains a serious issue which the Alliance wants advanced in the next term of this Government. It is quite simply unacceptable that in a country as wealthy as New Zealand 30 per cent of our children live below the poverty line.”

Laila Harré said that there “is a big risk that unless the Alliance is back in government next time around with an unequivocal commitment to a universal student allowance and the progressive reduction of university and polytech fees there will be little more than fiddling with the student loan scheme over the next three years.”

On more personal note, Laila Harré expressed her disappointment at the ongoing attacks being made on the Alliance by Jim Anderton.

“I am as angry as the next person about Jim Anderton’s decision to leave the Alliance.

“I am especially disappointed by his continuing and unjustified attacks on the party itself. There are yet more reports of these in this morning’s newspapers.

But I know that we are more than capable of standing on our own two feet as a principled party to the left of Labour, working with Labour in government.”

Ends

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