Free Press: ACT’s regular bulletin
Free Press
ACT’s regular bulletin
Congratulations to John
Key
For eight years, John Key has successfully
guided us through a financial crisis, the Rena disaster, and
major seismic upheaval. All the while businesses have
enjoyed the confidence to grow under a stable, orthodox
economic programme. In resigning, John Key has pulled off
the rare trick of recognising his own political mortality
before having to experience it first-hand. More importantly
however is the chance this gives him to reclaim a normal
life with his family. He’s certainly earned
it.
Looking Ahead
This is a chance for
New Zealand to revisit some of the long-term issues that
have been left unaddressed over the last eight years. For
all of the John Key’s skill as a day-to-day manager, this
Government is allowing superannuation costs and housing
prices to escalate unacceptably over the long term. Bill
English is best-equipped, intellectually and
temperamentally, to bring these problems under control,
which is why he is ACT’s preference for next Prime
Minister.
Last Chance This
Year
Parliament is sitting for an additional
members’ day this Wednesday, with five bills likely to be
drawn from the Private Members’ ballot on Thursday. It is
the last opportunity this year for David Seymour’s End of
Life Choice Bill to be drawn and the chance is about
one-in-fifteen. We have our fingers crossed that this
important change – that 75 per cent of New Zealanders
support – will get its day in Parliament. (For more on the
bill see www.lifechoice.org.nz)
More on
Tax
On Thursday the Treasury will release its
Half Year Fiscal and Economic Update. We expect it will
show, to quote the US President-Elect, ‘yuge’ surpluses
coming down the line. We also predict that ACT will stand
alone in pointing out it was never the Government’s money
to start with and the people who earned it should be able to
keep more of it (National will dissemble around a
‘family’ package).
Winston’s
Dilemma
Free Press hears that two Chinese
donors are going big on New Zealand First – what will
Winston do? If the donations really are substantial then the
law will require them to be declared. But how can you rail
against immigrants and big money in politics while taking
big money from immigrants? On the other hand, New Zealand
First were drummed out of Parliament after the dodgy affair
with Owen Glenn. We’ll be
watching.
Surprisingly Unsurprising
We
are aware of candidates receiving offers of large donations
from recent immigrants in return for reducing immigration.
Why would immigrants give to an anti-immigrant party?
Recent immigrants are more aware of any loopholes that might
exist in immigration law. Much more importantly they
compete directly with new arrivals. If your family has been
in New Zealand for five generations you are connected and
established. If you’re still getting connected and
established then you’re competing with every extra person
who arrives.
Not so Fast
Commentators
will be enraptured with Michael Wood’s Mt Roskill
by-election win because a resurgent Labour would give them
something to write about. The difficulty is that despite a
Mt Roskill win being absolutely critical to Labour, nearly
half of Phil Goff’s 18,000 voters stayed home. They got
out more than enough votes to beat Parmjeet Parmar (who, as
a sitting list MP, had nothing to lose) but not nearly
enough to demonstrate a revival.
Politics in Full
Sentences
One sign that ACT will do well next
year is the response to David Seymour’s piece on fiscal sustainability and
superannuation. The Spinoff is becoming the organ of
young New Zealanders and its publishers tell us the response
to this piece was phenomenal. We certainly saw it on social
media. ACT has always been the party of ideas, and that
younger voters are looking for politics in full sentences is
extremely encouraging.
Register for ACT’s
Conference: February 25th
The party of ideas has
a first class conference line up. Mike Williams from the
Howard League on being smart on crime. Leonie Freeman of
Goodman Property on how to build more homes. Francis
Valentine of Mindlab on education. Eric Crampton of the New
Zealand Initiative on tax and inequality. Election year
conferences are the biggest, we hope to see you
there.