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Free Press:ACT’s regular bulletin


Free Press

ACT’s regular bulletin

Intergenerational Politics
David Seymour spoke at ACT’s Lower North Island conference in Palmerston North this weekend. His message? Intergenerational politics is not about proving one generation is more thrifty/hard done by/has a better work ethic than the other, but a question about Government policy. Breathe deep and we might get some better public policy. You can read David's speech here.

Mana Whokahono a Rohe
MWAR, or Iwi Participation Agreements, effectively apply co-governance to the whole country. They are a provision in the Resource Management Legislation Bill, expected to come back to the house next month. They will require that within six months of a council having a democratic election, said council must seek out unelected Iwi representatives to be consulted on planning and, optionally, consenting decisions.

RMA Betrayal
The National Party is nominally committed to private property and equality before the law. In practice, it campaigns from the right and governs from the left. Last week’s RMA maneuver, where the National Party sided with the Maori Party over ACT and United Future, was a high stakes example.

They Had an Option
National could have gone with ACT and United Future’s offer of passing the bill without Iwi Participation Agreements. That the centrist Peter Dunne, who only two weeks ago railed against Hobson’s Pledge’s pamphlets alleging Maori separatism, was prepared to oppose Iwi Participation Arrangements shows how corrosive those conditions are.

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Fundamentally Broken Legislation
Even if the IPA’s could have been removed, the Resource Management Legislation would have been nearly hopeless. The current proposals are a shadow of the Amy Adams proposals made in 2013, which would have (somewhat) reformed the underlying principles of the RMA, but who are we kidding? This is the 18th Amendment to the RMA since it was passed in 1991, if anything it is getting worse. It is a dog.

The More Things Change…
New Zealand has reformed its land use planning laws about every quarter of a century. The first law was passed in 1926 (Town Planning Act). Next time was 1953 (Town and Country Planning Act), then 1977 (another Town and Country Planning Act). Finally in 1991 (Resource Management Act). Each law reflected the zeitgeist of its time, in the case of the RMA, 'sustainability'.

What ACT Would Do
New Zealand is due for another fundamental rethink of our planning laws. The current laws have given us the housing crisis and a frustrated rural sector. The next Government needs to accept that the nineteenth amendment to the RMA won’t fix it either, it is instead time for a fundamental rethink. Thankfully the Productivity Commission has already started doing the heavy lifting with its Better Urban Planning report that recommends a fundamental overhaul.

Maori Party Failure
The Maori Party represent Maori elites. The rest of Maoridom smokes (35 per cent), doesn’t own a home (60 per cent) and is failed at school (60 per cent do not attain University Entrance). With the notable exception of ACT’s Partnership Schools, which the Maori Party support, the Maori Party are more interested in taxing smokes and making sure other elites are consulted about whether your house can be built.

Numbers Game
Of course, the path to serious Resource Management Act reform is a stronger ACT with more votes in the house. We can’t do it without you though, if you agree with us please donate, join, or even stand as a candidate.

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