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.
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.
ends