robson-on-politics Tue 13 Sept

robson-on-politics, a newsletter from Matt Robson MP
Deputy Leader of the Progressive Party
www.progressiveparty.org.nz

MMP, it is a great system

One of the best insurance policies that New Zealanders took out against any future repeat of the destructive economic and social policies of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, is of course MMP.

No matter what happens on Saturday, I know heaps of Australians, North Americans and English people look enviously at our vibrant and dynamic democracy.

Comparing the drab two party presidential debates in the US with our eight party leadership debates goes a long way to explaining how come so many more Kiwis vote than Americans.

In terms of better scrutiny of legislation, and in terms of delivering a true House of Representatives, MMP is working for New Zealanders.
http://www.progressive.org.nz/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1660

Now is the time for all good people to…

come to the aid of the Party. If you want the good work of the Progressives to continue, over the next three days you should use all your networks to encourage people to give their Party Vote to Progressive. All our good work is hanging in the balance.

NZ First, UFO positions totally unclear!

The NZ First and United Future Outdoor parties have been issuing countless press statements in the past few days "clarifying their post-election" positions! The sheer number of UFO and NZ First statements and comments to journalists and commentators is, of course, a measure of how totally unclear their positions are. Let's be clear.

There is a contest between the those parties on the Left that want to invest more in modest and low income families' health and education and housing, versus the parties of the Right, which include United Future, ACT, NZ First and National.

These parties, to varying degrees, want the next government to do a repeat on the 1970s and 1980s. They want Central Government to significantly reduce its own revenue stream with large, indiscriminate income tax cuts via increased net overseas borrowing. The Right's policies would deliver a temporary consumption-based boom in imports, followed in due course by cuts to National Super, public health and education.
http://www.progressive.org.nz/modules.php?name=News&file=articlesid=2089

Brash, Dunne won't tackle youth alcohol harm

I told the Cutting Edge conference on alcohol, drug, and co-existing disorders in Dunedin on Saturday about the costs associated with the radical liberalization of our alcohol liquor retailing laws in the late 1980s and again in the late 1990s.

The libertarian zealots who ran the country in the last 15 years of the 20th Century talked a great deal about liberty, freedom and even more absurdly about families and family values. Their propaganda spin is so cynical and misleading.

The Right always talks about the price of our policies, but never faces up to the cost of their alternatives, particularly on families.

If it is up to the leaders of the Right to govern New Zealand after Saturday, then there is no chance of any meaningful action to better protect young teenagers and children from the harm being caused by the inappropriate marketing and selling of alcohol to them by those that always put their own short-term financial profits ahead of society's wellbeing.
http://www.progressiveparty.org.nz/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2095

Empirical evidence requires us to tackle alcohol

My speech on why I, as a liberal, don't support liberalization of alcohol retailing, was well received on Saturday.

The Progressive Party needs to win around 1.3% of Party Votes on Saturday to keep my Bill alive in the next Parliament.
http://www.progressiveparty.org.nz/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2096

As expected, it's a tight race

In 1999, the three Left parties won 51.64% of the Party Vote to secure 66 seats in Parliament and in 2002 the three Left parties won 49.96%. We had 62 seats in the outgoing Parliament, so we've known for six years that Election 2005 was always going to be a real contest to win a third straight majority, something the Left hasn't done since 1943.

Progressive is campaigning for Party Votes because we want to bring six key policy issues to the Cabinet table if Helen Clark emerges on Saturday as PM. http://www.progressive.org.nz/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2097

ENDS

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