Letter From Wellington, Monday 17 July 2000
Last week the Government took a week off. This week Parliament is in recess, so again liberty and property are safe. The Letter will focus on issues in more depth, to properly examine the enormous damage the OECD’s most extreme left wing government is causing.
The Cost of
Socialism
The radio spectrum auction flop represents
the high cost to New Zealand of a left wing government. The
auction for third generation (3G) frequencies was publicly
expected to raise $600 million, privately Treasury expected
over $1b. The United King-dom 3G auction raised $NZ67b. To
date bids have reached $38m.
The most concerning aspect of the auction is the reluctance of telecom-munications companies to invest in New Zealand. Billions in investment is needed if New Zealand is not to become a technological backwater.
What’s Gone Wrong?
New Zealand has
become a very risky place for telecommunications investment.
On top of ACC changes and the Employment Relations Bill is
the ministerial inquiry into telecommunications. The
inquiry’s recommendation iqs that government regulate
telecommunications, and establish a Telecommunications
Commission to decide what can be sold, who to and at what
price. There is no right of appeal to the courts, no
criteria for decisions and no respect for property rights.
Who can blame investors for being
nervous?
Telecommunication regulations cost Australians $1.27b a year, while our light handed regime has made New Zealand the most connected country in the world.
Regulations: Today’s Socialism
Socialist theorists
say you can achieve socialism despite, privatisation,
through the use of regulation. Let business bear the cost
of ownership and use regulation to achieve socialist
outcomes.
The coalition breeds regulations. First was
ACC and the Employment Relations Bill. Then a Parental Leave
Bill; minimum wage regulations; and equal opportunity
legislation. Soon a new Health and Safety Act and a Commerce
Act where business is guilty until proven innocent.
The Telecommunications Commis-sion will be followed by re-regulation of the electricity sector. And if An-derton has his way – the banking and the finance sectors will be next.
Regulation is an addictive popularity tool for politicians, as they clamour to guarantee fixed cheap telephones for ‘pensioners’. Before telecommunica-tions were de-regulated some 70,000 people in New Zealand had “free” ‘phones – starting with the MPs.
ACT Leading
the Fight
ACT is leading the fight against socialism
by regulation. National is compromised by its record. The
3G spectrum auction should have been two years ago. We could
have third generation technology today. Instead National
delayed the auction because of a bogus treaty claim.
Their failure to reform the Holidays Act – as promised in two elections to stop bogus personal grievance cases - discredited the Employment Con-tracts Act.
It took the
election of ACT MPs to get National to introduce choice into
ACC. If they had done it seven years ago rather than last
year, Labour would not have been able to repeal the
legislation.
Bulk funding in schools is a half-hearted
measure. Even Tony Blair’s Britain has charter schools. Why
have a targeted entitlement scheme that lets only 120 lucky,
low income chil-dren go to the school of their choice – when
National could have given every child a choice
PM
Upsets Richest Man
Helen Clark has made another high
profile faux pas in an interview with Britain’s Financial
Times. Clark told the Financial Times that APEC had run out
of steam and would make no progress under Brunei’s
stewardship. As well as causing several near heart attacks
at MFAT, Helen Clark has had to personally write to the
Sultan of Brunei apologising for her actions. Ms Clark must
have forgotten that the foreign media aren’t subject to her
whims.
Reds Control the Greens
The Greens hold
the balance of power. The government’s socialism by
regulation programme is only possible because of Green
support. Jeanette Fitzsimons holds a ‘National’ seat – the
farming and tourism elec-torate of Coromandel.
If she wants to be re-elected, she must say no to the ERB. ACT is starting a campaign in Coromandel to force Fitzsimons to put her electorate first. It will be interesting to see how the Greens react.
Government Stalled
The coalition
is finding Government more difficult than they expected.
The internal disputes are growing. The competition to be the next Min-ister of Maori Affairs is an all out war. Both sides have tried to give ACT dirt on the other.
Once stalled in government it is hard to get momentum. This looks in-creasingly like a one term govern-ment.
ACT
Three Day Caucus
This week the ACT MPs meet in
Auckland for a three day retreat, to plan strategy. The
media and the coalition agree that ACT has been the
effective opposition. Michael Cullen claims ACT is the
reason so many people oppose ACC nationalisation and
Employment Relations Bill!
The ACT Caucus is considering a bold strategy to capture the agenda by launching policy initiatives over two years before the next election.
New Zealand needs to see that at least one Party has a vision for the country’s future.
Chamber Of Commerce
Speech
Richard Prebble will be speaking to the
Auckland Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday. The topic is the
ERB and he will be detailing the Bill’s current situation
and a strategy to ensure that it’s defeat. The speech is a
must for all people affected by the ERB. Enquiries to 09 302
9910.