robson-on-politics Tues 21 June
robson-on-politics, a newsletter from Matt Robson MP
Deputy Leader of the Progressive Party
www.progressiveparty.org.nz
18-24 year-olds want to cut youth binge drinking
Yesterday’s Fairfax/ACNielsen nationwide survey of public opinion found that sixty per cent (60%) of those aged between
18 and 24 years support raising the legal purchasing age back to twenty.
That means a majority of young adults agree with the rest of us that my Sale of Liquor (Youth Alcohol Harm Reduction)
Amendment Bill isn’t about penalizing young adults, but instead has everything to do with trying to reduce the harm that
alcohol is causing to children. My Bill will soon be put before the Law and Order select committee where everyone can
have a say directly to the politicians.
We need to turn Brash, Dunne, Hide
The leaders of the National, United Future and ACT parties joined together to vote against my Bill going to Select
Committee.
Brash, Dunne and almost the entire ACT caucus, including its latest leader, don’t think that the great unwashed (that’s
you, the public) should actually have to be listened to on important social policy issues.
Exasperated people keep asking me what they can do to ensure Parliament listens to the people on this issue.
My advice is that we need to turn those M.P.s that are dead against us on this issue to let some of the facts get in
the way of their prejudices. A list of M.P.s who opposed by Bill going to Select Committee is available at: http://www.20years.co.nz
Target 17 Labour, 8 National and 7 ACT MPs
As you can see, 17 Labour, eight National and seven ACT MPs didn’t even want the public to have a say on the Bill! You
need to contact these MP.s and ask them what their alternative strategy is to better protect 14-year-olds from misusing
alcohol?
You need to ask them, politely but firmly, what better proposals they have up their sleeves to protect families that
are being hurt by the abuse of alcohol and other drugs by their youngest members?
Campbell wins US Open
Michael Campbell has won his maiden golf major title at the U.S. Open. Besides being a spectacular personal
achievement, there is a positive lesson in there for all of us about single-mindedness and hard work paying off.
The Centre-Left’s challenge in 2005
The leadership of the centre-left has known since the night we were elected into office in late 1999 that we would need
to be single-minded in our pursuit of New Zealanders’ interests, and hard-working, to continue to earn the trust of
voters.
We have always known that centre-Left parties only just won government with 51% of votes cast in the 1999.
Highlights of 1999-2002 government include Kiwibank
In the 2002 election, centre-left parties managed to hold on to that trust because we stuck strictly to practical
policies to help working families with: (1) A framework to encourage regional and industry development, which means
better paying jobs; (2) Investment in infrastructure (Kiwibank, Air NZ); (3) Increased access to education and health
services (tertiary fees were frozen for three years, interest on student loans removed for those in study); (4) Paid
parental leave to make the balancing of work and family more manageable.
Highlights of 2002-2005 include 4 Weeks Leave
The biggie of the last three years of Labour-Progressive government has been Four Weeks Annual Paid Leave for workers.
We’re also proud of encouraging large budget screen and TV productions (putting Kiwis in jobs and NZ on the map),
business tax cuts to encourage private sector R, and targeted tax relief for working families.
Progressive candidates are campaigning for an historic third-term centre-left government so we can (1) cut graduates’
debt in return for them using their skills in NZ; (2) take strong action to reduce youth binge drinking; (3) get low
income families into their first homes; (4) cut the corporate tax rate to encourage yet more job-creating export
businesses to locate in NZ; (5) give a financial boost to retired people struggling on fixed incomes.
http://www.progressive.org.nz/candidates
ENDS