Cutting Through Red Tape

Speech to ACT's Wellington Regional Conference; the Museum Hotel, Cable St, Wellington; Saturday July 7 2007

Last week, Peter Luke from the 'Christchurch Press' rang to tell me that ACT was now the only Party supporting free enterprise.

I said, "I know. It's extraordinary. All around the world - and here in New Zealand - the benefits of free enterprise are plain to see. Choice and competition make consumers king. The customers call the shots. With state-run monopolies, you just have to take what you're given. You have no power and no say."

But in our Parliament only one Party stands four-square for choice and competition; that's our party - the ACT Party. All other Parties favour state monopoly.

Our heath system queues people up to die waiting. We joke now about people queuing up for a phone when telephones were a state-run monopoly. But people queued up dying is no joke.

That's despite the present Government pouring a massive extra $4.5 billion into health a year. The money's gone in, but nothing's changed. We shouldn't be surprised by this - we run our health system like the Soviets ran their economy. We now have more health bureaucrats than hospital beds. Our health system needs its own glasnost and perestroika.

To make health work we must empower Kiwis through choice and competition, and power up the private sector. Changing Ministers, or changing Governments, isn't going to fix health. It's the system that's failing us, not the people within it, just like the Soviet economy failed the Russian people.

We have 121 MPs in our Parliament. Just two stand for free enterprise, the free market, High Performance Government, and Smart Green policies. But what a two!

Last week our Regulatory Responsibility Bill passed its first reading 114 votes to six. Only the Greens voted against the Bill. I want to work with the Greens to produce an environmental check-list to strengthen the Bill. Red tape is anti-environment. It wastes resources, stops environment-friendly technologies, and prevents many private initiatives for habitat maintenance and species protection. We can, and we should, do better. My Bill is a good step on the way and it's now before the Commerce Committee for public submissions.

Our Parliament now needs to hear how red tape is affecting Kiwis and their business. I want Parliament to understand that red tape is blighting our country economically, socially and environmentally. It's important that everyone who has a concern over red tape makes a submission - otherwise Parliament will conclude that red tape isn't a problem. That would be a mistake. We have a narrow window of opportunity. Submissions close 10 August. Get writing!

ACT's Regulatory Responsibility Bill is the legislative equivalent of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. It would apply a 'red-tape' test to all new and to all existing legislation. Basic questions about legislation would have to be asked ... and answered. Questions like, what is it for? What's the problem? What's the cost? Impacts on property rights, freedom of choice and the right to contract would have to be spelt out.

The Bill would make law-making transparent and politicians accountable. The Bill requires all existing laws and regulations to be regularly reviewed. Amazingly, that doesn't happen now.

It's no mean achievement for just two MPs to produce such a Bill and get it before a Select Committee. The National Party in government for years worked to produce a Regulatory Responsibility Bill - and failed. We have not only produced a Bill, we got a 108 Parliamentary majority to have the Bill considered!

That's what ACT can achieve with two MPs - imagine what we could do with a few more!
The Committee's job is now to hear from the public, to suggest changes and to send the Bill back to Parliament with a recommendation that the Bill be passed or not. We then need Parliament to vote the Bill into law. That would put red-tape in its place and provide the first leg of ACT achieving the High Performance Government that we so desperately need.

We also need to cap Government expenditure. If we had held Government expenditure for the past 10 years we would now be looking at a top rate of income tax of 20 cents in the dollar and GST at 10 percent. Imagine the boost that would give weekly budgets and economic growth. At present we're running along at two or three percent a year. We should be aiming for five and six. Capping Government expenditure and cutting red tape would achieve that. We don't need to cut Government expenditure; we just need to hold it. We need politicians on a budget like everyone else.

Since the 2005 election we have rebuilt and repositioned the ACT Party. We have not changed our philosophy or our principles. We remain totally committed to the free market and to free enterprise. If anything, we have strengthened our philosophy and our commitment to achieving a free and prosperous New Zealand. Our members have been clear about this. But we have changed our style and approach to politics. Our members wanted that change. And they were right.

It had to change. In 2005 we went from nine MPs to just two. We need to do better than that. The Classical Liberal ideas that ACT stands for in our Parliament represent the finest political ideals ever espoused - we can't fail those ideals and leave New Zealand politics to pragmatists and socialists.

Since 2005 I've worked hard with the entire ACT team to be the best MP Epsom has ever had. The feedback is encouraging. I'm seen as a good MP by constituents across the political spectrum. That's important to me. I represent the entire electorate - regardless of the Party my constituents support. I want each and every Epsom constituent to feel and know they are well represented in Parliament by me.

Heather and I have been getting around the country talking and meeting as many New Zealanders as we can. We have refreshed ourselves and the Party.

Last year we travelled to the UK, Dublin and Berlin to meet and study the social democrats, liberal democrats and the free democrats. We learnt a lot.

We've worked hard with academics, policy experts and our own members to develop our policy positions and to see how an MMP Party can work as a positive force in our Parliament for free enterprise and a prosperous economy. The Regulatory Responsibility Bill before the Commerce Committee is a tangible product of that effort.

Most noticeably, we've dropped being a party of Opposition. I was interviewed for the job of Epsom MP by 40,000 voters on the streets, in the living rooms and places of work of Epsom constituents. The voters wanted their MP to be a positive force in our Parliament and for the country - they didn't want an Opposition gunslinger.

With just two MPs, our ability to be an effective Opposition Party is also severely compromised. We have instead been working with the other MMP Parties. I have to say it's been the most enjoyable thing I've done in my time in Parliament. I've especially enjoyed working with Green MP Keith Locke - we get on well, and it was a real pleasure to have him speak to our Auckland South Conference. I was pleased he felt welcomed enough to agree to speak.

Heather worked with the MMP Parties to overturn the Sedition Laws. That's now happening thanks to the work of the MMP Parties.

We have developed a different way of working in Parliament. Heather and I opposed Green MP Sue Bradford's anti-smacking law. We spoke out strongly against the Bill in Parliament, in the media and in the street protests. But we never attacked the Greens or Sue Bradford. We had a different view of the Bill, but that doesn't mean we can't work together on other issues. In fact, through the anti-smacking debate I was working with Jeannette Fitzsimons and the leaders of the other MMP Parties on the Code of Conduct.

More important to me than the actual Code was that we were putting it into action. We were publicly disagreeing on a matter of public policy but, at the same time, working together on the Code. We stuck to the policy and didn't descend to personal attacks, something we saw a lot of in the controversy over that Bill. That's how we expect adults to behave and that's certainly what we should expect of our elected leaders.

We now have a good working relationship with the Maori Party, the Greens and United Party. We got on well with the New Zealand First MPs on the issues but their leader Winston Peters is hard to pin down on any position!

Heather and I are always clear that we're the free-enterprise Party and the other Parties have no doubt about ACT's position. There are many policies on which we disagree, but there are some on which we agree. We work together where we have agreement and try and persuade each other where we don't. That's as it should be.

Having built up a relationship with the MMP Parties, Heather and I met with the two old Parties to explain ACT's position and what we were doing. We met with John Key and Bill English. We had a good hearing - I find John Key and Bill English both straight-forward and good to work with.

I then met with Helen Clark. I explained that ACT was the free enterprise Party and that we were an independent Party in our Parliament. I explained how we'd been working with the MMP Parties, and how we had met with National's leadership. I explained that we did not want to be any Party's tactical appendage.

I asked the Prime Minister to vote for my Regulatory Responsibility Bill at least to Select Committee so the public could have their say. I explained what the Bill was about and how red tape was of huge concern to the public of New Zealand. She said she would have a look at it on Monday.

She asked for me to have another look at the Therapeutic Goods Bill, in light of changes that the Government had made. I explained it would be hard for us to vote for the Bill, but that we were prepared to look at it. I said the important thing was for us to work in good faith and with integrity to build a working relationship irrespective of whether in the finish we could vote for the Bill. I want ACT to have a good working relationship with all political Parties despite our policy differences.

Heather and I meet with Health Officials, Minister Annette King, industry representatives and policy experts. We worked hard on the Bill.

I have to say I very much appreciated the straightforward and honest way in which Minister Annette King dealt with us, and we appreciated that she made herself and her officials readily available to us.

Our concern has always been that the Bill is unnecessarily bureaucratic and restricts competition and choice in the market place. We are also concerned about the costs that could be imposed on business and consumers. When it comes to natural health products, we consider the Bill a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

I've now written to the Minister with suggestions for changes to the Bill that would see competition and choice fostered, rather than closed down. I've also recommended that the Bill be returned to Select Committee for a proper hearing given the extent of the changes suggested.

That's what it means for ACT to be an independent Party standing up for free enterprise in our Parliament. We work with all Parties, in the interests of fostering choice and competition, but we are tied to none. This is especially so with National now cuddling close to Labour on matters of policy to try and win more votes. As I've said many times: ACT can work with all the socialist parties, including the National Party. The important thing is that we stick to our principles.

We've put in a big effort since 2005 to get to where we are today. It's not always been easy. I want to pay a special tribute to our President Garry Mallett, who has done an outstanding job and to whom we all owe a huge debt of gratitude. We're a very lucky Party to have a President of Garry's calibre.

We have a big few months coming up for the Party. We have the Regulatory Responsibility Bill before Parliament. It's important we have a good Select Committee process. I have my book published by Random House coming out beginning of August. That will give me an opportunity to get around the country and talk to New Zealanders. And we have a major membership drive to prepare for election 2008. There's lot to be done and no time to lose.

It's been a good year. We have an even better one ahead. The classical liberal ideas and ideals of freedom and prosperity continue to burn bright in our Parliament thanks to the ACT party.

Thank you.

ENDS

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