Free Press
ACT’s regular bulletin
Lest we Forget
Free Press salutes those who fought and died far from home to secure our freedom this week. They will not be forgotten.
The Bartlett Case
On the face of it, the Bartlett case is a budgetary decision. The Government is nearly the only employer of care
workers, so it has decided to give them a pay rise. Damian Grant points out that it is likely to lead to a smaller number of more productive people employed, but that’s by the by. What is more
interesting is how it has framed politics.
Not Helped By…
Jim Bolger has gone off his rocker, apologising for his neoliberal reforms that have allegedly led to an increase in
inequality. As has been widely documented, there has been little change in income shares since the 1980s. What has
changed is that since the RMA was passed by Bolger’s Government in 1991, the lowest income quintile have gone from
spending 27 per cent of their income on housing to 54 per cent. That is the equality issue Bolger should apologise for.
National Awards?
Interviewed on Q over the weekend, CTU boss Richard Wagstaff stopped short of calling for a return to National Awards in the wake of the
Bartlett case. However recently returned Labour member Laila Harre said on the Q panel that Wagstaff should not shrink from promoting National Awards.
Reverse Takeover
Labour now has a union boss for a leader because the unions control the leadership. Willie Jackson is a candidate, Matt
McCarten is a chief party organizer, and Laila is back in the fold. Can anybody believe that the Labour Party agenda is
not a return to National Awards where wages for the entire economy are set sector by sector in Wellington?
Shooting Themselves in the Foot
As New Zealand Initiative economist Eric Crampton has pointed out, there has actually been a slight decrease in inequality since the introduction of the Employment Contracts Act in
1991. It is not obvious that a return to national awards would even help with the objective of the CTU. Lots to play for
this election.
Please Explain
How can someone immigrate to New Zealand as a resident, be convicted of six offences including indecently assaulting
children as young as eight, serve two jail terms, and not be deported? That is the case with Sultan Ali Abdul Ali
Akbari. Normally we’re all for individual privacy, but in this case the Minister cannot hide behind procedure. The
public interest outweighs the privacy of someone who is bloody lucky to still be here. The Minister should issue a
detailed explanation of how this happened to protect public confidence in our immigration system.
If Not Now, Then When?
That is the powerful lament of Tracey Chapman, but it could also be applied to Steven Joyce’s painfully slow reveal of
tax cuts for the budget. ACT will be revealing a fiscally viable tax package that starts from the assumption it is your
money before the Government taxes it away. You know, the way a centre-right government should approach these things. In
the meantime, you can console yourself with Tracey’s soulful ballad.
Shadows of Shoah
It is also a week of remembrance for the Holocaust. We have been attending remembrance ceremonies where the extent of
the barbarism is brought into the present by diary readings, accounts of survivors, and this haunting set of videos called Shadows of Shoah. As the events of the Holocaust slip from living memory, these videos are worth the watch.
Resolution 2334
An unavoidable topic at these events is UN Resolution 2334, a New Zealand sponsored Security Council resolution that, if
taken seriously, would make Israel practically indefensible. ACT appreciates the complexity of the region but that is
more reason for New Zealand to not take sides, or side with the only free and democratic country in the region if at
all. Many National supporters see the resolution as a betrayal.
ends