`I Won't Do What You Tell Me To Do*'
Contents: Editorial: Late, Bored, Blah Etc :) Young Labour SGM Ideology - From Steve Maharey News Is Good, Good News Is
Better. Web Site Of The Week.
--Editorial: Late, bored, blah etc :)
Apologies all for the lateness of this issue of Future Lefts. I would make up some cunning excuse for it, like waiting
nervously to see what New Write had to say, or that there was some vital announcement coming out from the Government
today, but I'd be lying. I was just disorganised.
Actually, last night I was out at a farewell dinner for some fellow staff members at the University. The University in
its infinite wisdom has decided that rather than having full time staff members on the student help desk, it would like
to replace them with casual part-timers (such as myself!) who cost less, and are more approachable to students,
apparently. I'll leave it to you to decide the rights and wrongs of that situation.
I note with delirious joy our opponents had a policy conference this week. They came up with such delightful ideas as
"immediately privatise TVNZ" and "same sex couples should have equal rights." While I have no problem with the latter,
the former just goes to show how far out of touch NZNP actually is. A national media is incomplete without a public
broadcaster to provide high quality, impartial and well-researched information. Of course, right wingers don't want any
of that - it undermines their arguments! The people spoke in November - they don't like privatisation. And if National
ever wants to regain power, they will be looking to ditch that little YN commitment.
A quiet week means little news. Steve Maharey's weekend speech to the Waikato Regional Conference of the Labour Party is
included because it's always useful for us to catch up with just how the Caucus is thinking about these things. And a
longer than usual web site of the week is worth reading too - good to see people out there campaigning on issues of
relevance to their communities.
Till next week,
Jordan
--
Young Labour SGM
There is an SGM being held for all Young Labour members in Wellington on Sat 15 April, at Parliament. On the agenda is a
look at YL's age, with a motion to increase the maximum age being debated. It will also be our first big national
meeting since the Election, so we will be discussing the role of Young Labour in Government, and sharing ideas on
building University clubs and youth branches around the country.
The meeting will also commence the formal planning cycle for Annual Conference in June.
All members are welcome to attend. Please contact Jordan at carters@ihug.co.nz if you are interested, or to find out
more.
--
Ideology - from Steve Maharey.
Introduction Let me at the outset thank you for the opportunity to meet and talk with you at your Regional Conference,
and to congratulate you on the superb organisational effort within this region that contributed so much to the 1999
election result.
What a difference it makes to be in Government.
What a privilege and a pleasure it is to be in a Government led by an individual who brings intellect and integrity to
the office and to the process of government.
What a pleasure it is to be a Minister in a Government that has done so much in its first 100 plus days in office.
What a pleasure it is to be part of a Government that sees itself as a vehicle to realise the historic mission of its
Party.
What a pleasure it will be to state with pride that we were part of the Fifth Labour led Government, and that we were
members of a Party and a Government headed by one of the truly great Labour Prime Ministers.
Your conference is soon to break up into a series of workshops organised around the theme of partnership:
Partnership through process Our Coalition partners Tangata Whenua partnerships Community partnerships Communication for
partnership and Developing partnerships
Today I want to talk about what partnership means in the context of our mission as a Social Democratic Party.
I want to spend the time talking about political ideas and ideology.
I am acutely aware of the danger of selecting a topic such as this - there is something in the New Zealand political
culture that resists ideology as such, and I sense that in our own party we have, and I might add for largely
understandable reasons, an aversion to ideology and a preference for doing the business. The electorate has heard us
talk the talk, and now they expect us to walk the talk.
Those of us who have been Party members for some time have other reasons for being wary of ideology. Some would say that
those who drove some of the more extreme elements of the neo-liberal prescription within the Fourth Labour Government
did so from a clear ideological position. Moreover they assumed that the problem was never with the ideology or the
theory, it was just that the real world had this terrible propensity to act in a counter-theoretical fashion.
And after too many years in which politics and public policy have been the hostage of ideology the people who put us
into office might legitimately say - "get on with growing the economy, fixing up the education and health systems,
dealing to the outstanding Treaty issues."
But it is important for us as a Party to make the connection between ideas and action, between principles and policy -
to articulate a shared world-view, and to articulate a well grounded vision of where we want to take our country.
At one level some might say, "what's the point - we know what we stand for - we stand for social justice", or "we stand
for the rights of working people" - and that's right, as far as it goes. But I would stress the need for us to have a
comprehensive and consistent frame-work for our project as a Party and a government.
And I would stress the importance of taking the time to share our individual views - as Party members, activists,
Members of Parliament - about why we are in politics, and what we hope to achieve. In other words we should spell out
our mission as a Party.
Of course we have our manifesto, and we have the core commitments or pledges which were so very important in building
that personal relationship between Helen and the electorate during the election campaign.
I am absolutely certain that our commitment to the core pledges, and our resolute performance as a Government in
delivering on the 100 day programme that Helen identified at the Wellington pre-election rally have gone a very long way
towards restoring a sense of trust, a sense that there is accountability, and that manifesto 'commitments' are not made
to be broken, or drafted to be so platitudinous that they allow any one to read anything at all into them.
I am pleased that as a Party we no longer draft policy with a view to being able to drive bus-size holes through it
after the election.
So what are some of the principles that inform the specific elements of a manifesto and a programme, and which provide a
context within which specific parts of the programme make sense as part of a total project?
Partnership through process
I want to concentrate most of my comments today on the first workshop topic - 'partnerships through process'. I want to
do this because I feel quite strongly that the new politics that we will encourage as a Government will be about
partnerships that open up government and politics to the governed.
In the campaign our slogan was, "The future is with Labour". That future may well be a future of partnerships, and I
want to focus on what partnership might mean for us as a Government, and how the notion of 'partnership' is central to a
coherent social-democratic project for Aotearoa/New Zealand.
This doesn't in any way diminish or detract from the importance of the other workshop topics - they are all vital, and I
am absolutely convinced that they central to the development of that project. It will be a new way - some people talk
about a 'third way' approach in which we take the best from the community and the market - but it will be 'our way'. It
will build on the proud traditions of our movement and our party, it will build on the relationship that our Party has
had with the first people of this land - the Tangata Whenua - and it will build on the founding document of this place,
the Treaty of Waitangi.
Simply rehabilitating politics and government - restoring trust in the political process and in the institutions of
government - is something that it is fundamental to what we are about as a Party - it is a core part of our world-view,
of our social democratic project.
Let me explain why I see that as being so fundamental.
The great US economist Professor John Galbraith captured the essence of the issue when he said that:
"Once the great dialectic was capital versus labour. Now it's the conflict between the comfortable and the deprived. And
the comfortable see government as a threat, because it is the only hope for the deprived"
If we unpack this we get a sense of why 'government' and 'politics' are in and of themselves so important to us as a
Party.
Government really is a threat to some - that's why we see the emergence of anti-government parties like ACT. It's not as
if the problem is big government, or intrusive or heavy-handed government, any government is the problem.
The anti-government ideology has been a very persuasive one in this country over the past 15 years. It's based on the
assumption that what drives politicians is the quest for power and the trappings of office - that politicians will do
and promise anything to get into office, and once there will exploit any or all of the levers of power to stay there.
It's based on the assumption that bureaucrats aren't really interested in public service, but only in the perks of
office and growing the size of their departments.
Part of the problem with these assumptions of course is that you can find some support for them - Rob Muldoon made the
case for those who wanted to take politics out of government with his propensity to exploit any or all of the political
levers that he had at his disposal.
It wasn't the left that made the case for bad government in this country, it was the right.
And it was the Fourth Labour Government that lost its way in trying to find an alternative between the heavy handed
statism of Muldoonism, and the free market anti-statism of the new right. In one sense the Fourth Labour Government
failed to meet the challenge of finding a 'third way' beyond these two extremes.
So when we talk about partnership through process we are talking at one level about the rehabilitation of politics in
this country - about imbuing the process of democratic representation with some integrity and some respect.
But we are also talking about re-building the relationship between government and the governed in other ways. The
ideology that held that politicians and bureaucrats couldn't be trusted was one that encouraged less government.
But it was fundamentally an anti-democratic ideology because it suggested that people couldn't be trusted with the
institutions of government - the ideology was one of capture - providers captured, customers captured - any interest
constituted a vested interest.
And this ideology encouraged government through contract.
In the health system, the government contracted with the funding agency, that contracted with the purchasing agency,
that contracted with providers for outputs etc etc.
But the one thing that wasn't permitted was any meaningful engagement between those making policy, those delivering
health care, and those receiving it - why?, because any engagement would allow these vested interests to corrupt the
process.
That's still the accusation that's levelled at Government by the right. Take the establishment of Industry New Zealand
and the change of focus from a Ministry of Commerce to a Ministry of Economic Development for example. This is what the
National Business Review had to say in a recent editorial:
"The trouble will be, as always, capture. Bureaucrats' specialty is to make policy, not business decisions. Politicians'
specialty is votes, although decisions on where assistance is to go is to be kept out of the hands of elected officials.
And the business people who serve on Industry New Zealand will have their own agendas and priorities. How those problems
are to be avoided is yet to be made clear..."
What's the message? You can't trust the people with government.
We are different as a Party and as a Government because we reject the automatic assumption that any interest is a vested
interest.
We reject an approach to government that freezes everything into a contract.
We want to rebuild the capacity of the community to engage with government.
In short, we want to rebuild the relationship between the state and civil society.
We want to rebuild it because it is that relationship that has been the casualty of the neo-liberal right wing policies
that we have seen for far too long. And it is that relationship that will be threatened again in the event of the right
regaining power.
What was ACTs slogan in the last election? - "Values, not Politics"
What did Galbraith say again - "the comfortable see government as a threat". In essence the 'comfortable' see politics
as a threat.
So when we, as a Party and a Government, talk about partnership through process, we are about remaking the institutions
of civil society.
And there is another reason for doing so - it's not only good politics, its sensible economics. That's why highly
respected economists like the former Chief Economist of the World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz, have argued for a new approach
to the relationship between politics and economics. Here's what Stiglitz said in his Foreword to a collection of essays
by some New Zealand advocates of an alternative approach:
"The new strategy must employ more instruments and broader goals in an effort to achieve a transformation of society, a
movement from traditional relations, traditional ways of thinking, traditional ways of dealing with health and
education, traditional methods of production, to more 'modern' ways"
Stiglitz talks of a new approach to economic development - he talks about partnership and he talks about the importance
of democratic engagement with the policy process. For Stiglitz the strategy,
"should build a consensus, not only about a broad vision of the country's future and key short- and medium-term
objectives, but about some of the ingredients for achieving those goals. And at its heart, the new development strategy
must involve meaningful ownership and participation - which not only have inherent value, but also increase the
effectiveness and stability of development policies"
So it's about good politics, and good policy - participation has its own intrinsic values, and it produces the goods.
And we can see that already. Partnerships are becoming a signal feature of this Government. I see it in my own portfolio
areas when I encourage the Department of Work and Income to engage with benefit advocacy groups.
I see it when I encourage public servants to break out of their policy silos and to start talking to each other.
I see it in the Prime Minister's Local Government Forum where we are talking about a real partnership between central
and local government.
I see it as we develop a compact - a partnership - between Government and community and voluntary groups.
I see it in the enormous potential provided by the Mayor's Jobs Forum - the opportunities for partnership between
central and local government around an employment strategy.
I see it in initiatives like the new legislation on students associations, where we are seeking not only to encourage
students to organise collectively, but to engage in partnership with University and Polytechnic Councils in the
governance of those institutions.
I sense it with initiatives like Modern Apprenticeships - isn't it great to see the term apprenticeship back! - when I
say to Industry Training Organisations, to the unions, to employers, and to Polytechnics - 'get along side the officials
as they develop the pilots and launch Modern Apprenticeships nationally'
And we will see it right through the new Government's programme :
We will see it in the health sector as Annette King provides opportunities for the community to once again take some
sense of the ownership and governance of health care.
We will see it in industry and regional development as Jim Anderton and Pete Hodgson involve business, unions, and
government in addressing industry and regional development issues.
We will see it in the workplace as Margaret Wilson's new Employment Relations legislation opens up opportunities for
workers and unions to work in partnership with good employers to improve productivity and grow the productive base and
potential of this economy.
We will see it in arts and culture as our artists and writers and performers once again have a sense that Government has
a vision for our society and join with the Government to grow our cultural capital.
And perhaps we will see it most importantly as the parties to the Treaty of Waitangi address the grievances, provide
redress where appropriate, and build a basis for a shared partnership In very practical terms we will see it as we
address the causes of social exclusion and rebuild the capacity of our people to participate in the processes of
politics and government - as we close the gaps, and open up the opportunities.
Conclusion
In my Ministerial Office we have what in management speak is sometimes referred to as a 'mission statement'. Our mission
statement is, 'to make a little history'. In truth I hope that as a Party and as a Government we will make quite a lot
of history.
And we will all be part of making that history.
We come from a proud tradition. It is a tradition of ideas and of action, and it is a tradition that has always been
about fostering a sense of partnership between government and the governed, between the state and civil society.
This is our time - this is our chance to make a little history.
And we will do that: because we are the Party of social justice, because we are the Party that can realise the potential
that we have in our people and our resources, because we are good at government, and because we have the capacity to
liberate the very idea of government.
Thank you.
Ends
--
News is good, good news is better.
* Economy Booms - a record growth figure of 2.2% for the December quarter shows the domestic economy is roaring along,
but from a low base, according to Dr Michael Cullen. The growth is helped by an increase in exports, but strong import
growth underlies concern over the current account deficit which came out last week at record levels.
* No credit downgrade - in further good news, Cullen's and Labour's careful stewardship of the economy has avoided a
much-anticipated downgrade in NZ's credit rating by Standard and Poors of New York. While expressing some (predictable)
concerns about the new left wing government, they gave us a vote of confidence by not down-grading there and then.
* Bulk Funding abolished - legislation to get rid of the bulk funding problem while enhancing funding for all schools
was introduced to the House last week, drawing boring cries and crocodile tears from the opposition. Removing bulk
funding improves the incentives to all schools - and allows the money set aside to bribe schools into the system to be
given to all schools who need it.
* F-16's cancelled - at last. We've discussed this at length before. Related issue: do we keep a strike force at all?
More debate on that will be coming up, guarantee it.
* Student occupations - Victoria students occupied their Registry today, and it appears that Auckland students will
attempt the same today. University of Auckland has a habit of bloody-minded and aggressive responses to attempted
occupations - it will be interesting to see the outcome tomorrow.
--
Web site of the week - http://www.muftiheretaunga.co.nz
(contribution from Nick Kelly, feedback through the Editor.)
I am 17 years old and a member of Young Labour. I am also a member of the 7th form (year 13) at Heretaunga College. I
have been involved in a campaign to have the school uniform abolished and to have a mufti dress code introduced for all
students at the school. In fact we've built a web site about the campaign: http://www.muftiheretaunga.co.nz
As member of Young Labour who are obviously young liberals, the idea of making all school kids wear Victorian style
uniforms should repulse us. Schools are for giving students an education not for moulding students into conformist
zombies.
My main objection is the gender stereotyping uniforms do. They (uniforms) force girls into short skirts and boys into
Grey trousers. Girls feel they have to shave their legs and be made to look like sex objects because of these pointless
uniforms. In the modern world males and females are equal and clothes styles are gradually becoming more unisex, but
these outdated uniforms are holding back this progression. In fact I've heard stories of male students at some schools
who were threatened with expulsion because they dared to wear a skirt to school.
Uniforms are expensive. While doing our Mufti petition in Upper Hutt I had a number people from working class families
who came up to me saying how hard it was to afford the uniform and how much cheaper it would be not having to buy one.
These working class families are the very people who voted Labour into office! I worked out that at my school you could
buy four sets of mufti clothes for the price of one uniform.
So visit the web site and make up your own mind!
--
* - that subject line has no significance. I just couldn't think of anything else to say.
All submissions should be to the Editor at carters@ihug.co.nz.
While this newsletter is published in the name of Young Labour, the contents is entirely the responsibility of the
Editor and the views expressed here don't constitute any official position of Young Labour. All contents copyright (c)
2000. Subscribe at younglabour-subscribe@listbot.com
ends