1. ANOTHER YOUNG NAT SELECTED AS CANDIDATE

25 year old Otago student Paul Foster has been selected as the National Candidate for Dunedin South.

"I am absolutely delighted, and grateful, that the Dunedin South branch of the National Party was prepared to endorse a younger candidate. This is evidence that the party is moving forward - and it differentiates us positively from Labour which, it should be noted, has chosen to select no younger candidates," said Mr. Foster.

NZ Young Nationals Chair Grant Tyrrell has congratulated Mr Foster. "Paul is a highly motivated and talented individual and will run a successful campaign. As a Young Nationals Regional Chair he has been inspirational in bringing Southern to new heights of membership and communication, and I expect these skills will stand him in good stead for his next challenge."

"Paul is the second candidate from Young Nationals to be selected for National with Dan Gordon in full campaign mode in the marginal seat of Waimakiriri.

"It is a credit to Young Nationals that these two fine candidates have been chosen to represent National and I look forward to another two Young Nationals in Parliament," Grant Tyrrell concluded.

2. CLEARING A PATH TO GROWTH

“National is embarking on a programme of raising long term growth rates because meeting New Zealanders’ growing expectations requires a strong, sustainably growing economy,” says National’s Leader Bill English.

National’s economic strategy for the 2002 election targets sustainable growth rates of greater than 4 per cent a year for New Zealand.

“Our Plan for Prosperity includes a number of strategies aimed at achieving this goal. Things such as upskilling our workforce, cutting business compliance costs and red tape, creating an environment that supports innovation, encouraging private/public investment partnerships, as well as lowering taxes - both business and personal - are all important and included in our strategy.

“Lower taxes are good for the economy and National makes no apologies for implementing policies that will encourage growth and benefit all New Zealanders. We don’t believe in the politics of envy where people are needlessly punished for being successful.”

Mr English says National can afford tax reductions because it is not committed to the Cullen fund and it will also retain similar increases in social spending that the Government currently is.

“We can’t have world-class health and education without a world-class economy and National’s economic strategy is firmly focussed on helping us achieve this goal,” said Mr English.

NZ Young Nationals Chair Grant Tyrrell said the package was a “godsend” for youth.

"Lower taxes create growth and at a personal level reward excellence. Young people entering the workforce are being trusted with their money to save, repay debt or spend as appropriate.

"By promoting economic growth National will also be able to respond to the other great issue of my generation - student loans. Young Nationals will continue to work towards equitable student polices.”

View the whole package at www.national.org.nz

3. CLARK MUST GO – ENGLISH

’Paintergate’ has become such an embarrassment for the Prime Minister that she must do the honourable thing and resign her position as Minister of Arts and Culture, says National Party Leader Bill English.

“Not only has her deceit caused the Prime Minister major embarrassment in New Zealand, it is now receiving widespread international media coverage.

“It does nothing for the reputation of this country with headlines around the world reading, ‘New Zealand premier faked painting’, ‘Prime minister is painted into corner’, ’Art fake lands NZ PM in hot water’, and she even appears on www.worldgaffes.com

“The Prime Minister’s behaviour since this story broke has been reprehensible. She has blamed everyone other than herself. It is not hard to see why The Scotsman’s newspaper at the end of their article on the matter has listed her among other great pretenders from Amin to Archer.

“If Helen Clark really cares about art and culture as much as she claims then she should resign her position as Minister of Arts and Culture immediately and get some integrity back into the portfolio,” says Bill English.

Young Nationals have offered to purchase the infamous painting with Chair Grant Tyrrell saying; "We believe that this will be a collectors item, a momento of one of the darkest days in New Zealand political history."

However it seems that the top offer of $10 was too low with several other expressions of interest in the fake painting.

4. HOT GOSS FROM PARLIAMENT

*Last edition I mentioned the number of ACT – National relationships; I have since learnt there are now four such relationships. An ACT person told me “we’ll stop stealing your women if you stop stealing our policies, principles, and ideas!”

*Earlier this year a journalist from a major daily newspaper “retired” and left the country. But apparently the real reason for this “retirement” was Helen Clark ringing the paper’s editor and proclaiming she would never talk to that journalist again. The paper then promptly sacked the journo. So that’s what happens to those who dare question St Helen…

*Jim Anderton is being taken to court – by Matt McCarten’s girlfriend. Cathy Casey was previously Jimbo’s private secretary, but was sacked by him in February. She is now taking a personal grievance claim against him.

This means both the Alliance leader and deputy (Sandra Lee) have been sued by former employees. Aren’t the Alliance meant to be the party on the side of the workers though, rather than nasty employers?

*Everyone knows that Bill English is well informed on serious issues like health, education, and the economy, but he is also an expert on celebrity gossip. Apparently he is a fan of Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and he was dismayed to hear last week that Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz have broken up. He is also keen to hear about the new Britney Spears movie.

*Labour Ministers Margaret Wilson, Judith Tizard and Tariana Turia have renovated their Ministerial toilets in Bowen House and banned their staff from using them. The poor workers now have to climb up to the 8th floor and share the ACT Party loos.

*The newspaper ads from Jim Anderton and Sandra Lee asking for donations have no person or organisation to make out the cheque to. Or are they just expecting cash? Perhaps a keen Young Nat should ask the Commerce Commission about this…

*More on the Nick Kelly saga – Scoop now has the original bitchy emails exchanged between Nick and Lianne Dalziel. You can find them, and Nick’s original article, at:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/archive/scoop/stories/28/a2/200204051514.a0c15955.html

*Check this out – in 1999 Save Animals From Exploitation (SAFE) Director Gary Reese told the Sunday Star Times this about Helen Clark’s ‘painting’ for auction:

"I should really call her to ask her what it is. But I really love it. It's a great painting. It's hard for non-artists to do something expressive and I think she has been very courageous and it has worked well."

*A National MP who is currently in Belgium says he has been approached by officials from around the world, including the US State Department, who have heard about Helen’s Clark’s art forgery. The item has made the front page news of The Times in the UK and has also featured prominently on CNN, BBC, and major papers throughout Asia, Australia and Europe.

The Scotsman paper notes that Helen Clark is not the first politician to deceive the public about her talents; in a major article it compares her to other fraudsters like Idi Amin and Lord Jeffrey Archer. You can read the full article at http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=405062002

*Two Maori Labour MPs were overheard abusing Jim Anderton as they left the debating chamber in Parliament recently. They helpfully suggested that National MPs begin calling him “Alamein Anderton”.

*The latest Tui billboard in Wellington is a classic: it simply reads “The Alliance. Yeah Right.”

It must be a sweet moment for the team at Tui who were bad-mouthed by Jim Anderton and forced to take down a billboard that offended him two years ago. Jimbo objected to the slogan “I’d trust my money in a Government bank - Yeah Right”.

*The ACT Party say they are receiving bizarre allegations from both sides in the Alliance feud, with stories of misuse of perks, misuse of official money, misuse of travel and of unpaid debts. They claim they don’t deal in this kind of ‘yellow journalism’, and won’t publish any of it.

I have advised the ACT Party I have no such principles and I will happily publish any stories people have – send them to me at newwrite@national.org.nz

5. WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

Helen Clark really IS an artist! This website proves it once and for all – it is a gallery of her best animal paintings.

http://www.wildlife-art-online.com

Any views expressed here are not necessarily those of New Zealand Young Nationals, or the New Zealand National Party.

Contributions, feedback, articles and subscriptions welcome. Email
newwrite@national.org.nz

Editor: Phil Rennie

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