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Speech to Democrat Divisional Conferences
At Wanganui and Wellington
2004
Man, what a month in politics!
Who would have thought that the Labour Government’s juggernaut to power in the next election would be stopped in its tracks?
Helen Clark and her colleagues have recently been bashed by the political clubs of race, education, immigration and crime……
All serious issues, but issues that are only symptomatic of what is really wrong with this country.
I must admit, this is the first time ever that I haven’t thought …..
“A plague on both your houses”….. There has been significant effort to rectify the ravages of the user pays economic agenda, …..efforts in health, in education and employment.
But these are still just glorified Band-Aids.
No amount of tinkering…. by whatever government,…. will have any long lasting beneficial effect,….when the economic system that underpins these actions is flawed.
The Democrats have tried working within the Alliance,….. we have tried working within the Progressive Coalition,…… but Don Brash has ably demonstrated what can happen when you nail your true colours to the mast.
The New Zealand Democratic Party has decided to stand alone at the next election. ……It is our responsibility,….having made that decision,…….to promote our core policies for economic transformation. …….
These core policies make our message different, in a field of bland, “same old, same old” political parties.
The Democrats want to reform New Zealand’s financial system….. To do this we must have the courage to nail our colours to the mast.
Community Credit, Universal Basic Income and Financial Transactions Tax……. must be unashamedly marketed ………as the avenue by which social ills will be approached and dealt with.
Our challenge is to present these core policies in a way that is easily understood and accepted.
Rob Muldoon said “People vote with their hip pockets.” …….Things that affect hip pockets are the costs of education, health care and housing.
These can be free,… or affordable…. with the use of Community Credit.
The Financial Transactions Tax….. is a strategy for doing away with the cumbersome and unjust GST. It could eventually replace other forms of taxation.
FTT can be collected by banks, easily and cheaply, in the same way as they now collect Resident Withholding Tax.
The removal of the ill effects of speculation and currency instability, and the reduction of compliance costs is of benefit to all.
Lower, simpler and fairer taxes is the message.
And now I come to Universal Basic Income.
The purposes of Basic Income are to eliminate poverty,….
To increase personal freedom, …..and to recognise unpaid work,….. by giving every New Zealander …an unconditional return on his or her share ….of the wealth of the country as a whole, ….and the cumulative efforts of past generations.
One of the few benefits to come out of the privatisation of power companies was the handing out of shares to customers. …….
People now understand the concept of dividends from those shares,…….a reflection of their ownership stake in the company….
It is just a small step to understanding an ownership stake in the country, …..and receiving dividends from that ownership.
UBI will be funded by both Community Credit and the money currently allocated to the benefit system. ……
There will be no need for an expensive bureaucracy to administer and police handouts …. as applies under the current system.
These, and indeed all Democrat policies are underpinned by the tenets and the purposes of the party. ……
Among these are religious and racial tolerance,…… social justice…… and the acceptance of all cultures for mutual enrichment.
Just as the Magna Carta re-formed the way those in power in England dealt with each other,……. so does the Treaty of Waitangi set the tone of the relationship…… between the two main peoples inhabiting New Zealand.
In spite of media reports, New Zealand’s race relations are arguably the best in the Western World. ……Maori and Pakeha live together, work together, play together, and marry one another.
The Treaty is a living document that provides the foundation for redressing past wrongs, ……. and guides us in our continuing relationship with one another.
We set it aside at our peril.
We are all New Zealanders ……..but we are not all the same.
The bland monoculture, that some advocate for this country, could never produce both the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Whale Rider.
Our culture, our economic strength, and our future depend on this rich diversity.
And where do the Democrats come in?
Our economic reform policies will provide bridges between diverse communities….. Pushing one down does not make another taller.
It is only through the prosperity of all that we will thrive.
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