ACT And The Year Ahead

Rodney Hide Sunday, 11 February 2006 Speeches - Other

Speech to ACT Central Regional Conference, Masterton Cosmopolitan Club, Queen St, Masterton, 1.30pm Sunday 11 Feb 2007.

It's going to be a great year! A great year for New Zealand. A great year for politics. A great year for ACT.

We spent last year establishing ourselves in Epsom and turning ACT into a true MMP party.

Our job this year is to reinvigorate New Zealand politics with new ideas for making our country a more free and prosperous nation.

I was voted in as MP for Epsom in September 2005. We had gone door-to-door in the election campaign, asking Epsom residents to vote for me. It was big ask. Epsom was the safest National seat in the country. The commentators had written me off. But the good people of Epsom took a chance and voted for me.

I am determined, in return, to be the best MP they have ever had. I never want Epsom voters to regret their decision to back me.

I have worked hard getting to know the people and the electorate. I have enjoyed it.

I have enjoyed getting to know the communities and the neighbourhoods. I have been privileged to take the issues and concerns of Epsom people to Wellington. Epsom residents have in turn appreciated having an MP that has taken an active interest in them, and the issues that concern them. They know they have an MP that puts them first - above all else. The ACT party would not exist if it wasn't for Epsom.

I, for one, will never forget that.

That's been the Epsom strategy. For the wider party we have worked hard to turn ACT into a true MMP party. We are no longer just a party of opposition. That's First-Past-The-Post thinking. We are in Parliament to advance ACT principles and policies. We will work with any and all parties at every opportunity to do so. It is the ideas, the policies, and the direction of the country which concern us - not backing any one party at the expense of another.

We are no longer a tactical appendage of the National Party.

ACT is now a true independent party operating in our MMP Parliament. We stand for our distinct principles and policies. We stand for individual freedom and personal responsibility.

That's what sets us apart. It is not uncommon in Parliament for there to be just two votes for freedom and personal responsibility, with all other parties voting for increased state power and control. We don't just mouth our principles - we back them with our policies, and our votes.

So we stick to our principles, but we don't just oppose for the sake of opposition. We are working as a positive force in Parliament, not a negative one.

We work to advance our ideas and our vision for New Zealand, not just to hold the government to account.

Of course, there are times when we do oppose and criticise. We support good ideas, and oppose the dopey ones. Our opposition, shared with the Greens, to the mad-cap idea to plonk a giant stadium on Auckland's waterfront was just such an occasion. But our opposition is not knee-jerk.

Not everything that Helen Clark has done has been wrong. And not everything that National has said and done has been right.

It is the policies on a case-by-case basis that we assess. And always we ask the most basic and most important question of all: will this policy make New Zealand a more free and prosperous country, or will it restrict our freedom and hinder our ability to prosper? That's the test we apply to policy, and it's the test that determines our support or opposition.

It doesn't worry us who the author of a good idea is - we will support policies so long as they advance ACT's values and principles.

It is the nature of MMP that parties must work together for the sake of our country. That means establishing points of agreement with other parties and making what gains we can, while putting aside some of our differences. And yes, we do have our differences, with all parties. We must, of course, debate those differences - that's what politics is about. Open debate is healthy - it allows us all to learn and to grow - but we conduct our debates with dignity and respect. We must be clear about what we stand for, and spell out our differences, but we also want to work with others to advance those policies on which we can agree.

I know that can be confusing to members, to the media and to voters. But it's MMP and politics. We can stand in splendid isolation opposing everyone else - but we have tried that. We can subsume ourselves to another party - we have tried that too - or we can stand tall and proud for our principles and ideals, working with other parties for the good of all. That's what ACT has been doing this past year.

A key case in point is my Regulatory Responsibility Bill. My Bill makes the rules we live by more transparent and accountable. It applies a red-tape test to all new legislation and regulations, and to all existing legislation. It would be a big advance for governance in New Zealand. It would make lawmaking more open and lawmakers more accountable to the people they serve. Much of the silly red tape would be cleared away.

It's an important Bill for the country.

Our small businesses and our families are drowning in bureaucratic rules and regulations, but my Bill would clean them up.

The first hurdle is to get my Bill sent to Select Committee so the people of New Zealand can have their say. That requires the support of other parties, when the Bill is voted on later this month. I am working with other parties to gain that support, because everyone opposes mindless regulation.

All say that they want more openness and accountability.

What I have to do is translate that sentiment into support for my Bill. If I can do that, we can get my Bill to Select Committee and do something both practical and substantial about the bureaucracy which is holding Kiwis back.

We are working with the other parties like never before to advance what is a very important piece of legislation for New Zealand. I make the case with the third parties that we should, as a matter of principle, support other's Members Bills at least to Select Committee. We may disagree with them, but in the interests of democracy and allowing the public to have a say on relevant and important issues, we should get Bills before Select Committee for proper debate and scrutiny.

So ACT faces a big start to the year with my Regulatory Responsibility Bill.

'Politics as usual' will be interesting too, as John Key and Bill English line up against Helen Clark and Michael Cullen. Helen Clark is New Zealand's most popular Prime Minister since polling began. She's come a long way since rating just two percent. Michael Cullen remains formidable. With Richard Prebble having retired, Michael Cullen is now Parliament's sharpest operator.

But up against them, Bill English is no slouch and John Key has started his leadership well, heading straight into Labour's territory. He knows that National must win votes off Labour to make it into government. John Key began his year talking of his concern for the welfare of children. Helen Clark is to start hers talking about sustainability - and I know who has the best chance of connecting with voters. It's going to be a big contest between National and Labour.

It will, however, be a contest without new ideas or policies. The voters that John Key needs are now voting Labour. They are comfortable with what Helen Clark is doing. He can't afford to be promising too much change - so he will simply promise to do it better. The choice between Labour and National won't be a choice over direction or policy, but about personnel.

That's why we have a big job this year. It will be ACT's role to debate the ideas and offer real change to New Zealand. We need to debate contemporary issues and explain how our principles and ideas provide durable solutions that actually work, rather than more of the same failed short-term fixes. We live in a country where Government's answer to every question is simply more government, and only ACT stands for less politics and more free enterprise in response to the problems that ail us.

We shouldn't be afraid to debate new ideas. We need to encourage a political climate where ideas can be tossed about and considered. That's how good policy gets developed. We should be prepared to debate ideas and policy options ahead of taking fast and firm positions on policy heading into the election.

John Key began the year talking about children who go to school hungry. It was a good start. The debate got sidetracked over how many kids are hungry, and whether private charity has any virtue over state provision - but let's accept that there are kids who are malnourished. What we haven't heard is what to do about it.

That's where ACT comes in. We ask the tough questions and try to get to the root of the problem. That's the only way to get to durable policies that will deliver.

The sad fact is that there are children turning up to school hungry. Labour seems hell bent on blaming National for the problem. National blames Labour. There's a great deal of heat, but not much light.

But the ACT party that stands for personal responsibility cuts to the heart of the problem. Where in this equation are the parents?

The prime responsibility for feeding and caring for children rests - as it should - with parents. Not with the state, and not with schools, businesses or politicians. The people most responsible for feeding kids are Mum and Dad, not John Key or Helen Clark.

And let's put away one piece of nonsense that clouds the issue. A lack of money is not the reason kids go hungry. There is a poverty, but it's a poverty of spirit and care, not a poverty of finance. That's why more welfare won't work. And politicians know it - they increase welfare cheques for votes, not to feed hungry kids.

I eat Pam's Porridge for breakfast. I get a 1.5 kg pack from Pak'n'Save for $3.00. That's enough for 30 breakfasts. That's ten cents a breakfast. I don't believe parents in New Zealand can't afford ten cents a day to give their own children a decent breakfast - it's half the price of one cigarette. The real problem isn't poverty, it's a lack of responsibility on the part of the parents.

Our forebears were far poorer than us. They went though harder times. They had more kids, but still they fed and cared for us. Welfare wasn't generous back then, and it put great responsibility on parents. Our growing welfare system has removed that. We have children having children. Mothers and fathers who can't look after themselves have children who grow up neglected and missing out on the opportunities that most Kiwi kids can take for granted. And all too often these children grow up to repeat the cycle of their parents.

We need to break that cycle. But to do so we must replace open-ended welfare with a return to parents accepting greater obligation for their children, and greater responsibility for themselves. That's why ACT advocates a mentoring programme which puts help alongside mums and dads who don't have the skills and knowledge needed to look after their children. It's sad we have to do this - but if that's what we must do to break the cycle, let's admit it and get started. We have seen mentoring work with the Christchurch Family Help Trust.

And we also must toughen up. We don't do anyone any favours by providing open-ended welfare to those capable of work. That's why ACT has always championed time limits on benefits, requiring the naming of fathers before receiving the DPB, training or community work for those who are able-bodied and on a benefit, regular assessments for those on sickness and illness benefits, and childcare for young Mums on a benefit so they can work part-time.

We can break the cycle of dependency and despair - but it takes more than words. We need to stand up for ACT's tried and true principles of individual freedom and personal responsibility. We need to look to the root causes of our problems, and address them.

It's going to be a great year for ACT. We live in a fabulous country. Yes, we have some problems - but we can deal with them, and make New Zealand even better. With your help we will.

ENDS

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