Rt Hon Winston Peters

3pm, Sunday, 15 November 2015

Events in Paris, a Serious Matter for New Zealand

It is a pleasure to address this public meeting here at Point Chevalier.

At the outset, let’s thank the organisers of this meeting for their hard work and also our many New Zealand First supporters in Auckland.

The support we receive from New Zealanders throughout the country is greatly valued by those of us privileged to be in the Parliamentary team.

This talk today starts with France.

Because two events in Paris are of great importance to New Zealand.

The first, is the appalling terror acts that happened this weekend.

The second, is the forthcoming climate change conference.

Both events have profound significance.

At the outset, New Zealand First expresses its condolences to the victims, and their families, of Friday night’s terror attacks in Paris.

An attack on innocent people of the scale and carnage that has occurred in Paris is an attack on civilised life.

It may take some time before the full background to the attacks is revealed but the choice of Paris in not an accident
Paris –the City of Light – has come to represent the embodiment of Western civilization.

Certainly many of the great events and great figures that mark human history over the past 1000 years have had Paris as their background.

So it is no exaggeration to say that Paris, and what we commonly consider to be civilised life, are synonymous.

Democratic values – freedom of speech – tolerance.

Those famous words from the French Revolution:

Liberty – Equality - Fraternity are still powerful concepts.

As New Zealanders our feelings at this shocking event are mixed.

Yes, we totally condemn a barbarous act of terrorism.

We reflect on how fortunate New Zealand is to be distanced from so many of the global sources of conflict.

Perhaps when we think about this weekend’s events in Paris many of our own concerns and difficulties take on a rather different and less important perspective.

But we also know that geographical distance is illusory – and that we cannot take our security for granted.

New Zealand is part of the modern world.

We must not be complacent in the face of the challenges facing the global community.

This is no time for naivety.

Whether it is in Bagdad, Beirut or Paris terrorism is designed to attack the innocent, ferment turmoil and break down order and stability.

NZ First has always taken a responsible approach to matters of New Zealand’s security.

And we support measures that will ensure our intelligence services are well resourced and equipped to deal with the potential threats that may face New Zealand.

We must take the threat of terrorism seriously and work with our allies and other countries that share our values to counter this global curse.

The challenge we face is to ensure that New Zealand is not seen as an easy target - and that those who wish to undermine our values do not take root in our country.

That will take constant vigilance.

But countering the threat of terrorism does not mean we ditch all the safeguards we have in place to ensure there is no abuse of power.

That means the Government must treat the public and Parliament as responsible partners - and both must be kept informed of the nature of the threats we face - to the extent that protecting vital security measures allows.

Climate Change Conference

Now turning to the United Nations Climate Change Conference that starts at the end of November in Paris.

It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of this global meeting.

This is an opportunity for the global community to agree to act decisively on climate change.

Since the Industrial Revolution, economic activity and growth has been inextricably linked to fossil fuel use – principally coal and oil.

We now know this must change if human society is to drastically cut carbon emissions and curb global warming.

Globally the challenge is to urgently move to other sources of energy and adapt our economies to those energy sources.

However, you can be excused for scepticism when it comes to climate change conferences.

Will this be it - the moment the global community takes firm action?

The prospects are mixed.

Since the last major UN Conference on Climate in Copenhagen in 2009 progress has been disappointing.

The conference may just shunt meaningful action on climate change into the future - as has happened so many times before.

There is a spreading consensus among world leaders that while there is still time to tackle climate change by reducing emissions, that window is shrinking fast.

As an example, in a recent speech Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, gave a stark warning of the economic and financial impact of climate change.

Internationally, business and financial leaders are also talking about the cost consequences of climate change and delaying mitigation measures.

In addition to the accumulating weight of scientific evidence, other events are also creating a context of urgency for the Paris Conference. Events such as;

· President Obama has made climate change a focus and both he and President Xi of China have made major declarations

· The migrant crisis in Europe which some see as linked to climate change

· The Californian drought and other extreme weather events

One thing is certain. The outcome may be either a fudge or firm action. The developing world will be looking for greater financial support from the developed world to take climate change action.

There have been so many conferences – so much talk and so many speeches about climate change that it is easy to be sceptical about the outcome of the Paris Conference

NZ First takes the view that it is OK to be sceptical – indeed that’s being realistic - but we must not succumb to cynicism. Because cynicism then becomes an excuse for inaction

NZ First has a clear and practical approach to climate change:

First, NZ First wants the Paris Conference to set firm targets for cutting carbon emissions and for New Zealand to commit to meeting its international obligations on emissions.

Second, NZ First’s policy is to develop sector by sector plans to achieve New Zealand’s new emissions obligations and targets (if agreed at Paris). This practical and plausible approach will cover all the sectors of the economy

Third, NZ First respectfully suggests that the next UN Climate Change Conference be held on Kiribati, Tuvalu or another threatened Pacific Island state.

Such a choice of venue will bring for delegates a new dimension of understanding of the threatened impact of climate change.

Paris is the other side of the globe – but this weekend’s events there, and the climate change conference in a few weeks’ time, show how the great challenges we face have become global

As set out today on two of the greatest issues confronting the global community – international terrorism and climate change - NZ First brings realism and a practical stance to bear on how New Zealand should respond.

Public Assets

Any speech this weekend in Auckland should address the threat of a private raid on public assets.

The Auckland City Council has been told by consultants to sell off assets.

Apparently many investors are keen to buy. Of course they are. They can’t wait to get their hands on strategic assets built up by you, the ratepayer.

Money to them is king, and once they have ownership they won’t care who they squeeze. The ratepayer will hurt in the end – paying for a big corporation, here or overseas, to make a profit. Where is the public good in this ownership change? Where will be the public control over the charges made by the new owners? From experience we know it will not exist.

And let’s not forget who consultancy companies represent? Most make their wealth out of working for big business. It’s in their interests to advise governments and local bodies to get out of ownership.

But selling off the family silver never ends well, as New Zealanders know. A few locals get rich and so do foreign investors.

The big state assets sales of the 80s and 90s were cruel to New Zealanders. Thousands upon thousands lost their jobs. It was all about short term gain. Gone were Telecom, BNZ, State Insurance, Government Print, etc.

Both Labour and National sold taxpayer built assets for way below value. By selling successive governments have lost out on any revenue they brought in. We ended up with private-owned monopolies, like Telecom. We got higher phone charges and they made massive profits.

And remember we’ve had to buy back some of the biggest - Air New Zealand, KiwiRail - because private companies failed.

Telling a government or local body to sell its assets is not just a simplistic answer to finding the wherewithal for infrastructural development. It is an admission that central government has seriously failed in its infrastructural development role.

But, argues Ernst and Young, there are billions to be had from a big sell off.

Well, be warn Auckland. Choose well. Remember the deeds of the Prime Minister. Despite Kiwis telling him they didn’t want power companies sold he did it anyway.

Ernst and Young even want Auckland to dispense with open spaces. Get rid of the most valuable city golf courses for housing they say. Just at a time when we are trying to get our kids and families out and about. More useful advice would have been – make them more accessible to all Aucklanders.

Top of the sale hit list is the 22.4 per cent stake in Auckland Airport.

Then there’s the 75 per cent share in the energy company, Vector, owned by a community trust. Around 80 per cent of the trust beneficiaries fall into the lowest two income tax rates. For many, this annual dividend payment is how they get to buy necessary clothing, or help to pay their winter heating bill.

But greedy ‘investors’ want the whole caboodle for themselves. There won’t be any family dividend then, just higher power charges.

And on the Ports of Auckland, New Zealand First says leave it alone. Instead protect Aucklanders marvellous harbour and recreational asset. Move further expansion to Northport.

Conclusion

Seven years into this National Government and they have well and truly run out of any idea of how to improve this country. Significant sections of the productive export sector are in trouble.

Many of the regions are in trouble and we face a most uncertain future here in Auckland with a housing bubble that will sooner, rather than later, burst.

It need not be that way, if we got back to doing some of things we have been world leaders at.

But we can’t so do that while we are governed by blind Right-wing ideology that has had over 30 years to prove it can work. Thirty years is over four times the period to prove the value of a philosophy.

So now is the time for you to make a stand and tell them that you have had a stomach full of their propaganda. It’s time to return to sound policies and principles of government. And for that to happen, the rise of one political party is critical. That part is New Zealand First and today I am asking for your support.

ENDS

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