Peter Wakeman challenges debate

Peter Wakeman of Christchurch, a member of the NZ Labour Party is standing as an independent candidate for the Te Tai Hauauru by-election on 10th July 2004.

Peter Wakeman says "Lets koreru about a constitution, one that could only be amended by referendum."

Without a constitution the government could freeze our assets in the case of NZ going bankrupt (bank accounts have been frozen by governments before). With 12 Billion Dollars of Student Loan Debt rapidly increasing each year, it is currently hurting both students and families and holding back the rest of the country.

While the good news is that the loans show as an asset in the nations accounts, the bad news is that the debt is getting bigger and the Citizens of New Zealand are responsible for it. [Budget 2004/05].

The taxation burden as a proportion of income is horrific for us all. After income tax has been paid we then pay $12.50 for every $112.50 spent on clothes, telephone, insurance, electricity, food, medical costs, labour and education, even new cars and houses. We even pay it on the excise tax on a beer and many other things including fines, court costs, passports and drivers licences.

When people who took out student loans get a job, income and personal circumstances determines if they are paying any proportion of their student loan back.

This is spawning 'invisible financial slavery' where cost of debt servicing and basic living is greater than what people are able to earn and save. The country is going backwards and more and more people are becoming poorer.

[People who work one hour per week are not classified as unemployed for statistical purposes.. note: this means that one hours work is counted as a job having been created. Further, a full time 40 hr a week job is counted as full time employment even though the government has to provide you with an accommodation supplement as the wages are insufficient to live on.]

It appears that all these free trade agreements that we are entering into with low cost labour partners are making employment of New Zealanders uneconomic. New Zealanders are in effect paying for job creation offshore.

The response to this has been for govt. to increase immigration for short term economic gain, seemingly serving only to increase housing prices beyond the capability of most 1st Home Buyers. People who immigrate, even with degrees, find it difficult to make ends meet on the wages offered in New Zealand. They may come with money but that soon runs out. Yet once they become New Zealand Citizens they can apply for student loans. It is understandable when they become further qualified they can take advantage of better opportunity overseas and leave their student debt behind them.

Looking after the additional immigrants that remain in New Zealand, the taxpayer wears the increasing cost and strain of health, welfare, education, superannuation and infrastructure.

The Prime Minister, Hon. Helen Clark supports the idea of a constitution while the leader of the opposition does not.
Having a constitution is very important, especially how it is written, in order to protect the rights of New Zealand citizens.

We need a constitution to prevent parliamentarians making laws that remove or denigrate our rights. That means the rights to Justice for all New Zealanders are enshrined. For this reason, Mr. Wakeman does not support the proposed Seabed bill. rather he opposes the Seabed and Foreshore legislation, along with another member of the labour party currently in parliament.

Mr. Wakeman challenges TVOne, TV3, PrimeTV and Maori Television journalists to stop interviewing the commentators and broadcast a real debate with all the candidates for the betterment of the country.

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