Sunday, 10 July 2005

Richard Prosser Otago candidate for Democrats for Social Credit

Democrats Give Otago High Priority

Otago’s Democrats for Social Credit candidate, Richard Prosser, has been placed fourth on the Party’s list for the upcoming election.

Mr Prosser, 38, an Alexandra winemaker, vineyard contractor, and freelance journalist, said that his ranking reflected the good support which the Social Credit party had historically received from Otago, and the importance which the party placed on the southern region.

Mr Prosser had been a member of the Social Credit party from the middle 1980s, and returned to active membership when the party ended its affiliations with both the Alliance party, in which it had members in Government during the coalition with Labour, and Jim Anderton’s Progressives, following the 2002 election. Democrats for Social Credit would contest the coming election as a stand-alone party again, he said.

Mr Prosser believed there was still good support for Social Credit policies out in the heartland. “People like the idea that there is still a party which puts New Zealanders first, and which has costed and common-sense policies to help ordinary people, farmers, and small businesses, through the abolition of student loans, a fairer and simpler tax system including the abolition of GST, and help for local bodies, health boards, and first-home buyers, through zero and low-interest finance,” he said.

Although the party vote was the most important in deciding which parties were represented in Parliament, and the makeup of Government, Mr Prosser was standing for the Otago seat as well, because he believed local representation was very important. “It’s ironic that as one of the first parties to push for MMP back in the eighties, we may be one of the last to benefit from it,” he said. “But giving the region a voice in Wellington is vital as well, and for the last six years, Otago hasn’t had an effective or accountable local representative.”

Mr Prosser was motivated to go to Parliament because he was concerned about the Government’s priorities. “New Zealand’s sovereign and economic security is more important than political correctness and social engineering,” he said.

ENDS

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