Robson-on-Politics 15 August 2007

Why isn't the Business Roundtable viciously attacking National?

If we are to believe the media, the National Party in 2007 appears to support every initiative of Jim Anderton and the progressive Left since 1999 - Kiwibank; an extra paid week's annual leave for workers; regional economic development and NZ Trade & Enterprise; the introduction, then extension, of paid parental leave for working families.

Everything the Business Roundtable and National so bitterly and vocally opposed since 1999, you name it, we are now to believe National won't reverse it.

Isn't it a bit odd that the Business Roundtable isn't on a war-path with Mr. Key's National Party? Has the Business Roundtable abandoned everything that it spent so much energy promoting for so long?

Or is the Business Roundtable biting its tongue because it knows something that the rest of us don't?

Traffic logjams, Iraqi war & drinking age - issues for Pakuranga

I was driving in the electorate of Hon. Maurice Williamson the other day, stuck in traffic, and praising the Labour-Progressive government's massive increase in investment in public transport and roading in Auckland over the past eight years - but also cursing the former National government that under-invested in the 1990s when the investment should have been made to avoid today's log jams.

Who was National's Minister of Transport?

Who was the Minister of Communications under National?

And while there have been some exciting developments in the telecommunications market under this government's patch, it does beg the question as to why the National Government of 1990-1999 sat on its hands while our telecommunications fell behind international best practice.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10456768

People in the electorate still shake their heads at the Shipley government's mad and bad decision to lower the alcohol purchasing age to 18. I wonder how some current senior National M.P.s voted on lowering the age when they were in Shipley's Cabinet and wonder how many people really know their record?

http://www.progressive.org.nz/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=97

And I also reckon you would be hard pressed to meet many people in east Auckland that think we should risk young Kiwis' lives by "standing with our allies" whenever our allies decide to invade and occupy oil-rich countries they want to get their hands on.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10456421

Auckland Regional Progressive Party Conference - August 25

I hope to see many members at the Auckland Regional Progressive Party Conference (Buddhist Centre, Eaglehurst Road, Saturday August 25) in what will be the start of our efforts to contribute to an historic 4th term Labour-led progressive coalition government.

I think four issues we could help put before voters in a campaign in a seat like Pakuranga, for example, are broadband, traffic jams, America's Iraq War and the protection of young teenagers from the harm caused by National's alcohol retail liberalisation and soft-on-drugs record in government - we could highlight National's record versus our progressive Labour-led government's record.

NZ's interest is the respect of international law and rules

You know, National is incoherent when it says we should "stick with our allies" in places like Iraq and its MPs should be held accountable for their party's position.

The biggest threats to our well-being and living standards are unfair barriers to our exports and disruptive wars which destroy potential overseas markets.

In the 1980s, for example, Iraq was a big importer of New Zealand produce. Today its main imports are U.S..-made military goods and soldiers. That may be good news for companies that make high-tech military technology in America, but it is bad news for New Zealand sheep, beef and dairy farmers wanting to expand sales in the Middle East.

In the 1980s, Iraq was a big, growing oil exporter. Today its biggest exports are refugees and political instability.

http://www.unhcr.org/partners/PARTNERS/46a9b6c82.pdf

Our allies are not friendly to our export interests

Direct trade barriers, like import tariffs (taxes) and quotas (quantity restrictions), imposed on New Zealand land-based exporters to the European Union, the U.S. and Japan, are estimated to directly cost our exporters about $2 billion a year.

If we had had fair trading rules since, let's say, the end of World War II, then around $114,000 million dollars worth of additional income for investment and jobs would have been made in our country.

It is hard getting these numbers into the perspective of a family. Every family of four is literally hit to the tune of $2,000 a year, every year, because our allies' direct tariffs and quotas on what we are competitive at exporting.

World farm subsidies valued at US$272 billion

But the cost to our economy of unfair trade rules is much greater than the cost imposed by direct tariffs and quotas.

It is estimated that governments of the EU, Japan, U.S., Korea, Canada and Switzerland between them spend US$272 billion a year subsidising their own production which is then dumped onto the world markets. Their policies depress the prices that our exporters earn in third markets (that is markets outside of those key rich economies). These dumping policies also severely depress the prices that Third World farmers can earn which significantly adds to poverty, even starvation, not to mention adding fuel to political instability across large parts of Africa, Asia and South America.

Why does the National Party even pretend that we owe our "allies" special favours? The evidence is that those that National calls our key allies are in fact the biggest blockers of fair international trading rules and represent a huge obstacle to defeating political instability, war and terrorism.

http://www.oecd.org/document/55/0,3343,en_2649_33775_36956855_1_1_1_1,00.html

Australians look Left - News from Oz

Our Australian correspondent tells me that a clear majority of the population have woken up to the cynical Right-Wing government's usual pre-election double trick of (1) fomenting division between the "mainstream Aussie" versus an invented bogey "minority" (be it refugees, Aborigines or whomever is flavour of the month to serve as "Other") and (2) badly-designed tax cuts that mainly benefit the already well-off.

"As the Federal Election campaign hots up, the latest Sunday Telegraph/SBS Galaxy poll shows the PM John Howard in danger of losing his seat in Bennelong to a high-profile Labor candidate ex-ABC TV presenter Maxine McKew. The margins for Maxine McKew are for a 3% win on primaries and 6% after preferences," she writes. "The latest poll continues a trend in the PM’s own electorate and has forced him to campaign hard on his own turf in an effort to boost his declining popularity. The date of the election has not been announced but both Howard and Labor’s Kevin Rudd have already been on the road campaigning for months".

Australia is looking Left - it won't be long before Mr. Howard admits utter defeat in Iraq and brings the soldiers home.

Plea for solidarity from Bangladesh

A Progressive member wants me to alert everyone that one third of Bangladesh is currently under water - with around two thirds of the capital city of Dhaka flooded. About 20 million people are affected, many living in extreme poverty. If you are able to help go to http://www.leprosymission.org.nz/getinvolved/donatenow.php to make a donation to assist the Leprosy Mission’s work in the region.

ENDS

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