Robson-on-Politics - August 28 2007

Could someone ask Mr. Key to name the 27 democracies?

Mr. Key gave an odd speech the other day http://www.national.org.nz/Article.aspx?ArticleID=10863 claiming that there are 27 full democracies with universal suffrage, free and fair elections between parties and freedom of speech and association.

Freedom in the World, the annual report produced by the conservative Freedom House, tries to list countries by free to partly free to not free - its estimate of the number of free democracies is about 90 (green-shaded in table - around 50 get a perfect 1+1 reading)*

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_in_the_World

There are of course many ways of measuring the extent of true democracies - I think the most honest and comprehensive measure is the Vision of Humanity initiative developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit and Sydney University in which New Zealand ranks in the Top Five - and the United States ranks 96th - and Iraq ranks the very lowest of the low (121st place).

http://www.visionofhumanity.com/rankings/

But whether you prefer a sophisticated analysis like that of the Economist Unit, or the much more limited Freedom House, initiative - I don't think that anyone would claim that there are only 27 democracies on the planet.

I would love a press gallery journalist to ask this most obvious question: What are Mr. Key ‘s sources? I mean how far Right does one have to go - to claim that there 27 "true democracies" in this World of ours? Which countries that are democratic don't qualify by this strange measure?

*The Right Wing Freedom House's perfect-scoring true democracies that get "1-1"ratings number about 50 countries: Cape Verde, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Chile, Saint Kitts, Costa Rica, St. Lucia, Dominica, USA, Uruguay, Nauru, Australia, NZ, Palau Kiribati, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Hungary, Andorra, Luxembourg, Austria, Malta, Belgium, Cyprus, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Portugal, France, San Marino, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Iceland, Switzerland, Eire, UK, Lichtenstein and Italy.

Christchurch Mayor: Megan Woods is the 2021 candidate

Dr Megan Woods, the Christchurch 2021 candidate in the upcoming elections for Christchurch mayor, is putting up an excellent campaign against the reactionary candidates.

Megan, who was Number 3 on the Progressive Party Parliamentary List in 2005 and our Party's education spokesperson, is doing a great job uniting progressive-minded people to work together from across the Labour, Green and Progressive parties - and beyond.

In New Zealand politics, the Centre-Left has always represented a large majority of the population with our policies that strengthen working families' rights and opportunities - and expand peoples' access to public services. If you live in Canterbury and want to assist the campaign while having fun, then do it!

www.megan4mayor.com

Progressives resolve to focus Auckland resources on one seat

Jim Anderton and I enjoyed the positive Auckland Regional Progressive Conference on Saturday.

The Conference resolved to focus our Auckland regional resources and efforts in the 2008 Parliamentary Election in a single National Party held seat.

I am keen to lead that campaign and I strongly believe that we should take the campaign to National by targeting one of its senior M.Ps.

National's record in government for working parents: Zero

The reality is that the National M.Ps sat in Cabinet for nine years and delivered policies that favoured a section of society, whereas our Labour-led government's record is that we have delivered substantial policies that have significantly improved the lives of a majority of the population, particularly for working families.

National's record was very high unemployment, no changes to annual paid leave entitlements, no paid parental leave, no significant action to raise the minimum wage.

The 1990s is the decade when the big gap in New Zealand and Australian wages and conditions was created. It was the wasted decade of more user-pays for social services and more asset sales (Auckland International Airport, forests, rail and Contact Energy spring to mind).

National's record: Cut NZ Super on pretext of Asian financial market turbulence

National used the turbulence in Asian financial markets in 1998 as an excuse to ruthlessly hit senior citizens on fixed incomes and therefore in no position to protect themselves.

National cut New Zealand Superannuation entitlements at the very same time as it shamefully put out the begging bowl overseas to borrow money to fund income tax rate cuts that by cynical design, disproportionately benefited those already on high incomes.

National did NOT make the major investments in public transport and roading that Auckland desperately needed in the 1990s to avoid today's major traffic chaos.

National did NOT have the courage to promote competition in the telecommunications sector.

It was in National's time that the alcohol retailing laws were liberalised - in came the sale to teenagers of alcohol from the local dairy - and it was to the detriment of families - because National M.P.s arrogantly disregard families' views because National MPs think they know better.

National wants to turn all State Owned Enterprises into listed companies like Air NZ - where the taxpayer and Parliament have absolutely no say on the listed companies' behaviour despite maintaining shareholdings (and therefore financial risk) in the listed companies. National would sell-down the Crown's shareholdings in State Owned Enterprises like the electricity companies, NZ Post, Kiwibank and Land Corp. to any old investor - regardless of whether that serves our national interest.

Our government's record: NZ Super raised, Minimum Wage raised

National's record is the opposite of the Labour-Progressive record and it is important that we challenge sitting senior National M.P.s and hold them to account for their record in government - and also in Opposition since 1999 where they have opposed our Labour-led government's Four Weeks' Paid Annual Leave for workers; where they have opposed our raising of the Minimum Wage each and every year; where they have opposed our introduction and extension of Paid Parental Leave; where they have opposed our establishment of a Kiwi-owned Bank and our decision to end asset sales; National opposed our Government's decision to raise the floor of NZ Superannuation.

There is no way that a majority of New Zealanders support what National really stands for: Our challenge is to make them get up in public meetings and defend what they want to do in government and to contrast it with what the majority want and what only a Labour led government will deliver.

Campaign Fund Committee to be established

Over the next few weeks, the fund-raising campaign committee will start meeting regularly. In January, we'll open a full-time Auckland campaign office.

Policy Committee to address tertiary fees, First Home buyers, alcohol abuse

The full membership of the Party has been asked for input to list their priorities for progressive policy in the Membership Survey 2007. Health issues, including the need to do more to protect young people and their families from the ill-effects of alcohol and other drugs such as tobacco and cannabis, was listed as the Number 1 Priority by over 35% of respondents.

Parliament has a responsibility to deliver solutions to the public's often expressed expectation for political leadership to turn the tide against alcohol and other drug abuse and associated social ills - from gambling to prostitution.

The second largest group of Party members, at just over 30%, listed the affordability of housing for first home buyers as the top priority in progressive politics while the third largest group of members listed issues around Family and Parental Responsibility as their Number 1 priority.

At the Wellington Progressive Party meeting earlier in the month there was a strong view that the economically and socially crippling loans that young people are burdened with when they get post-school education and training has to also be on the agenda of progressive politics in the next Parliament. It is a legacy of right-wing policies of the 1980s and 1990s that we still need to work on.

There is a strong case to be made to progressively lower tertiary fees (toward zero) particularly in subject areas where our society requires graduates with particular skills, perhaps as part of so-called regional bonded schemes whereby graduates agree to use their skills to work in regions where those skills are most in need.

And from our special Australian correspondent: John Howard knows best –or overriding state and territory governments

Who said rightwingers take the side of States Rights versus big bad Central Government? Not when you’re John Howard facing re-election and you’re behind in the polls and all the Australian state governments are Labor. Leaked papers revealed recently that John Howard would be mounting attacks on the states in an effort to reverse his government’s flagging popularity and now he is doing just that.

So far he has over-ridden state decisions on: indigenous affairs; local body amalgamations in Queensland; a local hospital review and the building of a logging mill in marginal Tasmanian seats; and Victorian and NSW objections to water plans for the Murray-Darling basin. He now threatens to take over the running of all the ports from the states if they don’t bow down to his employment ‘restructuring.’

This week he coined the term, ‘aspirational nationalism’ as the way he sees the relationship between state and federal government developing and says he if he wins the coming election, he will continue to override the states if he believes it is in the best interests of Australians. After all, it’s in their best interests to have him as their PM for a fifth term. Isn’t it?

ENDS

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