Kiwi Party's Tauranga campaign launch speech.

The Kiwi Party
Press Release
Aug 31, 2008

The Kiwi Party held the campaign launch for Larry Baldock its leader and candidate for the Tauranga electorate on Sunday, 31st August. The event took place at its campaign headquarters in the city to a standing-room only crowd of 350 people.

Also speaking at the event was Tony Christiansen, fresh back from his trip to the States where he attempted to break the 200 mph per hour land speed record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats. Tony Christiansen lost his legs in a shunting accident at the age of nine. Entertainment was provided by Tauranga’s ‘Roy Orbison’ Tony Wellington who was a finalist in this years TV 1season of "Stars in Their Eyes'.

Larry Baldock's Speech Embargoed until 3pm

Good afternoon everyone and thank you for coming to this important political event.
I want to thank our Kiwi Party Board member Simon Barnett and our Party President, Frank Naea for there brief comments of encouragement sent with their apologies for not being able to be here today.

My thanks also to Gordon Copeland MP for his introduction this afternoon, and for his friendship these past 6 years, as we have been involved in many political struggles together.

I believe the battle for the seat of Tauranga in this election will have major implications on the future of New Zealand.
I want to address the bold claim I have made in my slogan 'Baldock your best choice Tauranga' by answering some natural objections to that statement.

Firstly let me address the supporters of the two large parties in parliament.

At present the polls done in Tauranga show that by and large the National Party are very pretty much working on a two ticks for National campaign.
National voters in the city should think carefully about the importance of their candidate vote in this years election.
Choosing to vote for their own candidate out of party loyalty could be a grave error. It does nothing to increase National’s chances of forming a Government after this election. In fact with their candidate’s very high list ranking at no 51 on the National Party list, they are guaranteed to see him in Parliament after the election. A vote for the National Candidate would be a wasted vote!
The problem National faces is not in winning enough electorates to form a Government as used to be the case under the old FPP system, but rather in having a reliable partner with which to form a Government under MMP.

The ACT party’s attempt to resurrect Roger Douglas and Rogernomics has ruled them out of any deal with National. Now Winston Peter’s deep problems with serious unanswered questions over his integrity has forced John Key to effectively rule out any possibility of working with NZ First.

At 0-1% Peter Dunne’s United Future has returned to about the same polling he enjoyed when he led the United Party on his own.
His failure to stand up and be counted on important social issues has meant he has squandered perhaps the biggest opportunity any political leader has been given in recent history.

Winston Peters may have been able to disappoint and betray his voters more than once and still survive, but Peter Dunne is no Winston Peters.
That leaves the Greens and the Maori Party as potential partners for National and while anything under MMP may be possible, for National such a scenario is surely not desirable.

If the National party have not learnt from their mistakes in 2005 when they campaigned on the slogan, ‘get rid of Labour vote National’ then it will be up to their supporters in Tauranga to rescue the Party.

Giving me their candidate vote does not split the vote and allow Labour back in power. It does the opposite. It ensures their long awaited dream of a National led government supported by a sensible constructive partner with several experienced MPs and a caucus full of talent and integrity can be realised.

Labour voters in the city who are concerned about a National Government returning to the harsh economic policies of the 1990’s should also think carefully about how they vote.

Your electorate vote can make a huge difference to allaying your fears. While as Leader of the Kiwi party I have made it clear that we will not support a Labour Government after this election I will do all in my power to provide the necessary social conscience to a National Government. As a kid who grew up in the State housing area of Gate Pa I am well aware of the good a Labour Government can do for those in need in our society.

The fact is though that any traditional labour voters in this city or anywhere in this country for that matter must be very concerned about the laws the Helen Clark led Labour government have been passing over the past 9 years that have been undermining New Zealand’s traditional values.

Values that former Labour Prime Ministers like Michael Joseph Savage and Norman Kirk stood for!
Values like social justice, caring for those in genuine need, and building strong families upon principles of honesty and integrity.
I am sure that many traditional Labour voters may still want to maintain their loyalty to their old party in the hope that it will reform itself, find new Leadership and a path back to its roots.
Party loyalty can run very deep, and I can understand that while they may not be able to bring themselves to give their party vote to any other Party other than Labour, it is in their best interests to give their electorate vote to me to ensure the Kiwi Party holds the balance of power in the next Government.

“Tauranga is an amazing place, I love this city I have known since I came here as a two year old in 1956. Individuals go from here to the corners of the world and make their mark on other nations, while many international organisations have their headquarters located here in this city. We even have our own medical ship that sails from our harbour regularly to change the lives of thousands in the pacific with it’s ministry of compassion.

15 years ago in our first MMP election this city elected someone who raised issues of injustice and promised to right many wrongs and hold the powerful accountable.
Tauranga’s representative sent to Wellington from this city has affected issues across our nation.
It now seems however, that having become a powerful force in NZ politics he has lost his way and forgotten what his original mission was.

It is time now for Tauranga to continue its legacy and elect another to carry out this vital task of waging a campaign against injustice and those who perpetrate it.

I make my claim to being the best choice for this city in this election because I have the parliamentary experience that would enable me to begin immediately to take up the challenge coupled with the passion and determination to begin to make changes now.

I am not interested in being a career politician and making a difference sometime later. I believe I have already made a difference, but there is much more work to be done and I know I can do the job.
I have always believed that being the local MP means having a willingness to hear, serve and go to battle for what is in the best interests of those I may be elected to represent.
Between 2002 – 2005 I served as the defacto MP for the city, and worked in partnership with local politicians and business leaders and did my best to meet the genuine needs of the area. Together with Margaret Wilson I worked hard to bring $160 mil to the area to meet our road infrastructure needs.

I entered politics primarily because I care about people, and the issues of injustice that seem to be increasing everywhere in our society with devastating consequences for many.
I am deeply concerned about the growing corruption, and loss of servant hood in our Government departments;
Like the INZ where it’s former head is under investigation.
Like CYFS where they have enormous power and little accountability.
Like the Police Department whose leadership seem to closely aligned with their political masters.
Like the decline in the justice delivered by our courts.

As I begin my campaign for this seat today I am appealing for support from those voters who are concerned about the decline in standards of honesty and integrity in our political representatives.
We are seeing our Kiwi values undermined and the foundations of our great country showing signs of deep cracks.

In addition to the current political accusations and counter accusations being reported which have so many shaking their heads in disgust,
I want to remind the people of Tauranga of the most serious breach of our democracy that occurred on May 16th, last year that we must not be forced to accept.

I am, of course, referring to that black day when 113 elected representatives, more than 90% of the members of our Parliament, chose to put party loyalty above the will of at least 75%-80% of the citizens of this country when they voted to take away parental authority from good mums and dads all over this country.
To add further insult to injury when our petition was presented to parliament to give all New Zealander’s an opportunity have their voice heard, the Prime Minister demonstrates no respect for the 390,000 Kiwis who signed the petition and refuses to hold the referendum at this year’s election. Justice delayed is justice denied.

Only one MP stood up for Democracy, my colleague Gordon Copeland MP, who boldly sort leave to move a motion in the house to resolve that the referendum be held at the election, only to have that leave denied by Labour and Green MPs.

Sue Bradford said recently she is ready to have the debate about her bill.
No one can claim that NZ voters are not informed about this issue, it has been debated for more than two years and still the polls show 80% opposition.
The debate has been had, surely what matters now is whether we live in a democracy or not.
By organising and completing the ‘Citizens Initiated Referendum’ to make the voice of the people heard I know, have made a difference, but now we must ensure that the non-binding referendum is respected regardless of when in the next 12 months it is held.

National Party Leader John Key has made no commitment to abide by the result of the referendum.

So I urge all those in this city opposed to Bradford’s anti-family law to understand this important fact.

Your electorate vote can and must be used to ensure that this law is overturned and our Parliament made accountable to the voice of the people.

A vote for the National candidate will not achieve this.
A vote for the Labour candidate will not achieve this.
Only a vote to ensure my victory in this electorate will make this happen.

This is something that has never been achieved before and the good people of Tauranga can make it happen.
Then having secured this victory we must amend our laws regarding referenda so that such a travesty does not occur again.

I know some are worried that I keep going on about the anti smacking law but no one need worry that I am stuck on one issue. I and the Kiwi Party I lead have a whole host of issues I want to address. We want to change so many things it is hard to prioritise what our priorities are.

Unlike John Key and the National Parties priorities ours are directed and addressing the damage done by the Labour government in the last 9 years. Not a single one of those outlined by John Key this month addresses any of Labours social engineering or National mistakes of the 90’s.
We must fix the mistakes of the past and then build a better future for our families and communities.

Why after almost a decade have we not reversed the failed catastrophic experiment of lowering the drinking age?

Despite recent raids that rounded up many underage prostitutes selling themselves on the streets in south Auckland, why does National say nothing about the need to deal with the law that created the environment for this to happen?

Why do we tolerate the situation where an underage school girl can be given an abortion without parental knowledge whatsoever, and where every year we see statistics on teenage pregnancy, abortion and STD’s amongst the highest in the OECD nations of the world?

How is that we have tax law and government policy that undermines the importance of marriage, and a welfare system that is assisting in creating a society where more and more children every year are growing up separated from their fathers.
The Kiwi party policies will build a strong marriage society and increase the ability of parents to do the most important job in the country.

We will address the miserably low wages being paid that partly contributes to the exodus of so many of our people, and the stress upon many households that cause them to break under the pressure.

We have policies to support organisations that are working at the coal face in our communities dealing with the social consequences of family breakdown, drug and alcohol abuse, and problem gambling.

We must reduce the size of our government and see more emphasis on people working in the private sector to generate wealth in our economy rather than seeking the higher wages now on offer in the state service. Exporters must be given all the support they to meed to compete in the international environment to provide jobs at fair wages.

It is for these reasons and many more that I am seeking the support of Tauranga voters to send me as their representative to Parliament to restore honesty and integrity into our political arena and to represent the needs of this rapidly growing city.
Tony Christiansen has shown us this morning what can be achieved when we put our minds to it. Wathching him climb Mt Kilimanjaro on his bum has to inspire us to climb our mountain of challenge together.
Together we can make a difference. I look forward to your support over the next two months.

Thank you.

ENDS

© Scoop Media