Peters - The Government We Deserve – Who Deserves This?
new-zealand-first-party
Wed May 02 2012 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Peters - The Government We Deserve – Who Deserves This?
Wednesday, 2 May 2012, 9:30 pm
Speech: New Zealand First Party
Rt Hon Winston Peters
New Zealand First Leader
02 May 2012
EMBARGOED AGAINST DELIVERY
Speech: Greypower AGM Ascot Park Hotel, Invercargill Wednesday 02 May 2012, 6pm.
The Government We Deserve – Who Deserves This?
It’s special to be back in Invercargill for it was here on 17 November, nine days out from the last election, that we announced the details of the Teapot Tape. And Southland was the first to hear more of what John Key and John Banks are really like.
There’s an old saying that people get the government they deserve!
That might be true in some circumstances but it’s hard to understand exactly what we did to deserve this government.
Alas, many members of Grey Power must have voted National.
And so those that did should not be surprised that state owned power companies are being privatised and sold and that prime farmland is being sold to foreign interests.
All sorts of deals are being done in backrooms over the foreshore and seabed and a constitution for New Zealand – with the Treaty of Waitangi as its cornerstone.
And there’s more:
• Like giving Sky City casino five hundred more pokie machines in return for a convention centre,
• Privatising the social welfare system,
• Privatising failure in the education system,
• Selling off state houses,
• And pouring tens of millions of taxpayer dollars into a pork and puha barrel called Whanau Ora.
Over the past week or so we have been listening to submissions on the Mixed Ownership Model Bill.
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This bill removes state power generating companies from the State-Owned Enterprises Act so they can be privatised.
99% of the people appearing before us oppose the sale of the companies that control our power stations, our dams and waterways.
These people, with commonsense reasoning, know instinctively that the power stations and waterways will end up in foreign control.
Why?
Because that’s what happened during the mad economic policies followed in the eighties and nineties.
Let me quote from one of the thoughtful submissions last week on this ownership model.
“In our country’s coat-of-arms there is a representation of Zealandia, the female character who is the symbolic personification of New Zealand.
It is good that Zealandia should invite foreign interest, welcome visitors and be a good hostess.
But there are rules, and her welcome should stop well short of removing her clothing and inviting all and sundry to have their way with her.”
There is a word for this.
It starts with P and ends with N.
That too was legalised with disastrous consequences in New Zealand a few years ago.
Never did we think it would happen to us as a country.
It is sad that New Zealand is being sold to anyone and everyone like a streetwalker in K Road.
This great country – once described as “God’s Own” – is being pimped around the globe to anyone who wants a piece.
This is what happens when you elect a party of currency speculators, wheeler dealers and globalists.
They argued with respect to the Crafar Farms sales that to not sell would cause problems for New Zealand with the Chinese.
Not selling, they said, would be a prejudicial act against the Chinese. Those arguments are based on a lie.
Land sales to foreigners is forbidden by the Chinese government which has a policy of state ownership of all assets.
It is a lie because it means that the Chinese can buy our land but we cannot buy theirs.
There is no thought of doing the right thing by our people.
As we promised Grey Power last year, New Zealand First tried last week to give SuperGold Cardholders a ten per cent winter power discount.
We wanted the Government to invoke the social responsibility clause in the SOE Act to make this happen.
It would have potentially benefitted more than 590,000 SuperGold Card holders by up to $100 on their cold weather bills.
As you are only too well aware - all power companies are increasing their electricity prices.
Under our scheme the cheaper electricity would be supplied by any of the three State Owned Enterprise-power generators - Mighty River Power, Meridian and Genesis.
Our research showed these power companies and the Commerce Commission act as a price-fixing cartel which sees domestic users pay more than their fair share.
This is unfair.
Domestic users are subsidising industrial consumers to the tune of about 145 per cent and commercial users by about 66 per cent.
This unfairness will only get worse if the power stations are eventually sold to foreign companies.
The cost of the discount scheme to the highly profitable state-owned power companies would be about $34 million a year but these companies would benefit from a larger customer base.
We had everything ready – the research papers – the legislation – we were ready to go but John Key would not even talk to us about it.
We even approached the Minister for Senior Citizens Jo Goodhew.
She is on record as admitting she could do a lot better over discounts for senior citizens. (Timaru Herald, 10 March, 2012)
She said – and I quote: ‘One of my priorities is that it will be more beneficial to both the users and businesses. [We] have new targets for this year, somewhat challenging and far-reaching targets ... to certainly improve the number of discounts in provincial New Zealand.’
However, last week her silence was deafening.
Not long ago a group from Grey Power turned up at the New Zealand First offices to discuss the way the pension is calculated.
They raised familiar concerns to us.
But as you know, the pension always heads south except when New Zealand First gets enough votes to have a say on the matter.
However, we do not intend to give up our efforts to make life a bit more liveable for senior citizens.
We are making good progress designing a scheme to bring health benefits to SuperGold card holders.
This was part of our election manifesto and announced two years ago.
A time will come, hopefully soon, when we can make doctors’ visits cheaper and at the same time introduce free annual health checks.
We are doing the maths and finding some startling results.
Working on one free doctors’ visit and five consultations capped at ten dollars a visit, the annual cost is about 90 million dollars.
There will be squeals from this government but as you know prevention is the best part of cure.
If one of you chooses not go to the doctor with a throat infection because of the cost and you end up in hospital with pneumonia, it will cost about $1200 a day on average.
In fourteen days that cost is almost $17,000.
And when our patient goes home, there is more cost with home care, nursing and so on.
So if you take into account the cost of a long hospital stay and the long term cost of care afterwards, our plan will actually save money.
New Zealand First wants this health check system for all people with a SuperGold Card to improve quality of life and treat illness before it needs hospital treatment.
Now tonight there is something else we need to talk about – and that is the structure of our society and some of the changes we have been through and those we still face.
To some of us these changes are quite bewildering.
We no longer appear to be a society with shared values.
Community spirit seems to be breaking down in many areas.
This is not simply the result of immigration and the importation of ideas, although excessive immigration can polarise society.
There are too many people who seem to be here for what they can get rather than the contribution they can make.
Daily we are fed the line that we are world citizens and our community takes in all peoples.
Tell that to the fans of European soccer clubs or the Southland and Canterbury rugby teams!
Our problem starts at the top – with political leaders and international commercial interests.
Globalisation means that businesses and individuals no longer have a stake in the country or community being exploited for profit.
These leaders don’t have to answer to the community they live in.
These leaders live behind high fences and expensive security systems.
They shield themselves from ordinary people.
So instead of being open to social influences, they are open only to acquiring more wealth.
They seem to live in a different space but they exert enormous influence on the lives of many people.
At times it appears we live in two different New Zealands.
In one of them we see a media picture of a busy government making life better for everyone, creating a brighter future, a booming economy with happy people enjoying a better life.
In the real New Zealand things are a lot different.
Remember just one year ago the Finance Minister presented a Budget that promised 171,000 new jobs over the next four years.
He failed to mention that tens of thousands of other jobs would be lost in that time.
Last week in Dunedin 1343 people applied for 100 jobs in a new supermarket. They were described as good people and there were no time wasters.
What does that tell you?
It tells me that a lot of people want to work but there are not enough jobs.
The situation is truly bizarre. Government policy takes jobs away.
It is the biggest problem we face.
There is an official inquiry going on about child poverty.
All the usual suspects are there, waffling on about child poverty when everyone knows that child poverty is caused by family poverty and family poverty is often caused by unemployment.
We totally oppose these political inquiries, which are an excuse for doing nothing.
New Zealand First also refused to take part in another farce called the constitutional review.
This review was part of the coalition deal between National and the Maori Party.
It is simply a sham designed to sneak Treaty of Waitangi “principles” into all laws governing everyday existence in this country.
It means that every New Zealander will be subject to the irrational psycho-legal-babble that surrounds the Treaty’s mythical principles.
Don’t think for one nano-second that it will help ordinary Maori who simply want jobs, good healthcare, education and housing for their families.
The long suffering taxpayers of all races will face decades of expensive, politically correct, culturally sensitive, obfuscated mumbo jumbo.
Everyone should fear this constitutional review.
Remember how they sneaked off to the United Nations in the dead of night to sign up to a declaration of indigenous rights?
New Zealand has a proud record of democracy and we don’t want it to disappear because of a cynical ploy by National to remain in power.
We don’t want to sound pessimistic but it’s time for a reality check.
Voters need to be reminded what government they voted for.
And non-voters who are now standing in a dole queue need a special reminder to get out next time and vote.
Brace yourselves for the Budget.
Prepare for a zero increased expenditure budget targeting a surplus in 2014/15.
The fundamentals mean this surplus is a vain, verging on ridiculous hope now. Our trade deficits and under target tax receipts mean that we will continue to be in a serious budget deficit in 2014/15.
Each day both Mr English and Mr Key are making statements to let you down lightly on their objectives not being met.
They may have just got away with it in 2011 but every quarterly report from here on in is going to call their economic bluff.
Prepare to see more of your families heading offshore.
Prepare to upgrade your computers and install Skype so you can see your grandchildren now and then on the screen but alas, not in person.
We in New Zealand First will do everything we can to stop our country being sold to anyone and everyone.
But remember just how close the last election was. Just think – with one more MP and National with one less, we could have stopped these asset sales and done much that would be of benefit to our collective futures.
And that’s the challenge for Grey Power in 2012/13. For I sense that the next election is coming sooner rather than later. And this time, both you and we have to leave it all, in effort, on the playing field.
If we do, then the people of this country will win a great victory.
ENDS
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