Without it, a business can be set for failure from the start.
Financial decisions made by entrepreneurs at the earliest stages of their business can be the most important, as well as the most difficult.
Many budding entrepreneurs have the business ideas, vision and enthusiasm to see their idea through, but lack the necessary financial skills to ensure the idea becomes a business reality.
-We will introduce a Business Advice Voucher scheme, open to 5,000 entrepreneurs in the start-up stage  and early growth phase, who  require finance to  support their enterprise, grow and scale up.
Vouchers worth €2,500 each would assist entrepreneurs in managing and growing their business.
Such voucher provision would assist an entrepreneur in availing of a local business advisor, discussing the business’s financial elements, establishing if their business plan in operation is meeting targets, while reviewing business performance to-date.
The total cost of this annually would be €12.5m
(iv) Encourage Job creation through Employer PRSI Relief
Reducing the costs of generating new jobs is vital to spurring further growth and reducing unemployment.
PRSI is a significant barrier to employers who want to expand and are prevented from doing so by onerous costs.
-We will introduce a new PRSI relief system that reflects the increase in the headcount of a business encouraging further expansion, innovation and employment.
In particular we will eliminate PRSI contributions for employers who take on long term unemployed young people aged below 29.
This will be done on a revenue neutral basis within the existing budget for employment supports.
(v) Establish new financial supports for young entrepreneurs
Finance is one of the main hurdles preventing young people from starting new business ventures.
They do not have the same personal financial resources as established entrepreneurs typically have.
Banks apply a set of constraints in the assessment of loan proposals, including credit history, previous business performance and collateral, which mean it is more difficult for young people to obtain external funding, including debt finance.
A level playing field is needed in securing access to alternative sources of funding.
-We will establish a Disadvantaged Entrepreneur Start-up Assistance Fund (DESAF). DESAF will invest in supporting aspiring young business entrepreneurs by providing coaching, training and mentoring.
This programme would make available seed finance and early stage enterprise capital for young people starting their own business.
Young people aged 18–25 years with a viable business plan would be eligible for this programme.
An annual allocation of €10m would be made to this fund.
(vi) Set up an Entrepreneur Training and Mentoring Programme (ETMP)
Starting and expanding a business requires a distinct set of skills not always accessible or possible to deliver in traditional courses.
A new approach is required.
-We will create an Entrepreneur Training and Mentoring Programme (ETMP).
The aim of this programme will be to increase the number of entrepreneurs in Ireland as well as increase the sustainability of existing new enterprises.
First-time young entrepreneurs aged over 18 years of age following completion of second level education will be eligible for ETMP.
The programme will provide training and counselling for persons interested in a self-employment career path.
Entry into the programme will be permitted to anyone who owns their own business, regardless of how long it has been established.
ETMP will offer free training and mentoring services to persons wishing to become self-employed.
The ETMP will offer three basic services centred on assessment, training and business counselling.
We are allocating €2m on an annual basis towards the operation of this scheme.
Bridge the Digital Divide
Digital infrastructure is now essential for supporting employment in all areas – yet policy has been slow and unambitious.
The failure to ensure universal access to a reliable and fast mobile and broader digital infrastructure is a key driver of unbalanced regional development.
We will:
(i) Undertake a national mobile phone coverage audit
A core issue with communications in many parts of Ireland is the dire quality of mobile phone signals.
This is directly harming business as well as frustrating people in their day to day lives, another example of the digital communications divide that is leaving many behind.
Instead of “hot spots” these rural areas are “not spots” struggling to stay connected with the wider world.
We will:
Launch a national mobile phone coverage audit under the remit of ComReg, at a cost of €200,000.
This audit will form the evidence basis of our plans for improving coverage levels and strength.
Ensure that details of the audit are publicly available and updated regularly.
(ii) Launch a National Mobile Phone Infrastructure Plan
In order to reduce rural isolation and ensure businesses across the country have a fair opportunity to compete we will actively tackle the mobile phone signal deficit.
We will:
Require Comreg to enforce coverage standards through its licensing contracts which will include meeting national coverage targets within set periods.
Where there is no reasonable alternative, we will roll out state funding for improved coverage.
We are allocating a capital sum of up to €50m for this purpose.
Enforce 4G national coverage standards through licensing contracts issued by ComReg.
Charge ComReg with putting forward proposals on how best Ireland can spearhead 5G mobile coverage.
(iii) Secure Universal Fibre to the home broadband across Ireland
All communities in Ireland need rapid high speed broadband access.
It is vital for rural sustainability that homes and businesses join the global digital community.
There have been too many commitments left unfilled by Fine Gael and Labour.
Broadband can help open up a global market for rural tourism and small local producers.
Ad hoc approaches must be replaced with a bold, ambitious long term plan that will place Ireland at the forefront of the IT revolution.
Rolling out Fibre to the Home broadband (FTTH) will be a future proofed policy that will equip Ireland with an infrastructure capable of competing in the global economy.
FTTH is fibre optic cable capable of delivering download speeds of up to 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) directly to households and businesses.
-We will support the roll out of fibre optic broadband directly to all premises in the state through commercial operators and direct state intervention, backed by an additional €75m in funding to accelerate roll out.
(iv) Develop Regional Digital Hubs
The Digital Hub Development Agency (DHDA) has been a success in terms of job creation and promotion of digital related learning and training opportunities.
Since its establishment in 2003 it has provided flexible office space and business support services to growing technology companies in Dublin.
Combined with a renewed physical infrastructure thorough Fibre to the Home broadband and 4G mobile coverage spreading this Digital Hub example across the country this will help generate an IT enterprise revolution in rural Ireland.
We will:
Build on the success of the DHDA by engaging with local authorities to ensure that rural Ireland also benefits from the development of the digital sector.
Provide up to €1m of funding to each local authority.
This will support entrepreneurship throughout the country and enable tomorrow’s entrepreneurs to grow businesses and jobs in their home county.
Secure a fair price for farmers and a successful agri-food sector
The agri-food sector is not only Ireland’s most important indigenous industry; it also lies at the heart of social and economic life throughout much of the country.
There are clear imbalances which are undermining its long-term sustainability.
Especially important is the manner in which family farmers are increasingly finding it difficult to receive fair prices for their produce.
We believe action is now required to ensure that producers can earn a decent living as part of a dynamic and innovative sector.
We will:
(i) Establish a national Food Ombudsman and work for new fair price legislation at EU level
The future of the family farm unit and long term food security is reliant upon producing goods at a profit
. Farmers are struggling to make a sustainable income in the face of on-going price erosion by large multiple retailers.
Tackling the fundamental problems of price and profitability facing the family farm requires a combination of national and EU action.
A fair price for their product is the central plank of Fianna Fáil agriculture policy and is vital to the long term survival and success of the horticulture, beef, sheep, liquid milk and poultry sectors.
We will:
Amend consumer law to provide for a “Food Ombudsman” and protection of primary producers in national law.
Press at an EU level for legislation focusing on two interlinked issues.
Firstly ensuring that there is transparency in the food chain and
secondly that the over dominance of a small number of players is curbed in the interest of food security and the retention of family farming in the EU.
Seek specific EU legislation making it mandatory on food retailing firms that exceed certain thresholds to supply information and data on the gross margins they obtain on specific food items for each of the Member States in which they operate.
(ii) Reform the inspections system
The impact of “Green tape” and an intrusive inspection regime is creating undue stress and concern for working farmers already struggling to make ends meet.
Many families fear the threat of failing an inspection and subsequent financial penalties.
-We will introduce a fairer and more transparent inspection system based on the yellow card model that gives farmers a fair but firm warning on non-intentional non-compliance with measures.
This means that failure will not instantly meet with potentially disastrous penalties but rather with a clear introduction to fix the problem before penalties are levied.
This will be introduced in co-ordination with the EU.
(iii) Restore Farm Assist and the Rural Social Scheme
In order to maintain the family farm unit across the country state supports are vital to making it financially viable for families.
Measures such as Farm Assist and the Rural Social Scheme combined help support low income farmers make a living and keep farming their lands.
In areas where profitable farming is difficult to achieve Farm Assist is a vital safety net and has helped generations of farmers keep their holdings and communities alive.
We will:
Increase the number of places on the Rural Social Scheme by 2,500 on a phased basis at annual cost of €42.5m.
Restore Farm Assist means testing rules to the rules that applied in 2011 at a cost of €10m annually.
This will encourage more enterprise and increased production from small farmers.
(iv) Enhance and reform the Beef Genomics Scheme
The beef industry is the cornerstone of Irish agriculture and employs more people than any other sector.
However the administrative burden and low returns of the government’s new Beef Genomics scheme is undermining this vital industry.
The sector requires targeted supports that are accessible to all ordinary farmers not an administrative black hole.
We will:
Increase funding to the Beef Genomics scheme by 25% to top up payments moving towards €200 per head payments on the first 20 cows.
We will use the mid-term CAP review to make the scheme a pillar of the future of the beef industry.
The cost of this measure will be €12.5m annually in additional funding.
Furthermore RDP underspend will used to supplement this finance as it becomes available.
-Work to ensure that processors and supermarkets pay proper prices for quality Irish beef as part of the broader efforts to increase price transparency and strengthen profitable farming.
Appoint a beef regulator under the auspices of the new Food Ombudsman body to ensure that the dominant position of a small number of processors on the price of cattle is not abused.
(v) Introduce a new Primary School Farm Safety Programme
Farm safety deaths remain a serious threat to old and young alike. 2014 witnessed a disturbing spike in avoidable fatalities that devastated families and communities.
Fianna Fáil is committed to addressing farm safety.
-We will introduce a new primary school level programme on farm safety in rural areas.
Based on the successful RSA road safety education programme we will target instilling farm safety at a young age.
Combined with this, the Health and Safety authority will adapt a renewed focus on key risk areas and enhance co-operation with the industry to address safety concerns.
(vi) Roll out an “Island of Ireland” suckler beef label
A geographical beef indicator would help build a distinctive brand for beef produced on the island of Ireland.
This cross border initiative would benefit beef farmers across the island.
Rather than a national brand which is unavailable under EU rules the geographic indictor can encompass the entire island such as Welsh beef.
In addition the distinct brand will help Irish beef compete following the completion of TTIP negotiations.
-We will develop an “Island of Ireland” suckler beef label as allowed under EU rules.
(vii) Set up a Market Access unit in the Department of Agriculture
Access to international markets will be critical to the future development of the agri-food industry in Ireland.
Markets such as China offer immense potential for future growth.
In conjunction with our embassies across the globe, the Department of Agriculture & Food must co-ordinate market access initiatives.
This means effectively weaving together the various strands within the department into one effect unit.
-We will establish a Market Access unit in the Department of Agriculture & Food to spearhead new markets for Irish agri-food produce.
(viii) Fully Realise Food Harvest 2020 and Food Wise 2025
Fianna Fáil introduced Food Harvest 2020 as a bold new blueprint for the future development of the Irish agriculture industry.
It set out a framework for the growth and expansion of agrifood across a broad number of areas generating and sustaining employment in rural Ireland.
Food Wise 2025 builds on the success of that visionary document.
The strength of our strategic vision has been demonstrated by the fact that the current government has tried to claim authorship.
-We are committed to fully realising Ireland’s potential for a green, sustainable agriculture industry as set out in Food Harvest 2020 and Food Wise 2025.
(ix) Encourage the next generation of farmers
Farming faces a serious demographic challenge as the bulk of the agricultural workforce grows older and retires.
The long term future of the industry needs fresh blood to rejuvenate it.
The 2013 CAP agreement does not go far enough in achieving the supports necessary to draw in and sustain a new generation of Irish farmers.
-We will press for a mid-term review of CAP and will fight to ensure all farmers under 40 have access to the same entitlements regardless of when they started farming in order to remove the current discriminatory set up.
We will also incentivise farm family partnerships to allow older farmers to get the next generation involved.
(x) Use RDP underspend to increase payment under the Areas of Natural Constraints scheme
The Areas of Natural Constraints (ANC) scheme is an important mechanism to help maintain the continued use of agricultural lands and ensure farmers serve as custodians of the peerless Irish countryside.
Additional financial resources are necessary to ensure that farmers on the most disadvantaged lands are maintained and lands do not fall into disuse and disrepair.
This additional funding to areas with limited capacity will underpin a more regionally balanced and sustainable farming system across Ireland.
-We will use the CAP mid-term review to direct any future underspend in the RDP to finance increased ANC expenditure.
(xi) Review market intervention tools for the Dairy sector
It is imperative that the current European tools for price intervention are reviewed as catered for under the 2013 CAP Regulation to cater for the current market volatility.
We will:
Push at EU level for a review of price intervention tools in the Dairy sector and other effected areas.
EU market intervention levels should also reflect average production costs.
Such measures would send a strong message to the markets.
-Work with farmer groups to invest in education schemes to promote knowledge transfer around futures markets, insurances, fixed priced term contracts, risk management actions to protect the primary producer and cooperatives.
(xii) Secure a strong Fisheries sector
Fisheries are a vital part of local employment of coastal communities across Ireland and make a significant contribution to the Irish economy.
Fianna Fáil is committed to helping to secure a strong and vibrant fisheries sector, copperfastening their role at the heart of towns and villages along Ireland’s beautiful coastline.
We will:
Appoint a Minister with full responsibility for fisheries and place all responsibility for fisheries including inland fisheries and marine leisure in a single government department.
Promote sustainable fishing and aquaculture practices to achieve long term security of fish stocks and incomes of fishermen and related sectors.
Establish an independent body to adjudicate and administer the current unacceptable regime of aquaculture licensing.
Develop and implement a specialised policy for traditional coastal fishing areas in consultation with those communities.
-Work to reform the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in future reviews with a view to enlarge the fishing opportunities (days at sea, fishing gear, quotas) for the Irish industry.
We would apportion particular attention to the needs of the inshore fleet as additional fishing opportunities become available.
- Seek the immediate implementation of the avoidance and minimisation measure on the discards ban as contained in the new CFP.
Promote maximum flexibility in applying the regulatory regime, including a more flexible approach to the transfer of quotas and the landing of catches.
Introduce a more flexible and proportionate approach to inspections.
Vessels subject to inspection on returning to port should be dealt with promptly.
(xiii) Secure Ireland’s place as the global leader in the Equine industry
Horse racing and breeding is a strong indigenous industry with a long historic tradition on this island.
The industry employs thousands directly and indirectly, drawing tourists from across the globe and contributing up to €6bn to the Irish economy.
We must maximise the economic impact and job potential of this enormous resource and consolidate its position as a first in class leader in the global industry.
We will:
Secure the long term funding of the horse racing sector with adequate prize money and logistical supports to ensure its prestige and credibility as the global leader is fully maintained.
Draw up and implement a national plan for the development of the equine industry.
Protect our Corporate Tax Rate & rebuild the Eurozone
Critical Eurozone decisions have had a major impact on the performance of the Irish economy.
The future strength of the common currency area and wider EU will continue to be central to our success.
As such, this government’s policy of sitting on the side-lines as vital issues are discussed must be replaced by a proactive engagement on the reform and development of the Eurozone.
We will:
(i) Protect and fully maintain our 12.5% Corporate Tax Rate
Our vision for Ireland is a thriving economy with a strong multinational sector and vibrant indigenous industry.
Our corporate tax rate is a vital part of Ireland’s attractiveness to Foreign Direct Investment and driving on our indigenous industries.
We have a strong record of fighting to protect the rate and securing it in negotiations on EU treaties.
The EU Commission has relaunched plans for a Common Consolidate Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) which is essentially a fresh route to removing sovereignty over setting national taxation rates.
Ireland’s rate is transparent and fair.
We will:
Not accept or implement any increase in Ireland’s Corporation Tax rate.
Oppose and, if necessary, veto any measure to weaken or reduce national control of corporation tax rates.
(ii) Rebuild Economic and Monetary Union to prevent a future crisis
The architecture to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Eurozone still needs to be put in place to provide a secure basis for the future prosperity of the Union.
The ECB’s mandate must require policies for targeting growth as well as targeting inflation.
We will
Ensure that Ireland supports proposals to reform the Eurozone and EU so as to address core failures in existing policies.
-Work towards a re-examination of the structures of the Economic and Monetary Union as well as the mandate of the European Central Bank.
(iii) Strengthen Banking Union
A fully functioning banking union is vital to ensuring monetary union is a long term viable project.
The weaknesses of the Euro architecture were ruthlessly exposed in the maelstrom of the economic crisis and the fragility of banking union fully revealed.
The current agreements on a banking union are completely inadequate to withstand a major shock.
-We will push for the completion of a more ambitious banking union including a common regulation, deposit insurance and resolution mechanism.
(iv) Fight for fairness on Bank-related debt
The Euro Area Heads of State or Government agreed in June 2012 to “break the vicious circle” between banks and sovereigns.
It is now time to recognise the unfair burden Ireland has borne due to ECB actions at critical points of the financial crisis.
The government has allowed this policy priority to slip off the agenda.
We will:
-Work to ensure that the EU fulfils its commitment to separate sovereign debt and banking debt within the Union and vindicate the sacrifices and hard work of the Irish people.
Immediately table a request to the European Council and ECB that Ireland should receive all profits accruing to the ECB in relation to holdings of debts incurred during the financial crisis.
Seek a commitment that holdings of promissory note-related debt by the Central Bank be held to maturity and, therefore, that interest payments will mostly be returned to the Exchequer.
(v) Support a more substantial Fiscal and Transfer Union
Monetary Union is ultimately flawed without some fiscal capacity.
Weaker countries and regions need the possibility of accessing stabilising resources at times of crisis.
In order to re-balance this asymmetrical distribution of consequences from monetary union, real fiscal transfers to help weaker countries is vital.
-We will call for a more ambitious fiscal union within the EU, in particular one which involves transfers between states, mutual bond issuances and allows the Union some modest revenue raising capacity in order to balance the economic equilibrium of the EU.
(vi) Create a Rainy Day Fund
Ireland needs to prepare for any future downturn due to the volatile international economic climate.
The National Pension Reserve Fund was an important source of counter cyclical investment and sets an example of putting aside money to invest during a downturn.
A new Rainy Day fund is needed to insulate us from the effects of future recessions in the Eurozone.
These countercyclical measures will help to boost economic activity when it is needed the most.
-We will ensure that once a balanced budget is achieved in 2017 any increase in corporation tax revenue above a baseline of €6.6 billion should be put aside to lessen the impact of any future slowdown in the economy.
These funds would then only be drawn on if the unemployment level rose by 1% (or was forecast to rise by that level).
The money would be specifically used for infrastructure projects which would cushion the impact of a slowdown in the economy.
Cut costs for families & improve the services they rely on
Fianna Fáil will ease the burden on families and strengthen public services.
We will:
Reduce the cost of living
Eliminate USC for Low and Middle Income earners up to €80,000
Abolish Irish Water & scrap water charges
Double the Home Carer Tax credit to €2,000
Reduce DIRT by 3%
Lower childcare costs and help working parents
Create a €2,000 childcare support tax credit for parents
Increase child benefit by €10
Expand maternity benefit to 30 weeks and allow for shared leave between parents
Raise quality standards for childcare
Create a fairer welfare system
Raise the state pension by €30  to €263 a week
Increase working age payments by €10
Boost carers allowance, disability benefit, invalidity & blind pension by a further €10 per week top-up
Expand Credit Union’s role in providing affordable community finance
Tackle big class sizes and create an education system for all
Reduce average class sizes at primary level to 23:1 by 2021
Establish on-site Early intervention teams for children with developmental needs
Introduce modern languages and coding courses at primary school level
Ensure every secondary school has a full time guidance service
Legislate to protect children from Cyber Bullying
Freeze student fees, increase maintenance grants and restore post grad grants
Support a publicly funded health care system
Reduce Emergency Department waiting times to a maximum of 6 hours
Abolish Prescription Fees
Reduce the Drug Payment Scheme threshold from €144 to €100 per month
Re-activate a €100m National Treatment Purchase Fund
Establish a new National Mental Health Authority
Rebalance the Health budget towards primary care
Boost GP numbers by 250, Consultants by 500 and Nurses by 4,000
During the past number of years, working families have been hit by steadily rising costs linked to government actions and by crisis after crisis hitting the public services they rely upon.
Families are not feeling the recovery and are running just to stand still.
Instead of working towards building a better future for their children they are struggling just to pay their bills.
Rather than supporting them in their day to day lives, when they get sick or grow old the services of the state are being steadily eroded by Fine Gael and Labour neglect.
In five consecutive budgets Fine Gael and Labour chose to be regressive in the impact of its budgetary measures.
Independent reviews have confirmed this.
Now Fine Gael wants to double-down on their regressive policies – moving towards Enda Kenny’s objective of US levels of taxation.
In contrast Fianna Fáil is proposing a progressive approach.
We want to implement a range of proposals to both reduce taxes on low and middle-income earners but also to make sure that we have the public services required to meet our country’s social and economic obligations to this and future generations.
The growing chaos and neglect of public services by this government will do lasting damage to our country if it is not reversed.
Investment in fundamental state services such as Health and Education is essential to maintaining the social fabric of Irish life.
Sustaining our welfare system is central to upholding the basic standards of decency we are all entitled to as Irish citizens.
All the while, ordinary families need a break from the burden of taxation and deserve to feel the financial benefit of economic growth.
Our policies reflect those pressing concerns and will help to reform and strengthen our public services and the conditions of the staff who work in them.
We believe that the state has an important role in helping families and communities to reach their full potential.
We will cut the cost of living for families and invest in strong state services to give all families the opportunities they deserve.
Reduce the cost of living
Far too many families are faced with a continued struggle in the face of increases in their costs of living.
Fine Gael and Labour have introduced 45 separate tax increases including 13 increases in tax on income causing real hardship for families.
We will:
(i) Eliminate USC for all income earners on the first €80,000 of income
The Universal Social Charge (USC) was introduced in 2010 as a response to the grave fiscal challenge the country faced at the time.
It has served its purpose in shoring up the state’s finances during a deeply turbulent period.
Fine Gael and Labour campaigned against it in 2011 but have left it in place for five years.
A significant reduction in the burden of USC will help families by giving them more in their back pockets.
The cost of this is €2.64bn in a full year.
-We will eliminate the USC for low and middle income earners by abolishing the 1%, 3% and 5.5% bands and increasing the 8% band threshold to income above €80,000.
(ii) Abolish Irish Water and end water charges
Irish Water has been a complete failure on the part of the government.
Since it failed the Eurostat test, the very reason it was set up, it is incapable of delivering major investment in our water network.
Instead it is imposing a water charges regime where families are paying for a service that does not deliver, operated by a quango that simply is not working.
People should not be expected to pay for a service that is not up to standard.
We need a 21st century water system that will attract global business investment, allow businesses and agriculture to expand and provide safe water to homes.
Irish Water has failed to achieve basic public legitimacy, has diverted resources away from the water infrastructure and does not have the capacity to focus on its most important tasks.
We will:
End the failed water charges regime.
This will save families €160 per year and allow the better use of state resources.
Abolish Irish Water and create a new slimmed down agency to deliver the national water investment programme.
The National Water directorate will develop a nationwide approach while local services will be handed back to democratically elected local authorities with on the ground knowledge.
According to the Department of the Environment the net cost of scrapping water charges would be of the order of €210m annually.
This would be replaced by a direct state subvention to the new National Water Directorate, which will be run at an approximate cost of €16.2m per annum.
We would also fully provide for the costs of winding down Irish Water, at a cost of €9.1m and abolish the government’s botched Water Conservation grant to save the state €110m.
(iii) Push down energy costs
Ireland’s current energy policy is driving up consumer prices, making our economy uncompetitive and failing to tap into the opportunities presented by community energy projects.
It is time for policy makers to develop a national energy policy which is low in cost, is respectful of local communities and their ability to contribute to our renewable energy future and which secures our energy supply from external energy shocks.
We will:
Achieve a balanced energy mix to meet our EU Climate Change targets.
Diversify our renewable energy mix and explore Bio-Mass and solar as additional sources of renewable energy.
Reform the Commission for Energy regulation to help drive down prices for business and families.
Commission a full economic review of wind energy, its impact on energy prices and its long term sustainability in supplying the Irish national grid.
Ensure that extensions to the national Grid and interconnectors are underground where possible and respect areas of natural beauty.
Place climate and energy policy together in one Department in order to ensure a joined up, co-ordinated approach to meeting our Climate Change energy emissions targets.
(iv) Reduce DIRT by 3%
Savers have got a very raw deal under this government.
The tax on the interest earned by savers has been increased by a massive 14%.
In addition, anyone with unearned income of greater than €5,000 has to pay an extra 4% PRSI on deposit interest, bringing the total tax on interest earned to 45%.
This is a punitive tax on people who have prudently saved money.
Fianna Fáil is committed to reforming and reducing the tax on savings and making it more attractive for people to put money aside.
-We will reduce the rate of DIRT from 41% to 38%. this will cost €22m annually.
(v) Cap local property tax charges
Fianna Fáil successfully campaigned to prevent a huge rise in local property tax bills in 2017.
We are committed to ensuring that homeowners are not hit with large increases after the next valuation date.
We will:
Legislate to ensure fair treatment of all householders and prevent councils from implementing increases in the overall property tax take in their local area.
Examine ways in which the operation of the tax can be made fairer including offering a reduction to apartment owners and others in managed estates who pay for local services such as lighting, maintenance, grass cutting, road repairs etc through their management fees.
Support families by introducing a childcare support tax credit
Helping families with the cost of childcare is a priority for Fianna Fáil.
We believe that a range of social and economic objectives require that families be helped with the pressure of these costs.
We will:
(i) Create a €2,000 childcare support tax credit
The burden of childcare costs is crippling working families and preventing many parents from taking up employment.
In particular, the burden of childcare costs mostly affects women who continue to bear the bulk of responsibility of childcare.
Childcare supports must reflect the diverse and unique circumstances of each family rather than a crude one size fits all approach.
Parents are in the best place to know what is right for their family and the state must support that by giving them real choice and flexibility.
This means choosing what is best for their child whether looked after in a home or centre based setting.
-We will directly support working parents with a progressive tax credit worth €2,000 for average income households to help them deal with childcare costs.
Low income households can benefit up to €5,000.
The Childcare Support Credit will have three main goals:
To Ease the Cost of Childcare for Working Families
To Enable all Parents to Afford Good Quality Childcare
To Facilitate Parents of Young Children to Participate in Employment
The Childcare Support Credit will cover 20 to 40 per cent of families’ childcare costs, depending on their income.
Parents will be responsible for choosing the childcare arrangements and type of childcare provider, that best suit their needs.
The Childcare Support Credit will be allocated on the basis of the income of one parent – the designated Primary Care Giver, which is currently initially established for tax purposes at birth cert registration.
The designated recipient of the Childcare Support Credit will have to work a minimum of 25 hours per week to be fully eligible to participate in the scheme.
The support credit will be progressive, based on three income bands with an income of €35,000 receiving a credit of €2,000.
In addition parents who do not pay enough tax to avail of the full tax credit return (e.g. a lone parent earning between €30,000 and €33,000), they will receive a cash subsidy payment for the balance.
The total estimated cost of this measure is €235m per annum.
(ii) Expand maternity benefit from 26 to 30 weeks and allow for shared leave between parents
In order to give parents increased choice and the option to spend more time with a child during its special first few months without damaging career progress, maternity leave should be increased.
This will allow for a better work life balance, give parents more flexibility in their career and contribute enormously to the well-being of the new born child.
We will:
Increase maternity benefit from 26 weeks to 30 weeks at a cost of €40m per annum.
Implement legislation already published by Fianna Fáil allowing for the sharing of paid and unpaid leave between mothers and fathers (or between two guardians).
For many parents working full-time it will be more manageable to share leave from their career and allow both parents to share the responsibility of care more evenly between them.
Extend Parental Leave Entitlements, which can currently be taken only until a child is 8 years of age, for parents up until their child is 12 years.
This will ensure that parents have a greater opportunity to use their statutory parental leave entitlement.
(iii) Raise quality standards for childcare
Each child, regardless of background, deserves the best possible start in life.
To achieve this Ireland needs a childcare service that is fully trained and equipped to support them.
It is central to the future success and positive impact of expanding the free pre-school year and tackling childcare costs that the childcare sector reaches the highest possible standards.
The levels of effective early childhood care and education in early childhood services depends on having highly skilled and trained staff, and a high ratio of staff to children.
Therefore we are committed to incentivising further training and upskilling for staff, and have earmarked €39m for that purpose.
We will:
Put a Professional Development Fund in place similar to the existing Learner Fund for staff, but with greater resources and higher ambitions.
In line with increased investment, we will revise the conditions of DCYA childcare programme funding contracts as an incentive to raise quality standards for the early childhood workforce as follows:
Introduce Higher Capitation Rates for Level 8 and above qualifications as an incentive for up-skilling and agree a professional pathway for staff.
Ensure higher capitation rates are passed on to staff through an agreed salary scale for the early childhood workforce in line with qualifications, levels of experience and job responsibility.
Increase early childcare and education programme from 38 to 42 weeks per year for children aged three and over.
- Develop a cohesive national plan with ring fenced funding for the roll-out of Aistear training and Síolta accreditation, putting in place the essential practical supports for early childhood educators to provide quality experiences and opportunities for young children.
This will be backed up with the full and rigorous implementation of the 2014 national inspection plan to maintain strong standards.
(iv) Increase funding to Tusla
Tusla is at the heart of protecting vulnerable children and ensuring all children have an equal chance in life.
These services and infrastructure will help to look after the best interests of children and give them a fair chance at life.
Specifically we will increase the funding to address deficits in child protection and welfare services as well as community programmes such as domestic abuse services Family Resource Centres and early intervention programmes.
-We will increase Tusla funding by €15m to equip the agency to fully perform its duties.
(v) Raise the Homecarer Tax Credit to €2,000
In order to ensure mothers and father’s who stay at home to care for children or a look after a parent are not unfairly penalised we will match the €2,000 Childcare Tax credit with a €2,000 Home Carers tax credit.
This credit will ensure all families are given a break with the costs of raising a family or looking after a dependent.
The increase will benefit families by around €72m overall to help deal with the cost of living.
-We will double the Home Carer Tax Credit from €1,000 to €2,000
(vi) Increase Child Benefit by €10 & maintain it as a universal payment
We are committed to maintaining child benefit as a universal payment to all families.
The payment is an integral part of family’s household budget and ensures that all parts of Irish society benefit from the Social Welfare system.
An increase in the payment to meet inflation rates will help ensure it continues to help families across the country.
-We will maintain the universal payment of child benefit and increase it by €10 per month at an annual cost of €145m.
Create a fairer welfare system
Our welfare system should encourage people to work and support those who cannot due to age, incapacity or economic difficulties.
It is the guarantor of the basic level of decency that we set as a country.
We will expand welfare payments and strengthen the administration of the system to ensure it does not penalise work but encourages it.
We will:
(i) Increase the state pension by €30 week
Older people have taken a series of hits from this government.
The abolition of the Telephone allowance, five-fold surge in prescription charges, reductions in free electricity and gas units, cuts to Home Adaptation grants, axing of the Bereavement grant, medical card cull, have all hit older people with fixed incomes hard.
Fianna Fáil is committed, as part of “An Ireland for all” to an Independent Living Contract which will ensure older people can stay in their own homes which they spent their life working for.
The state pension is the basic foundation of older people’s finances, they rely on it to pay the bills and keep going week to week.
We will recognise their contribution to the country and the increased cost of living with a €30 increase in the state pension over 5 years at a cumulative annual cost of €927m.
-We will increase the state pension by €30 a week from €233 to €263.
This increase covers both the contributory and non-contributory pensions.
(ii) Increase working age benefits by €10 a week
The cutbacks to working age benefits over the past number of years have hit vulnerable families hard.
In building “An Ireland for all” we must set a high threshold of decency for all citizens. Families should be supported with an adequate welfare system that meets their needs.
-We will increase working age benefits with a €10 increase in all working age payments from €188 to €198 a week at a cost of €436m.
(iii) Increase the One Parent Family maximum Child age threshold to 12
The reduction in the One Parent Family Allowance from 14 to 7 years of age hit lone parent households hard.
Despite promises of a “Scandinavian style” childcare system from the Tánaiste Joan Burton, lone parents trying to raise their family were put under further severe pressure.
We will put some €23m back into the hands of hard pressed, lone parents.
-We will increase the One Parent Family Payment scheme maximum child age threshold from seven years to twelve years and move towards full restoration as resources allow.
(iv) Establish a Basic Income Commission
This government introduced a series of regressive budgets that have inflicted profound damage on the basic social fabric of the country.
In the midst of economic crisis Fine Gael and Labour chose to place the burden of adjustment on those least able to bear it.
In contrast Fianna Fáil implemented tough but progressive budgets that asked the most of the wealthy in Ireland.
Addressing the unfairness of government policy that neglected low income households and empowering people from all strands of Irish life to get ahead will be a priority for our party in government.
-We will establish a commission to further investigate the feasibility of establishing a basic income system as part of an overall effort to create a fairer 21st century welfare system.
The commission will report within 12 months with specific recommendations and proposals.
(v) Boost Credit Unions and protect the vulnerable from predatory lending
The vast majority of moneylenders’ customers are on low incomes, compounding the problems associated with them such as the often extortionate rates charged.
Providing loans at affordable interest rates for those who cannot access credit elsewhere is the reason credit unions were established.
Discretion in lending small amounts needs to be restored to credit unions.
The requirements are currently excessive and have created a serious barrier to credit unions fulfilling their important social role.
Regulations should not limit the socially progressive remit of credit unions.
A series of measures are needed to ensure credit unions play a central role in their community. We will:
Ensure that loans of up to €1,000 will require less stringent assessment measures.
Red-tape surrounding such loans will be reduced.
Introduce further regulation of moneylenders to prevent exploitative behaviour.
This will involve greater regulation regarding the amount that can be borrowed, and how often a loan may be obtained.
A limit should be imposed based on the borrower’s income, and/or a limit on the number of loans per adult per household.
There should also be a minimum time period until the next loan.
Expand the role of the credit union advisory council to ensure their voices are heard in discussions on future regulations.
Implement a tiered approach to the regulation of the sector.
Remove the €100,000 savings cap.
Develop a national policy in conjunction with credit unions.
(vi) Overhaul the Social Welfare Appeals System
Long delays and a non-transparent process have generated massive stress amongst people appealing rejected or reduced social welfare claims.
Individuals and their families are sometimes lost in the system and find it does not respond to their needs.
This has to change.
-We will put the Social Welfare Appeals Office on a statutorily independent footing to ensure perceived and actual independence from the Department of Social Protection.
(vii) Make work pay by introducing a sliding scale for welfare payment assessments
Across Job Seekers Allowance, Family Income Supplement and One Parent Family Payment people are being locked into a poverty trap.
This has a devastating impact on families and upon future generations raised in a culture of joblessness.
Fianna Fáil is committed to encouraging and rewarding work, not punishing it with a sharp financial cliff.
We will make work pay by moving towards replacing the financial cliff with a sliding scale across a number of areas where this is administratively and financially possible.
We will:
Explore revising the Three Day Rule for the payment of Jobseeker’s Benefits with a system which better recognises the reality of the modern labour market.
Revise the 38 hour threshold for FIS qualification,   subject to resources and administrative feasibility,  with a view to creating a sliding scale in order to reflect the fact that many people may be working (or wish to work) less than 19 hours per week and may be in just as much need as current FIS recipients.
Study the possibility of expanding FIS to cover the self-employed to allow families, in particular lone parents, greater flexibility in seeking work.
Create an education system for all
Education is the best way to tackle inequality and ensure that equality of opportunity is spread to all children across the country.
It is the cornerstone of our economic model which is built on a highly skilled workforce, attracting investment and creating new businesses.
Fianna Fáil will emphasise education as a national priority.
We will:
(i) Reduce average class sizes at primary level to 23:1 by 2021
We will start to fundamentally improve the education system by confronting the basic problem of class room overcrowding.
Teachers addressing supersize classes are unable to make the personal difference that young children need.
Tackling oversized classes to give teachers more time to interact with each individual pupil is important in ensuring they receive the most effective possible education.
We will invest €138m to achieve this.
We will:
Hire 5,500 new teachers (2,500 additional above demographic demand) to progressively reduce the average class size to 23:1, over the term of government.
We will prioritise reductions for the youngest children under 9 years of age and super-size classes which will have the biggest impact on long term outcomes for children.
Protect small schools from adverse teacher pupil ratios affecting their viability.
(ii) Invest in the School infrastructure
A lack of funding over the term of this government has left schools in varying states of decay and neglect.
Basic funding for school buildings and day to day IT equipment has been drained away.
The Minor works grant scheme is an effective mechanism to fund schools to bring their buildings and equipment up to scratch.
-We will place the Minor works grant on a permanent footing, linked in an automatic way to the annual capital depreciation costs that each school incurs.
The scheme will be put on a multi-annual basis to ensure schools can plan ahead.
This will ensure that each school is financed to deal with depreciation, not left behind struggling with inadequate infrastructure and equipment.
We also increase the average annual value of the grant by 10% at a cost of €2.9m.
(iii) Ensure free education for all
The erosion of funding for primary schools by this government has placed increased pressure on parents to make up the shortfall with “voluntary contributions”.
We believe that education should be free and that the inadequate funding of schools is damaging the fundamental bedrock of our education system.
We are committed to ending the need for “voluntary contributions” by ensuring the state sufficiently finances education.
-We will increase capitation funding to primary schools by €38 to pre-2010 levels.
(iv) Improve School leadership and Management
Due to cutbacks many principals are under severe pressure with teaching responsibilities and are unable to meet their administrative requirements or put in place any strategic plan.
The overall effectiveness of the school and children’s education suffers as a result.
These principals, particularly in smaller schools require additional assistance to ensure they can fulfil their duties adequately.
We will:
Give each principal one administrative day a week.
This will involve a pool of teachers to replace teaching principals on their administrative day.
This will cost €10m annually.
Appoint 350 assistant principals to help re-build the management structure at a cost of €6.2m annually.
(v) Establish Early Intervention Teams in schools
Fianna Fáil proposes to introduce multi-disciplinary therapy teams on-site in primary and secondary schools for children with disabilities.
This would be a new point of departure for education of children with special needs in Ireland.
This will include physiotherapists, speech & language therapists and psychiatrists which would be employed by the Department of Education.
These school-based Early Intervention Teams will be shared in clusters between pre-schools participating in the ECCE programme and Primary Schools within each given geographic area.
By providing on-site visits by multi-disciplinary teams to each school, children can be assessed for developmental delays at an early age, receive early interventions and ongoing continuity of care by the same group of professional therapists.
Such multi-disciplinary teams of therapists would be available to both mainstream and for special schools.
-We will establish multi-disciplinary early intervention teams based in pre-schools and primary schools and hire an additional 300 therapists to staff the new teams.
This would cost €14m annually.
(vi) Overhaul Special Needs Assessment and increase Resource teaching
Building on Fianna Fáil’s proud tradition of investing in special needs education we are committed to addressing this government’s attack on Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support and resource teaching hours.
100 years on from the founding commitment to “cherish all children of the nation equally” we will ensure the SNA role is developed into that of an Edu-Carer helping the child to develop and thrive.
We will:
Restore resource teaching hours to 100% of National Council for Special Education the recommended hours  at a cost of €72m per annum,
Change the SNA structure to ensure they spend more time in the classroom,
Hire an additional 100 psychologists and attribute learning supports and teaching based on need at a cost of €7m annually.
(vii) Expand DEIS & help schools serving disadvantaged communities
Through a coordinated series of initiatives, Fianna Fáil in government succeeded in increasing the educational outcomes for disadvantaged students and communities to their highest ever level.
Unfortunately Labour and Fine Gael have seen support for disadvantaged schools as an easy target for cutbacks and have stopped all progress in this area.
We will:
Implement a coordinated plan across all schemes to help schools serving disadvantaged families and communities,
Remove the cap on the expansion of the DEIS programme to new schools and enhance investment in underperforming DEIS schools at a cost of €9.5m per annum,
Reverse cuts and increase supports to the School Completion Programme that aims to help at risk school leavers to complete their education at a cost of €5.5m annually,
Increase the school meals programme by 10% at a cost of €3.9m to ensure every child has adequate nutrition.
(viii) Make Modern Languages and Computer Coding accessible at Primary School level
At Primary school level children need to develop critical thinking, linguistic ability and IT literacy in order to grow and develop the tools that will equip them for the global workforce.
Language and coding skills will help to promote entrepreneurialism and foster new start-ups across the country.
In addition it will help attract further investment due to our highly skilled workforce.
-We will introduce modern languages as a separate primary school subject and establish a fund to promote coding in primary school and ultimately as a Leaving Cert subject based on the highly successful Israeli model.
The annual required budgets for these measures is estimated at €12.6m and €3m respectively on an annual basis.
(ix) Ensure all children have access to their local school
Irish society has grown increasingly diverse and parents are demanding a greater plurality of choice for their children’s education.
Basic fairness demands that we broaden school patronage and ensure that local children have access to their local school.
We will ensure that educational partners are fully engaged in the divestment process.
In addition school admissions policies must reflect the richer diversity and ensure children are not unfairly penalised for their denomination.
We will:
Engage with educational partners to set out a consensual approach to roll out further divestment of schools in line with assessed community demand.
Reform school admissions on the basis of locality to ensure children have access to their local school regardless of denomination while protecting religious rights.
Ensure LGBT students and staff are treated equally in every school.
(x) Ensure every school has a guidance service
Guidance counsellors have always played an important role in helping students with difficult career decisions at a critical juncture in their lives.
Guidance counsellors have a strong record of helping young people through these important choices and difficulties.
Government cut backs in this area have caused immense damage in depriving students of critical help.
The Fine Gael and Labour decision to allow schools to provide for their own guidance has resulted in a massive 51% reduction in one-on-one counselling supports in secondary schools with the reduction even greater in disadvantaged areas.
-We will restore the ex-quota Guidance counsellor provision to all schools at a cost of €30m annually.
(xi) Increase supports for Traveller children
There are serious issues with educational disadvantage for children from the Traveller community that demand serious action.
We are committed to combining the unique cultural heritage of the Traveller community and ensuring that outcomes reach comparable levels to that of the settled community.
-We will restore the Visiting Teacher service for Travellers. This will involve the appointment of an additional 41 teachers at an annual cost of €1.9m.
(xii) Improve school transport links
Government cutbacks to the school transport scheme have further marginalised rural families.
The basic principle of equality of access to education was trampled upon.
Ensuring rural families are not burdened with the additional cost of bringing  their children to school is an important part of basic community services and an open, accessible education system.
-We will restore pre-2011 eligibility criteria for the school transport scheme ensuring that children who are attending a school that is not their nearest school (but still within the traditional catchment area) are eligible to apply for school transport.
This will cost €3.2m annually.
(xiii) Legislate to protect children from cyber bullying
Social media has opened up immense opportunities to engage with others but it also revealed a darker underbelly.
Cyber bullying is generating massive concern amongst parents who lack the control to protect their children from the 24/7 threat of bullying on-line.
A co-operative approach with social media sites many of whom are based in Ireland is vital in setting out clear protocols in how to identify and remove bullying material.
Legislation has failed to catch up with the rapid development of social media and needs to be updated to reflect this new specific threat.
Protocols with social media sites should be combined with the ultimate and final sanction of a criminal offence against bullies as a measure of final resort and deterrence.
We will:
Legislate to make cyber bullying a specific criminal offence and work with the Special Rapporteur on Child Protection to establish new protocols for social media sites operating in Ireland to deal with bullying.
Provide training and support for schools to help them in identifying and tackling cyber bullying as part of the new mental health authority.
(xiv) Ensure that History is a core part of the junior certificate curriculum
Learning about the past is vital to understanding who we are.
The centenary of the 1916 Rising marks an opportunity to reinvigorate and re-emphasize the history curriculum.
Equally, it is impossible to expect our young people to succeed in the modern world without an appreciation of the core themes in European and world history.
We must ensure that every student who emerges from our education system knows about and understands the key events that shaped us as a nation and the wider world.
-We will ensure that History is a core part of the Junior Certificate curriculum.
(xv) Freeze student fees
A particularly cynical addition to the government’s list of broken promises was the increase in student fees which has inflicted great hardship on many students.
In addition it placed a further burden on already stretched parents struggling to make ends meet trying to support their children’s education.
-We will freeze student contribution fees at their current levels for the next five years.
(xvi) Create equality of access to 3rd and 4th level education with an increase in the Student Maintenance Grant and Student Hardship Fund
A world class education system is a key part of Ireland’s economy.
Central to our policy is the principle that access to a top quality education should be determined by merit and hard work, not ability to pay.
We will:
Fully retain the undergraduate maintenance grant system to support low income students who may otherwise be put off by the costs.
The grant will be increased in line with the CPI at a total additional cost of €12.5m annually.
In addition we will increase the Student Assistance funds to help disadvantaged students access third level at a cost of €4.7m annually.
Review the effectiveness of access policies in higher education and ensure that the distinct needs of different groups such as people with disabilities and people from disadvantaged communities are being effectively assisted.
Explore the roll out of an income contingent loan system to assist students and parents with costs.
(xvii) Re-introduce Post Graduate Grants
Part of building a world class education system and equipping a global workforce is a post graduate system that attracts and retains our best and brightest.
The cuts to the Post Graduate support system are having a corrosive impact on the quality of the education system.
In addition they freeze out low income students who have the ability but not the resources to go onto post graduate study.
This will cost €53m annually.
-We will re-introduce the post-graduate grant scheme at 2010 levels and criteria.
(xviii) Raise Higher Education funding and standards
The gradual decline in the performance of our third level institutions in international comparison tables illustrates the impact of government neglect of the area.
The long term repercussions of starving the sector of vital funds needed to compete globally will be felt for years to come.
A strong higher education system is vital in producing high quality research and producing the skilled graduates needed to attract investment.
We will:
Increase current funding to Higher Education institutions by €100m.
Increase capital funding via a €296 million package in research and capital investment.
Support a publicly funded health care system
In 2011 Fine Gael and Labour said that they would implement a dramatic reform of our health system which would tackle all major problems.
In fact they have presided over growing chaos, abandoned key pledges and are undertaking ever more desperate attempts to prevent problems from escalating before the election.
The have caused immense damage and undermine public health services.
If Enda Kenny’s desire to implement Universal Health Insurance is carried out it will destabilise and undermine services further.
In contrast Fianna Fáil will invest in the service, work with the committed personnel who staff it and ensure future reforms put patients and services first.
There is a clear choice in this election between those who will continue with damaging measures and Fianna Fáil which is committed to developing our public health system to the benefit of all.
We will:
(i) Secure a strong public health service
Fianna Fáil believes in a publicly funded, publicly delivered health care service, one that emphasises patient care above structures.
This means leadership rather than spin, reform rather than revolution and building on the strengths of the service and the hard work of its staff.
We believe in a publicly funded health care system that the government continues to provide adequate finance for.
This is a more progressive model that places health spending in the hands of a democratically elected body rather than private health insurers.
Our emphasis is on working with committed staff within the system and building on its strengths to provide real delivery and improvement for patients.
We will:
Secure a strong public health service for the future.
End the process of trying to implement compulsory private health insurance and protect hospital trusts from privatisation.
(ii) Improve the  Health Service Executive
Fianna Fáil established the HSE because we wanted to bring clarity regarding roles and accountability — political responsibility for the Minister and management responsibility for the management.
Fianna Fáil wants to see a greater emphasis on the service rather than the executive.
While resources are clearly a factor in the difficulties in our health service, we must also guarantee that they are managed efficiently and effectively.
If this is not happening underperforming managers will need to be removed to posts more commensurate with their capabilities.
-We will establish an independent oversight group to guarantee best practice in the management of resources and to ensure that frontline services are maximised to the benefit of patients.
(iii) Reduce scheduled waiting times to the international standard of six months by re-activating the National Treatment Purchase Fund
The culture of publicity-focused policy and the lack of commitment to supporting current services has placed immense pressure on the healthcare system.
The result of this has been dangerously long waiting times directly impacting upon the health and wellbeing of the patients involved.
We will:
Re-activate the successful National Treatment Purchase Fund with a €100m annual spend in order to immediately reduce waiting times.
Set and achieve a target of reducing scheduled treatment waiting times to the internationally recognised standard of three to six months.
To develop a coherent credible strategy to achieve this we will convene a special task force to produce a plan to ensure that all scheduled day case / inpatient care is delivered within the internationally recognised target of six months.
-The recruitment of additional medical staff as set out in this manifesto will significantly contribute to a reduction in waiting lists.
(iv) Achieve a Six Hour Time Limit in Emergency Departments
The persistent problems in our Emergency Departments (ED) must be tackled once and for all.
The 2012 HIQA report on Tallaght Hospital recommended that the total patient time spent in the emergency department should be less than six hours.
This time should be measured from the time the patient arrives in the ED to the time of departure from the ED.
We will:
Implement the recommendations of the National Emergency Medicine Programme Report launched in June 2012.
Analyse what is required to address this capacity issue and produce by Budget 2017 a plan for 400 extra hospital beds where they are most needed.
These beds will cost €400m in capital expenditure and a further €122.4m in current costs.
Create 7 day medical assessment units to improve patient waiting times and target staffing allocations of the additional consultants and nurses to critical areas in ED at a cost of €11m annually.
(v) Abolish Prescription charges
The government promised to abolish prescription charges.
The Fine Gael Minister for Health announced their impending abolition in mid-2011.
Yet they actually quadrupled prescription charges to €2.50.
This is having a disproportionate impact upon fixed income groups such as pensioners.
As further detailed in our “Independent Living Contract for older people” eliminating prescription charges will be a key goal for Fianna Fáil.
-We will abolish prescription charges on a phased basis.
This will cost €120m when fully implemented.
(vi) Reduce the Drug Payment Scheme threshold from €144 per month to €100 per month
Ordinary families who are not eligible for Medical Cards or only have a GP visit card are penalised by hefty drug costs.
The current Drug payment scheme exacts €144 a month from working families already struggling with costs.
Reducing the financial impact of drugs necessary to deal with a variety of illnesses is an important part of cutting costs for families.
-We will reduce the Drug Payment scheme threshold by €44 from €144 to €100 at a cost of €44m a year.
(vii) Recruit an extra 500 Consultants
Ireland has around two thirds of the number of consultants recommended over a decade ago in the Report of the National Task Force on Medical Staffing.
We also have one of the lowest numbers of consultants on a per capita basis.
Furthermore in some specialties, Ireland has one third to half the number of consultants on a per capita basis compared with recommended norms.
We will also ensure that public health doctors are put on an equal footing with hospital consultants.
-We will recruit 500 extra consultants over five years, with a particular emphasis on geriatricians, obstetricians, neurologists, rheumatologists, orthodontists and emergency medicine.
This will cost €80m.
(viii) Employ 4,000 more nursing staff
The recruitment of more nurses is essential, both for addressing problems in acute care and for the expansion of primary and community care.
A significant increase is required especially for Emergency Departments and for Community Intervention Teams
-We will recruit 4,000 additional nurses over the next five years at a cost of €190m.
(ix) Hire an additional 50 dental surgeons
The erosion of the Health service by this government has seeped across all aspects of care.
Escalating pressure on dental provision is another clear example of that
. Fianna Fáil is committed to investing in and rebuilding the Health service across its multiple facets to ensure patients have access to quality care.
We will:
Hire a further 50 dental surgeons at a cost of €7.6m.
Ensure that children that have been waiting long periods for dental and orthodontic treatment can apply to the National Treatment Purchase Fund.
Develop a new oral health strategy.
(x) Reduce Outpatient and Diagnostic scan Waiting Times
While the recruitment of additional consultants could have a significant impact on waiting lists for an outpatient appointment, it is not simply a matter of extra resources.
We will:
Set rules that all hospitals will be required to have 8am to 8pm consultation times and enforce them.
Publish monthly waiting times for diagnostic scans as with other waiting lists.
Diagnostic scans must also be made available in public hospitals seven days a week.
(xi) Expand the use of District Hospitals
The district hospital network is an asset that we should fully utilise.
We want to maximise existing facilities to be a more effective provider of services to patients.
District hospitals can be used in the treatment of relatively minor medical conditions.
This type of early intervention and treatment can greatly assist in offsetting later admission into an acute hospital.
-We will have a study undertaken by the end of 2016 to analyse how we can significantly increase the role of district or community hospitals in relieving pressure on the hospital system.
(xii) Improve Ambulances and Pre-Hospital Emergency Care
As a first responder the ambulance network and workers play a critical role in saving lives.
There are a number of issues that need to be addressed to reach the service’s full potential such as replenishing the fleet and bolstering staff numbers
. The National Ambulance Service and Dublin Fire Brigade need to tackle inefficiencies and bring forward joint action plans to improve performance.
With regard to the future of Dublin Fire Brigade in the provision of ambulance services, proper consultation must take place between the HSE, Dublin City Council and the paramedics who work on the ground before any attempt is made to remove the fire brigade from ambulance provision.
We will:
Ensure that a comprehensive workforce plan is developed and acted on to provide an unskilled and modern emergency response workforce.
We will have this expedited as a matter of urgency.
Invest in upgrading the ambulance fleet to make it fit for purpose. An additional 20 emergency ambulances and 200 extra staff will help ensure the fleet and staff are fully equipped at an annual cost of €18.14m.
Maintain standards and target times to ensure all citizens across Ireland have an adequate service as part of our community services guarantee.
(xiii) Strengthen Maternity Services
Fianna Fáil welcomes and supports the newly published National Maternity Strategy.
While it is clear that the vast majority of expectant mothers enjoy a high standard of care across the country, it is also increasingly evident that our national maternity infrastructure is under strain.
We support the re-location of the four standalone maternity hospitals in Dublin and Limerick to new hospitals on the campuses of adult teaching hospitals.
As the new Strategy points out, Ireland has one of the lowest ratios of obstetricians to patients in the OECD.
We will recruit more as part of our plans to recruit a further 500 consultants.
The provision of accessible, safe and high quality obstetrician-led maternity services to all mothers and babies, regardless of where they live must be a core objective of public health policy.
We will:
Implement the National Women & Infants Health Programme.
Recruit more obstetricians and midwives.
Ensure that people outside Dublin have high quality maternity services.
Create bereavement specialist teams in all maternity units to deal with the tragic cases of infant deaths.
We have allocated €14.5m annually to bring maternity services up to required standards.
(xiv) Rebalance the Health budget towards Primary Care
Robust and active primary and community care is seen as playing an essential role in enhancing health outcomes and limiting costs.
A strong primary and community care system will be invaluable for preventing the development of conditions that could ultimately require acute hospital care.
It will also provide the right environment to enable earlier discharges from hospital.
From a patient’s perspective it helps to enhance quality of life and reduce the undue stress of a hospital admission.
It is within this setting that we should seek to meet 90-95% of all health and personal social service needs.
We will:
Re-balance the proportion of our health budget going to primary care to the international benchmark.
Assign the Minister of State position at Cabinet (the “super junior”) to the Minister for Primary and Social Care.
Introduce specific programme and targets for the rebalancing of our health service towards primary care every year as part of the health service annual plans.
Set Targets for:
Required number of GP, nursing and other staff to provide the services.
Expansion and assignment of services into primary care that currently take place in hospitals.
Patient outcomes.
Management of chronic disease care programmes.
Developing the necessary IT supports for patient care.
Enhance Oireachtas scrutiny of Primary Care targets
(xv) Support General Practise
At the heart of primary care must be the family GP.
Fianna Fáil values our family doctors, appreciates the work they do and believes that GP services must be properly resourced.
Fianna Fáil accepts that many GP practices are now running at unsustainable levels of net income after meeting unavoidable practice costs.
It has been estimated that around one in 12 practices are under financial risk of closing.
By the HSE’s own estimate, Ireland is facing a shortage of between 493 and 1,380 GPs by 2025 unless urgent steps are taken to address the shortfall.
We will:
Increase GP numbers by 250 by 2021 at as cost of €40m annually.
Ensure that all communities have access to GP care linked to our Community Services Guarantee.
This will have a positive impact on hospital overcrowding and pressure on already overstretched Emergency Departments.
Negotiate a new contract with GPs to facilitate the rebalancing towards primary care,
Increase the Rural GP allowance to €25,000 in order to attract more doctors into setting up practices in rural Ireland by making it commercially viable at a cost of €1.5m annually.
Examine new incentives for GPs to work to the age of 70.
(xvi) Expand GP Care
If we want to make primary care stronger and embed it as the first point of contact in health care we need to make it more accessible.
Fianna Fáil wants to expand GP care on the basis of income, not age.
Yet at the moment no-one, whether in government or opposition, can definitively say how much it will cost.
Despite submitting a number of parliamentary questions neither the Department of Health nor the HSE has been able to provide an estimate up to now.
We must also bear in mind how the original estimate for free GP Care for the under 6s doubled following the agreement of contract with GP’s last April.
Therefore, before we proceed any further on this, Fianna Fáil wants to see a GP contract in place which has General Practitioners on board for universal GP care.
We will also undertake an evaluation of the impact of under 6s scheme, especially on waiting times to see a GP.
We will:
Negotiate a new GP contract following which we will then bring forward plans for the expansion of GP care.
(xvii) Expand Medical Cards
During the last Dáil, Fianna Fáil was to the forefront in highlighting the government’s targeting of people on discretionary medical cards, especially from 2012 to 2014.
The subsequent U-turn and climbdown by the government was testament to the strength of our opposition.
However, we believe more can be done, especially for children with disabilities.
We will:
Provide a medical card for all children in receipt of the Domiciliary Care Allowance.
Ensure that the more humane system for discretionary medical cards that has been in place in the run up to the election is  fully maintained after polling day
We will ensure that people with very serious illnesses which is causing them undue financial hardship will receive a discretionary medical card.
These measures will cost €57m per annum.
(xviii) Establish a new National Mental Health Authority
Mental health issues continue to silently inflict immense damage on our country.
The undercurrent of depression, anxiety and addiction is a profoundly ingrained problem for society.
No family is untouched from some form of mental health issue
. Beyond the striking statistics about suicide levels the affliction of depression is exacting a hefty toll on the day to day lives of countless people.
We have successfully confronted dangerous challenges like this before.
he spike in road fatalities that endangered a generation of motorists was tackled head-on with the National Road Safety Authority.
We need a similar concerted national approach to the devastating impact of mental health issues.
We will:
Establish a new statutory National Mental Health Authority to be charged with leading an all-out national programme to promote positive attitudes to mental health and to reduce the incidence of self-harm and suicide.
The National Mental Health Authority will provide a focus on mental health through an organisation that has the treatment of mental ill-health and distress and the promotion of positive mental health as its sole focus
It will also provide definite ring-fencing of funding for our mental health services.
We will also carry out a full review of what still remains to be achieved under A Vision for Change and will bring forward an updated plan for 2016 to 2026.
Current levels of funding for our mental health services are insufficient to deliver the staffing levels envisaged by A Vision for Change.
At approximately 9,316 WTE (September 2015), mental health staffing levels remain at circa 75% of what is recommended by A Vision for Change.
We will increase staffing levels to the 12,000 required under the strategy.
We have earmarked total additional funding of €187.5m for increased spending on mental health.
(xix) Make Smoking History
Fewer than 1 in 5 adults now smoke in Ireland
. This is a landmark achievement and it is the first time the smoking rate has fallen below the 20 per cent level.
The next goal is to break through the 10 per cent barrier.
-We endorse the aim of 5 per cent by 2025 and will target efforts to curb smoking at disadvantaged socio-economic groups where rates are highest.
This will encompass increases in excise duty on tobacco products.
(xx) Establish an Office of Alcohol Control
Fianna Fáil recognises that there is an issue with harmful drinking in Ireland.
Over 8,000 people were treated for problem alcohol use in Ireland in 2012 alone.
Alcohol is associated with 2,000 beds being occupied every night in Irish acute hospitals, one-quarter of injuries presenting to emergency departments and over half of attendances to specialised addiction treatment centres.
-We will establish an Office of Alcohol Control which will aim to holistically address the diverse drivers and consequences of harmful alcohol consumption in Ireland.
This will cost €1.7m annually.
In addition as part of our commitment to promoting healthy living, we will phase out alcohol companies’ sponsorship of sporting events.
(xxi) Tackle Chronic Lung Disease and Asthma
Fianna Fáil supports the development of the National Clinical Programmes for asthma and chronic lung disease and recognises the success they have had in the secondary care setting.
We will:
Properly address the needs of these patients, to maximise their quality and quantity of life, and keep them out of hospital for longer,
Fianna Fáil will bring forward a National Respiratory Disease Strategy to tackle lung diseases including cystic fibrosis, within existing resources.
Incorporate and implement the recommendations of the National Asthma Programme within the new Respiratory Disease Strategy.
(xxii) Improve Cancer care
In government Fianna Fáil implemented sustained improvements in cancer care which have helped thousands of people.
We will:
Bring forward a new National Cancer Strategy and include cancer patients or family members on the review group of the strategy to bring their perspective to discussions on treatment.
Fianna Fáil recognises the link between health inequalities and cancer and we will provide that this is reflected in the new National Cancer Strategy.
Recognise that e-referral should be extended to all cancers and would introduce this on a phased basis alongside a GP education programme on the signs and symptoms of cancer.
Extend the National GP Referral Guidelines and Forms to include more cancers.
Undertake to shift the burden of care from acute to community settings and upskill GPs and practice nurses so that some services can be carried out in the community.
(xxiii) Enhance Dementia Care
Most people living with dementia and their families want to have their care at home.
We are committed to ensuring this is possible and will step up the provision of intensive home care packages to achieve this.
We will:
Expand intensive home care packages year on year by €11 million with an extra 190 packages annually benefitting 250 people every year.
Implement and fund the National Dementia Strategy
Ensure that anyone diagnosed with dementia should be allowed to apply for home helps or home care packages, including intensive packages.
Include dedicated dementia units in residential care homes that are either being built or upgraded over the next five years.
Use the mid-term review of the existing strategy to prepare a new strategy for the 2020’s.
(xxiv) Neuro-Rehabilitation Services
Neuro-rehabilitation must be recognised as a distinct element of disability service delivery by the Health Service Executive.
-We are committed to the implementation of the National Policy and Strategy for the Provision of Neuro-Rehabilitation Services in Ireland published in 2011.
(xxv) Fight Blindness
We are committed to the development of a National Vision Strategy to fight blindness and sight loss.
We will:
Develop this strategy based on a coordination and integration of services, a focus on prevention and early intervention, supporting the general public to achieve a better understanding of good eye health and the risks associated with sight loss.
Direct the Health Research Board to publish a review of current research gaps and opportunities in Ireland on the issue of sight loss and eye disease.
(xxvi) Recruit 250 additional HSE therapy staff, a total increase of 550 therapists
Waiting times for both assessments and services for essential therapies are unacceptable.
This covers a wide range of groups including children with speech and language needs, physical therapists for stroke victims and occupational therapists for people with life challenging conditions.
It is essential that children with speech and language difficulties have access to therapy prior to going to school.
-We will recruit an additional 250 therapy staff at a cost of €11.38m annually.
In addition, as outlined in the education section, new early intervention teams will be established in schools with a further 300 therapists.
(xxvii) Increase funding for the Fair Deal scheme
Demographic pressure on the Fair Deal scheme requires additional resources to ensure older people who are no longer able to live at home are accommodated in Nursing homes.
As the population ages and increased demand mounts up we need to take a holistic approach to integrating older people into the community.
Fianna Fáil is committed in its “Independent Living Contract for Older People” to supporting older people to live in their own homes for as long as possible.
However this will not be possible in a significant number of cases and resources are required to ensure all older people are catered for.
-We will invest an additional €35m annually into the Fair Deal scheme to ensure the programme is adequately funded over the next 5 years.
(xxviii)Promote Healthy Living and fight obesity
Promoting health lifestyles is vital to tackling long term health costs and enabling people to live long, active lives.
A holistic approach to healthcare must start long before lifestyle illnesses become apparent.
This needs to be targeted from childhood all the way to a person’s elderly years.
Government has an important role to play in education, economic incentives and providing a physical environment that encourages sports and physical activity.
We will:
Introduce a tax on sugar sweetened drinks.
It would add on average six cent to a can of premium cola.
This will raise €71m annually according to Department of Finance estimates.
Establish a new primary school healthy eating education programmes to help cultivate lifelong good cooking and eating habits.
Amend the 2000 Planning & Development Act to strengthen the capacity of Local Authorities to CPO land for recreational use.
Issue National Planning regulations to create “No Fry” zones near Primary and secondary schools.
Phase out alcohol companies’ sponsorship of sporting events.
Expand the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) code to prohibit TV advertising of foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) up to 9pm.
Expand the PE programme at primary and secondary school level at a cost of €4.8m.
(xxix) Boost Community Pharmacists
Community pharmacists are keen to play a greater role in health care in Ireland and Fianna Fáil supports them in that aim.
Pharmacists in other countries routinely offer a wider range of vaccination and other medical services.
We will:
Allow pharmacy vaccination services to be extended similarly to include a far wider range of vaccines.
Implement a Minor Ailment Scheme to allow medical card patients to obtain treatments for common illnesses free-of-charge directly from the local community pharmacy.
Roll out a new pharmacy-based health check programme.
. This Scheme will be within existing resources.
(xxx) Lower Drug Costs
The cost of drugs to the HSE continues to remain high notwithstanding significant savings over the past decade or so.
Fianna Fáil fully supported and offered to expedite the passage of the Health (Pricing and Supply Medical Goods) Bill during the last Dáil.
It is our belief that the National Procurement Office should be given the task of managing purchasing medicines on behalf of the HSE.
This must involve direct meetings between the National Procurement Office and the relevant pharmaceutical companies.
We will:
Give the National Procurement Office the task of managing purchasing medicines on behalf of the HSE.
Allow for patients to be switched, where appropriate and subject to the Health Products Regulatory Authority, from existing medicines to more affordable, but equally effective, biosimilars.
(xxxi) Focus Capital Spending
In addition to the increase in hospital beds outlined in earlier points, Fianna Fáil is committed to the implementation of the €3 billion capital investment programme announced last autumn.
We will
Complete the National Children’s Hospital.
Support the relocation of the Dublin maternity hospitals.
The relocation of services from certain Dublin hospitals may offer opportunities for their vacated locations to be used for alternative purposes within the health system.
(xxxii) Reform the Health Budget
Fianna Fáil commits to the introduction of multi-annual funding for our health services and we believe that should start with Budget 2017.
We cannot reasonably plan for the long-term on the basis of short-term budgets.
The HSE and other service planners need to operate with a greater degree of certainty.
We will:
Ensure that there is a five year financial framework within which there can be realistic and meaningful forward planning
Commit to greater transparency and greater consultation on the budgetary process.
Direct the Director General of the HSE and Ministers and officials from the Department of Health to undertake a full and open consultation with the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health on what is required to meet both the demographic demand and unmet needs.
Reform the Public Sector
Investing in public services is a key priority for Fianna Fáil in government.
However we need to ensure that tax payers are getting full value for money and the services produced make a real difference on the ground.
In addition the work and pay conditions of ordinary public servants who made an invaluable contribution to keeping vital services going during the recession must be fully recognised.
“An Ireland for all” will ensure strong public services are built with dedicated public servants.
We will:
(i) Secure fair pay and conditions for public servants
During a deeply difficult time for the country ordinary public servants played a central role in keeping the functions of the state going and delivering vital services to people across Ireland.
The financial sacrifices of those workers were also vital in stabilising the public purse.
As the exchequer figures recover it is important that ordinary public servants are adequately recognised for their work.
We will be guided by the following principles in any future negotiations following the completion of the Lansdowne Road agreement within the financial limits of the fiscal space.
We will:
Fully implement the Lansdowne Road agreement.
-Target future pay agreements on low to middle income earners.
Repeal the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Acts over the next two years and return to normal industrial relations mechanisms, in relation to setting pay and conditions.
Ensure that improvements in take home pay of public servants are in line with general wage improvements in the economy.
Engage with representatives of retired public servants in the recent negotiations.
Secure equality of treatment for newly recruited public servants.
Use the ERSI to externally verify costs of pay and pension measures and the achievement of targets in future agreements.
(ii)Reform the government department structure
The decay in public services overseen by this government demands a substantial monetary and organisational response.
Beyond our comprehensive investment package we will restructure government departments to make them more responsive to the needs of modern Ireland.
We will retain the current number of 13 Junior Ministers and 15 cabinet positions.
We will:
Reform the Department of Social Protection to make it the Department of Social Protection, Disability & Equality.
This will move disability out of the inappropriate area of justice and into a new department recognising the need for inclusion.
Create a new Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.
This department will be tasked with tackling the housing crisis and cutting through the red tape of multiple agencies.
Establish a new Department of Climate Change.
This new department will head up our climate change policy.
It will bring together the current departments of Environment, Flood Defence, Energy, Transport, Natural Resources, & Heritage.
Set up a new Department of Community Support & Development, Rural Affairs, Gaeltacht and Islands to lead on community services and ensure a nationwide set of basic services.
Secure Super Junior cabinet table status for the Minister for Primary and Social Care including older people.
Amalgamate the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform with the Department of Finance.
(iii) Make public services more user friendly
Public services should be responsive to the needs of the people they serve.
We will work to ensure current services and future programmes are designed to maximise ease of use and in particular IT access. We will:
Open access to the public on a 24/7 basis to as many as possible Government services.
All new programmes should be designed so they can be shared across public bodies.
Roll out enhanced data to provide that no citizen is asked for the same information more than once.
IT systems should be designed to eliminate duplication across the entire system.
Engage staff annually with surveys on improving the system.
Ensure digital assistance is always available for those who are not online in particular older people.
(iv) Enhance public sector performance and accountability
In order to deliver full value for money across the public services we must provide clear mechanisms for performance review and greater flexibility in the public service.
Every euro spent should have an impact.
We will:
Initiate clear performance reviews for secretary generals and assistant secretary generals.
Allow for greater flexibility of staff across Departments and agencies as required.
Standardise customer service charters across the public service.
Extend the remit of the Office of the Ombudsman to semi-state monopolies.
(v) Improve gender representation across the public service
While the majority of public sector workers are female the majority of senior positions are held by males.
This needs to be addressed so that the senior positions in the public service reflect the gender balance in society.
In addition state board appointments should continue to lead the way in securing a fair gender balance.
-We will improve equal gender representation at upper management levels of the public service and continue to works towards gender representation targets in state board appointments.
Tackle crime & develop community services
We will tackle crime head on and protect community services.
We will:
Keep homes and communities safe
Increase An Garda Síochána to 15,000 members and Garda Reserve to 2,500
Impose mandatory sentences for assaults on elderly people
Put in place tougher sentences and electronic tagging for burglars
Implement a Victim’s Surcharge to make criminals pay for their crimes
Establish a Community Services Guarantee for all citizens
Create a new Cabinet Minister for Community Support and Development
Set  specific measures for Education, Health and Transport services across Ireland
Increase LEADER funding and restart the  RAPID & CLAR programme
Create a “Pathway to Inclusion” for people with a disability
Create a Cabinet level Minister for Disability
Recognise the cost of living with a €10 Disability Allowance top up payment
Increase employment assistance supports for people with a disability
Revitalise Irish town centres, cities & our capital
Roll out town teams to lead change in town centres
Protect and strengthen the Post Office Network
Establish a Dublin City Centre Public Order Unit
Create a new Transport Police division within An Garda Síochána
Improve the road network and protect public transport
Set up a National Public Transport Commission
Promote  and expand the use of E-cars
Increase funds for Road Maintenance
Create a new national cycle way strategy
Increase flood defence spending & establish a new flood insurance model
Give local people power over local decisions
Roll out community councils and Town Councils across every town and village in Ireland
Establish a community fund to own and run community assets
Initiate a directly elected Dublin mayor
Launch a “21st Century Oireachtas” political reform initiative
Ireland has a resilient community spirit and a deep, abiding sense of pride in our nation
. This strength has helped us endure and bounce back from the challenges we have faced as a country
. However, to thrive communities need to be safe and to have access to core state services.
“An Ireland for all” is built around this core priority.
The surge in crime across the country and escalating fear of burglaries is generating serious unease in communities around Ireland.
The strong sense of community that has served Ireland so well is being jeopardised by the scourge of criminality and fear.
The Fine Gael/ Labour government has allowed this far reaching sense of alarm to grow through their downgrading of An Garda Síochána and gross mismanagement of justice in Ireland.
The neglect of communities is a defining feature of this government.
In 2011 Fine Gael and Labour ended the 20-year status of community development and the fight against drugs as cabinet-level responsibilities.
This was followed by the closing of a range of successful programmes and policy of neglect and disinterest.
Rising crime, the spread of serious drugs and a lack of community development have directly arisen because of this government’s policies.
In contrast, Fianna Fáil is committed to the implementation of a comprehensive plan to tackle crime and protect our communities.
“An Ireland for all” will involve real political reform, empowering democratic institutions responsible to communities and establishing new standards for services across the country.
Investment and development of community service means securing our vibrant Arts sector and protecting and enhancing our national language.
As a party whose core objective remains the re-unification of this island as a single state we are fully committed to strengthening cross border links and revitalising the institutions  and immense potential of the Good Friday agreement.
Under Fianna Fáil Ireland will play a strong role in EU and global affairs.
Most of all, our commitment as part of “An Ireland for all” is to help communities overcome the many and rising challenges they face to ensure Ireland remains a great place to live in and raise a family.
Keep Homes and Communities Safe
Over the past five years this government has inflicted great damage on the ability of An Garda Síochána to protect our communities
. Ministerial policies have directly undermined the principle that Gardaí should be as close as possible to the communities they serve
. Fianna Fáil is determined to reverse this policy and implement a concerted campaign to tackle crime in all parts of our country.
We will:
(i) Increase Garda Numbers to 15,000 and Garda Reserve to 2,500
Garda numbers have been reduced below the level of 13,000 by this government and accompanied by the closure of 139 Garda stations.
Reducing the force to such dangerously low levels has jeopardised the safety and security of communities across Ireland.
The number of Gardaí needs to be significantly increased to take the fight to criminals.
We will:
Increase Garda numbers to 15,000 in order to combat crime across Ireland.
This will cost €40m annually.
Require the publication of a policing plan which will show how the increased number of Gardaí will be targeted at priorities.
Double the Garda Reserve to 2,500 at a cost of €3.5m to complement and support the work of the main force and encourage community engagement with policing.
In addition a special accelerated training scheme will be put in place for Garda Reserve members selected to join the main force to ensure they are put on the beat as quickly as possible.
(ii) Increase the number of Community Gardaí by over 200
Strong community relations are the bedrock of an effective police force.
However, the imbalance in community Gardaí across the country is damaging local links with the force.
We need to cover all Garda districts to ensure that a community Garda is based in the area with strong links to the local community.
-We will use part of the 2,000 Garda boost from recruitment as well as organisational changes to increase Community Garda by 200 to ensure all areas are sufficiently covered.
(iii) Launch a Garda Inspectorate Report into re-opening Garda stations
The closure of 139 Garda stations and potential threat to the future of other small stations throughout Ireland is the wrong policy as it jeopardises the security of countless communities and homes.
The decision to extinguish the blue light of the local station sent a clear message to criminals that resulted in a wave of burglaries hitting cities, towns and villages around the country.
The paltry savings from the closures did not justify the deeply damaging impact on the communities they served.
-We will launch a Garda Inspectorate report on the 139 station areas to assess the impact of the closures and make recommendations on whether the station should be re-opened or in the case of the building being sold, a new station established.
Public input will be facilitated.
The report will be completed and recommendations put to implementation within 12 months.
In addition, where there is a pressing case for immediate action, the Garda Commissioner will be provided with resources for the reopening of select stations.
(iv) Implement a new Garda Workforce plan to release Gardaí to work on frontline duties
Building on the findings of the Garda Inspectorate Report there is a clear need to ramp up the use of civilian staff in the force to alleviate the burden of administrative duties on Garda.
New workforce planning and outsourcing of certain non-essential duties that do not require a sworn officer will help to free up Garda to get them back on the beat, visible in their communities and directly tackling crime.
-We will launch a new Garda Workforce plan that will aim to increase civilisation of up to 1,000 positions to put more Garda back on the streets protecting communities.
Any additional staff will be re-located from existing public service positions that are no longer necessary.
In addition we will work to implement the recommendations of “Changing Policing in Ireland” in regard to the organisational structure of the force to maximise efficiency.
(v) Toughen sentences and measures to stop repeat burglars
Families and older people are living in fear from the surge in crime.
Hardened burglars are not afraid to commit crime because of lenient sentences and low Garda numbers.
We will introduce a set of specific measures to tackle burglaries across the state.
We will:
Impose mandatory 3 year sentences for burglary   offenders and seven years for a third burglary offence,
Enforce driving disqualification for people convicted of driving a car for the purposes of a robbery,
Roll out Electronic Tagging for repeat offenders on bail.
This will cost €3.1m annually
Install advanced vehicle recognition CCTV at all motorway junctions to tackle mobile gangs attacking rural Ireland.
The capital cost of this is €4m.
These measures will help ensure that the Gardaí have the legal and technological tools to effectively tackle home robberies.
The increase in the force to 15,000 will ensure Gardaí have the local community presence to prevent future burglaries and send a clear message to criminals.
(vi) Establish a new sentencing council to ensure consistent sentences
Public faith in the justice system is an integral component of enabling it to do its job properly.
Inconsistent sentencing and a lack of information around decisions harms public trust in the justice system.
We will help ensure that greater consistency is applied in sentencing for serious offences such as rape and robbery.
-We will establish a Judicial sentencing council to disseminate accurate information around sentencing guidelines and help judges impose fair sentences on criminals.
The council will also be charged with informing the public and media around sentencing standards.
It will cost €2.1m annually.
(vii) Enforce mandatory sentences on assaults on older people and emergency workers
In combination with a new sentencing council we will toughen sentences on those guilty of particularly heinous crimes.
It is important that rampant criminals are sent a strong, clear message that assaults on older people will not be tolerated and will be severely punished.
This is replicated in attacks on emergency workers that are on the frontline of protecting communities and helping victims.
Mandatory sentences will underline the serious nature of assaults on such personnel.
-We will implement the Assault on Older Person’s Bill which will ensure that people convicted of the heinous crime of attacking a pensioner will face a mandatory sentence of 3 years.
Attacks on emergency workers will also be subject to this mandatory sentence.
(viii) Crack down on knife crime
The epidemic of knife crime across the country illustrates how carrying a knife has become culturally acceptable in certain areas.
The brutal nature of knife attacks and their devastating impact on victims underlines the need to stamp this practise out and help protect communities.
We need to eradicate this scourge and take back our streets for all people, day or night.
-We will introduce a mandatory minimum 12 month sentence for the carrying of a knife in public.
(ix) Retain and expand the Special Criminal Court
The continued threat of dissident terror groups and scourge of organised gangland crime demands a clear, strong response from the state.
The Special Criminal Court has an important part to play in providing a viable route to prosecuting serious criminals.
The three judge Special Criminal Court protects jurors and their families from the distinct threat that this level of criminality represents.
For example, its role in confronting and breaking up vicious criminal gangs in Limerick is a testament to its effectiveness.
-We will retain the Special Criminal Court and establish a second court in order to deal with the backlog of cases.
(x) Introduce a new Community Court structure
International experience drawn from the USA and UK indicates that Community courts can reduce re-offending levels and help ensure that communities that suffer from crime receive redress.
They bring persons charged with low level crimes to justice in the area where the incidents occurred, thereby producing greater efficiency, visibility and accountability.
They also improve public safety, break the cycle of re-offending by addressing the problems, addictions, mental illness, lack of job skills etc., presented by some low level offenders.
-We will introduce a system of Community Courts within the District Court system that will be neighbourhood focused, specifically addressing problems of particular communities by targeting ‘quality of life’ crimes such as drug possession, public order offences, petty theft, prostitution and vandalism.
This will relieve pressure on the prison system and curb recidivism by nipping it in the bud.
We have allocated €2m to this new structure.
(xi) Introduce a new Victim’s Law and surcharge
We believe that the victims of crime need to be fully supported.
Too often the justice system seems balanced in favour of criminals and repeat offenders while ordinary people who fall prey to criminality are left unrecognised.
We will:
Enshrine the right to make a personal statement before sentencing and on parole hearings as well as greater information being given by An Garda Síochána and the DPP to victims on the course of the prosecution.
Implement a new victim’s surcharge. Criminals convicted of an offence will be expected to pay a new Victim’s Surcharge.
Fees from the surcharge levied on convicted criminals will be ring-fenced for a new Victim’s Support Fund to help finance victim’s support groups.
(xii) Establish a National Major Crimes Investigation Team
Outside of the capital much of the Garda force suffers from a lack of expertise and resources in investigating serious crimes such as murder. .
In order to ensure that the entire country has access to a strong Gardaí across all crimes including the most serious, a national unit is required. .
-We will establish a national major crimes team to investigate serious crimes across the country. .
This will free up local Garda resources to deal with other crimes. .
(xiii) Set up a new Serious & Organised Crime Unit
Tightly organised and highly mobile gangs operating across Europe are the driving force behind major drug and sex trafficking rings in this country. .
The impacts of these crimes are played out with devastating effect at a local level in our communities. .
The advanced organisational capacities of the gangs and their sheer brutality demands a co-ordinated, concentrated approach by An Garda Síochána. .
-We will establish a Serious & Organised Crime Unit to lead the fight against criminal networks operating in Ireland. .
The Unit will also co-operate with Interpol and other police agencies. .
Within the unit we will establish a Cybercrime section designated with tackling these crimes and adequately resourced to track down and prosecute offenders. .
(xiv) Invest €275m in “Safe Streets”, a new IT crime analysis system and Garda Car Programme
It is vital that the Gardaí are equipped with the resources and technology necessary to combat crime. .
Utilising Big Data to build a more accurate image of crime trends and geographic locations is vital to directing Garda manpower to have the most impact. .
International experience from US cities shows the potential of improving links between data analysis and on the ground policing. .
Across rural and urban Ireland enhanced IT analysis backed by raw resources such as new high powered cars to help combat crime more effectively. .
We will:
Allocate an additional €25m capital funding to the existing IT and Garda car programmes to boost the resources available to the Gardaí. .
A new Garda Resource Management IT system will help to direct resources where they are needed most, backed up by in car mobile technology. .
Invest in a Multi-annual Vehicle investment programme to ensure that the fleet is constantly upgraded and kept up to scratch with cutting edge IT to enable frontline officers react quickly and effectively. .
Establish a Community Services Guarantee
The long-term success of our communities requires that they have access to a range of basic services. .
We believe that it is now essential to define the core contract between communities and the state in terms of what services are seen as essential. .
In addition, a reformed approach to planning, delivering and overseeing community services is required. .
In addition, we believe that engrained social problems such as serious drug abuse and cycles of disadvantage require community-level intervention before they can be addressed. .
We will:
(i) Create a new Cabinet Minister for Community Support & Development, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs
Fianna Fáil will rectify the grave neglect of communities by this administration. .
We will:
Create a Minister for Community Support, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs in order to ensure that communities have a voice at the table. .
This will be a full Cabinet position equipped to keep community issues as a central part of key government decisions. .
The new Cabinet position will be charged with developing, measuring and holding to account, targets for the Community Services Guarantee. .
Ensure the Minister will lead cross-departmental coordination in the fight against the spread and damage of serious drugs. .
-Task the Department with Gaeltacht affairs and the implementation of the 20 year Irish language strategy. .
(ii) Set specific measures for Education, Health, Transport and key community services
Rural communities and vulnerable urban areas are being forgotten. .
The basic services of the state in security, health and transport are being steadily eroded by government negligence while the business life of rural Ireland is being strangled by the burden of commercial rates, declining town centres and a pressurised agriculture sector. .
Stopping the decline in community services and strengthening the provision of essential public goods in isolated and vulnerable areas must involve a concerted, targeted effort at government level. .
-We will set measures across key areas such as Health Services, Education provision, transport network, access to justice and Garda supports. .
Individual measures from different departments will be subjected to community proofing under the Community Services guarantee to prevent a limited, silo driven approach. .
(iii) Increase LEADER funding & re-start RAPID and CLAR funding
The LEADER programme forms an integral part of the community sector across rural Ireland providing vital services such as child care, rural recreation and enterprise supports.
In a similar vein the RAPID programme has played an important role in delivering much needed investment in neglected urban areas.
The CLAR programme was the engine behind infrastructural development into otherwise unfeasible isolated areas.
We will:
Increase LEADER funding to €350m over the remaining course of the RDP programme.
This represents additional funding of €20 per annum,
Restart the CLÁR scheme and re-open the RAPID programme to help develop marginal communities across both rural and urban Ireland at a cost of €23m and €6m respectively.
(iv) Return the autonomy of the LEADER Programme
A critical part of the success and effectiveness of the LEADER programme has been its independence in carrying out its activities.
Under a cynical label of reform the government has directly jeopardised that autonomy by adding in a layer of local authority control.
This has damaged the fundamental community led, bottom up approach of the companies involved.
-We will work with communities to return the autonomy of the LEADER Programme by removing their alignment with local authorities.
(v) Support the Community and Voluntary Sector
The new cabinet position will be entrusted in overseeing Ireland’s expanding community and voluntary sector.
We will
-Task the new Minister with ensuring the sector is adequately funded and regulated to empower it to function at the heart of our communities and deliver critical services.
Develop and implement a new strategy for the sector.
(vi) Establish a Minister for Drugs
The government has consistently downgraded the importance of tackling the scourge of drugs in cities, towns and villages across Ireland.
We need to revitalise government efforts to stamp out the multi generational problem of drugs in the worst affected communities
. A single lead Minister should take charge of this problem.
-We will create a Minister for Drugs.
Create a “Pathway to inclusion” for people with disabilities
Building “An Ireland for all” means ensuring that people with disabilities are supported to realise their full potential.
Our “Pathway to Inclusion” aims to place people with disabilities at the heart of the community, playing an active role in their areas.
The comprehensive “Pathway to Inclusion” for people with disabilities covers a number of areas and will help ensure having a disability is not a barrier to participating in the community.
We will:
(i) Recognise the cost of disability with a new €10 top up for the Disability Allowance, Carers Allowance, Invalidity and Blind Pension
The cost of disability on those directly affected and those who care for people with a disability is a significant burden on their weekly finances.
Higher heating costs due to reduced mobility, transport costs, medical expenses and special dietary requirements are just some of the additional costs that people with a disability face.
A core component of our “Pathway to inclusion” is detaching the payment from the other working age social welfare benefits with a top up payment.
-We will introduce a €10 cost of disability top up payment.
This €10 increase will be across the Disability Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Blind Pension and Invalidity Pension.
This is in addition to the €10 working age payments increase, leading to a cumulative €20 boost for people with a disability and their carers.
This will cost €123m annually.
(ii) Create a Minister for Disability at the Cabinet Table
Strong leadership is vital in bringing together the disparate elements of disability policy.
As part of our “Pathway to Inclusion” we will ensure disability is given a voice at the cabinet table.
-We will change the role of Minister of Social Protection to become the Minister of Social Protection, Disability & Equality.
This Minister will drive and co-ordinate disability inclusion, whilst also reinforcing the idea that disability is a cross-departmental issue, requiring a whole of Government approach with each Government Department having a responsibility in terms of disability inclusion policy.
(iii) Transferring Disability Policy to the Department of Social Protection
The current location of disability policy within the Department of Justice and Equality is not suitable.
It was introduced at a time when the primary focus was on equality legislation.
Over time it has relegated disability to a secondary issue and as a consequence we have seen very little progress in the area of disability over the last 5 years.
-We will place responsibility for disability policy within the Department of Social Protection.
It is from this Department that many decisions are made that affect the lives of people with disabilities, and we as a consequence believe that disability policy should fall under this Department’s remit.
In addition to these administrative changes, we will also legislate to give statutory recognition to Irish Sign Language.
(iv) Ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by the end of 2016
Creating a strong, robust legal framework for disability rights is vital to ensuring people with disabilities can play a full, active role in Irish life.
-We will, as one of our first priorities, work towards ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability (UNCRPD).
We recognise that this is an essential step and must be done if we are to achieve our goal of ending discrimination and achieving equality for all of our citizens.
(v) Improve the Application Process for Carers’ and Disability Payments
The application processes for carer’s payments will be changed to enable applicants to provide more information on the level of care being provided.
Eligibility for Disability Allowance depends on capacity to work.
However, decisions are made based mainly on a medical assessment.
This does not, in itself, give an accurate assessment of a person’s capacity to work in many cases.
-We will give people an opportunity to describe how their disability impacts on their daily life.
We will direct the Department to work with the Disability Movement and voluntary disability providers to develop a fair and comprehensive system of assessing people’s capacity to work.
(vi) Improve Access to Mainstream Employment Activation Measures
We will begin the process of ending the exclusion of people with disabilities from mainstream employment programmes and will specifically address the exclusion of people who are in receipt of Disability Allowance from the MOMENTUM Programme.
-We will increase the MOMENTUM Programme by 20% or 1,200 places on a voluntary basis for people in receipt of Disability Allowance.
This will cost €4m annually.
(vii) Extend the Wage Subsidy Scheme
The Wage Subsidy Scheme provides financial incentives to private sector employers to hire people with a disability.
The Partial Capacity Benefit (PCB) scheme is designed for people who are on illness benefit, for at least six months, or on invalidity pension and who have retained some capacity for work and wish to work.
However those in receipt of the Partial Capacity Benefit cannot avail of the Wage Subsidy Scheme.
Broadening it out will encourage the employment of people with disabilities and make it easier for people with disabilities to engage with the labour market.
-We propose to extend the Wage Subsidy Scheme to those in receipt of Partial Capacity Benefit.
This measure will cost €11m.
(viii) Promote and Support the Employment of People with Disabilities
Tied to our policy of improving access to mainstream Activation Measures is promoting the employment of people with disabilities  and raising awareness of schemes that are available both to employees and employers to support and retain people with disabilities into employment.
We will:
Increase funding for the Reasonable Accommodation Fund by €250,000 to help employers facilitate people with a disability.
Engage in an information and dissemination campaign to inform employees and employers groups about the range of schemes that are available to both employees and employers.
To this end we will set annual targets for the take up of schemes.
(ix) Award Government Contracts on Taxi Services to Companies that have an Accessible Disability Fleet
Fianna Fáil believes that Government should take the lead in encouraging our national taxi pool to become more accessible to people with disabilities.
-We will stipulate that one of the criteria in awarding government contracts on taxi services will be based on a percentage of a company’s fleet that is accessible to people with disabilities.
(x) Restore the Housing Adaptation Grant
The Housing Adaptation Grant and Mobility Aid Grants have been subject to severe cuts that have had a detrimental impact on people with disabilities.
These grants are vital to make it possible for people with disabilities to remain in their own homes.
-We will restore the Housing Adaptation Grant and the Mobility Aid Scheme to their previous levels.
This will cost €25.5m annually.
(xi) Increase Personal Assistance Hours by 1.3m
Personal Assistance service is a life line for people with disabilities to help ensure they can take an active part in community life.
Advancing and improving the service is vital to our “Pathway to Inclusion” and helping to build “An Ireland for all”.
-We will double Personal Assistance Hours with a 1.3m increase at a total cost of €30m.
(xii) Put the Personal Assistance Scheme on a statutory footing
The Personal Assistance scheme is a vital resource for people with disabilities.
The scheme must be copper fastened to secure its long term role in disability assistance.
-We will legislate to give the personal assistance scheme a statutory footing.
(xiii) Move away from Congregated Settings
We support the new model for residential support in the mainstream community.
The model envisages people living in congregated settings moving to dispersed housing in communities, provided mainly by the housing authorities over a seven year time frame.
However, progress on this has been slow and the HSE has only prioritised the transition of just 150 people from congregated settings in 2015, a target which they did not even meet.
This demonstrates Fine Gael and Labour’s real lack of commitment to moving people out of congregated settings.
We will:
Allocate an additional €20 million to hasten the process of moving people from what is often unsuitable accommodation to the community.
Revitalise Irish town centres, cities and capital
Long-term pressures on the centres of our towns and cities have accelerated in recent years.
We believe that vibrant commercial centres are essential for strong communities.
Therefore we will implement a range of initiatives to revitalise them.
We will:
(i) Create Town Teams to lead the way in revitalising town centres
Leadership across all sectors of town life is a key component of addressing the grave challenges Irish towns face.
The changing face of commerce,
failure of the government to ensure a fair recovery across the country
and reduced state services presents a myriad of issues to be confronted.
Each town will require its own individual approach to their unique circumstances and within local authority resources.
We will:
Create a town team drawing on political, community groups, business, Garda and government department representatives across all Irish towns combined with restoring town councils.
These groups will be tasked with drafting an economic plan encompassing a clear timeframe to revitalise town centres.
The Town Team will be charged with a Red Tape Assessment of the burden of regulation facing their towns.
-Task the Town teams to undertake an “Empty Shop Initiative” which will earmark empty units and work with local community groups who need space to ensure they are used.
(ii) Change planning laws for town centre development
Towns are part of the fabric of Irish life.
However this government has whittled away the post office network, sold-off of 139 Garda stations, overseen 160 bank branch closures and allowed empty commercial units scar this country’s towns.
A core part of developing communities is the need to revitalise our towns and villages.
Overly restrictive planning laws are preventing flexibility in the use of buildings and preventing a quicker response to dramatically changed economic and commercial circumstances.
We will:
Change planning laws to facilitate flexible planning permissions to allow vacant commercial units to be turned into residential units in order to attract people back into living in town centres.
Flexibility on land use will encourage enhanced investment and greater footfall in town centres.
Revise the Retail Planning Guidelines to re-emphasize the need to focus development on town centres.
We will implement stricter Retail Planning Guidelines, with reduced floor space to curb out-of-town development.
Ensure that out-of-town developments are the exceptions, requiring a special “sign off ” by An Bord Pleanála.
(iii) Keep Streets Safe
Many town and city centres have become dangerous places rife with anti-social behaviour, petty crime and in particular drunken aggression.
This fear has driven many people from town centres which should be lively social hubs for the whole community.
We are committed to keeping streets safe for families and our elderly at all times and making town centres a focal point for all the community.
We will:
Spread the purple flag initiative to all towns to ensure they maintain the highest safety standards and are welcoming places for families.
Purple Flag is an accreditation scheme that recognises excellence in the appeal and management of a town or city centre area at night.
Create a new framework to help encourage neighbourhood watch schemes (NWS) as an innovative measure to help tackle crime amongst all residential areas including town centre dwellers.
Establish a national neighbourhood watch council which will facilitate best practise to be exchanged.
A national council will include representatives from the civil service and Gardaí.
These measures combined with the increase in Garda numbers and visibility on the ground will help curb anti- social behaviour and help create a safe environment in town centres for all age groups.
(iv) Protect and strengthen the Post Office Network
The local post office lies at the heart of rural communities and towns.
Its plays both an economic role in providing social welfare payments and an immeasurably important social link for residents in isolated areas.
The spill over impact of post offices plays an integral part in a vibrant town.
Declining revenue and changing communications patterns have threatened the viability of the post office network.
This has been compounded by the fact that government neglect has jeopardised the future of post offices which now lie under a dark cloud of uncertainty.
We are committed to protecting the post office network.
We will:
Support the post office network by expanding Post Office services so that they act as central offices for state payments and charges e.g. motor tax, local authority charges, hospital charges and banking services.
Ensure that Post offices become a hub for shared community state services as well as an office for broadband access and printing facilities.
Extend the Department of Social Protection contract with An Post.
(v) Create a  Dublin City Centre Public Order Unit
The scourge of anti-social behaviour, petty crime and endemic drug abuse is scarring the city centre.
This is deeply damaging for business, tourism and day to day activity in the area.
A specialised, focused Garda taskforce is required to ensure our city centre streets are kept safe day and night.
-We will create a specific City Centre Public Order unit to serve in Dublin city centre within the additional Garda resources we have provided for.
(vi) Set up a Public Transport Police Section
Security issues on public transport are a serious issue in Dublin particularly on the Luas services and late night bus services.
Anti-social behaviour and intimidation are rife.
Ensuring that public transport is a safe and secure way to travel for all age groups at all times is vital to maintaining its role at the heart of city life.
-We will set up a specific public transport police section within An Garda Síochána.
Improve the road network and protecting public transport
The major improvements in the road network and public transport implemented by Fianna Fáil made a vital difference to promoting balanced economic growth
. In contrast, the neglect of recent years has done significant damage.
The impact of recent floods has devastated an already strained infrastructure in significant parts of the country.
This must be reversed and adequate support and insurance given to affected households.
Developing community services means putting in place a strong infrastructure to link homes together.
We will:
(i) Establish a National Infrastructure Commission
Ireland needs to take a long term view on infrastructure projects and what this country needs over the next century.
This is particularly important in light of the serious challenges of climate change
and the need to upgrade our infrastructure to cope with growing demand.
This requires long term planning and investment.
A new National Infrastructure Commission tasked with planning ahead over a 25 year period beyond the limited 5 year cycle of current capital plans would secure our long term requirements.
-We will set up an independent National Infrastructure Commission by reforming Transport Infrastructure Ireland and drawing from the Department of Transport, National Transport Authority, Sustainable Energy Authority and Local Authorities to set out a new framework for the development of transport in Ireland over the coming years.
The commission will be tasked with overseeing long term plans for a series of targets
Achieving 4% of GDP Infrastructure Investment
Decarbonising Ireland
A strong transport network that balances regional development
Making Ireland an IT nation with telecommunications connectivity
A secure, balanced energy mix
-The Commission’s reports will be laid before the Oireachtas and subject to scrutiny..
Government departments will be required to draw up plans based on the Commission’s recommendations as passed by the Oireachtas
(ii) Prioritise the M20 from Cork to Limerick
Linking together the second and third largest cities in the country is a vital piece of infrastructure for the South West Region.
It is a pivotal link to help slash travel times and generate economic growth across the region.
The current route is plagued by congestion and driving blackspots stymying investment across the area.
-We will prioritise the commencement of the M20 from Cork and Limerick.
We envisage the project would take at least 10 years to complete even if authorisation was granted immediately.
We will develop a Public Private Partnership agreement to initiate the construction of the motorway.
(iii) Boost regional and local road funding
In order to address the neglect of the road network over the last number of years significant investment is required.
From 2013 to 2016, maintenance spending on regional and local roads has been approximately 48% below what is required to keep the roads in good condition.
The proliferation of potholes, structural decline and dire state of disrepair in roads across Ireland demand significant action.
-We will boost grants funding for regional and local roads by €50m per annum.
(iv) Restore the Local Improvement Scheme
The Local Improvement Scheme was an important source of funds for isolated, neglected roads and lanes not taken in charge by the Local Authority.
For communities in marginal areas the growing degradation of these important connections requires a small but important investment.
-We will re-invest in the Local Improvement Scheme to fund improvements in local roads and lanes at a cost of €4.5m annually.
(v) Increase Flood defence Investment and fully implement CFRAM Programme
Volatile weather conditions have ruthlessly exposed inadequate flood defences in communities across Ireland.
A comprehensive, lasting flood defences structure must be put in place to withstand future challenges and protect these communities from inevitable future threats.
-We will increase investment in flood defences by €50m to over €450m in the period to 2021 and implement the CFRAM programme to ensure an enduring infrastructure is built.
(vi) Implement a permanent emergency management coordination programme
The failure to adapt and develop the coordination of action for all stages of the emergency management cycle had an important and negative impact during recent flooding.
Key strategies have remained unchanged in the last five years in spite of the rising frequency and impact of major emergencies.
We will:
Give legislative underpinning to the National Emergency Coordination Centre and publish a revised national strategy by the end of 2016.
Create an integrated emergency information portal as a single point of access for people during an emergency.
This will incorporate warnings and information from a full range of agencies.
Institute regular surveys of public preparedness for emergencies and understanding of the roles of state agencies.
Launch a public information campaign focused on reducing the impact of emergencies and promoting safe behaviour during emergencies.
Incorporate Safety information for use during emergencies with school curricula.
(vii) Introduce a new Flood Home & Business Insurance model
The aftermath of the December floods has seen hundreds of homes destroyed and left without insurance.
Increasingly volatile and intense storms threaten to bring financial ruin on these families if their homes are flooded again.
These families and communities need to be protected from future floods.
-We will work with the insurance industry to form an agreement on a new non-for profit company “Flood Protection” based on the UK “Flood Re” model.
This company will be funded by a levy on insurance companies and will insure those homes unable to receive cover under the current insurance system.
(viii) Create a new River Shannon Agency
The River Shannon is the longest in the British Isles and stretches across some 360km touching 18 counties.
There are numerous bodies and authorities across the River Shannon making a joined up approach difficult.
The devastation of the recent floods highlights the need to protect homeowners along its banks.
We need a new approach to managing the river that cuts across the different bureaucracies involved.
The government’s proposal simply revives a weak body it abolished in 1994.
-We will legislate to create a River Shannon agency, this will be done on a cost neutral basis through bringing together functions currently spread across different agencies.
(ix) Encourage Off-Peak Commutes: Introducing the Toll Saver Incentive
Escalating congestion threatens economic competitiveness and quality of life for commuters and inhabitants.
Fianna Fáil has a number of innovative policy ideas to reduce traffic congestion on our motorways, particularly the major arterial routes linking urban centres with commuter towns, such as the M50, M1, M6, East Link and Port Tunnel.
-Waive the Motor Tax for E-cars, cost €1.3m.
- Introduce Motorway toll waivers for E-cars, cost €0.6m.
-We will introduce a Toll Saver incentive for travelling at off-peak times.
Vehicles using an e-tag will be rewarded for undertaking their journeys at off-peak times rather than at peak times via an annual tax credit.
Motorists will be able to claim tax relief for 20% of their toll costs undertaken at non-peak travel periods (mid-week).
Based on the costs of a round trip commute on the M50, an individual commuter availing of this scheme could save on average €200 per year.
The objective of this scheme will be to encourage more users of the key arterial, tolled routes in the Greater Dublin Area to undertake their commute during off-peak times.
This is estimated to cost €7m per annum.
(x) Prioritise DART Underground in future capital plans
The DART Underground project has been described by the NTA as the ‘’missing link’’ in the country’s rail infrastructure.
This is because of the enormous benefits it would have connecting the existing rail lines in Dublin and unlocking the capacity of the current rail infrastructure.
The tunnel connecting Connolly with Heuston would treble the capacity of the rail network in Dublin, for the first time linking all existing rail lines in the Greater Dublin Area into an integrated rail network as well as doubling up as an underground metro for the City Centre.
-We believe that the DART Underground project is an important component of the future economic health and liveability of the capital city.
This is a long term capital project.
Fianna Fáil is committed to recommencing the project as soon as additional resources allow within the fiscal space.
(xi) Promote and expand E-Cars to help tackle climate change
Tackling climate change requires fresh thinking and a new approach to both advancing renewable energy sources and reducing pollution.
E-Cars have the long term potential to slash carbon dioxide emissions and help Ireland reach its 2013 targets.
We will initiate a series of measures targeted to bolster E-Car numbers to help reach the target of 10% electric vehicle usage over the lifetime of the next government.
We will implement a series of measures to promote E-Car usage levels and transition away from motor cars.
The public sector will take the lead in this regard.
We will:
Implement free charge points for E-cars, cost €2.3m.
Continue SEAI grants to boost E-car sales, cost €4.5m.
(xii) Enhance Use of Big Data in transport planning
Utilise the major strides forward in harnessing information and creating a user friendly website for ordinary citizens to highlight issues and concerns which will help to ensure that policy is based on clear evidence.
Use Smart Maps that encompass various layers of information which will allow local authorities and other service providers to plan big developments together with minimum disruption.
The national roll out of accurate real time public transport information that tackles the problems of “ghost departures” will help ensure that taking public transport is made easy for all users.
Big Data will allow Local Authorities to develop a clearer picture of transport trends and changes in real time.
We will:
(xiii) Continue to support regional airports
The regional airport network is a core component of our national transport network.
It is essential to attracting and retaining international investment as well as strengthening transport links.
-We are committed to on-going exchequer support for the four regional airports in conjunction with local authorities and businesses.
In addition we will retain the three state airports in state ownership.
(xiv) Introduce a New National Cycle Way Strategy
Encouraging more people onto bikes requires cycle ways that are genuine safe routes not simply add-ons to roads.
-We are committed to extending green ways to encourage tourism activity across the country.
Local Authorities will be at the forefront of identifying and developing these routes in consultation with local communities.
We will provide capital funding of €2m for this.
(xv) Protect the public transport system
At the heart of a sustainable transport system is an easily accessible public transport network.
Public transport is an essential community service.
In the era of climate change developing our public transport infrastructure is vital to curbing emission and placing our future development on a sustainable path.
-We will continue to invest in public transport services and increase the Public Service Obligation subvention to CIE to 2011 levels.
This will cost €28.54m annually in additional spending and will be subject to a requirement that public transport fares are adjusted accordingly.
(xvi) Making Public Transport more reliable, affordable and attractive
Fianna Fáil supports as a central long-term objective, a plan to shift the modal share of travel commuter journeys away from private cars towards public transport, walking and cycling.
To do this, we need a public transport system across the country and within our cities that is more reliable, affordable and attractive to use.
We will use our public transport investment and PSO increase towards these aims.
We will:
Ensure Reliability through targeted Investment in bus lanes completion and removing ‘pinch points’, priority signalling at junctions and RTPI.
Enhance Affordability by introducing fare freezes for three years and
introducing heavily discounted fares for third level students and young people up to age 25 to encourage public transport habit creation during their formative years.
Increase Attractiveness via Easy Mobile/Online Fare Payment platforms, Wifi, Tax Saver Packages for Park and Ride Users and Roll-out of Transport Security on Buses, Darts and Trains.
We have earmarked €1m for these measures.
Give local people power over local decisions
In recent years local democracy in Ireland has been further weakened and our country now has one of the weakest systems of local government in the democratic world.
We believe that a series of actions are required to empower local people to be involved in community development.
We will:
(i) Establish Town Councils across towns with a population of over 7,500 and create a new voluntary Community Councils structure
The abolition of town councils was a short-sighted, poorly thought out approach to our democratic institutions.
The government’s abolition of town councils has drastically increased the population to councillor ratio to 1:4800 by far the highest proportion in the Western World.
It is possible to have this tier of government without significant costs for representation.
We will:
Establish formal town councils in every town with a population of over 7,500, and previous rate-setting Town Councils below that threshold, a total of 72 towns across the country.
All Town Councillors, including the Mayor, would be unpaid and have access to only limited and basic expenses.
The cost of this is estimated at €15m.
-We will create a new community council model.
This system, operated on a voluntary participation basis and with no expenses related to representation, forms the bedrock and first tier of our vision for a new local government structure.
The model builds upon the existing, relatively informal, structure of Community Councils across the country.
Giving them a formal legislative role with clear duties and rolling them out across communities throughout the country marks a real devolvement of power to the citizen
. This roll out will be within existing local authority resources.
(ii) Establish a Community Asset Fund to own and operate community assets
Critical local assets are an intrinsic part of the social fabric of communities.
Non-commercial units such as Swimming pools, football pitches, stadiums, etc. all form part of our community and sense of place.
Losing these assets are a major blow to any village or town.
Communities should be given the chance to buy and operate these assets as a co-operative rather than permanently lose them.
-We will establish a Community Asset Fund drawn from an initial pilot project fund of €15m earmarked from the new tax on sugar sweetened drinks.
This fund will be used to fund community councils and co-ops to borrow cheaply to buy local community assets.
The eligible community value assets will be earmarked in a Local Infrastructure Register sanctioned by the Department of Environment with property owners given the chance to appeal their inclusion.
If their property is on the register, landowners will have to give a six week notification of their intention to sell.
If the community group expresses an interest to buy, an additional 4 months will be allotted to allow the community group time to secure finance and prepare a bid.
The landowner may then sell on the open market to the highest bidder.
(iii) Create a Community Right to reclaim land
Across the country and cities a substantial amount of unused and vacant land is held by state bodies such as government departments, local authorities and the OPW.
This land could be used for housing or public parks rather than lying idle.
Communities and individuals should have the opportunity to buy and use that land more effectively.
-We will establish a community right to reclaim land.
Under this mechanism a council, Voluntary Housing Association or community sports group may put forward a Community Right to Reclaim request to the Minister for the Environment.
The Minister will consider whether the public body has plans to develop the land or requires it for strategic purposes
. If not, the Minister can compel the relevant body to sell the land.
If successful the community organisation can avail of the Community Asset Fund to prepare a bid for the land which will be sold on the open market by the public body involved.
(iv) Initiate Directly elected Mayors
Dublin has historically lacked a core driving strategy.
The direct election of a Mayor requires a substantial review of powers and legislative clarity on the role of such a position.
In principle we believe that a directly elected Mayor can fill an important role.
This model can also be rolled out to other cities in Ireland based on best practice.
-We will prepare and publish a detailed proposal covering the role of a directly elected Mayor before the end of 2017.
Where it is determined that the introduction of such a position is feasible we will hold city plebiscites across Ireland to determine public support for the proposal.
Where plebiscites are passed we will immediately move to establish a new office of Mayor and hold elections.
(v) Reinvest the Local Property Tax in the local area
Finance is the litmus test of a truly independent and strong local government system.
The government introduced a local property tax claiming it was to fund local services.
In reality it was siphoned off to fund the setup and running of Irish Water and to cover over the drastic reductions in the local government grant.
Flexibility and discretion is needed to ensure local people have a real say to make sure money raised locally is spent locally.
-We will ensure that local authorities are empowered to consult local people on where a certain amount of local money is spent
. This would mean that a new participatory budgeting mechanism would operate through community and Town councils.
(vi) Directly support local community and sports groups
This is a key area in improving the quality of life for local residents.
Local sports and cultural clubs and groups are the backbone of their areas and bring out the best of volunteerism across the country.
The government can help these groups and give greater control to local people through a series of measures.
We will:
Revamp the development levy system.
Major construction project levies should integrate a contribution to locals sports clubs, such as land or monetary contributions.
Partnerships between local clubs, community council and the Local Authority should be an integral part of the public contribution to development plans.
Undertake a full audit of NAMA properties to identify suitable land for use by   local sports and community groups.
Local authorities should take the lead in developing plans for their procurement and adequate development.
This work should be co-ordinated with the NAMA transfer unit in each Local Authority.
Implement a new tax on sugar sweetened drinks which will be available for spending on sport and physical activity projects in communities across the country.
(vii) Strengthen Community Broadcasting
Fianna Fáil recognises the value of an independent, strong, vibrant broadcasting sector in Ireland.
In particular the contribution of independent and local radio stations to local communities throughout the country must be protected and allowed to flourish.
They have a vital role in local community life from sports to politics.
With recent technological advances the way in which we access broadcasting content has changed dramatically and a charge based on ownership of a television set is now outdated.
Any extra revenue received by redefining the current licence fee should be used to redress the cost to the hard pressed consumer.
Fianna Fáil is focused on ensuring that the contribution independent and local radio stations make to public service broadcasting is recognised and is committed to ensuring its sustainability for future generations.
-We will ensure that a portion of any public broadcasting fee must be ring fenced to encourage and facilitate the provision of public service programming by independent and local radio stations.
Broadcast Authority of Ireland funding will be a part of this.
(viii) Create a national Arts Strategy for all
A vibrant Arts and cultural scene is at the heart of a good life and a strong, vibrant community.
Ireland has a strong tradition of music, dance, theatre, art and film and continues to exert global influence across a wide spectrum of pursuits.
Beyond the commercial role and tourism potential the Arts sector has an even more important role to play in bringing communities and people together.
Creating a space for communities to express themselves and for talented artists to thrive and flourish is an important government support.
-We will shape our Arts strategy around three key principles:
Protecting the independence of the arts community;
Ensuring a stable, sustainable and secure funding model for the arts;
Enabling full community engagement and benefit from State arts funding.
In order to deliver an inclusive Arts strategy that embraces all communities in the country we will:
Ensure that Local Authorities implement a local arts action plan which benefits local communities and local artists and brings the arts directly to the people;
Re-establish the autonomy of Culture Ireland as an independent entity and increase funding by €2.3m annually to promote Irish arts and culture internationally;
Protect the “arm’s length principle” which promotes the Arts Council’s political autonomy in disbursing state funding to artists and arts organisations;
Guarantee the independence of the National Cultural Institutions;
Enhance arts provision in our education system and, in particular, increase music provision in primary schools through increased funding for Arts Council finance for Arts in schools programmes.
We will allocate an additional €2m of funding annually for this purpose;
Increase Arts Council funding by €10m annually,
Boost funding for the Heritage Council by €5m per annum.
(ix) Protect & develop our national language
Our national language is an immeasurable cultural treasure.
A century on from the foundation of our Republic the need to revitalise efforts to secure and develop the use of the Irish language is particularly important.
Sadly, the current government lacks any real commitment to the language or the protection of language rights.
Fine Gael and Labour have continuously downgraded the status of the Irish language.
The successful roll out of an ambitious strategy for the Irish language requires on-going leadership and funding.
In government we will give that leadership.
We will:
Appoint a senior minister with primary responsibility for Gaeltacht and Irish language affairs as part of the Department of Community Support & Development, Rural & Gaeltacht affairs.
Establish a full Oireachtas committee with responsibility for Gaeltacht and Irish language affairs.
Address the funding difficulties of Foras na Gaeilge and Údarás na Gaeltachta with additional resources.
We will allocate an additional €3m annually to the continued implementation of the Irish language strategy and a further €3m of current expenditure for projects under Údarás na Gaeltachta.
Support the office of An Coimisinéir Teanga, protect its independence, and introduce legislation to strengthen the Official Language Act and make language legislation more effective.
Ensure Irish remains at the heart of our Junior and Leaving Certificate Curriculum.
In addition, we are also committed to examining the possibility of introducing a second Irish language option for the Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate to cater specifically for the needs of native speakers and other fluent speakers, and to ensure that Gaeltacht schools have the freedom and resources to teach Irish to the native speaker in a manner that is appropriate and effective.
Build on the official recognition of Irish as a working language of the EU.
We will work to ensure the Irish Language has full parity of esteem with other EU languages.
(x) Implement a “21st Century Oireachtas” reform initiative
We will reform the Oireachtas to make it fit for purpose in 21st century Ireland through a number of comprehensive measures in our 21st Century Oireachtas Initiative.
In the next Dáil term we will:
Establish a new office of Policy and Economic Oversight under the auspices of the Fiscal Advisory Council.
This will operate similar to the Congressional Budget office in the USA or Office for Budget Responsibility in the UK.
This will have the power to independently cost party policy proposals.
The annual budget allocation for this purpose would be €2m.
Amend legislation to allow non-members of the Oireachtas to hold the position of Minister of State (this position is referred to as ‘State Secretary’ in most countries).
Ensure that a person proposed by the Taoiseach to hold such an office should be subject to a confirmation hearing in committee and vote in the Dáil within four weeks of being proposed.
Strengthen the Office of the Legal Counsel and empower it to publish independent opinions on matters where the Attorney General’s is not available to the Dáil.
Revamp Standing Orders for Dáil business to strengthen its independence of government.
Ensure that chairpersons of all committees are allocated between groups on the basis of the d’Hondt proportional allocation process.
Set out that the committee overseeing the work of government departments will publish a review of the department’s work based on research undertaken by the Office of Policy and Economic Oversight.
In addition, we believe that the people should be allowed to vote on more radical reforms of our political system which would bring it more into line with other comparable democracies and deliver a more expert, effective and independent government.
We will:
Propose a referendum to introduce a mixed list/PR-STV system.
Launch a reform of cabinet to separate government from parliament and, in particular to allow outside experts be appointed as Ministers and enable Ministers to be replaced in the Oireachtas by an alternate.
Ministers would continue to require approval by the Dáil, attend, answer questions and participate in debates but would not have votes.
Allow persons who are not members of the Oireachtas to be appointed to serve as ministers.
Implement the recommendations of the Working Group on Seanad Reform 2015.
Build a strong all Ireland community
The past five years have been marked by paralysis in Stormont and neglect by the co-guarantors of the Good Friday agreement, the Irish and British governments.
The pervasive sense of malaise that has sapped the potential of Northern Ireland can be seen in the degradation of North-South institutions by this government.
There is a pressing need to re-energise the institutions of the agreement and build a lasting peace in Northern Ireland.
We must ensure that the peace process is about more than just the absence of violence.
Fianna Fáil always has been and remains, fundamentally committed to achieving the historic unity of our island in a single state.
Unlike the indifference of this government, the issue of Northern Ireland will never be downgraded by Fianna Fáil.
“An Ireland for all” means a lasting, deep co-operation between both sides of the border building towards a peaceful, consensual unification of our land.
We will:
(i) Establish a Border Economic Development Zone to foster growth in the border region
The Border zone is faced with a series of distinct threats and opportunities.
The impact of the Troubles on infrastructure and geographic isolation has created a unique mixture of issues that need to be addressed.
Recognising those particular set of requirements means developing a new cross border development zone to help revitalise the economy in this area.
We have earmarked an initial fund of €3.5m for the Zone.
-We will establish a Cross Border Development Zone will involve a number of new features:
Border Development Zone Forum to address issues between the relevant bodies
Industry Champions to drive on business and attract investment
Annual Report to ensure transparency
Joined up Infrastructure investment such as completing the A5 and Narrow Water Bridge
Joint Cross Border Trade Promotion with Intertrade Ireland, Invest NI and IDA
(ii) Launch Intertrade Ireland, IDA, Invest NI Joint Initiatives to attract international investment
The Stormont House agreement set out a new framework for lowering the corporate tax rate in Northern Ireland to the same rate as the Republic, 12.5%.
This represents both an opportunity and a challenge to the Republic.
The IDA has developed significant capacity and earned a global reputation for its ability to draw international investment into Ireland.
Utilising this existing experience and building on the work of Intertrade Ireland and Invest NI offers an opportunity to attract investment across the whole island of Ireland.
-We will launch more joint trade missions between the IDA, Invest NI and Intertade Ireland to market an all-Ireland economy and draw in further investment across the country.
(iii) Develop the Eastern Corridor in the new National Spatial Strategy
The links economic hubs of Dublin and Belfast should form a central part of the future of spatial planning on the island.
Co-ordinated efforts to link up roads, rail and public transport connections are vital in stimulating growth and facilitating investment.
Maximising the use of Dublin Airport as the primary international hub for the whole region is a core component of that.
The new National Spatial Strategy represents an ideal chance to secure joined up thinking across the North and South on the long term planning for the region.
-We will ensure that the new National Spatial Strategy will be strengthened to include maximising the potential of the Eastern Corridor as an engine of growth.
(iv) Secure funding for the complete development of the A5
As part of the St Andrews Agreement in 2006, dedicated funding was earmarked for the construction of the A5 from Derry to Aughnacloy.
This new road is an integral part of building a stronger cross border economy between Derry and Donegal.
However the project has been beset by financial delays and planning hold ups.
Over the course of the next government we will invest €98m to develop the project.
-We will prioritise working with the British Government and Northern Executive to ensure the A5 is built and its full potential across the border is realised.
(v) Build the Narrow Water Bridge
The Narrow Water bridge between Cornamucklagh near Omeath, Co Louth, with Narrow Water near Warrenpoint, Co Down is a pivotal piece of infrastructure in developing the economy in Down and Louth.
It also marks a major staging post in reconciliation in the area.
-We are committed to building the Narrow Water bridge.
During 2016 we will, following discussions with the Northern Executive and the European Commission, finalise the require funding.
We have earmarked €20m for the project.
(vi) Increase shared Health Services
On an island with a population of just over 6m people there is immense potential for shared services to achieve real economies of scale.
Rather than duplicating investment and resources we need a new way to make the most of this island’s health service.
This will be particularly important in the border region but also in the main care centres of Dublin and Belfast where specialised treatment is needed.
-We will develop new protocols on North/South shared health services and ensure future investment plans have a North/South dimension.
In addition a public information campaign ensuring patients know their rights to avail of services in Northern Ireland, as part of the EU will be advanced.
(vii) Build Education links with Dundalk and Letterkenny IT as well as opening up universities to more students from across the border
The border should not be a barrier to students moving to educational centres.
IT centres along the border should develop joint courses with their Northern counterparts.
Changes to A-Level point calculations have reduced participation levels of Northern students in Universities in the south.
We will:
Encourage universities to further rebalance the A-Level calculation system to ensure Northern students can access courses in all universities across the country.
Assist Institutes of Technology in the border region to develop cross border courses and joint initiatives
(viii) Increase Public Transport links
Enhanced public transport links are important in building stronger economic and tourism ties between North and South.
Stronger bus and rail connections as well as maximising the use of Dublin airport as the central international hub for the country will boost economic activity.
Practical measures like reducing the length of time the Enterprise takes from Belfast to Connolly are serious signals of intent by both jurisdictions that establishing strong links are an important priority.
-We will continue to develop the North South railway line and invest in bus services, encompassing Dublin airport, from Dublin to Belfast.
(ix) Work to prevent Brexit
The scheduled British referendum on EU membership and resultant negotiations mark a potentially defining shift in British-Irish relations.
The prospect of a fresh wall of regulations being built from Derry to Newry would deal a massive blow to years of efforts on cross border reconciliation and growth.
A British exit from the EU would remove the common ground which facilitated much of the progress in Northern Ireland.
Ireland cannot afford our largest trading partner and only land border state to leave the European Union.
-While not participating in the referendum in other jurisdictions we will, as a party, make our position clear that Northern Ireland should vote to remain in the EU.
(x) Facilitate specific Northern representation in the Seanad
Having a Unionist voice represented in the Oireachtas should be a basic part of our political system.
The Upper House was established in order to broaden out representation and present viewpoints that would not otherwise be heard in Parliament.
The Taoiseach’s nominee system is a pre-existing constitutional arrangement that can be used to ensure that voices from the Unionist community are given the opportunity to put forward their views in the Oireachtas.
-We will, through the Taoiseach’s nominees, ensure that Northern Ireland is represented in the Oireachtas.
(xi) Allow all Irish citizens Presidential Votes
The President is an important political and cultural figurehead for the state and nation.
As an international figure the position represents an important cultural centre point for the Disapora and all those who consider themselves Irish across the globe.
Irish citizens in Northern Ireland should have the right to cast their ballot in this important election.
-We are committed to proposing to the people the expansion of voting rights for Irish citizens resident abroad, including Irish citizens in Northern Ireland, to Presidential elections.
(xii) Tackle sectarianism
The scourge of sectarianism remains deeply embedded in marginalised communities in Northern Ireland.
Symptomatic of the paralysis and crisis that has engulfed the political bodies of Northern Ireland, sectarianism continues to blight far too many communities.
In order to revive the potential of the Good Friday agreement we will re-invest in tackling the sapping presence of sectarian tensions.
This will enable Northern Ireland to thrive and prosper across all communities.
-We will increase funding to the Peace & Reconciliation fund by €2.3m to help build better relations between divided communities.
(xiii) Develop the Cross Border Crime Agency
The MI5/PSNI report on the continued existence of the Provisional IRA and the involvement of its members in criminality is a sharp reminder of the need to address the scourge of paramilitarism.
This need is particularly pressing in the border region which has a specific set of requirements due to geography, history and its geo-political context.
As agreed in the renewed “Fresh start” agreement the new cross border criminal agency similar in scope to the Criminal Assets Bureau would integrate police forces from both sides of the border, revenue officials and Environmental Protection agencies.
This will address the problems of paramilitary crime in the area by cutting the ground from underneath the criminals involved.
-We will develop and resource the Cross Border Crime Agency to tackle fuel laundering and illegal smuggling along the border area.
Ensure Ireland is a strong voice in the global community
We will:
(i) Combat Climate Change
The impact of climate change can be seen across the globe.
We have a moral and civic obligation to bequeath to future generations a better world, just as previous generations left to us. Climate change is an existential threat to that fundamental obligation.
The Paris Climate Change agreement has expanded out the ambition of the international community and Ireland must play a full role in helping to achieve them.
In addition we have a moral obligation to assist developing countries in building a sustainable future.
We will:
Ensure that the EU supports sustainable, sensible and renewable energy policies at a European level.
We believe that Europe must lead in the fight against climate change.
-Work at an EU level to ensure that our international partners keep their commitments to reduce the causes of climate change internationally.
The implementation of policies to tackle climate change must ensure the safeguarding of sustainable food production systems, which are vitally important in the fight against hunger and malnutrition.
Increase funding to the Green Climate Fund by €13m to ensure Ireland fulfils its obligations to climate justice.
(ii) Expand the Defence forces to 10,500 personnel and Reserve Defence Forces (RDF) to 4,000 personnel
The Defence Forces acts as a guarantor of State sovereignty, and provides an integral role in its Government assigned roles and tasks.
Multiple global threats such as the escalation in terrorist atrocities in Europe highlight the need to have a Defence force equipped to confront a rapidly changing threat.
However, the decline in numbers, marginalising of the RDF and geographic imbalance of its distribution has reduced its public role.
We will:
Restore the Force to the strength of 10,500 personnel across the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service over a five year term at a cost of €22m.
This includes the restoration of the Army to a three brigade structure by re-establishing the 4th Western Brigade based in Custume Barracks, Athlone.
Devolve control of recruitment back to the Reserve Defence Force to increase numbers to 4,000 personnel with a €1.7m investment.
We will energetically reinvigorate the Reserve by extending its geographical reach to ensure that all citizens have a Reserve unit within touching distance of their homes.
(iii) Maintain our Neutrality status
Ireland has a long and proud tradition of constructive neutrality that has enabled us to play an important role as peacekeepers across the globe.
This has facilitated our ability to spearhead initiatives such as nuclear non-proliferation and the ban on cluster munitions.
-We will maintain our neutrality status as the bedrock of our Foreign Affairs policy.
(iv) Renew engagement with the Diaspora
Historically our emigrant communities abroad are inextricably linked to the fortunes of this island and always will be.
Culturally, economically and politically they are an immense resource.
In particular we have an obligation towards older, vulnerable communities.
We will:
Increase Funding for the Emigrant Support Programme (ESP) by €3.5m ring-fenced to ensure that the most vulnerable members of our overseas communities are supported.
Maintain a Minister of State for the Diaspora.
(v) Increase Overseas Development Aid
Ireland has a long and rich history of assisting developing countries in providing health and education services through missionaries and non-governmental organisations.
Ireland should build on this strong tradition by seeking to enhance our educational, political and economic links further with the developing world.
We will:
Commit to Ireland remaining a world-leader in development aid and will work towards the achievement of the UN target.
We have earmarked an additional €80m in Overseas Development Aid towards this goal and will invest further resources as economic growth increases.
Ensure that all aid donated by Ireland should only be granted to countries which have a strong record of accountability and transparency.
The agencies who benefit from Irish Aid must also show that the money given goes to those who are most in need.
A full annual report with financial statements outlining where funding goes must be produced by these agencies.
(vi) Address the migrant crisis
The unprecedented levels of migrants and refugees fleeing war torn regions in the Middle East and North Africa presents a serious humanitarian and political challenge to Europe.
Ireland must play its part in assisting those in need of refuge at home and in providing help on front line camps.
Refugees based here in Ireland and the communities they are placed in must be afforded the supports they need to fully integrate into Irish society.
We will:
-Work with our EU colleagues and international community to help bring an end the civil war that is destabilising Syria and generating the refugee crisis to an end.
Support a significant expansion of aid to refugees in camps in the Middle East, including the release of further EU funding for this purpose.
We will double Irish funding for this purpose to €1.2m.
Stand with others in fighting against the extremists who are using this crisis to promote fear and distrust between groups.
We will insist that Europe remain true to its democratic and inclusive values.
Continue to accommodate refugees in Ireland as part of a comprehensive international response.
(vii) Improve Direct Provision Care
Grave political instability, civil war and the escalating impact of climate change is driving the issue of migration into the centre of European debate.
As outlined in the above section there is an onus and moral obligation on us as members of the European Union to accept a fair proportion of people who are seeking to escape the horrors of conflict and the ravages of war.
We have earmarked €4m to improve Direct Provision.
We will:
Increase the adult allowance from €19.10   up to €38.74 as recommended by the Working Group over the lifetime of the Government.
Raise the allowance for children from €9.60 up to €29.80
(viii) Work towards a two state solution in Palestine
Ireland was the first European Union Member State to declare that a solution to the conflict in the Middle East had to be based on a fully sovereign State of Palestine, independent of and co-existing with Israel.
Fianna Fáil in Government launched that policy position in 1980 and continues to strongly support that position today.
We will:
Continue to spearhead the campaign to seek the recognition of the state of Palestine by the Irish Government and will continue to pursue this policy at an EU level.
Support any efforts to achieve a two state solution.
We are in favour of Palestine becoming a party to the International Criminal Court and will also support an EU-wide ban on certain Israeli settlement goods.
(ix) Put Irish Citizens at the Heart of Europe
The EU sets out an enormous amount of policy implemented in Ireland.
It is important that at a professional level we have key personnel, who draw from an Irish perspective while working for the overall good of the union, in the upper tiers of the administration process.
The EU presents strong employment and professional growth opportunities that Irish people should be encouraged and supported in going for.
-We will establish a Training Unit in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to promote and assist Irish citizens in pursuing careers in the European Union’s Institutions.
This will be open to all public servants.
(x) Embrace the EU Volunteer Initiative
Irish people have a strong history of volunteerism that has made a positive impact across the far reaches of the globe.
This spirit of international solidarity is an important civic and diplomatic feature of Irish life.
-We will fully engage with the EU volunteer initiative and its Irish partners to ensure as many Irish citizens volunteer abroad as possible.
Secure home ownership & tackle homelessness
We will build 150,000 homes, ensure every generation can access home ownership and tackle homelessness.
We will:
Strengthen the Right to Own
Retain Mortgage Interest Relief to 2020
Establish a First Time Buyers Savings Scheme for 80,000 homes
Tackle Mortgage Arrears and Variable Mortgage rates
Build for families by investing in 150,000 new homes by 2021
Create a Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government
Establish a new National Home Development Bond
Set out a Rural Right to Live
Create Homes for all by building 45,000 new Social Housing Homes
Establish a new €5.4bn Social Housing building programme for urban and rural Ireland
Restore Part V in full and establish Part V teams in Local Authorities
Set up a new Vacant /Derelict Houses Refurbishment Scheme
Help Generation Rent
Create f amily tenure leases
Deliver affordable rent units for key workers
Improve quality of accommodation with a Local Authority Quality Certificate
Eliminate long term Homelessness by 2021
Ensure new social housing units form part of the Home First policy
Increase Rent Supplement levels to support vulnerable households
Use the National Mental Health Authority to assist homeless integration
Establish an Independent Living Contract for older people
Secure older people’s  finances with a €30 increase in the state pension
Create 3,500 extra home care packages & 2.2m extra home help hours
Restore Housing Adaption grants
Raise the Living Alone Allowance to €15 a week
Abolish Prescription charges
Tackle isolation and loneliness amongst older people
Protect and develop the Free Travel scheme
The disastrous failure of Fine Gael and Labour’s housing policy is causing immense damage throughout the country.
This is an area they ignored for five years and continue to lack the necessary ambition or urgency to tackle.
In fact they denied there was any problem at all until it had been allowed to develop to the level of an emergency.
The right to own a home is a central part of our vision for Ireland.
We believe that owning the roof over your head is good for families and good for communities.
An Ireland for all means ensuring this simple ambition is available to ordinary working families across the country.
This extends across the generations and people who have worked hard for their whole lives deserve to be supported to live independently in their own home for as long as possible.
That is why we have created an “Independent Living Contract for older people”.
For many the simple aspiration of home ownership is slipping away as the country experiences a serious housing crisis.
Acute shortage of supply in Dublin is leading to spiralling rent levels and rising house prices.
Almost 140,000 people are on local authority waiting lists across Ireland.
First time buyers are being frozen out of the market by limited supply and credit restrictions.
Cuts to housing adaption grants are hitting many elderly and disabled people, preventing them from staying in their homes.
For renter’s precarious tenancies, poor quality accommodation, and soaring prices are putting young workers under more and more pressure.
All the while homelessness scars our cities with 1500 children in emergency accommodation across Dublin.
We believe that action across the full range of housing sectors must be implemented as a core priority of a new government and that a coordinated effort to end long-term homelessness should begin immediately.
In government we will ensure that the aspiration of homeownership is not confined to just a few but that all generations can have the ability to own a place to call home.
Strengthen the right to own
Current policy has effectively excluded many groups from the prospect of owning their own homes.
We will implement a series of actions to once again open up the opportunity of home ownership.
We will:
(i) Introduce a First Time Buyers Saving Scheme for 80,000 New Buyers
The changes to lending criteria set out by the Central Bank threaten to exclude substantial numbers of first time buyers from the market.
Fianna Fáil is committed to supporting first time buyers in securing a good quality home to start their families.
-We will introduce a first time buyers saving scheme to help families starting out get the money together for a deposit on their new home.
This involves a 25% top up on individual’s special deposit savings account.
Accounts are based per person rather than per home so joint purchasers are eligible for two separate savings accounts.
Government will top up savings by 25% up to a maximum of €5,000.
Savers can lodge €2,000 initially into their account and can exercise one additional €2,000 lodgement every year subject to the €5,000 top up cap.
Monthly savings are capped at €400, which combined with the €2,000 lodgement is a maximum first year cost of €1,700 per account.
The exchequer cost based on 16,500 annual accounts would be €28.05m per annum.
This would increase to €56.1m in Year 2 and €84.15m in Year 3.
Accounts can be opened for 5 years and must be opened for a minimum of 12 months.
In order to draw down the top up a home must be purchased within 18 months of the cap being reached.
(ii) Retain the Mortgage Interest Relief scheme
A generation of homeowners who purchased homes during the mid-2000s are being threatened by negative equity.
Clear action is needed to help families starting out in life to secure their home ownership.
We are committed to helping families with support in meeting the cost of their mortgage.
-We will retain the Mortgage Interest Relief scheme to 2020 to help home owners with their mortgage.
This will cost €166m.
Combined with the First Time Buyers Savings Scheme this will secure home ownership for an entire generation of young families.
(iii) Tackle mortgage arrears and variable mortgage rates
The long term mortgage arrears crisis is jeopardising family homes and consuming thousands of lives across the country.
A major cause of the worsening and protracted situation is the government’s flawed personal insolvency legislation which is deliberately tilted in favour of the banks.
We are committed to securing the family home and secure home ownership for owners working to overcome mortgage arrears.
We will:
-Tackle Mortgage Arrears
Implement our Family Home Mortgage Settlement Arrangement Bill, which would adapt the under-utilised infrastructure of the Insolvency regime to allow for a restructuring arrangement solely in respect of the family home.
Set up a system of state and creditor funded insolvency practitioners.
These would take on cases where the debtor’s payment capacity is so impaired that existing Pips are unwilling to do so.
Apply a zero interest rate to the warehoused portion of all split mortgages offered to customers in arrears.
Prevent banks getting a repossession order even if it has failed to comply with the Conduct on Mortgage Arrears (CCMA).
We will also ensure that banks and senior officials are significantly punished for breaches of the CCMA.
Reduce Variable Mortgage Interest Rates
Empower the central bank to intervene to force banks to reduce excessive variable interest rates
Address the sub-prime arrears crisis:
Extend the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Targets to the Sub-prime mortgage sector.
Establish a dedicated mortgage to rent scheme targeting this group of loans which would potentially prevent thousands of families from being evicted from their homes.
Require the Central Bank to publish a specific report on how the current owners of subprime loans are complying with the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears.
Significant fines should be imposed in cases where breaches of the Code take place.
(iv) Develop Credit Union Mortgage Lending
We believe that a strengthened Credit Union sector has an important role to play in aiding home ownership.
-We will support the development of a new Credit Union mortgage model to provide greater competition to banks in the mortgage lending market.
A ramped-up role for the Credit Union movement should be based on the successful Canadian model where a new central body is established funded by local Credit Unions.
Individuals will be referred to this body by their own Credit Union therefore retaining the local knowledge link while establishing a high standard of central financial control.
An additional €4bn in lending can be opened up via Credit Union lending which will facilitate some 20,000 new mortgages.
Build for families by investing in 150,000 new homes by 2021 including 45,000 new social housing units
A major expansion in housing supply is now urgently needed and we will implement this with clear measures to cut through administrative burden and ensure access to credit. .
We will:
(i) Establish a new Minister for Housing, Planning & Local Government
The Housing crisis requires real, direct leadership.
Even though a Minister for Housing sat at the cabinet table for three years and the current Minister for the Environment has said housing is his first priority, the failure of political leadership on housing is undeniable.
Multi-faceted problems that are hammering construction levels range from the high cost of construction, credit constraints, planning difficulties.
These problems demand a clear, concerted approach from government.
A strong lead in government committed to creating a long term strategy to achieve a housing system that builds the right homes in the right places will be a priority for Fianna Fáil.
We will:
Re-organise the Department of the Environment and Local Government to create a new department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.
-Transfer community development and climate policy and undertake an assessment of other options for streamlining and focusing the Department on the challenge of Housing.
Launch a monthly report on activity to be presented to a Cabinet Committee on Housing which will be chaired by the Taoiseach.
Ensure the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will commit to responding to all funding decisions concerning housing within 48 hours.
Oblige each local authority to publish monthly reports on housing activity.
(ii) Create a National Home Building Bond (NHBB)
Supply is the key issue that needs to be addressed.
Quality developers must be funded to build affordable, comfortable homes in the right locations such as Dublin and other high demand areas.
-We will set up a NAMA run agency that will build housing for profit to cater to the needs of first time buyers (FTBs) in Dublin and other urban areas suffering similar chronic supply problems.
The programme will be primarily funded by a NTMA managed infrastructure bond, raising capital from different sources:
1)  Strategic Investment Fund Finance will be directed to invest in the bond.
2)  Bond sales to investors on the open market, capitalising on the historically low bond rates currently available to Ireland and the international appetite for Irish investment opportunities.
3)  The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) will be invited to co-invest in the project.
They have large cash reserves and as an investment that adds to the public good and addresses a need of many of their members it is a good fit to their mandate
The agency will manage the development.
It may either become a development agency directly hiring builders and sub-contractors or may employ developers to work for them.
In all cases cost control will be used as successfully as in NRA road building projects, with no post-hoc renegotiation of prices and no financial reward for delays.
The agency will have a small dedicated review and research team who will ensure quality housing and follow international best practice in building oversight - they will use the programme to raise the standard of Irish building in the process.
The agency may use land the state already owns where suitable, but the site cost will be factored into final sale price - this process will be for profit from start to finish.
(iii) Encourage Residential Development in Town Centres
Town centres are under pressure with high commercial vacancy rates and dwindling population based in the heart of the town.
-We will ensure Local authorities are enabled to introduce flexible permissions that can facilitate ease of conversion from empty commercial units into residential units.
Local Authorities should also consider investing in such units for social housing purposes in order to encourage a social mix in the town centre.
(iv) Strengthen the right to live in rural Ireland
Rural Ireland cannot be left behind in future construction.
Local people have the right to own a home in their community and raise their family there.
Fianna Fáil is committed to defending local people’s right to build and own their own home in their own community.
-We will strengthen the Planning and Development Act to protect this core right and place an onus on local authorities to provide a clear, transparent route for local people from a community to build and own there.
A new shared sites initiative will provide land in each local area for local people to build their own homes.
(v) Increase the supply of family homes
There is an acute shortage of family homes, particularly in the Dublin area.
Many older couples whose families have grown up and moved out would consider selling 3 or 4 bed family homes
which are possibly too big for their current needs and trading down to a smaller house or apartment.
In conjunction with this measure we propose a new “Independent Living contract” with our older people to ensure they can live in their communities.
-We will explore incentives for persons who wish to trade down in such circumstances, namely:
Exempt the seller from stamp duty on the purchase of a new home subject to set maximums in terms of size and value.
Exempt the seller from Local Property Tax on their new home for a period of five years.
(vi) Revise Density Levels
Housing construction should adhere to sustainable planning guidelines.
Onerous unit density criteria is having a prohibitive impact on construction levels and stoking up prices to the exclusion of low to middle income earners.
-We will revise density levels and replace them where appropriate with bed density criteria to inform future planning permissions.
Density levels in city centres will be maintained to ensure that supply problems are addressed and urban sprawl limited.
(vii) Introduce ‘use it or lose it’ automatic planning permission zonings
Dublin needs to build the right homes in the right places.
Fianna Fáil wants a housing market that rewards the building of high quality homes rather than land banking and speculation.
-We will introduce greater transparency in the land market and give local authorities new ‘use it or lose it’ powers to encourage developers to build and to stop land hoarding.
We will encourage the Dublin councils to zone small vacant sites in the city and inner suburbs as residential with automatic planning permissions within building regulations, but with such status expiring within two years if not used.
Create Homes for all by building 45,000 new Social Housing Units
In each year of this government the number of units of social housing provided has declined.
They have abandoned direct build and slashed Part V.
We need to re-invest in social housing as a priority.
We will:
(i) Start a new €5.4bn Home Building Programme
Fianna Fáil will launch a new €5.4bn home building programme across Ireland up to 2021.
The rising number of social housing waiting lists and its subsequent impact on the private market can only be meaningfully addressed with a strategy that has supply at its core.
Our ambitious plan will add an additional 10,000 units to the 35,000 units identified by the government in Social Housing 2020.
This will directly supply social housing via local authorities and voluntary housing associations financed through the exchequer.
We will:
Invest €334m above current levels per annum to fund the 45,000 units target. Building new homes to tackle the spiralling waiting lists is vital to achieving the right to a home for all citizens.
It will also help address the issue of over 70,000 housing assistance recipient numbers placing further pressure on the private housing market.
Direct the new housing building programme to be drawn up by the local authorities in consultation with the Department of Environment based on demand.
The housing programme must reflect the diversified nature of housing need ranging from single member households to elderly couples.
Rural homes must also be constructed to ensure that fresh life is brought into more isolated communities.
Failings in local Traveller accommodation plans will be addressed in legislation.
Allow Local Authorities to specify the required mix of social and affordable housing in the Home building programme based on local need.
(ii) Restore Part V in full
Fianna Fáil supports the principle of fully retaining Part V as a major source of future housing supply.
Mixed tenure housing has an important role to play in building sustainable communities.
Local Authorities should have the power to decide the appropriate nature of the mix based on local considerations but it should be kept to a minimum of 20%.
We will:
Restore Part V to 20%.
Allow Local Authorities to set the ratio of Affordable homes and Social homes at a minimum of 5% and maximum of 10%.
Create Part V teams in each local authority drawing from the housing and planning sections to ensure a coherent approach.
They will be tasked with developing annual plans and
targets, ensuring that contracts are signed quickly, smoothing the expeditious transfer of units and drawing from development plans to target their construction in the right locations.
The teams will bring together developers and housing associations to ensure safe design, location, timelines and transfer issues are acceptable.
Part V can yield up to 12,000 new units over 5 years if the target of 110,000 new private units, of which 60,000 will qualify under Part V criteria, is accomplished.
The €5.4bn social housing programme will be used to purchase these units at cost price.
(III) Develop Housing Associations Finance
Housing Associations are a key vehicle in delivering more units to meet social housing demands.
They are currently restricted by limited access to finance and a lack of economies of scale.
We will:
Draw on experience in Northern Ireland and the UK to develop Housing Association Bonds to empower the associations to access financial support independent of direct state aid.
These bonds will encourage bolder financial thinking by the associations based on sound planning and future revenue streams.
It will also alleviate the immediate pressure on the state to fund all significant scale developments.
The bonds will be partially guaranteed by the state to reduce borrowing costs.
Open the Strategic Investment Fund and facilitate private investment funds to invest in Housing Association bond issues.
This is in addition to the €5.4bn Social Housing programme.
At present Credit Unions hold in excess of €8 billion of surplus funds on behalf of members in deposits and investments.
Fianna Fáil will work with credit unions and the central bank to mobilise part of these funds for direct social housing provision.
Introduce legislation to strengthen, re-enforce and monitor the regulation of housing associations charged with the delivery of social housing to maintain the highest standards of governance and accountability.
(iv) Create NAMA Transfer Units
The National Assets Management Agency has a specific role in providing a broader social dividend to the state.
Units not transferred to date should be vigorously pursued to allow the transfer of properties to local authorities to help meet the social housing waiting list.
We will:
Set up a NAMA transfer unit in each Local Authority drawing on personnel from the local sections, Department of Environment and NAMA.
-Task these teams with expediting the transition of homes from NAMA to Local Authorities and housing associations.
Greater flexibility must be shown with regard to the building criteria used.
The teams will also be charged with drafting future development plans for NAMA lands to ensure they play a central role in addressing housing deficits in the right places.
Specific targets, actions an//d time lines will be put in place by the teams and held to account by local authorities.
(v) Introduce a new Vacant/Derelict Home Refurbishment Scheme
The total available Local Authority housing stock has been eroded by the large number of vacant homes across the country.
Local Authorities should allow families on the waiting list to move into these homes and refurbish them.
-We will introduce legislation to allow the costs of refurbishment to be gradually defrayed over time through reduced rents.
This will open up more units to tackle waiting lists while simultaneously reducing the upfront costs to local authorities.
(vi) Create a new Green Deal
A more aggressive commitment to moving Ireland towards a cleaner and more sustainable energy supply is now urgent.
In line with our expanded climate change commitments under the Paris deal we need to retro fit much of our housing stock to ensure the greatest possible level of energy efficiency.
-We will amend the role of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, to develop a Green Deal Agency tasked with accessing European Regional Development Fund, EU Cohesion and European Investment Banking funds as well as private finance.
The agency will be tasked with financing a new simplified, easy access scheme across all tenure types that will revolutionise home energy usage in Ireland.
The agency will undertake work across a number of areas.
Social Housing Model
Fianna Fáil will introduce a new Pay as You Go model based on the German Klimabonus example to refurbish social housing across the country.
The existing 160,000 social houses in the country will be eligible for funding.
Local Authorities will be able to finance the scheme via the new SEAI Green Deal Agency
Private and Rented Housing Model
-The Green Deal Agency will provide low cost loans to private homeowners and landlords to incentivise investment in green initiatives on their homes.
The primary funding behind the scheme is a pay as you save mechanism where the reduced energy bills will be used to repay the original loan taken out.
Help Generation Rent
The private rental sector faces a crisis in terms of both supply and security.
This has driven up costs and undermined the sector.
Action is required urgently.
We will:
(i) Establish Family Tenure to strengthen security for families and long term tenants renting their homes
The lack of security of tenure is a major issue inhibiting the development of a strong reliable rental market in Ireland.
Unlike the European norm, Irish leases are primarily short term one year leases.
This generates great uncertainty for families and other long term renters, limiting the appeal of renting for those for whom home ownership is not a preferred option.
In particular families with children require stability and certainty rather than the current situation where tenancy can be brought to an abrupt end.
We will:
Introduce legislation that will enshrine a long term “family tenure” lease to reform Part 4 of the Residential Tenancies Bill 2004.
Specifically, this involves replacing the 4 year tenancy cycle with a move towards indefinite leases which will enhance security of tenure.
Indefinite leases would be voluntary for landlords and tenants to engage in to their mutual benefit.
The impact of this will be assessed after 18 months and amended where necessary.
(ii) Delivering affordable rent units for key workers
Fianna Fáil is committed to achieving a genuine social mix in developments moving away from welfare only housing.
Creating a new affordable rent sector earmarked for low income households and key workers with limited income will help to build vibrant new developments.
This will involve attracting private investment into building projects which will then be run by Voluntary Housing Associations.
25% of these units will be earmarked for social housing and 75% for key workers with limited income such as Gardaí, Nurses, construction workers etc. Rents will be set at 70-80% of the market rate.
We will:
- Facilitate this investment by enabling local authorities to establish Step in Guarantee Agreements if the Voluntary Housing Association fails to meet its obligations.
In addition the Minister for Social Protection will make adjustments to pension reserved asset rules to allow pension funds to invest in this new sector.
A new affordable rent sector will help to keep key workers in the city and tackle social housing waiting lists.
(iii) Improving quality of accommodation with a Local Authority Quality Certificate
Quality of accommodation remains a serious issue for many tenants.
The rental sector should not be allowed to languish behind in terms of quality and comfort.
Every household deserves a place they can be proud to call home.
-We will introduce a Local Authority Quality Accommodation Certificate to be issued once every three years will help to build up a strong level of quality homes.
The certificate should be based on a points system across a range of criteria such as insulation, water supply, quality of the household’s conveniences etc.
The new certificate system will cost €10m and operate similar to the BER system to ensure the highest standards are maintained in rental accommodation.
(iv) Strengthen tenant rights and implement rent certainty measures
Spiralling rent prices are driving families out of their homes, pricing young workers out of cities and alienating potential future investment in the city.
We need to introduce measures to cool down the market and curb excessive rent rises.
Tenants need enhanced security to ensure stability in their home.
We will:
Implement current rent certainty measures subject to a 2 year sunset clause to allow the market to cool down and supply to come on line.
This will avoid further market uncertainty, increased prices and delayed investment.
The legislation will then be fully reviewed to gauge its impact on the market and whether it is still required.
-Tighten notice to quit criteria.
Currently the broad range of allowable reasons that can be given for removing renters weakens tenants’ rights and reduces their stability.
Notices to quit that are contested by tenants will be subjected to PRTB review.
Landlords will have to provide proof of intention to sell.
Additionally, expanding the notice to quit duration to 6 months for leases beyond 3 years will strengthen stability.
Tenants notice to quit will also be extended to two months for leases beyond one year in order to improve stability for landlords.
(v) Overhaul the PRTB
In order to re-balance rights and responsibilities between landlords and tenants the PRTB must have a ramped up role with additional resources.
The government has whittled away its staff over the past four years leaving it unable to deal effectively with complaints and broader issues.
Tenants and landlords are suffering with long waiting times and inadequate support as a result.
We will:
Reform the PRTB with additional duties and an increase in resources to ensure it can carry out its work effectively.
Reduce complaint waiting times as a priority for a reformed PRTB.
Expand the data collection remit and capacity of the PRTB in terms of rent comparison and assisting Local Authorities in quality assurance inspections will be vital in transforming the private rental market.
Link with this expansion greater awareness of tenants’ rights and responsibilities.
Utilising traditional and social media to create a greater knowledge around renters’ rights is important in ensuring all households have access to the legal entitlements.
These measures will be financed within the PRTB’s registration fee revenue.
Eliminate long term homelessness by 2021
Eliminating long-term homeless should be an absolute priority for the next government.
We will:
(i) Ensure new social housing units form part of the Housing First Policy
Our goal to eliminate long term homelessness by 2021 reflects a driving ambition that building “An Ireland for all”  must include all citizens and achieve basic sense of decency.
We need to rediscover a real sense of ambition in tackling serious social problems such as homelessness, not simply grow accustomed and insensitive to it.
Constructing some 45,000 new social housing units by 2021 will address the long term issue of supply of affordable units for households.
It is vital that local authorities co-ordinate to ensure that these homes are made available for vulnerable households who have slipped through the administrative cracks and under severe pressure ended up homelessness.
The “Home First” strategy is vital to underpinning a long term solution to the complex factors behind many families and individuals becoming homeless.
We will:
Ensure that the required number of the 45,000 new social housing units are made available as part of the “Home First” strategy.
Allocate adequate funding to address rough sleeping on our streets as a matter of priority.
Ensure the new National Mental Health authority plays a central role in helping and assisting homeless people integrating into a community.
(ii) Increase Rent Supplement levels to support vulnerable households
Combined with the range of measures around supply an additional short term measure to staunch the increase in homelessness numbers is required.
Bolstering rent supplement levels focusing on the cities and subject to a rolling review of its impact on the market will help to keep households on the edge from falling into homelessness.
-We will increase rent supplement levels by 10% nationally to support vulnerable households at a cost of €32m.
This increase will be targeted in Dublin and other high cost rental areas.
(iii) Use the new National Mental Health Authority to support community integration
Many homeless people suffer from a number o mental health and addiction problems.
In order to effectively tackle homelessness we need to support their integration into communities.
Wrap around services are vital for vulnerable people  to secure and remain in a home.
We will:
Develop a national strategy for the health of those who are homeless in Ireland.
This will include a review of the funding mechanisms for homeless health, and will focus on addressing the addiction, mental health and primary care needs of those who are homeless.
We will use the new National Mental Health Authority to assist in the Housing First strategy.
Establish a new “Independent Living contract” for older people
We will:
(i) Commit to an “Independent Living contract” for older people
Having worked hard and raised their families, older people deserve to live a full and dignified life.
Welcome advances in healthcare will help older people to live longer, active lives.
People who reach retirement age can expect to enjoy many more years of healthy active living.
This presents a real opportunity for the state to support and encourage active ageing and independent living.
-We are committed to an “Independent Living contract” for older people that will guarantee over 65s can stay in their own home if possible or accommodate them in a safe, secure and suitable home to spend the later stages of their life in their communities.
We are committed to supporting elderly people to live independently as long as possible.
(ii) Secure older people’s finances
Older people have taken a series of hits from this government.
The cuts to Home Adaptation grants, axing of the Bereavement grant, quadrupling of prescription charges, medical card cull, abolition of the Telephone allowance have all hit older people with fixed incomes hard.
“An Ireland for all” means enabling and empowering older people to live full, independent lives.
Financial security is a core part of that.
This will help keep families together across all generations and strengthen communities.
The state pension is the basic foundation of older people’s finances, they rely on it to pay the bills and keep going week to week.
It is vital to ensuring older people can live full independent lives.
There are a range of measures costed in this manifesto, summarised below which will directly financially benefit older people and secure their budgets.
We will:
Increase the state contributory and non-contributory pension by €30 a week
Increase the Living Alone allowance by €6 from  €9 to €15, at a cost of €60.5m
Abolish water charges, worth €60 to an older person living alone and €160 to an older couple
Abolish prescription charges
Reduce the drug scheme payment threshold to €100
-Hold a constitutional referendum to protect private pension funds from government levies
Move to address the anomaly in contributory pensions
(iii) Increase Home Care Packages by 3,500 and Home Help Hours by 2.2m
Fianna Fáil believes that the funding allocated to enable older people remain at home provides not only the best value for money but also the most humane result for older people.
As part of our commitment to ensure older people remain independent in their own home for as long as possible.
-We will introduce 3,500 extra home care packages and 2.2m extra home help hours to help older people stay at home at a cost of €93m.
(iv) Restore Housing Adaptation Grants
We must invest in helping older people live in their own homes with their families, in their communities.
Spending money on home adaptation grants will ultimately save money on long term care.
We will:
Fully re-store the housing adaptation grant by €25.5m to allow older people and people with disabilities to live independently in their homes.
Set waiting time targets that will be published on-line quarterly to ensure that delays will be kept to a minimum and best practise exchanged between local authorities.
(v) Promote apecialised accommodation for older people
Building on from the Empty Nest Initiative that facilitates elderly people downsizing if they choose, it is important to promote specialised accommodation.
Specialised accommodation will be at the heart of the community and enable older people to live independently and actively.
Creating specialised units will also enable more effective care such as home help and reduce isolation.
We will:
Ensure that private developers of care based developments negotiate specific arrangements for Part V requirements for specific older people accommodation.
Amend the Planning and Development Act 2000 to include a provision for specialist accommodation for older people in development plans.
(vi) Support those who want to work beyond 65 years of age
The “Independent Living Contract” emphasises the need to enable older people live full and engaged lives.
For many this will involve continuing in the workplace as they feel fit and able to contribute.
There are people above 65 who are eager to continue to make a real difference in a company or the public service.
-We will work towards removing compulsory retirement of persons at the age of 65 and make it unlawful to require a person to retire at or above the age of 65 unless there are clearly specified grounds justifying such compulsory retirement such as competence and performance.
Certain defined occupations could be exempted on a rational basis.
(vii) Specific unemployment assistance for over 50s
People over the age of 50 face particular difficulties in getting back into the workforce following redundancy.
Many feel that they are being pushed out of the workforce by ageism and prejudice against older workers.
We need to start thinking creatively about how to encourage firms to hire experienced workers with specific skills.
We will:
Give a specific mandate to Intreo to positively assist those aged 50 years plus to access employment.
Professional and approved recruitment companies are more knowledgeable of the range of job vacancies in the private sector best fitted to the over 50 job seekers and of the requirements of such jobs.
Introduce a scheme whereby Intreo, will appoint Recruitment companies on a regional basis to provide advice and assistance to the over 50s in applying for jobs with payment substantially related to successful placements.
(viii) Protect and develop the free travel scheme
The free travel scheme introduced by Fianna Fáil was a seminal moment in empowering a generation of older people.
It has enabled countless pensioners to live at home by giving them the freedom to move about their communities and beyond.
It directly tackled social isolation more effectively than any other measure
and as a side effect boosted the domestic tourism industry.
After a lifetime of service and work it is recognition of their contribution and changed circumstances.
A threat to the Free Travel allowance is a threat to older people’s role in their community and to their capacity to live at home.
The free travel allowance is a core part of the “Living at Home” contract.
We will:
Fully protect the free travel pass for all pensioners and work with private and public operators to keep services open across as many routes as possible.
Increase funding to the scheme by 10% with an additional €8m in spending.
(ix) Tackle loneliness amongst older people
Isolation is a growing problem for the quality of life as people grow older. As part of our “Independent Living Contract” we will commit to promote active ageing.
This means directly tackling loneliness with a new focus on supports and services for older people across education and amenities.
We will:
Encourage access to facilities - public and private - to enable older people stay fit and healthy.
This will include providing special recreational amenities in public parks and spaces.
We will also encourage and facilitate all universities, Institute of Technologies, and further education colleges to review their curriculum, course timings and access so as to be more age friendly.
Amend the Sports Capital Grants system to allow funding of Community Centres which will help facilitate elderly social groups.
(x) Institute an Older People Social Entrepreneur Fund
Major strides forward in life expectancy open up new opportunities for older people to launch new careers.
Having built up a wide array of skills through their lives it’s a chance to contribute to their communities and break down the barriers of isolation.
However many are prevented from that by a lack of credit due to their age.
-We will set up a small social entrepreneur fund of €5m to give seed money to over 60s with fresh ideas for social entrepreneurship.
The aim of the fund is to support older, experienced people to introduce new, innovative ideas with real social impact.
Executive summary of measures
Better for Ireland
A united Ireland, recognising our culture & heritage
We will campaign for an island-wide referendum on Irish unity.
We will introduce a Green Paper on Irish unity.
We will ensure a senior cabinet minister has responsibility for Gaeltacht Affairs and the Irish Language and establish a permanent Joint Oireachtas Committee for Gaeltacht Affairs and the Irish language.
We will protect and restore the entire Moore Street terrace 10-25 as the site of the last act of the 1916 Easter Rising.
Challenge the British Government to live up to their responsibilities to the peace process on legacy issues and dealing with the past.
Equality & human rights
We will end Direct Provision and replace it with a not-for-profit model with integration and human rights best practice at its core.
We will significantly increase funding to domestic violence support organisations and refuges.
We will recognise the ethnicity status of the Travelling community, including their right to traveller specific accommodation.
We will develop a working group tasked with examining what has worked best in terms of supporting survivors of wrongs or injuries for which the State is accountable.
Ireland's international role
We will formally recognise the State of Palestine.
We will hold a referendum on inserting neutrality into Bunreacht na hEireann.
We will increase funding for ODA and bring forward a targeted plan to ensure that Ireland reaches its commitments on Overseas Development Aid (ODA).
Ending corruption
We will confront corruption and cronyism and overhaul appointments to State boards.
Where tribunals make findings against individuals and produce comprehensive reports, we will ensure the State acts on those findings within the Statute of Limitations available for criminal prosecutions.
We will conduct an independent audit of the State's oversight agencies to combat white-collar crime.
Accountability in politics
We will introduce a partial list system, electing one third of the Dail from party lists and the remainder from seven-seat constituencies so that election results more accurately reflect actual voter preference.
We will hold a referendum to reduce the voting age and extend voting rights to citizens in the North and to the Diaspora.
We will ensure that the Seanad becomes a fully inclusive, representative and accountable institution.
For a Fair Recovery
Investing in job creation
We will help to create 250,000 additional jobs over the next five years, through both State and private job creation.
We will open up public procurement to small businesses.
We will abolish upward-only rents.
Bringing fairness to the tax system
We will abolish the Local Property Tax, saving 1.8 million homeowners an average of €244 per year.
We will scrap Water Charges, saving a family of two adults €260 per year.
We will make the tax system progressive by re moving workers earning under €19,572 from the USC net, benefiting 277,000 employees.
We will ease the tax burden on the self-employed , moving towards the equalisation of the Self-Employed Tax Credit with the PAYE Tax Credit.
All-Ireland economy
We will have a planned approach to economic development across the island of Ireland, including one tax system and one currency.
We will create a Border Economic Development Zone to harmonise trade and maximise returns for border businesses.
We are committed to the A5 funding package as set out in the Fresh Start Agreement and to ensuring the Narrow Water Bridge project is completed.
A better deal for workers
We will increase the National Minimum Wage to €9.65 an hour and we will make the public sector a Living Wage employer.
We will amend industrial relations legislation to provide for mandatory trade union recognition and collective bargaining rights.
We will tackle the uncertainty created by insecure and lo w hour contracts by introducing legislation that provides for fair hours contracts.
Taxing wealth
We will improve tax equality and increase the tax take, increasing the rates of Capital Acquisition Tax and Capital Gains Tax for passive investments that don't help the real economy and examine the introduction of a Wealth Tax.
We will ask the top 6% of earners to pay an additional 7 cent out of every euro earned on income over €1 00,000. This new band would be applied on an individual basis and not on the joint income of a couple.
The political system -.-leading from the front
We will reduce TDs' salaries to €75,000 and Senators' salaries to €60,000.
We will reduce the salary top-ups of An Taoiseach and Ministers by 50%.
We will reduce excessive pension payments to former Taoisigh, Ministers and top civil servants.
We will cap the pay of special advisors to the Taoiseach and Ministers at €75,000.
A proper banking system
We will not be rushed into the sale of any State asset.
The decision to sell any stake in Permanent TSB, Bank of Ireland or AIB must be based on the best interests of the Irish people in the long term.
We will immediately carry out a review of Credit Union regulations and look at lending restrictions, savings caps and restrictions on the types of investments and services Credit Unions can offer, including what more the sector can do to help develop small businesses.
Getting a better deal in debt negotiations
We will reopen negotiations at European Union level on the State's legacy banking debt, including preventing the sale of the promissory note bonds currently held at the Central Bank.
We will apply for retrospective recapitalisation of AIB and Bank of Ireland through the European Stability Mechanism.
Our plan for public services and quality of life
Healthcare that works
We will increase spending on healthcare by €3.3 billion to move from a failing, two-tier health system towards universal healthcare.
We will roll out free GP care at a rate of almost a quarter of a million more people each year and make prescription drugs free for everyone.
We will end two-tier access to hospital care, reduce waiting times and deal with the trolley crisis.
We will recruit 6,600 additional frontline health workers, including consultants, nurses, midwives, dentists and allied health professionals.
We will increase the mental health care budget in year one by €35 million.
We will award an automatic medical card to every child with a serious illness or disability
and tackle the poverty trap by introducing a new secure medical card for adults with disabilities, based on medical need.
We will abolish the €1 00 charge for the use of Emergency Departments and the €75 per day charge for inpatient care.
We will invest in our ambulance services.
We will support older people by increasing home help hours, respite hours and by providing additional nursing home beds.
We will hold a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment.
We will increase funding to the Public Dental Service.
Building more houses
We will launch plans for 2030-Project 100,000 to bring State ownership of housing stock to a minimum of 200,000.
This will ensure a build of at least 70,000 social units and at least 30,000 cost purchase and cost rental housing units by 2030.
We will commit €5 billion (A cumulative €2.2 billion more than the government's commitment) in capital spending in 2016-2021 and strengthen Part V to ensure the delivery of 36,500 social and affordable houses.
We will review all property-related tax reliefs that encourage speculation for profit.
We will re-examine urgently the practice of capping rent subsidies -simultaneous to the introduction of rent regulations, to ensure rents demanded by landlords do not escalate to meet any increase in the rent cap.
We will create rent certainty by linking rent increases to inflation.
We will make an additional €30 million available to local authorities and homelessness agencies in year one of government to house the homeless in emergency accommodation.
We will empower the Central Bank to set caps on mortgage interest rates chargeable by banks.
Ensuring community safety and justice
We will recruit 3,000 gardai over our government term to restore An Garda Siochana force levels to 14,250.
We will reverse the closures of garda stations.
We will empower the Policing Authority to oversee the implementation of recommendations from Garda Inspectorate reports.
We will introduce a Sentencing Council that issues sentencing guidelines to the judiciary to ensure accountability and consistency in sentencing.
We will integrate restorative justice processes into the existing criminal justice system.
Equality in education
We will reduce class sizes and gradually reduce the ratio of pupils to teachers from 27:1 to 20:1, beginning with one point in year one and a further point in year two.
We will increase the capitation rates for primary and secondary schools by 10% over the term of the government and for Youthreach, VTOS and PLCs by 5%.
We will defend small schools by reversing changes to the staffing schedule for schools with less than 85 pupils.
We will reverse the cuts to guidance counselling and ensure at least one guidance counsellor per 500 pupils ex-quota.
We will end the laws that allow for religious discrimination against children in school admissions and we will support increased diversification of patronage.
We will abolish student fees over a term of government by incrementally reducing the student contribution.
We will place on a statutory footing school guidelines on anti-bullying and addressing diversity as well as guidelines on mental health and suicide awareness policies.
Prioritising children and childcare
We will extend maternity benefit by 6 weeks in year one, bringing it to 52 weeks over the lifetime of government, and increase the rate of maternity benefit to €260 per week.
We will cap maximum fees for childcare costs at €180 per week in year one and move to €150 per week (€3.75 per hour) over the term of government.
We will work towards a 60% degree-led ECCE workforce by 2025 as recommended by the EU, i.e. that 60% of all supervisors, managers, etc, hold degrees.
We will provide an additional 1,000 SNAs.
We will increase capitation grants for the Free Pre-School Year by €5 per week to €67.50, and by €9.50 for the higher capitation rate to €82.50.
Protecting our environment
We will introduce a full legislative ban on tracking.
We will bring the Sinn Fein Wind Turbine Regulation Bill 2014 to committee and rema1n1ng stages and introduce proper regulation of wind turbines.
We will bring in staged tax measures on offshore oil and gas fields, as outlined in the report by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Natural Resources and Agriculture.
We will engage with climate change experts to set specific targets and create a roadmap to reduce C02 emissions.
Building flood defences
We will regulate planning to prevent areas at risk of flooding being built on or developed and we will invest in flood defences.
We will ensure that affordable, capped insurance cover is provided to domestic household s and SME properties against high flood risk.
We will establish a single Shannon River Authority to ensure that there is proper coordination and a robust response from the various agencies responsible when flooding occurs and also that necessary steps are taken to minimise the risk of flooding in the future.
Tackling barriers for people with disabilities
We will give An Taoiseach specific responsibility for Disability Inclusion and for driving the cross departmental National Disability Strategy Implementation Plans.
We will extend an automatic full medical card to every child qualifying for the Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) and introduce a secure medical card for people with disabilities, immune from changes to household finances or employment status.
We will tackle further barriers to employment for people with disabilities.
We will deliver further on the EPSEN Act 2004, prioritising entitlement to an Individual Education Plan with associated resources for every child with a disability.
We will make funding such as the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with Disabilities payable to voluntary housing agencies and private land lords who are willing to adapt to the requirements of a long-term tenant.
We will fully integrate supported housing for people with intellectual disabilities and for people who experience mental illness in the community, and increase support for sheltered accommodation schemes.
We will introduce a scheme to refund VFITNAT for taxi drivers who purchase a wheelchair accessible vehicle with a clawback provision should they cease to operate within a certain time frame.
We will roll out a major infrastructure programme to make all public transport services fully wheelchair accessible.
Anew deal for rural Ireland
Addressing the imbalance
We will introduce a Rural Equality Bill to provide for carrying out rural impact assessments where measures affect rural areas.
We will develop a new enterprise spatial strategy to orientate infrastructural development and IOA and Enterprise Ireland development in a balanced regional manner.
We are committed to keeping open post offices, libraries, garda stations and other services that connect people with their local towns.
We will make up the shortfall in cuts to the Leader funding at EU level.
We will strive to ensure all householders and businesses have access to a minimum broadband speed of 100 Mbps.
We will introduce a pilot scheme for rural resettlement. This will provide a relocation package of up €5,000, including return flight s for qualifying emigrant families to return to rural Ireland.
We will increase funding for the rural transport programme and provide a funding package for improving the condition of rural roads.
We will rest ore funding to local authorities for the LIS community involvement scheme for non-council roads.
We will ensure the retention of domestic turbary rights for families in the West of Ireland who cut turf to heat the family home, as has been part of Irish tradition and heritage for centuries.
A good deal for fishing and coastal communities
We will repeal the current penalty point system that criminalises fishermen and devalues their business.
We will fight for an adequate quotas and ensure their fairer distribution amongst Irish fishermen.
We will oppose further cuts to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, which exists to give financial assistance to coastal communities and the fishing industry.
We will pursue at a European level restrictions on factory vessels and super-trawlers in Irish waters.
We will negotiate a reform of the Common Fisheries Policy and related legislation to simplify regulations and put an added emphasis on development in coastal communities.
Fairness for farmers
We will implement the Charter of Rights for Farmers so that direct payments and farm schemes can be delivered to farmers efficiently and speedily.
We will establish a €12 million compensation fund for Hen Harrier designated conservation lands.
We will maintain the concept of income averaging for taxation purposes to compensate farmers for extreme income volatility.
We will work for the simplification of the Beef Data Genomics Programme to encourage wider uptake.
We will publish clear guidelines for farmers applying for Areas of Natural Constraint payments to avoid the lengthy waiting period thousands of farmers endured in 2015.
We will continue to oppose the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (ITIP).
We will establish an all-island agri-food label for Irish produce.
We will reintroduce the Groceries Order with immediate effect to combat below-cost selling of products to ensure fair prices for producers.
We will restore €5 million of Farm Assist and create an additional 500 places on the Rural Social Scheme, expanding the current number of scheme places by 20%.
Five years of Fine Gael and Labour chaos and broken promises
Chaos in Health
601 patients on trolleys on one day alone.
4,154 fewer nurses in the public health system.
68,824 patients waiting for inpatient treatment.
385,507 patients waiting for a hospital outpatient appointment.
20% of people with absolutely no medical cover.
€159 million cut from the budget for disability services.
Only one in three cases, classified as serious, reached within the target time by the National Ambulance Service.
Chaos in Housing
1,500 -the number of children sleeping in emergency accommodation every night.
89,872 -the number of households on Local Authority waiting lists.
92,291 -family homes in mortgage arrears in the 3rd quarter of 2015.
€1,358 -the average monthly rent in Dublin, with people paying on average over €1,000 in the rest of the State.
1.8 million -the number of households paying an average of €244 a year in property taxes.
€2,000 -what a 1% reduction would save on average in annual interest payments for a family with a €200,000 mortgage if the government had taken action on interest rates.
€340 million -the subsidy paid by the State per annum to private landlords to house rent supplement recipients.
Chaos in Families
200,000 -the number of young people who have emigrated since 2010.
1.5 million -the number of home-help hours slashed.
€120 -the annual amount cut from the fuel allowance for the elderly and most vulnerable.
€36.80 -the amount slashed from the weekly invalidity pension for 65-year-olds.
€4,000 -the annual amount of money saved per garda station closed by this government.
They shut down 139 stations.
€800 to €1, 100 -the monthly cost of childcare for one child.
And through it all, they protected the Golden Circle
€156,380 -how much Enda Kenny pays his special advisors, breaching his own pay caps.
€12,000 -how much the Taoiseach will pocket through the abolition of the use.
250 -the number of individuals who saw their wealth increase by 16% to €75 billion in 2015.
€11 million -how much NAMA spent in wages for property developers in one year. Fifteen were paid between €150,000 to €199,000 per year.
Balance sheet
We have undergone a rigorous costing exercise with the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform over the past number of months to cost this document.
The first of the following two balance sheets outlines the confirmed budget room (fiscal space) available over the five-year government term, the additional discretionary revenue we would raise and our overall spend.
The second balance sheet gives the combined current and capital spends in key departments.
In undertaking this work, we were conscious of the need to be prudent and not promise people what cannot be delivered.
Over the last few months, the government has caused uncertainty by announcing different numbers on fiscal space and targets.
We are allowing in our balance sheets for 2017-2021 both contingency current spending and capital spending budgets.
The budget room available over the next five years will be determined by economic growth and stability, something only Sinn Fein can provide.
We have not included the possible additional €1 billion-€1.5 billion that may be available in 2019 due to the Commission's revision of the medium term objectives.
It is just not possible for any political party to predict all future expenditure pressures or fluctuations in growth, so we are treating this money as a contingency fund and it is our intention to allocate 1 billion in capital investment from it.
Reamhra
A Chara,
Bliain mh6r ata ann do mhuintir na hEireann in 2016 n6 100 bliain 6 Eirf Amach na Casca ata ann. Gheall Poblacht na hEireann, a f6grafodh in 1916, go lorgfaf sonas agus rath an naisiuin uile agus a codanna go leir, ag cumhdach leanaf uile an naisiuin go cothrom. I na croflar ta an tuairim go bhfuil gach duine neamhspleach agus comhionann.
Is e ata sa doicimead stairiuil sin leiriu soileir intinne ar son Phoblacht uile-Eireann bunaithe ar dhushraith na saoirse sibhialta agus creidimh, na c6ra s6isialta agus an chomhionannais do gach saoranach. Is e go f6ill raiteas misin phoblachtanachais na hEireann inniu agus is iad na prionsabail seo a threorafonn sinn go f6ill.
Deir Fine Gael ag us an Luc ht Oibre go b hfuil tearnamh ar siul. Ma ta, ni tearnamh coth ro m
e. Is tearnamh ar dha leibheal e, ata c hun a leas fein agus leas a gcairde ag an mbar r, nf b unus s haoranaigh na hEireann a oibrfonn go c rua.
In ait a ngealltanais ma id ir le reabhl6 id dhaonlathach a chur i gc rfch , is e a thug c inneadh i ndi aidh cinnidh 6n rialtas seo a nord do na ceadta mile teaghlac h ar fud na tire. Is le ir nach bhfuil aon reiteac h ag Fine Gael agus ag an Luc ht Oibre ar an ngearc he im a spreag s iad i dtithfoc ht agus i slainte agus ta se s untasach nu air a d 'athraigh Fin e Gael 6 na bplean 5 pho inte go dtf plean 3 c heim gur lig s iad do n t s lainte titim ar fad.
Ano is is mian le End a Kenny an t fr a thabh airt ar ais go dtf polasaith e mfstuama borradh agus cliseadh Fhiann Fail. Is mian leis c io rru ithe canach a thabh airt isteach a bhe idh c hun leas na ndaoin e is saibhre agus a c hinnteo idh go leanfaidh ano rd a r ag haidh do gach duine eile.
Ta ffs an-eagsuil ag Sinn Fein.
Ta plean ag Sinn Fein le haghaidh tearnamh cothrom a mhead6idh an geilleagar agus a thabharfaidh cobhsafocht don ghnath-theaghlach. Sin an fath gurb e ar gceadtosafocht agus sinn i rialtas taillf uisce agus an chain mhaoine a chur ar ceal agus gach duine ata ag saothru fospha a ghlacadh amach as an Muirear Seirbhfse Uilfoch.
Ta plean ag Sinn Fein le haghaidh curam slainte ata bunaithe ar an mbundearcadh nar cheart go seanfaf ar dhaoine, mar gheall ar gan a bheith in ann foe, rochtain na an deis saol iomlan, fada, slaintiuil a bheieth acu.
Ta an c6ras slainte ag teip ar dhaoine gach la mar is c6ras thar a bheith eagothrom ar dha leibheal, poiblf agus prfobhaideach. Mar gheall ar phrfobhaidiu s lainte ag Fianna Fail, Fine Gael agus an Lu c ht Oibre is beag gne a no is dar gc6ras s lainte at a uilfoch. Ta mui ntir na hEireann anois ag foe nfos m6 agus ag tail nfos lu.
Le c uram slainte uilfoch a chu r ar fa il caithfim id c umas a mheadu sa c h6 ras agus caiteachas poiblf a c hur go ceimnith eac h in 3it caiteachas ag baill an ph oba il
Thar s haolre an c head rialtais e ile ta leag tha amach againn plean bliain ar bhliain le bogadh 6 c h6ras s lainte ar dha le ib heal i dtreo c uram slainte uilfoch, at a sao r ag an bpointe seachadta agus mar a bhfuil roc htain bunaith e ar riachtanas amhain.
Ta plean againn le hagha idh tithfoc hta. Nfo r t harla an ghearcheim ata againn i dt ithfocht d e thaism e. Tharla si mar ghlac Fianna Fail, Fin e Gae l agus Luc ht Oibre an cinn eadh d eireadh a chur le freagracht dhfreach an stait i Ie ith f reast al ar riachtanais ti t hfochta. Thu g polasaf ti t hfochta ar laimh d'fho rbr6irf prfobh aid eacha agus tiarn af talun prfo bh aid eacha. Praiseach costasach a bhf s a p ho lasaf seo.
Dhiulta igh s iad infhe istiu i dtithfocht s h6 isialta ag us inacm hain ne agus anois t a 90, 000 teaghlac h go hoifi giuil ar lios taf feithimh udaras aitiuil. Dhiultaig h s iad deileaille cfosanna san earn ail phrfobhaideach ag us mar g heall air sin d 'ard aigh cfosanna nfos ga iste in 20 15 na ag ao n am eile le linn an bh orrth a.
Don chead uair 6 bunafodh an Stat sea ta deis ann rialtas forasach a thoghadh agus is mian le Sinn Fein bheith mar chuid den rialtas sin. Leagtar amach san fhor6gra sea sonraf an mheid is mian linn a chur i gcrfch. T8. se t6gtha ar an dushraith inar mbuiseid mhalartacha agus inar bpleananna mionsonraithe le haghaidh slainte, tithfochta, curam leanaf, thuath na hEireann agus eacnamafocht Aontas na hEireann.
Ta plean ag Sinn Fein 1 00,000 teach nua a th6gail agus cinnteacht agus seasmhacht cfosa a dhearbhu.
Ta plean ag Sinn Fein bogadh 6 charas slainte dha leibheal nach n-oibrfonn go dtf curam slainte uilfoch.
Ta plean ag Sinn Fein 250,000 post nua a chruthu agus lena chinntiu go n-foctar oibrithe go cothrom le coinnfollacha seasmhacha.
Ta plean ag Sinn Fein le haghaidh tearnamh cothrom a easc6idh an t-ualach ar an ngnaththeaghlach -cuirfimid deireadh le muirir uisce agus leis an muirear maoine, t6gfaimid ceathru milliun duine amach as an Muirear Seirbhfse Uilfoch, agus costas na beatha a dheanamh nfos saoire.
Ta ffs ag Sinn Fein le haghaidh athaontu na hEireann.
Is mise,
Gerry Adams
Achoimre fheidhmeach
~bplean le haghaidh Eire nios fearr
Eire aontaithe ag aithint ar gcultuir & ar n-oidhreachta
Leanfaimid ar aghaidh ag feachtasafocht arson reifreann uile-oileain ar aontacht na hEireann.
Ceapfaimid Aire rialtais le freagracht as gn6thaf Gaeltachta agus an Ghaeilge agus Comhchoiste Oireachtais buan le haghaidh Gn6thaf Gaeltachta agus na Gaeilge.
Cosn6imid agus athch6ireoimid sraith iomlan fhoirgnimh 10-25, Shraid an Mhuraigh, lathair ghnfomh deiridh Eiri Amach na Casca 1916.
Comhionannas & Cearta Daonna
Cuirfimid deireadh le Solathar Dfreach agus cuirfimid ina ait samhail neamhbhrabuis a bhfu il an t-imeascadh agus an cleachtas is earr maidir le cearta daonna ag a chroflar.
Ard6imid go suntasach maoiniu d'eagrafochtaf agus do thearmainn a thugann tacafocht i Ieith Fon§igean Baile.
Aithneo imid stadas eitneach an lu c ht t aistil.
R61 idirnaisiunta na hEireann
Aithneo imid go foirmiuil Stat na Pailist fne.
Beidh reifreann againn ma idir leis an neodracht a c hur ist each i mBunreacht na hEireann.
Cinnteoimid go gcom hlfonfa id h Ei re gealltanais dhaing ne maidir le Cunamh Forbartha Thar Lear.
Deireadh a chur leis an gcaimileireacht
Tabharfa imid aghaid h ar an gcaimileireacht ag us ar an gcairdeas fabh air ag us boird St ait a ollc h6iriu.
Nuair a t hagann binsf fiosrait he ar c hinntf in ead an daoi agus nuair a eisfo nn s iad t uarascalacha c ui msith eacha, c innteo im id go ngnfom h6 idh an stat ar na c inntf sin laistigh d e reacht na dtreimh sf ar tail d'ionschuiseamh coiriuil.
Deanfa imid iniu chadh neamhs pl each ar g hnfom haireachtaf maoirseachta an Sta id le dui i ngleic le c oireacht an bh6 na bhain.
Nlos fearr don chuntasacht sa pholaitlocht
Tab harfa im id ist each c6ras pairt lios ta, ina dtog hfa r trian den Dail 6 lios taf pairtf agus an f uflleach 6 dha lc heant air seac ht s ufoc hain io nas go leireo idh t orth af toghchain ffor-rogh a na v6t 6irf nfos c ruinne.
Laghd6imid an aois v6tala agus sfnfimid cearta v6tala chuig saoranaigh sa Tuaisceart agus an diasp6ra.
Cinnteoimid go mbeidh an Seanad ina institiuid iomlan cuimsitheach, ionadafoch agus cuntasach.
Ar bplean le haghaidh Geilleagar Cothrom
lnfheistiu i gcruthu post
Cuideoimid 250,000 post breise a chruthu sna cuig bliana seo romhainn trf poist Stait agus phriobhaideacha a chruthu.
Oscl6imid an solathar poiblf do ghn61achtaf beaga, ag uasmheadu an spreagadh bliantuil €12 billiun seo do ghn61achtaf intfre.
Cuirfimid deireadh le cfosanna a theann suas amhain.
An geilleagar uile-Eireann
Forb r6 im id geilleagar uile-o ileain, lena n-airitear c ur c huige p leanailte a b heith ann i Ieith na for barth a eac namafch e ar fud oilean na hEireann , an t-aon c h6 ras canach agus a irgeadra amha in.
Cruth6 imid Limistear Forbartha Eacnamafche na Teo rann a c hruthu leis an tradail a c homhth athu agus an toradh a uasm headu do ghn6 1achtaf na t eorann.
Taimid tiomanta do phacaiste mao inith e an A5 mar a aontafodh mar chuid den Chomh aontu d o Thu s Ur, agus da c hinnt iu go gc uirfear t io nscadal Dh ro ic head Chaol Uisce i gcrich.
Beart nios fearr d'oibritheoirl
Mead6imid an Bunph a Na isiunta go €9. 65 san uair agu s dean faimid fost6ir Pa M aireac htala d en earn ail phoiblf.
Leasfaimid reachtafoc ht um c haidreamh t ionsclafoch le fora il a dheanamh d 'aithean tas e igeantach ceardchuma nn agus do c heart a c6mhargala.
Rachaimid i ng leic leis an e ig innteacht ata ann mar gh eall ar cona rth af neams heasmhac ha ar bh eagan uairea nta tri reac htafocht a thabhairt isteach a dh eanann fo ral a le hag haidh co narth af ar uaireanta coth roma.
Cothrom na feinne a thabhairt isteach sa ch6ras canach
Cuirfimid ar ceal an Chain Mhaoine Aitiuil, rud a shabhalfaidh €244 sa bhliain ar 1.8 milliun uineir tf.
Cuirfimid deireadh le Taillf Uisce, rud a shabhalfaidh €260 sa bhliain ar theaghlach ina bhfuil dha dhuine fhasta.
Deanfaimid an c6ras canach forasach trf oibrithe a shaothrafonn nfos lu na €19,572 a ghlacadh amach as lion an Mhuirir Seirbhfs Uilfoch, rud a bheith chun tairbhe do 277,000 fostaf.
Laghd6imid an t-ualach canach ar dhaoine feinfhostaithe, ag bogadh i dtreo creidmheas canach feinfhostaithe a chothromu le creidmheas canach fMAT.
Cain ar rachmas
Feabhs6imid comhionannas canach agus ard6imid an iont6gail canach trf Chain ar Rachmas a thabhairt isteach, ag ardu na Canach Faltas Caipitil agus na Canach Gn6thachan Caipitil maidir le hinfheistfochtaf eighnfomhacha nach gcuidfonn leis an bhfforgheilleagar.
larrfaimid ar lucht an 6% is airde ioncam 7 faoin gcead bre ise a foe as gach euro a thu illtear ar ioncam thar € 1 00,000. Cui rfear an banda seo i bhfeidh m ar b honn ao nair agu s nf ar ch omhio ncam lanuine.
Arthus cadhnafochta sa ch6ras polaitiuil
fsleoim id tuarast ail Teachtaf Dala go €75,000 agus t uarast ail Sea nad6irf go €60, 000.
Laghd6imid breiseain tuarastail an Taois ig h agus Airf eile faoi 50%.
fs leoimid focafoc hta f pi nsin iom arcacha d 'iarThaoisig h, iar-A irf agus statse irbhfsf s inearacha.
Cuirfimid uast eorainn ar pha comha irleoirf speisialta do n Tao iseach agus d'Airf ag €75,000.
Nfos fearr d'earnail na mbanc
Coinneoi mid AIB faoi ui neireacht an St ait go ceann cuig bli ana ar a laghad , fao i reiriarratas ar athc haipitliu sia rg habhalac h ar a luach stairiuil. Le linn an ama sin glacfar c inneadh bunaith e ar leasann a eacnamafocha na hEireann maidi r le ce acu a c hoinn eofar n6 nac h gcoi nneofar uineireacht ar AIB n6 ea dhiuscairt ar bhealach ciallmh ar.
Deanfai mid athbhreithniu lait hreach ar rialachain ma idir le Co mhair Creidmheasa ag us breathn6 imid ar dhe ireadh a c hur ar s hriantaf iasachta, uasteora inneacha coig iltis agus sri antaf ar na cin ealac ha infhe istfochtaf agus seirbhfsf is feidir le Comhair C reidmh easa a c hur ar ta il, lena n-airftear cad nfos m6 is feidir Ieo a dheanam h le c uidiu le gn 61achtaf beaga.
Sinn Fein-nfos fearr d'Eirinn i gcaibidlf fiachais
Oscl6imid arfs caibidlf ar leibheal an Aontais Eorpaigh maidir le fiachas oidhreachta na hEireann, ag aireamh cosc a chur ar dhfol na mbannaf n6ta gealltanais ata a gcoinneail faoi lathair ag an mBanc Ceannais.
Deanfaimid iarratas ar athc~aipitliu siarghabhalach AIB agus Bhanc na hEireann sa Mheicnfocht Chobhsafochta Eorpach.
Ar bplean do sheirbhisi poibli agus cailiocht na beatha
Nfos fearr don churam slainte
Rollfaimid amach curam saor in aisce 6 dhochtuirf ginearalta chuig ceathru milliun nfos m6 duine gach bliain agus drugaf oidis saor in aisce do chach.
Cuirfimid deireadh le rochtain ar dha leibheal ar c huram ospid eil, lag hd6 imid am anna feithimh agus pleifimid le gearcheim na dt ralaithe.
Earc6im id 6,600 oibrf slainte breise ar an line thosaigh, lena n-airftear dochtuirf comhairleacha, altraf, c naimhsf, fiacl6 irf ag us gairm ith e s lainte g aolmhara.
Bronnfai mid carta leig his go huatho ibrfoch ar gac h leanbh ar a bhfuil tinneas n6 mfc humas dairfre agus rac haimid i ngleic le gaist e na bochtai neachta trf c harta leig his nu a seasm hach a t habhairt ist eac h do dhaoin e tas ta a bhfuil mfc humas orthu bunaith e ar riac htanas leig his.
Cuirfim id ar ceal an m uirea r€1 00 ar son Rann a Eigeand ala a usaid agus an muirear € 75 sa la ar so n curam c6naith eac h.
Deanfa imid infh eistfocht in ar seirbhfs f otharchairr.
Tac6imid le seand aoine t rf uaireanta c unamh baile agus uaireanta faois imh a ardu agus t f leapacha brei se i dtithe altranais a c hur ar ta il.
Ta bharfaim id reachtafocht isteach le haghaid h re ifreann leis an Ochtu Leas u a a isg hairm.
Ard6 imid mao iniu d on tSeirb hfs Fiac l6ireachta Phoiblf.
Nlos fearr don tithlocht Nlos fearr don oideachas
Lainsealaimid pleananna do 2030-Tionscada 100,000, le huineireacht Stait stoc tithfochta a thabhairt go 200,000 d'fosmheid per annum. Cinnteoidh se seo go dt6gfar ar a laghad 70,000 aonad s6isialta agus ar a laghad 30,000 aonad tithfochta le ceannach ar chostas agus le cfos ar chostas faoi 2030.
Geallfaimid €5 billiu (€2.2 billiun nios m6 na tiomantas an rialtais) mar chaiteachas caipitil in 2016-2021 agus neart6imid Cuid V lena chinntiu go gcuirfear ar tail 36,500 teach s6isialta agus inacmhainne.
Athbhreithneoimid gach faoiseamh canach a bhaineann le maoin agus a spreagann amhantraiochta arson brabuis.
Athscrud6imid go prainneach an cleachtas uasteorainn a chur ar fh6irdheontais chfosa ag an am ceanna le rialachain chiosa a thabhairt isteach, lena chinntiu nach mbeidh ciosanna a thugann tiarnaf talun isteach ag ardu a fhad leis an ardu san uasteorainn chiosa.
Cruth6imid seasmhacht chiosa tri arduithe cfosa a cheangalle boilsciu.
Cuirfimid €30 milliun breise ar fail d'Udarais Aitiula agus do ghniomhaireachtai do dhaoine gan didean le didean eigeandala a chur ar fail d o dhaoine gan d idean sa chead bhli ain d en rialtas.
Cuirfimid ar a c humas do n Bhanc Ceann ais uasteorainn eacha a c hu r ar rata( ui s ata inmhuirir ar bh ancann a.
Nlos fearr don sabhailteacht pobail agus don choir
Earc6 imid 3 ,000 garda i rith a r dtearm a rialtais le leibheil an Gharda Siochana a tha bh airt ar ais go 14,250.
Aisiom p6imid dunadh st aisiun Garda.
Cui rfimid ar a chumas d on Udaras P6ilin eachta maoirseacht a d heanamh ar fheidhmiu moltai 6 thuairi sci cig ireachtaf na nGardai.
Tabharfaimid ist each Co mhairle um Pianbh reithanna a eiseoidh treoirlinte maidir le pianbhreitheanna d o na B reithimh lecuntasacht agus comhsheas mhacht pia nbhre ith eanna a c hinntiu.
Comhthath6imid pr6isis um c heartas aisirioch isteach sa c h6 ras dlf choiriuil.
lnfheist eoimid an t-airgead a g hlacann an B iur6 um Sh6cmhainni Coiriula 6 cho irp igh ar ais isteach i seirbhisi ar an line tosa igh sna pobail is m6 a gcuireann a ng nio mhaiochtaf isteach
o rthu.
27:1 go 20:1, ag tosu le pointe amhain i mbliain a haon agus pointe eile i mbliain a d6.
Cosn6imid scoileanna beaga tri athruithe ar an sceideal solartha foire a iompu ar ais do scoileanna ina bhfuil nios lu na 86 ndalta.
Aisiomp6imid ciorruithe ar threoirchomhairleoireacht agus cinnteoimid ar a laghad treoirchomhairleoir amhain per 500 dalta lasmuigh den chu6ta.
Cuirfimid ar ceal na dlfthe a cheadafonn idirdhealu ar bhonn creidimh in eadan leanai in iontralacha scoile agus tac6imid le heagsulu patrunachta.
Cuirfimid ar ceal tailli mic leinn thar thearma rialtais tri ranniocaiocht an mhic leinn a laghdu go hincriminteach.
Cuirfimid treoirlinte scoileanna maidir le frithbhulaiocht agus tabhairt faoin eagsulacht ar mheabhairshlainte agus ar pholasaithe um fheasac ht ar fheinbh8.s ar bho nn reac htuil.
Nlos fearr do leanal agus curam leanal
Sinfimid an leas ma ithreachas d e 6 seac htain e sa chead bhliain, a thab hairt go 52 sheachtain thar threimh se an rialtais, agus mead6 imid an rata leasa mait hreac hais go €260.
Cui rimid uasteorainn ar thailli curaim leanai ag €180 sa t seac htain sa chead bhliain agus bogfaimid go €1 50 sa t seac htain (€ 3. 75 san uair) thar thearma an rialtais.
C uirfimid ar fail1 ,000 SNA breise.
Nlos fearr don Chomhshaol
Tab harfaimid ist each cosc reachtuil ar fh raiceail.
Tabharfaimid an Bille um Rialu Tuirbfnf Gaoithe 2014 go co ist e agus go ceimeanna eile ag us ta bharfaim id ist each ria lu ceart ar thui rbini gao ithe in Eirinn.
Tabharfaimid isteac h bearta canach ceimn ith eac ha ar olacheantair agus gascheantair san fharraige amuigh , ma r a leagt ar am ach sa tuairisc ag an gCo mh cho ist e Oireachtais ar Chumarsa id , Acmhainni Daonn a agus Talmhaiocht.
• Rachaimid i dteagmhaille saineolaithe ar athru aeraide le spriocanna sonracha a shocru agus slf chun tosaigh a chruthu le hastuchain C02 a laghdu.
Cosainti tuilte
Deanfaimid pleanail a rialaille t6gail n6 forbairt a chose ar cheantair ata faoi riosca tuilte, agus infheisteoimid i gcosaintf tuilte
Cinnteoimid go bhfuil cludach inacmhainne uasteoranta curtha ar tail do theaghlaigh agus d'fhoirgnimh gn61achtaf beaga agus meanmheide in eadan ardriosca tuilte.
Cuirfimid ar bun Udaras na Sionna mar aon eagrafocht amhain lena chinntiu go bhfuil comhordu ceart agus freagairt laidir 6 na gnfomhafochtaf eagsula ata freagrach nuair a tharlafonn tuilte agus, chomh maith, go ndeantar bearta riachtanacha le riosca tuilte a foslaghdu amach anseo.
Nios fearr do dhaoine a bhfuil michumais acu
Tabharfaimid freagracht ar Ieith don Taoiseach as Cuimsiu Mfchumais agus as Pleananna Forfheidhmithe na Straiteise Naisiunta Mfchumais trasrannach a bhru chun cinn.
Sfnfimid carta leighis iomlan uathoibrfoch c huig gac h leanbh in c hailithe d on Liuntas Curaim Baile (LCB) agus t abharfaimid isteach carta leighis seas mhach do dh aoin e a bhfuil mfchumais orthu, saor 6 athruithe ar c ursa f airgid t eag hlaig h n6 st adas fost afoc hta.
Rach aimid i ngl eic le nfo s m 6 bacainnf roimh an bh fostafocht d o dhaoine a bhfuil mfc humais acu.
Deanfaim id maoiniu, ar n6s a n Deontais C6irithe Tf d o dhaoine a bhfuil mfchumais orthu, infoctha d o g hnfomhaireachtaf tithfochta deonac ha ag us tiarnaf talun prfo bh aid eacha ata t oilteanach dui in o iriuint d o riachtanais tio n6nta fadtearma.
Deanfaim id tithfocht le tacafocht do d hao ine a b hfuil mfc humais int leachtul a orthu agus do dh aoin e a mbfonn tinn eas meabh racha orthu sa pho bal a c ho mhth athu go hi omlan, agus mead 6imid a n t acafocht do sceimeann a c h6 irfoc ht dhfdeanach.
Rollfaimid amac h m6rchl ar in freastruc htui r le gach seirb hfs iom pair p hoiblf go hio mlan inroc htana ag cathaoireacha rotha.
Ar bP,Iean do thuath na hEireann
Tabhairt faoin eagothroime
Tabharfaimid isteach Bille um Chomhionannas Tuaithe le solathar a dheanamh le haghaidh measunaithe tionchair tuaithe nuair a imrfonn bearta ceantair thuaithe.
Forbr6imid straiteis spasuil fiontrafochta nua le forbairt infreastruchtuir agus forbairt UFT agus Fhiontrafocht Eireann a threoshuf ar bhealach cothromaithe agus reigiunach.
Taimid tiomanta d'oifigf poist, leabharlanna, staisiuin gardaf agus seirbhfsf eile a cheanglafonn daoine le cheile ina mbailte aitiula a choinneail oscailte.
Dearbh6imid go n-focfaidh an Statchiste aon easpa i gciorruithe ar mhaoiniu LEADER 6 leibheal AE.
Taimid tiomanta go mbeidh rochtain ag gach uineirtf agus gn61acht arfosluas leathanbhanda 100Mbp.
Tabharfaimid isteach sceim phfol6tach don athlonnu tuaithe le spreagadh agus tacafocht a thabhairt do theaghlaigh le pacaiste athlonnaithe suas le €5,000 le heitiltf fillte san airea mh d o theaghlaig h eis imirceach le fill eadh ar thu ath na hEireann.
Ard6imid maoiniu ar so n an c hlair iompair tuaith e agus c uirfimid paca iste maoinith e ar fail ar son bail bh6ithre na tuaite a fh eabh su.
Cuirfimid mao iniu ar ais ar tail d'udarais aitiula don sceim rann ph airtfochta tuaithe LIS do bh 6ithre nach mbaineann le c omhairlf.
Nios fearr do phobail iascaireachta agus cois costa
Aisghairmfimid an c6ras pointf pio n6is ata i bhfe idh m fao i lathair, a dheanann co irpig h d'iascairf agus a dheanann a ngn 6 a dhfluachail.
Tro id fimid ar so n c u6t a d6thanach agus lena c hinntiu go ro inntear e nfos cothroime i measc iascairf ait iula.
Cuirfimid in eadan tuilleadh cio rruithe ar an gCist e Eorpach Muirf agus lascaigh, ata ann le c unamh airgid a thabh airt do p ho bail an c h6st a agus d on tio nscadl iascaireachta.
Lorg6imid ag leib heal Eo rpach sria nta ar lo nga pr6 iseala ag us agus m6rth ralaeirf in uiscf Eireannacha.
Deanfaimid idirbh eartafocht ar son athc h6 iriu ar an gComhbheartas lascaigh agus reachtafocht ghaolmhar le rialac hain a s hi mpliu agu s beim bhreise a c hur ar fho rbairt i bpo bail a n c h6st a.
Nlos fearr d'fheirmeoiri
Tacaimid le prionsabail na Cairte Ceart d'fheirmeoiri agus cuirfimid i bhfeidhm iad ionas gur feidir iocaiochtai direacha agus sceimeanna feirme a chur ar fail d'fheirmeoiri go heifeachtuil agus go tapa.
Cuirfimid ar bun ciste cuitimh €12 milliun do thailte caomhnaithe ainmnithe Hen Harrier.
Coinneoimid an coincheap a bhaineann le meanioncam ar mhaithe le cusp6iri canach le feirmeoiri a chuiteamh arson luaineacht mh6r ioncaim.
Oibreoimid ar son shimpliu an Chlar Gean6maiochta Sonrai Mairteola le nios m6 feirmeoiri a spreagadh lena roghnu.
Foilseoimid treoirlinte soileire d'fheirmeoiri ata ag cur iarratais isteach ar son iocaiochtai maidir le Limisteir Sriantachta Nadurtha leis na treimhsi fada feithimh a d'fhulaing na milte feirmeoiri in 2015 a sheachaint.
Leanfaimid ar aghaidh ag cur in eadan na Comhphairtiochta Tradala agus lnfheistiochta Trasatlantaigh atathar a mholadh.
Tabharfaimid isteach reachtaiocht le haghaidh praghsanna a mhaoirseacht agus rialail le tredhearcacht a thabhairt isteach.
Bun6imid lipead gn6 agraibhia uile-Eireann do thairgi Eireann ac h.
Tabharfaimid ar ais ist each an tOrdu Earrai Gr6saera le heifeacht lait hreac h le d ui i ngleic le hearrai a d hioltar fao in gcostas agus lena dtabh airt ar ais c huig prag hsanna coth roma do thomhalt6iri.
Anord i Slainte
601 othar ar thralaithe in aon la amhain.
4,154 nios lu altra sa eh6ras slainte poiblf.
68,824 othar ag fanaeht le e6ir slainte e6naithe.
385,507 othar ag fanaeht le eoinne ospideal seaehtraeh.
€159 milliun gearrtha 6n mbuisead do sheirbhisi miehumais.
Gan aeh aon ehas as tri einn, a rangaitear mar dhairire, a shroieh an tSeirbhis Naisiunta Otharehairr laistigh den sprioeam.
Anord i dTithiocht
1,500 -an lion leanai ag eodladh i ge6irioeht eigeandala gaeh oiehe.
89,872 -an lion teaghlaeh ar liostai feithimh Udaras Aitiuil.
€ 1 ,358 -a n meanehios i mBaile At ha Cliath, le daoin e ag foe ar an mean nios m6 na €1 ,000 sa ehuid eile d en St at.
1.8 milliun teaghlaeh ag foe ar an mean €244 sa bhlia in i geain mhaoin e.
€ 340 milliun -an fo rdh eontas a d'io e an St at per annum le tiarnai t alu n priob haideaeha le didean a thabhairt d'fhaig hteoiri fordh eontas ciosa.
Anord i dteaghlaigh
200,000 -an lion daoine 6ga ata imithe ar imiree 6 2010 i Ieith.
1.5 milliun uair eunaimh baile gearrtha.
€120 -gearrtha 6n liuntas breosla do sheandaoine agus do na daoine is soghonta.
€36.80 -gearrtha 6n bpinsean easlaine seaehtainiuil do dhaoine 65 bliana d'aois.
€556,000-Coigilteas don rialtas in aghaidh na bliana mar gheall ar na se6rtha staisiun Garda riaehtana a dhunadh.
€800 go €1, 1 00 -an eostas miosuil ar ehuram leanai do leanbh amhain.
Agus lena linn sin uile go leir, chosain siad an ciorcal orga
€156,380 -an meid a ioeann Enda Kenny le na eho mhairleo iri speis ialta, ag saru a uasteorainneaeha pa fe in.
€1 2,000-an meid a gheob hadh an Tao iseaeh ina ph6ea d a dtabh arfai mo ltai eanaeh End a Kenny isteaeh.
€11 milliun -an meid a ehaith NAMA i dtuarastail d 'fhorbr6iri maoine in aon bhliain amhain. foeadh idir €1 50,000 agus €1 99,000 le 15 in aghaid h na bliana.
NIALAS -a n lion baineeiri, forbr6iri agus Ju eht po laitioehta ar an taobh istigh a eoinniodh euntasaeh as an stat a bhriseadh, naeh beag, agus deieh m bliana den dein e a thabhairt isteaeh.
Clar comhardaithe
Ta cleachas costala dian deanta againn leis an Roinn Airgeadais agus an Roinn Caiteachais Phoiblf agus Athch6irithe le roinnt mfonna anuas le costais don doicimead sea a oibriu amach. Leagtar amach sa chead cheann den da chlar comhardaithe sea a leanas an spas buiseadach n6 an spas fioscach ata ar fail i rith tearma rialtais cuig bliana, an t-ioncam breise roghnach a th6gaimis agus ar gcaiteachas foriomlan. Sa dara bileog tugtar na caiteachais reatha agus caipitil chomhcheangailte i bprfomhranna.
Agus sinn ag tabhairt faoin obair sea, bhfomar aireach ar an nga bheith stuama agus gan aon rud nach feidir a thabhairt a ghealluint do dhaoine. Le roinnt mfonna anuas, ta anord agus neamhchinnteacht spreagtha ag an rialtas trf
uimhreacha eagsula a fh6gairt maidir le spas fioscach agus spriocanna. Taimid ag tagail aite inar gclair comhardaithe do 2017-2021 do buiseid do chaiteachas teagmhasach reatha agus caiteachas caipitiuil araon. Beidh an spas buiseadach a bheidh ar tail sna cuig bliana sea romhainn socraithe ag tas eacnamafoch agus ag cobhsafocht, rudaf nach feidir ach Sinn Fein a chur ar fail.
Nfor chuireamar san aireamh €1-€1.5 billiun sa bhreis a d'fheadfadh bheith ar fail in 2019, mar gheall ar athbhreithniu an Choimisiuin ar chusp6irf sa mheantearma. Nil se indeanta, go dfreach, do phairtf polaitiuil gach bru caiteachais n6 athru san fhas amach anseo a thuar, mar sin taimid ag caitheamh leis an airgead sea mar chiste teagmhasach agus nflimid a leithroinnt.
CAS-STAIDEIR
Lanuin phosta le..beirt leanai, dha oibri IMAT
Le Sinn Fein, idir €504 agus €5,664 sa bhliain nios fearr as
Ta John agus Aine p6sta agus c6naf orthu i nOun na nGall. Ta John ag obair mar thiomanaf forcardaitheora, ag saothru €40,000 per annum agus ta Aine ag obair i dteach altranais, ag saothru €20,000 sa bhliain. Ta beirt leanaf acu; Sean ata 19 mbliana d'aois agus Sarah ata 13 bliana d'aois.
Tairbhi seasta
Cealu na Canach Maoine: €244 (ar an mean)
Cealu Taillf Uisce: €260
Tairbhi feideartha
Ma ta Sean claraithe in oideachas trfu leibheil, bainfidh an teaghlach tairbhe as cealu ceimnitheach an mhuirir rannfocafochta mic lein ar €3,000.
Feadfaidh an teaghlach airgead a s hab hail 6 sholat har dfreach c6ir ort 6d6 ntach, suas le
€2 ,1 00.
• Curam d ochtura g hinearalta saor in ais ce, ag tosu Ieo s iud ar io ncam nfos isle, d'fhead fad h si ad €60 a shab hail gach aon uair a t heann siad c huig a ndochtuir.
Lanuin phosta ata ag lorg fostaiochta faoi lathair
Le Sinn Fein, €4,736 sa bhliain nios fearr as
Is ceimf innealt6ireac hta 6 NUI G e Mic heal, 24, agus ta se ag lorg poist fao i lathair.
Tairbhi seasta
Bainfid h Mic heal tairbhe as c iorru ithe ar Liuntas do Chu ardaitheoirf Poist do dhao ine fao i 2 6 bliana d'aois a ais io mpu. M ar gheall air sin beidh meadu €88 sa tseachtain ann -arb iona nn e agus €4 ,576 pe r annum sa bhliain.
Chomh maith leis sin nf b heidh air Taillf Uisce a foe da 16istfn, ag sabh ail €160.
Pinsinear ina conai lei fein
Le Sinn Fein, idir €586 agus €886 sa bhliain nios fearr as
Ta Josephine, 76, ag tail an phinsin Stait agus ta c6naf uirthi i gCathair ChoreaL
Tairbhi seasta
Cealu na Canach Maoine: €244 (ar an mean)
Cealu Taillf Uisce: €160
Gheobhaidh Josephine Liuntas Breosla ar fiu €68 san iomlan e.
Gheobhaidh sf €9.50 sa mhf freisin mar Liuntas Teileaf6in, rud a ligfidh di alaram scaoill a oibriu, arb ionann e agus €114 san iomlan sa bhliain.
Tairbhi feideartha
Feadfaidh Josephine tairbhe a bhaint as muirir oidis a chealu do dhaoine a bhfuil carta leighis acu, ag sabhail suas le €300 par annum di.
Feadfaidh sf tairbhe a bhaint freisin as nfos m6 acmhainnf a bheith curtha ar tail le haghaidh uairean ta c unam h baile.
Lanliin phosta le leanbh amhain, saothrai amhain feinfhostaithe
Le Sinn Fein, idir €1,154 agus €3,212 sa bhliain nfos fearr as
Ta c6naf ar Dh6nal agus Mary i mBaile Atha Cliath agus is Ieo a dteach fein. Is saor adhmaid feinfhostaithe e D6nal, ag saothru €40,000 sa bhliain. Ta mac acu, Shane, ata 15 bliana d'aois.
Tairbhf seasta
Cealu na Canach Maoine: €244 (ar an mean)
Cealu Tail If Uisce: €260
Bainfidh D6nal tairbhe as meaduithe incriminteacha sa Chreidmheas Canach Feinfhostaithe, ag fail mar gheall air €650.
Tairbhf feideartha
Bainfidh an teaghlach tairbhe 6 chreidmheas canach ma fhreastalann Shane ar Cholaiste Gaeilge, arbh fhiu €1 90.
Ma ta oidis dochtura ag teastail 6 bhall den teaghlach, a chosnafonn nfos m6 na €144 sa mhf, sabhalfaidh siad suas le €1 ,72 8 s a bhliain nuair a rollfar a mac h oidis sao r in a isce.
Ma c haithfidh ball t eag hlaigh freastal ar roinn e igeand ala le linn na bliana, sabh alfaidh s iad €1 00 mar gheall ar c healu an mhui rir freastail.
Feadfaidh an teaghlach t airbh e a bh aint as scrudu beil saor in aisce a c hur ar fail do 445 ,000 du ine breise , ag sabh ail €40.
Singil, i bhfostaiocht phairtaimseartha le leanai lanfhasta ina gconai thar lear
Le Sinn Fein, idir €1 ,198 agus €2,049 sa bhliain nfos fearr as
Ta Mary 50 bliain d'aois. Ta c6naf uirthi i 16istfn ar cfos ar a Uaimh, agus ta a leanaf lanfhasta ina gc6naf thar lear. Oibrfonn sf 30 uair sa tseachtain i siopa aitiuil agus saothrafonn sf an t-fospha.
Tairbhf seasta
Nf focfaidh Mary muirear seirbhfse uilfoch nfos m6, rud a chuirfidh €258 ar ais ina p6ca.
Mar gheall ar chealu Taillf Uisce sabhalfaidh sf €160
Tairbhf feideartha
Ma chuirtear Mary isteach san ospideal le linn na bliana, nf bheidh uirthi tail If oth air c 6naithe a foe suas le € 750 d ' uas mheid.
Da m bead h uirthi d ui ar c uairt c huig a d ochtuir ina dhiaidh sin t ar eis di bheith san ospid eal, beidh na c uairteann a sea saor in aisce. Sa bh alfa idh sea € 60 ar son gach c uairte di.
Part 1
Better for Ireland
Citizens in a united Ireland
As we approach the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising, support for republican ideals is growing.
People are hungry for real change.
The 1916 Rising was a defining event in our history and the Proclamation is the defining document in the history of Irish republicanism.
Our task is to apply its principles to the Ireland of today and to achieve the united Ireland of Equals promised in the Proclamation.
Sinn Fein is seeking a new, agreed and united Ireland.
We want to build a just, fair and equal Ireland-an economically prosperous and socially and culturally inclusive Ireland.
We want to protect our most vulnerable -the elderly, children, the ill, ethnic minorities, those with disabilities -
and ensure that equality is the touchstone upon which all policies are formulated.
The republican vision of a united Ireland is based on the principles of equality, inclusion and sovereignty.
There can be no place for sectarianism, exclusion or discrimination.
Commitments
We will campaign to raise public support for an island-wide referendum on Irish unity, allowing the people to have their say.
We will introduce Northern representation in the Dail.
Northern MPs should be automatically accorded membership of the Dail, with consultative and speaking rights.
We will introduce the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution (Presidential Voting) Bill to extend Presidential voting rights to citizens in the North and abroad.
We w ill im plement La na Poblachta, a Bill to initiate a new bank holiday to mark the Easter Rising.
We will develop the all-Ireland economy, including having a planned approach to economic development across the island of Ireland, a single tax system and currency, integrating infrastructural development and creating a Border Economic Development zone.
We will introduce a Green Paper on Irish Unity to begin the practical planning for reunification.
We will establish an Oireachtas Joint Committee on Irish Reunification with the task of outlining, driving, monitoring and reviewing the transition towards Irish unity.
We will ensure that the North-South Ministerial Council establishes a committee specifically tasked with harmonising and maximising cooperation in all fields for the benefit of all our people.
Challenge the British Government to live up to their responsibilities to the peace process on legacy issues and dealing with the past, with particular reference in this State to British state collusion in attacks that resulted in the deaths and injuries of dozens of people in the 26 Counties over decades from the 1970s to the 1990s.
The Irish language
The government parties have done immense damage to the Irish language as a living language.
Their policies and approach are hostile and their time in office has been synonymous with a lack of stewardship, leadership or support for the language.
The government's failure to support the Office of An Coimisineir Teanga forced him to resign and Dearg le Fearg saw tens of thousands take to the streets in support of Irish language rights.
The government parties' hostility to the language was further evidenced by their ill-fated use of Google Translate on the official 1916 Commemorative website in November 2 014.
They also made severe cuts to the budget s of Udaras na Gaeltachta and Foras na Gaeilge at a time of crisis in the Gaeltacht in terms of falling numbers of Irish language speakers living there.
They failed to implement the Irish Language 20 Years Strategy and maintained a derogation of the status of the Irish Language in the EU.
Sin n Fein, by contrast , is dedicated to the restoration of the Irish language as the spoken language among the majority of the people in Ireland and its prominence in a multilingual society.
In government, Sinn Fein will deliver on Conradh na Gaeilge plan 'Investment in the Irish language and Gaeltacht from 2016 onwards'.
Commitments
Governance
We will ensure a senior cabinet minister has responsibility for Gaeltacht Affairs and the Irish Language and a permanent Joint Oireachtas Committee for Gaeltacht Affairs and the Irish Language to ensure vital political will, which has been absent to date, is injected into the State's promotion of the language.
We will reinstate elections to the board of Udaras na Gaeltachta.
Funding
We will increase capital funds for Udaras na Gaeltachta, which can be targeted to create new jobs in Gaeltacht communities throughout the State.
We will set up a €2 million capital fund for Irish language centres similar to a fund operating in the Six Counties called An Ciste Infheistfochta Gaeilge, which has helped set up 20 Irish language centres across the north.
The fund would allow communities to access money to set up Irish language centres across the 26 Counties.
We will increase funding for Irish language community schemes to support the promotion of the language via community-based projects.
We will provide funding so that every local authority can offer Irish language classes to their employees.
We will examine the cuts made to Mna Ti with a view to reversing them
Outreach & integration
We will support the GAA in its rollout of Liofa in the 26 Counties to get as many people as possible to speak Irish in as many locations as possible across the State.
Liofa is a programme operating in the north, originally set up by Minister Caral Ni Chuilinn, that seeks to increase the number of learners working towards fluency and which includes courses that are free to attend, a monthly newsletter and bursary opportunities.
We will support outreach assistance for parents in Gaeltacht areas and in Irish-medium school catchment areas to encourage parents to use Irish with their children.
We will invest in support mechanisms for Irish language community radio stations commencing with a one-stop-shop offering advice to volunteers engaged in the running of or thinking of setting up a station.
We will proactively pursue the implementation of an increased target of 20% of civil servants being proficient in Irish.
We will support the implementation of the Road Traffic (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2015, which provides for parity of the application of Irish on road signage, whereby the font applied as Gaeilge is of equal size to that applied as Bearla.
Education
We will introduce Irish language-medium assistants for second level schools throughout the State.
We will ensure that an Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolafochta is sufficiently resourced to fulfil its remit to develop primary and secondary school textbooks and resources in Irish.
We will address affordability for working families and the sustainability of the Gaeltacht regions by providing a 20% tax credit, on expenditure incurred of up to €950, by parents for Gaeltacht courses.
For children whose parents are not working, Sinn Fein would grant a deduction at source of 20% of fees for those with medical cards.
An Ghaeilge
Ta dochar m6r deanta ag pairtithe an rialtais don Ghaeilge martheanga bheo. Ta a bpolasaithe agus a gcur chuige naimhdeach agus le I inn a gcuid ama in oifig bhf easpa maoirseachta, ceannaireachta n6 tacafochta ann don teanga.
Mar gheall ar theip an rialtais tacafocht a thabhairt d'Oifig an Choimisineara Teanga b'eigean d6 eirigh. Nuair a bhf Dearg le Fearg ann thainig na mflte amach ar na sraideanna ag tacu le cearta Gaeilge. Fianaise eile ar naimhdeas phairtithe an rialtais i Ieith na teamga ba a an praiseach a rinne siad nuair a d'usaid siad Google Translate ar shufomh greasan oifigiuil com6rtha 1916 i mf na Samhn a 2014. Rinne siad c iorruithe deine chomh maith ar bhuisead Udaras na Gaeltachta ag us ar bhui sead Fhoras na Gaeilge ag am gearcheime sa Ghaeltacht maidir le lion na gcainteo irf Gaeilge a ch6nafonn ansin a bhe ith ag titim. Th eip orthu St raiteis 20 bliain don Ghaeilge a chu r i b hfeidhm ag us ch oinnigh siad maolu ar stad as na Gaeilge sanAE.
Ta Sinn Fein, afach, tio manta d on Ghaeilge a athreimniu mar t heang a lab hartha i measc fhorm6r na nd aoine in Eirinn agus fa bhe ith i lar an aonaig h is soc haf ilteangach.
Ma thoghtar chun an rialtais iad c huirfeadh Sinn Fein an maoiniu ar tail agus dfreodh siad ar sceimeanna a mholtar i bplean C honradh na Gaeilge, lnfheistfoc ht sa Ghaeilge agus sa Ghaeltacht 6 2016 ar aghaid h.
Gealltanais
Rialachas
Ceapfaimid Aire sin searach rialtais le freagracht as Gn6thaf Gaeltachta ag us an Ghaeilge agus Comhchoist e Oireachtais d o Ghn 6thaf Gaeltachta ag us don Ghaeilge lena chinntiu go gcuirfear an to il pholaitiuil rfthabhachtach, at a in easnamh go dtf seo, ist each i gcr chu n cinn na t eanga 6 thaob h an stait de.
Tabharfaimid tog hchain ar ais le haghaidh bhord Udaras na Gaeltachta.
Maoiniu
Memd6imid cisti caipitiula d'Udaras na Gaeltachta, a bheifear in ann a dhiriu ar phoist nua a chruthu i bpobail Ghaeltachta ar fud na tire.
Mead6imid maoiniu do sceimeanna pobail Gaeilge le tacu le cur chun cinn na teanga trf thionscadail ata bunaithe i bpobail.
Cuirfimid maoiniu ar fail ionas gur feidir le gach Udaras Aitiuil ranganna Gaeilge a thairiscint da bhfostaithe.
For-rochtain &imeascadh
Tac6imid le cunam h for-rochtana do thuis mith eoiri i gcea ntair G haeltachta agus i scoilc heantair scoileann a lan-Ghaeilge le t uismith eoiri a spreag adh le Gaeilge a usa id lena leanaf.
lnfheist eoimid meic niochtai t acaiochta do staisiui n ra idi6 ph obail lan-Ghaeilge , ag tosu le ceardlann le comhai rle a thabhairt do s haoralaith e ata i m bun stais iun a reachtail n6 ata ag sm aoineamh air.
Tac 6imid le feidhmiu an Bhill um Thracht B6 ithre (Leas u) (Ui mh.2) 201 5 a d heanann forail do c homhionannas i b hfeidhm iu na Gaeilge ar c ho mharth ai b6ithre, mar a mbeidh an c l6 nGaeilge ar ch6 mheid leis an gcl6 i mBearla.
Oideachas
Tabharfa imid isteach c unt6ir lan-Ghaeilge d'iar-bhunscoileanna ar fud na t ire.
Ci nnteoimid go bh fuil acm hainni imleora ag an gCom hairl e urn Oid eachas Gaeltachta ag us Gaelsc olaiochta lena s hainc hu ram a c ho mhlio nadh t eacs leabh air agus acmhainni bun scoile agus iar-bhu nsco ile a fho rbairt i nGaeilge.
<<<<<The above text is an Irish translation of the above>>>>>>>>
Heritage -Moore Street & Revolutionary Quarter
We will protect and restore the entire Moore Street terrace, numbers 10-25, as the site of the last act of the 1916 Easter Rising.
Sinn Fein has argued for decades that commemorating andproperly marking the Rising will be valuable to us in terms of our own historical heritage
but also as a means of attracting and educating tourists about our past and present.
We have allowed for a €1 billion discretionary capital fund, over the term of government, to finance any additional investment needed in projects such as this.
Equality & human rights
Promoting equality and human rights is at the very core of republicanism and of Sinn Fein's agenda for change.
We campaigned in support of the Marriage Equality Referendum and for language rights.
We also bro ugh t forward a number of key pieces of equality legislation, including a Bill to recognise the ethnicity of the Traveller community and we published a major report on Direct Provision.
We believe that all human rights - including economic and social rights - can and must be enforceable.
We are committed to a range of proposals to strengthen equality and human rights protections and to move us closer towards full equality for women, children, older people, people with disabilities, people of all ethnicities and lesbian/gay/bisexual and transgender people.
We are committed to the establishment of an enforceable All-Ireland Charter of Rights, as promised under the Good Friday Agreement.
Commitments
We will end Direct Provision and replace it with a not-for-profit model that has integration and human rights best practice at its core.
We will regularise undocumented migrants and introduce comprehensive legislation dealing with all aspects of immigration and residence in the State.
We will enact the ICCL's Criminal Law (Hate Crime) Amendment Bill 2015 to address racism, sectarianism and homophobia in Irish society.
We will initiate a renewed five-year National Action Plan Against Racism.
We will amend the International Protection Bill 2015 to address deficiencies in relation to children's rights, family reunification, and access to work and education.
We will significantly increase funding to domestic violence support organisations and refuges, and we will implement the Istanbul Convention.
We will ensure the State recognises the ethnicity status of the Travelling community , including their right to traveller specific accommodation.
We will develop a working group tasked with examining what has worked best in terms of supporting survivors of wrongs or injuries for which the State is accountable, including those affected by abuse in children's institutions, Mother and Baby homes and Magdalene Laundries; and by the Thalidomide, Symphysiotomy and Hepatitis C scandals.
In doing this, we will build closer relationships with the agencies representing survivors.
This group will develop recommendations on urgent legislation (e.g. adoption rights) and on financial, medical and other assistance.
It will also address crisis areas such as the expiration of Statutes of Limitations.
Ensure transgender services are provided regionally rather than centralised in Dublin.
End the blood ban for gay and bi sexual men to give blood.
Ban so called 'reparative therapies' as they are dangerous to individuals.
Extending defamatory legislation to include offensive language towards the LGB& T community.
Ireland on the international stage
As a s mall island , it is important that Ireland spreads its diplomatic net as wide as possible in order to maximise international influence and push key foreign affairs priorities.
Sinn Fein is committed to an independent and progressive Irish international relations policy, one that will prioritise neutrality, human rights, mutually beneficial trade, development, international law, and equality.
Commitments
Ireland's international role
We will formally recognise the State of Palestine.
Europe is facing its biggest refugee crisis since World War Two and we will ensure that Ireland plays a leading role in tackling this humanitarian crisis.
We will ensure the Irish Naval Service continues to conduct lifesaving rescue operations in the Mediterranean.
We will ensure that the Irish State plays a proactive role at an international level to encourage a cessation of hostilities in Syria and the creation of an inclusive peace process, and pursue a similar approach to other conflicts around the world.
We will ensure that the State continues to engage fully and vigorously with the UN and its structures, including peacekeeping, but we will also lead calls for a reforming of the UN, its offices and programmes, with particular emphasis on the Security Council.
Neutrality
We will ensure that the State adheres to a policy of positive neutrality.
We will oppose the further militarisation of the EU and attempts to create a standing EU army, and we will terminate Ireland's involvement in EU Battle Groups and the use of Irish airports by foreign armies engaged in war.
We will hold a referendum on inserting neutrality into Bunreacht na hElreann.
We will continue to support the deployment of Irish troops on UN-mandated peace keeping missions around the world that enhance our neutrality.
Irish Aid
We will be strong supporters of the Irish Aid programme.
We believe Irish people should be rightly proud that this programme is widely recognised as one of the most effective actors in the delivery of development aid worldwide.
We will increase funding on ODA and ensure the State works towards its ODA targets.
However, it must be noted that ODA is not a tap that can be turned on and off and such a plan would need proactive consultation, and short-, medium-, and long-term projects and targets, rather than simple yearly targets.
In government we will immediately commence work on an interdepartmental plan to reach the 0.7% target as a matter of priority.
In order to enhance government accountability and transparency, we will ensure that our plans on how and when we can reach the target will be publicly available.
Sinn Fein will also pursue other overarching development-friendly policies in government to complement our ODA spend.
Sinn Fein strongly welcomes the global agreement reached on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In government we will establish a national action plan to implement and monitor the State's activity on reaching the targets and goals contain in the SDGs.
This will be done within a robust and overarching Policy Coherence for Development framework that will be at the core of our government's work.
Trade & TTIP
We will ensure that the State plays a positive role at European and global level as a champion for fair global trade rules and policies that prioritise and support, rather than undermine, the needs of poor countries.
We are concerned that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TIIP) will have significant negative implications for Ireland, particularly in the areas of agriculture, state sovereignty, democratic decision making, public procurement, workers' rights, environmental and food safety regulations, and many other areas.
We will oppose any TTI P agreement that negatively affects Ireland or that includes provision for an undemocratic Invest or State Dispute Settlement mechanism.
The potential implications of TIIP are too important and too dangerous for details to be kept from European citizens and we will work towards ensuring that documents relating to the TTIP negotiations are made public.
European Union
Recent governments have been totally deferential to the EU and its most powerful member states.
Sinn Fein in government will seek to build relationships with other member states on the basis of equality
and to provide leadership for those who are opposed to the Austerity agenda of the EU.
In particular we will: uphold the right of democratically elected governments to decide their social and economic priorities in the interests of their own people.
see k to return powers to EU member states and increase the influence of member state parliaments in the EU legislative process.
support reforms of the EU which are aimed at reducing the power of the European Commission, making it more transparent and accountable to the European and member state parliaments; and increasing the influence of smaller member states.
seek a growth and investment oriented policy of the EU, aimed at creating jobs and at defending workers ' pay and conditions.
seek to maximise EU support for the Irish peace process and Irish unity.
Taking on the golden circles & vested interests
In its now infamous five-point plan Fine Gael promised the electorate that it would overhaul the political system and stamp out the cronyism that had become the norm under Fianna Fail.
This was to prove an empty promise and has been dropped from Fine Gael's latest three-step-plan.
The Taoiseach's attempts to get a seat for John McNulty in the Seanad and the eleventh hour circumvention of the public process by the Tanaiste to appoint David Begg chair of the Pensions Authority are just two examples of many that show cronyism is alive and well in Fine Gael and the Labour Party.
We have watched for decades as a circle of wealthy and well connected, seemingly teflon elites, have protected and enriched themselves through boom times and recessions alike at huge cost to the Irish people.
Commitments
Tackle board cronyism
We will overhaul appointments to State boards to ensure multiple directorships are limited.
We will make all appointments transparent by ensuring they're all advertised on public jobs. ie and made through a competitive interview process.
We will ensure directors' salaries are fair.
We will implement gender quotas.
We will provide for timely provision of annual accounts.
NAMA
We will slow down the wind-up of NAMA to allow for full commercial evaluation of all loans.
We will audit remaining assets for societal and economic use.
We will ensure NAMA developers are not acting as bad landlords and review their salaries.
We will provide for a cooling-off period for NAMA employees so they are not entering the private sector with valuable information.
We will establish a Commission of Inquiry into the management and operation of NAMA.
No privatisation of State assets
We will end the policy of selling off State assets and shareholdings under the State Assets Disposal Programme and will commit to protecting key strategic assets as well as retaining all remaining State assets and shareholdings.
We will stop the planned privatisation of 10% of Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann and oppose any future attempts at privatisation of public transport companies.
Abolish domestic water charges and dismantle Irish Water.
Stop the metering project and redirect the remaining monies to direct investment in infrastructure.
Establish an independent Commission on Water Services to examine the most appropriate public ownership model to report back to Government within 9 months.
Underpin the new model for a public water service in legislation.
Hold a referendum to enshrine the public ownership of Ireland's water services in the Constitution.
Roll out a major water conservation programme in conjunction with local authorities.
Accountability
Where tribunals make findings against individuals and produce comprehensive reports, we will ensure the State acts on those findings within the Statute of Limitations available for criminal prosecutions.
We will undertake an independent audit of the State's oversight agencies to combat white-collar crime, including the Criminal Assets Bureau, the Office of the Directorate of Corporate Enforcement, the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation, the Central Bank Revenue, the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Competition Authority.
Accountability in politics
People have become justifiably disillusioned with politicians and the political system.
Sinn Fein believes politicians should be accountable to the people they serve.
We will bring about a new culture of transparency and accountability in politics.
Commitments
Elections & democracy
We will introduce a partial list system, electing one third of the Dail from party lists and the remainder from seven-seat constituencies so that election results more accurately reflect actual voter preference.
We will reduce the voting age and extend voting rights to citizens in the North and to the Diaspora.
We will establish a fresh citizens' convention to discuss political reform, including of the Dail and Seanad.
We will introduce equality budgeting through amendments to existing legislation and provide for equality proofing of all government policy, budgets and public bodies through impact assessments.
The Dail
We will shift the balance of control of the Dail agenda.
Under Standing Order 26, the order of Dail business is determined by the Taoiseach.
We will amend standing orders so that the whips' meeting has greater influence in the determination of the agenda, including over the use of guillotines, which should be restricted to emergency situations only.
We will give Dail Committees more powers, including increased public consultation and expert witness hearings, and greater numbers of meetings throughout the State.
We will amend the Standing Orders governing parliamentary questions to promote more thorough accountability of government to the public via their Dail representatives.
It is currently common practice for Ministers to give incomplete answers or to avoid answering questions altogether, often hiding behind arms-length bodies as justification.
This must be tackled.
We will endeavour to ensure that at least 30% of all Ministers and Junior Ministers are women.
Seanad
We will ensure that the Seanad becomes a fully inclusive, representative and accountable institution.
This requires: direct election by way of universal franchise of all Irish citizens on the same day as the Dail vote; Northern and Diaspora representation; 50% women members; and representation of marginalised minority groups within Irish society.
The primary role of the Seanad should be independent initial scrutiny of EU legislation from proposal stage and of Statutory Instruments and Ministerial appointments; and to ensure equality-proofing of all legislation.
Public standards
We will amend the Public Standards legislation to ensure all public sector officials from Principal Officer grade upwards in the civil and public service are required to make public comprehensive declarations of interests on assets and debts to the value of €25,000 and above, excluding the family home.
We will provide for the making of anonymous and oral complaints to the Public Sector Standards Commissioner, as recommended by the Mahon Tribunal.
Part 2
For a fair recovery
Fine Gael and Labour's two-tier recovery
We need a recovery that is fair and sustainable.
The current recovery is neither.
Purchasing a home is again out of the reach of the average family because of a lack of housing supply,
yet we have little work being created for the 150,000 construction workers who lost their jobs during the economic crisis.
Hundreds more of our most vulnerable citizens are being forced to endure treatment on hospital trolleys in emergency departments.
And hundreds of thousands of families are being ripped off by banks that are refusing to pass on interest rate savings to mortgage holders.
The legacy of Fianna Fail
All of these woes are symptoms of the pursuit of unfair and unsustainable economic policies by Fine Gael and Labour, parties that have merely perpetuated the short-term boom and bust policies of Fianna Fail.
Instead of investing in our economy and ensuring all citizens are afforded a decent quality of life and the opportunity of a good job, the priority of Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail is to cut taxes that benefit the rich to the detriment of the average worker - the same type of policies that led to the economic crisis in the first place.
External factors influencing economic growth
The Department of Finance has forecast economic growth of 4.3% for 2016 and growth is expected to average around 3% per annum thereafter.
We are conscious that these growth figures are vulnerable to negative external factors that may affect Ireland's spending capabilities, given that we operate within the parameters of European Union fiscal rules.
Extremely favourable external conditions are the primary drivers of current growth in the economy; in particular the sharp decline in the value of the Euro against Sterling and the US Dollar, historically low interest rates across Europe and a collapse in international oil prices over the past twelve months.
Building a Fair Recovery
The austerity agenda of Fine Gael, Labour, Fianna Fail and the Troika played no hand, act or part in bringing about the economic green shoots we are currently witnessing.
All their cutbacks achieved were a prolonging of the economic crisis, the decimation of public services
and a widening gap of economic and social inequality.
By contrast, our priorities will be to bring fairness, stability and sustainability to economic policy development.
We will ensure the economy serves society, not the other way around,
and we will prioritise investment in employment and build a fair tax system.
EU rules and Ireland
Sinn Fein stands for Irish sovereignty and the right of Irish governments to make economic choices in the best interests of the Irish people.
We opposed the Fiscal (Austerity) Treaty because we knew that the rules set out in it were not in Ireland's interests, involved a loss of economic sovereignty and had the potential to act as a serious impediment to any future government taking the type of decisions that are needed.
We have been proved correct.
The acceptance o f t he Treaty has tied our hands significantly.
We will continue to challenge these rules and build support at EU level for their re-negotiation.
In the shorter term we will work to achieve the type of flexibilities to these rules that have been afforded to other States within the EU.
The following sections set out our commitments on jobs, workers' rights, taxation, public sector pay, social protection, mortgages, the banking sector banking and debt.
Creating jobs
Long-term economic recovery can only be secured through the creation of good jobs and the development of an innovative indigenous enterprise sector.
Our priority is the creation of decent jobs with d cent pay and to deliver for our Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector.
There are 192,000 small and medium-sized businesses across the State, employing over 860,000 people; these businesses are the driving force of economic activity in the State.
We will set ambitious targets for regionally balancing foreign investment and delivering an integrated enterprise policy that maximises the growth potential of domestic entrepreneurs and businesses.
The Department of Finance have forecast increases in employment based on expected growth in core domestic demand for the period from 2017 to 2021 of 187,969 jobs.
These jobs will be created regardless of policy changes.
Our jobs plan will mean ultimately in the region of 250,000 jobs will be created.
We will use the budget room available over the next five years to invest heavily in capital projects, to deliver tens of thousands of jobs and to fill infrastructural needs in water, housing, schools, health, broadband and transport.
Our current spending will also create jobs in frontline services
and act as a stimulus for job creation in the private sector.
Commitments Investing in job creation
Our significant investment in infrastructure and public services, such as in housing, health and education, will deliver 250,000 jobs over the next five years.
We will o pen up public procurement to small businesses, maximising this annual €12 billion stimulus for domestic businesses.
We will attach social clauses to public works contracts.
We will establish a review of compliance and enforcement of labour and employment obligations attached to public works contracts.
We have included in the rural Ireland section of this manifesto and in the launch of our West of Ireland policy a series of jobs initiatives which aim to address the historical regional imbalance in job creation.
Job creation through tax and legislative reforms
We will abolish upward-only rents.
We will ease administration of the tax system for businesses by simplifying filing arrangements for Corporation and Income Tax and by ending delays in VAT registration.
We will extend Startup Refunds for Entrepreneurs (SURE) to the self-employed.
We will support Ireland's microbreweries by extending tax relief for beer production.
We will double the Trading Online Voucher Scheme and develop an inter-departmental strategy to develop an ambitious e-Commerce plan, increasing the number of indigenous small businesses trading online.
We will initiate an inter-departmental review, led by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, to consider a fairer system for calculating businesses. commercial rates for small
Job creation in the arts and tourism sectors
We will increase funding to the Arts Council by 45% over the lifetime of the next government and ensure all grants and awards are made fairly and transparently.
We will ensure through this funding, and through investment in community development programmes, that the arts play a key role in creating employment and recreation in communities, particularly in rural Ireland.
We will support better pay for musicians, writers, visual artists, actors and those involved in set productions through engagement with the Irish Writers Union, the Musicians Union of Ireland, Equity, the Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild and all other relevant bodies.
We will support artists, as the essential component of the arts world, in their lobbying for a better return from publishing and distribution companies, to make the arts a viable employment option.
We will maintain film relief as a way of supporting the Irish film industry.
We will maintain the 9% VAT rate for the tourism and hospitality sector.
Protecting jobs through credit sources and good governance
We will implement in full the Construction Contracts Act to protect sub-contractors.
We will critically engage with the European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF) to ensure Irish micro businesses, cooperatives and social enterprise actors can access much needed financial supports.
We will advocate for strengthened European Union supports for the social and cooperative economy and for investment in the area of 'Green Growth'.
Workers' rights
Ireland has one of the highest rates of low pay in the OECD and of underemployment in the European Union.
Short-hour, low-paid, insecure and precarious work is on the rise, putting undue pressure on workers and their families, who are unable to plan childcare and their finances from week to week.
In advance of the 1918 general election , Sinn Fein produced a hand bill declaring : 'That where Irish resources are being developed or where industries exist, Sinn Feiners shall make it their business to secure that workers are paid a Living Wage.'
A century later, the fundamental aspirations of workers remain the same -fair pay, secure hours and adequate safeguards against exploitation.
Women, migrant workers and young people remain particularly vulnerable to ill-treatment in the workplace, with those working in the retail, hospitality and care sectors faring the worst.
We are determined to create jobs that are long term, sustainable, decent paying and that recognise trade union rights.
Commitments
A better deal for workers
We will increase the National Minimum Wage to €9.6S an hour and continue to track the hourly rate against median earnings and the cost of living.
We support the introduction of a 'Living Wage', and as a first step towards its introduction we will make the public sector a Living Wage employer.
We will amend industrial relations legislation to provide for mandatory trade union recognition and collective bargaining rights.
We will tackle the uncertainty created by insecure and low-hour contracts by introducing legislation that provides for Fair Hours contracts.
We will strengthen compliance and enforcement of employment and workers' rights through legislative changes and by providing additional resources to the Workplace Relations Commission Inspection Services.
The all-Ireland economy
Under the Good Friday Agreement and other agreements there are common sense and practical proposals to develop cross border links.
This is to the mutual benefit of everyone.
Even within the current constitutional arrangements these need to be developed.
Sinn Fein in government, north and south will champion such an approach.
There are no advantages for an island nation of 6.4 million people in having two separate tax regimes, two currencies, two public service systems and two separate, competing economies.
We would all be better off with a sing le economy within Ireland.
A United Ire land would grow the economy north and south.
There are many examples in which a better service has been delivered through an all-Ireland approach, e.g., marketing the island as a whole for tourism, the joint cancer centre in Derry and the delivery of paediatric cardiac care from Dublin on an all-Ireland basis.
The Narrow Water Bridge and the AS upgrade are other examples of projects that would be to our mutual benefit.
Recent academic reports have found that there would be a boost of up to €3S.6 billion in GDP for the island of Ireland in the first eight years of economic unification.
This underlines the importance of pursuing greater integration of our economies.
In government we will advance the Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Report on the All-Island Economy.
Commitments
We will develop the all-Ireland economy, including having a planned approach to economic development across the island of Ireland.
We will start planning for all-island cooperation within public services and identify all-island shared projects from planning stage to completion.
We will create a Border Economic Development Zone to harmonise trade and maximise returns for border business.
We will remove transaction costs for cross border trade.
We will campaign for all-Ireland representation at the EU Commission and Council of Ministers.
We are committed to the AS funding package agreed as part of the Fresh Start Agreement and to working with the Northern Executive to secure additional funding.
We are committed to working with the relevant local authorities, the Executive and the European Union to ensure the Narrow Water Bridge project is completed.
As part of our commitment to develop the North West, we will work with the Executive to ensure that the potential of the North West Gateway Initiative is fully realised.
Donegal and Derry & Strabane Councils will take the lead on this project and we will ensure the necessary matched funding is made available.
We will work with the Executive to ensure the full potential of the Ulster Canal is realised.
An initial funding commitment will be allocated once the Upper Lough Erne to Castle Saunderson section has been completed.
We will ensure that social clauses are built into all joint publicly funded North/South capital projects.
A fair tax system
Sinn Fein in government will deliver a fair tax system.
We will ease the tax burden on the average worker, including those who are self-employed, and asking those who earn the most to pay their fair share.
We view the tax system as a whole.
Tax is not just confined to your pays lip.
Other taxes such as VAT, Water Charges and the Local Property Tax form part of the system and impact on peoples pay.
To illustrate how unfair our tax system is, of the €5.5 billion in tax breaks given in 2012, the Revenue Commissioners estimate that 53% of these went to the top 10% of earners.
The abolition of the Universal Social Charge in its entirety will only add to this unfairness as this move benefits the better off a lot more than someone on an ordinary wage.
For example, End a Kenny, who earns €183,350, will gain €12,21 0 from the abolition of the USC.
Fine Gael's proposed reductions will put more money in the pockets of higher earners,
reducing the availability of money that could and should be spent on reducing waiting times in A&E departments, hiring speech and language therapists to benefit children, and hiring more gardai and teachers.
Commitments
Bringing fairness to the tax system
We will abolish the Local Property Tax, saving 1.8 million homeowners an average of €244 per year.
We will scrap Water Charges, saving a family of two adults €260 per year.
We will make the tax system progressive by removing workers earning under €19,572 from the USC net , benefiting 277,000 workers.
We will ease the tax burden on the self-employed, moving towards the equalisation of the Self-Employed Tax Credit with the PAYE Tax Credit.
Increasing the tax take
We will increase the overall tax take by raising discretionary tax rates, such as the Betting Tax, and by introducing a Sugar Tax.
We will review all margin al tax reliefs, beginning with a staggered reduction of private pension tax reliefs.
We will increase social contributions by introducing a new 15.75% employer's rate of PRSI on the portion of salary paid in excess of € 100,000.
We will target tax fraud and loopholes by allocating additional resources to the Revenue Commissioners to specifically tackle tax evasion and black market activity.
Taxing wealth
We will improve tax equality and increase the tax take, increasing the rates of Capital Acquisition Tax and Capital Gains Tax for passive investments that don't help the real economy and examine the introduction of a Wealth Tax.
We will ask the top 6% of earners to pay an additional 7 cent out of every euro earned on income over €1 00,000.
This new band would be applied on an individual basis and not on the joint income of a couple.
Business tax
We will maintain Corporation Tax at 12.5%.
We will ensure that companies cannot engage in artificial arrangements to avoid tax, and we will engage with international developments for tax fairness and restore Ireland's reputation as a fair, attractive, open and ethical business tax economy.
We will ensure that employees and employers get relief (when the increase in the minimum wage under Sinn Fein is implemented) by increasing employee and employer PRSI bands in line with the increase in the national wage.
Tax relief for charities
We recognise the anomaly where by charities are not afforded the same treatment as many businesses that are able to reclaim VAT incurred and we are concerned that charities' inability to reclaim VAT is hindering their ability to achieve their objectives.
We will, therefore, introduce a capped (€20 million) VAT compensation scheme for charitable organisations.
Improving conditions for public sector workers
We are committed to increased investment in public services.
In health, education, and local government, cuts have put huge pressure on those working in frontline services.
Public sector workers have taken pay cuts of up to 14% on average, with reduced terms and conditions of employment.
We are committed to decent work for decent pay and to reducing the gap between wages at the top and the bottom.
The Lansdowne Road Agreement is imperfect, but it does give something back to those on low and middle incomes.
In government, we will honourthe agreement.
We also intend reducing the pay ofthose in the public sector who earn over €2,000 aweek to bring equality to the system and to protectlower earning public sector workers.
Commitments
The political system leading from the front
We will reduce TDs' salaries to €75 ,000 and Senators ' salaries to €60,000.
We will reduce the salary top-ups of An Taoiseach and Ministers by 50%.
We will reduce excessive pension payments to former Taoisigh, Ministers and top civil servants.
We will cap the pay of special advisors to the Taoiseach and Ministers at €75,000.
Public sector pay agreements
We will honour the terms of the Lansdowne Road Agreement.
We will make the public sector a 'Living Wage' employer.
We will ensure that all future public sector pay agreements are aimed at delivering for low and middle-income workers and achieving greater pay parity, and we have set aside a sum for future pay agreements.
Fairness for public sector workers
We will phase out the use of agency workers through the recruitment of additional frontline staff.
We will reduce senior public management pay by 15% on income earned over €1 00,000 and by 30% on income over €1 50,000 (excluding consultants in hospitals -see detail of health policy)
We will commission an independent review of pay and pensions in the public sector.
Social protection
Social protection payments exist to support and protect the most vulnerable in our society.
Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail all used their terms in office to introduce cuts that have impacted severely on those most in need, while the bankers and their friends who caused Ireland's economic problems got off scot free.
When it mattered, Fianna Fail targeted the young and the old and cut child benefit.
Fine Gael and Labour subsequently promised to protect citizens in receipt of social welfare payments but did the same and worse with their cradle to the grave cuts -from Maternity Benefit to the Bereavement Grant.
They cut young people's Jobseekers' Allowance further and deeper than their predecessor and, most cruelly, cut the Respite Care Grant.
The numbers experiencing two or more types of enforced deprivation, i.e. having to go without basics such as a warm waterproof coat, heating for their home, nutritious food or even minimal social opportunities, has increased from 11.8% in 2007 to 29% , and the number of people living in consistent poverty has almost doubled.
Discrimination in pensions
The Home makers Disregard Scheme seeks to protect the pension rights of people who have left the workforce for a period of time in order to care for a young child or person with an illness or disability.
It is limited to years spent as a homemaker after April 1994 and thousands of women, including those who were subject to the civil service 'marriage bar', are excluded.
Sinn Fe in requested a costing from the Department on the extension of the scheme to cover periods of homemaking prior to 1994 but the Department responded that they could not provide an estimate.
Joan Burton promised to introduce a more expansive Homemakers Credit Scheme, but instead instituted reforms to the pension system that disproportionately hurt these very same women.
The government introduced new rate bands, resulting in new pensioners facing cuts of up to €1 ,497 per year.
Not surprisingly, it is women, in our pension system, who will bear the brunt of these latest cuts.
Commitments
Increases for the most vulnerable and protecting jobseekers from exploitation
We will reinstate the full rate of Jobseekers' Allowance for under 26s; recognise the cost of disability by increasing Disability Allowance by €20;
increase Fuel Allowance, Family Income Supplement and the Back to School Allowance; raise the cut-off age of the One-Parent Family Payment to 12 years old; restore the Bereavement Grant; and introduce a Telephone Allowance.
We will ensure activation schemes are of high quality and support job creation by shutting down the JobBridge and Gateway schemes and making greater use of the JobsPlus and Community Employment Schemes.
Securing a minimum standard of income
We will legislate to provide for the establishment of a Social Protection Adequacy Commission.
The principle function of the commission would be to examine the minimum income required by different household types in receipt of social welfare to secure a Minimum Essential Standard of Living and make associated annual recommendations to the Minister for adjustments to social welfare rates of payment.
The commission would build on the evidence-based consensus budgeting model developed by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice and its membership would include representation from those impacted by budgetary decisions.
Pensions
Pension equality for women will be front and centre in the development of our road map for a sustainable Social Insurance Fund and associated pension reform.
We will reverse the cuts to pension rates and band s by restoring them to their pre September 2012 position.
We will also drop the contributions requirement for state pension eligibility from 520 to 260 contributions.
The current government raised the pension eligibility age to 66, forcing many older people whose employment contracts concluded at 65 years of age onto the dole.
We will reinstate the State Pension (Transition) for 65-year-olds.
Tax reliefs on private pensions disproportionately benefit the wealthiest and have failed to increase pension coverage.
We will standardise these reliefs and reduce the standard fund threshold in order to prioritise and bolster the State pension -the source of income on which the majority of older people depend in retirement.
We will introduce legislation providing for a new Priority Order for the distribution of funds in defined benefit pension schemes that are in deficit to ensure fairer protection for pensioners -active and deferred members alike.
Social Insurance Fund
we will produce a road map to address the long-term deficit in the Social Insurance Fund and place it on a sustainable footing, with a view to ensuring the delivery of fair and accessible income supports.
We will produce legislation introducing, initially on a voluntary basis, an option for the self-employed to pay a new rate of PRSI linked to additional benefits.
Helping people with mortgages
The latest Central Bank figures from the third quarter of2015 tell us that 92,291 family homes are in arrears.
Shockingly, the figures also show that four families a day are losing their homes.
Fine Gael and Labour have acted shamefully from the beginning of the mortgage crisis.
Time after time they have sided with the banks against struggling homeowners.
In one of their most shameful acts, they changed the law to make it easier for banks to repossess family homes and worked with the Central Bank to weaken the Code of Conduct so that banks could put more pressure on homeowners;
all while their schemes to prevent repossessions or so-called voluntary surrenders have been abysmal failures.
We gave a guarded welcome to the introduction of mortgage cap lending rules by the Central Bank.
Though the role of mortgages in the economic collapse has been overstated, reform was needed.
However, better wages and a greater supply of social housing to keep house prices down have an important role to play in making homes affordable.
Commitments
Fairness for mortgage holders
We will make the Central Bank publish data regularly on Irish interest rates so the public can see how they compare to European Union norms.
We will empower the Central Bank to set caps on interest rates chargeable by banks.
We will ensure consumer protection is a key priority of the Central Bank.
Protecting the family home
We will reinstate stronger protection for the family home in legislation.
We will seek amendments to the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Targets to no longer accept repossess ions as 'solutions', thereby putting pressure on banks to find solutions or face consequences such as greater capital requirements (equivalent to fines).
We will ensure banks offer each of the solutions outlined by the Central Bank before repossessing, not just the ones they want to offer.
Supporting people to buy their first home
We will initiate a review of the socio-economic impact of the Central Bank's mortgage rules with a view to ensuring that the rules are working and not making homes unaffordable.
We will increase investment as per our housing polices to offer housing choices outside of mortgages and private ownership/renting.
Dealing with personal debt
We will ensure debt collection services are regulated, with a strong, legally enforceable Code of Conduct.
We will ensure there is a cap on the rates chargeable by those lending money to protect the vulnerable from exploitation.
Protecting consumer rights
We will remove any legal ambiguity over the status of the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears.
We will overhaul the processes and powers of the Financial Services Ombudsman to strengthen its mandate and effectiveness.
We will ensure a change to the rules so that consumers can make a complaint to the Financial Services Ombudsman within two years of when they became aware of an infringement, even outside the normal statute of limitations.
Dealing with the banking sector
After the disastrous Fianna Fail decisions of 2008/2009, the Irish people became owners and part-owners of five banks.
The infamous Anglo Irish and Irish Nationwide were beyond all repair, yet the State rescued them at a cost of €34 billion.
The other rescued banks -AIB, Permanent TSB and Bank of Ireland -survived, albeit with their reputations in tatters and only because of the taxpayer.
The €30 billion taxpayers paid for these banks was only an upfront cost; the knock-on costs of accompanying austerity remain with us today and have damaged society severely.
Despite being owned by the State, these banks have acted appallingly -evicting thousands of families, ripping off many more by moving them off tracker mortgages and by refusing to pass on ECB interest rate cuts.
The State currently owns 14% of Bank of Ireland, 75% of Permanent TSB and over 99% of AIB.
These holdings are economic and strategic assets.
In particular, the handling of the State's ownership of AIB is one of the biggest questions that will face the next government.
For Sinn Fein, the question is not when we should we sell AIB , but whether we should sell what is now a profitable bank.
The State is now receiving dividends from the profits AIB makes.
Any windfall from selling the bank can only be used to write down debt, which may lead to a saving on debt interest, but those savings can be more than offset by the receipt of annual dividends and the benefits of having a State bank investing in the domestic economy.
In their Programme for Government, Fine Gael and Labour said they respected the ethos of the Credit Union movement and recognised that Credit Unions are different to the banks.
However, since 2011 Credit Unions have been subjected to unprecedented restrictions and limitations.
The Credit Union movement has stood with the people through years of hardship and the Irish people have stood with it.
The more than 2.9 million members in 352 credit unions across the State have in excess of €11 billion in savings, €3. 5 billion on loan and more than €13 billion in total assets.
Now is the time to allow Credit Unions to do even more in our communities and for our communities.
Commitments
A better banking sector
We will not be rushed into the sale of any State asset.
The decision to sell any stake in Permanent TSB, Bank of Ireland or AIB must be based on the best interests of the Irish people in the long term.
It is our intention to keep AIB in State ownership for the next five years at least, subject to an application for retrospective recapitalisation at its historic value, during which time a decision based on Irish economic interests will be taken as to whether to retain ownership of AIB or dispose of it in a sensible way.
In any case, we propose that the State remains an important player in the banking sector.
Working with the Central Bank, we will seek to promote greater competition in the banking sector.
The rights of workers in the banking and financial sector must be respected.
Any State-owned bank seeking to outsource or lay off workers must engage fully with trade union representatives and seek suitable agreements.
A better Credit Union sector
We will immediately carry out a review of Credit Union regulations with the aim of reducing the red tape holding back individual Credit Unions and the wider movement from contributing more to our economy.
Such a review would look at lending restrictions, savings caps and restrictions on the types of investments and services Credit Unions can offer, including what more it can do to help develop small businesses.
We will prioritise engagement with the Credit Union sector and ensure its continued essential role in banking.
Dealing with Ireland's legacy debt
The Irish debt/GDP ratio is currently 99.7%.
That means we owe debtors almost as much as every person and company in the state earns per year.
In 2015, we spent €7.1 billion servicing interest on our debt.
To put this in perspective, the total tax take for 2015 was €45.6 billion.
That means for every €1 in tax paid, 16 cent went towards servicing interest payments.
Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour have repeatedly put the interest of banks before that of the economy, of society and of working families.
€64 billion of taxpayers' money was poured into the banks, yet families in mortgage distress and struggling small businesses have been left to fend for themselves.
Commitments
A better approach to tackling debt
We will reopen negotiations at European Union level on the State's legacy banking debt, including preventing the sale of the promissory note bonds currently held at the Central Bank.
We will establish a committee to examine the issue of debt justice and advise the government on options and steps to achieve it for Ireland.
We will apply for retrospective recapitalisation of AIB and Bank of Ireland through the European Stability Mechanism.
We will stand up for Irish interests in the EU to secure debt justice for our State and others.
Part 3
Improved public services and quality of life
A plan for healthcare
Our health system is in a state of crisis.
The current government, and Fianna Fail before them, have presided over a two-tier, failing health service that leaves the elderly without dignity on hospital trolleys, patients waiting years for badly needed medical procedures, and children without the therapies required to walk, talk and reach their potential.
This crisis can be boiled down to two key failings on the part of successive governments: first, an extreme depth of fundamental inequality in how patients are treated, differentiated on ability to pay and location;
and second, the incapacity of the system to deal with demographic pressures, evidenced particularly in our Emergency Departments and maternity care.
This is not acceptable.
Inability to pay should not deny anyone the opportunity to lead a full, long, healthy life.
Having squandered five years in government, Fine Gael and Labour finally jettisoned their ill-advised plan for Universal Health Insurance and they have no alternative, no solution.
Fianna Fail plan to throw a little b it more money into the existing in efficient and unfair system , without reform.
This would be throwing good money after bad.
Universal Health Care, not Universal Health Insurance, is the solution.
Sinn Fein has a costed and credible plan to deliver world class universal healthcare, as detailed in the recently published policy document 'Better for Health'.
By progressively replacing private spending by members of the public with public spending, allied with better stewarding of spending, we can achieve much greater efficiency and fairness.
We can deliver more for the same.
In government we will implement this plan and will be joined by partners across the health system with which we share this most vital objective.
The Irish people deserve nothing less.
Commitments
Begin move to fully free healthcare
We will increase spending on health care by €3.3 billion to move from a failing, two-tier health system towards universal healthcare.
We will roll out both free GP care at a rate of almost a quarter of a million more people each year and free prescription drugs for all.
We will end two-tier access to hospital care, reduce waiting times and deal with the trolley crisis by increasing funding for acute hospitals.
We will increase funding for Healthy Ireland by €200,000 and introduce a sugary drinks tax.
We will establish an independent Patient Advocacy Agency and provide for an Ombudsman to take on individual cases of clinical negligence and adverse outcomes.
We will maximise the potential of all-Ireland cooperation in the field of healthcare.
We will increase funding to the Public Dental Service to allow it to deliver its remit in full and we will further extend the Universal Cycle of Dental Care and Service scheme.
Increasing Capacity
We will recruit 6,600 additional frontline health workers, including consultants, nurses, midwives, dentists and allied health professionals.
We will increase the number of hospital beds per 1 ,000 of the population from the current level of less than 4 to 4.6, with a view to further raising this ratio.
We will increase nursing home beds by 3,800.
We will increase home help hours and home care packages.
We will tackle the crisis in maternity care by recruiting 621 additional midwives and 239 obstetricians/gynaecologists.
Prioritising mental healthcare
We will increase the mental health budget.
We will complete the rollout of Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurses (SCAN).
We will recruit mental health nurses specifically to liaise with homeless services, commencing with 5 in year one.
We will increase the number of inpatient child and adolescent beds to end the inappropriate admission of children to adult psychiatric units.
We will increase provision for people with mental health difficulties and increase funding for counselling in primary care, which currently has long waiting lists.
Tackle immediate crises
We will award an automatic medical card to every child with a serious illness or disability and tackle the poverty trap by introducing a new secure medical card for adults with disabilities, based on medical need.
We will abolish the €100 charge for the use of Emergency Departments and the €75 per day charge for inpatient care.
We will invest in our ambulance services, with an additional eight ambulances and 88 additional staff.
We will prioritise disability services, including respite care and mental healthcare.
We will support older people by increasing home help hours, respite hours and providing additional nursing home beds.
We will legislate for a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment in order to provide for a woman to seek a termination of a pregnancy where her life is at risk or in grave danger, and in cases of rape or incest as well as in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities.
Housing
Fine Gael and Labour have caused chaos in housing.
They failed to invest in social and affordable housing, so there are now officially 89,872 households on local authority waiting lists.
They failed to deal with rents in the private sector and caused rents to increase faster in 2015 than at any time during the boom.
They failed to deal with exorbitant variable mortgage interest rates, pushing families into arrears.
They facilitated the mass sell-off of properties by NAMA to international speculators and vulture funds.
They failed to deal with the consequences of bad quality materials and dodgy building practices during the boom, leaving thousands of families in crisis.
In Bud get 2016, they allocated €17 million to tackle the emergency homeless crisis.
In the same budget, they allocated €28 million to increase the amount in tax free gifts and inheritances.
Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour handed housing policy over to private developers.
This policy has been a disaster.
We now have a national emergency and we need a national response.
Solving the housing crisis requires political will.
Housing will be one of Sinn Fein's key priorities in government.
*Mortgages are dealt with in a separate section of this manifesto.
Commitments
Social and affordable housing
We will launch plans for 2030 - Project 100,000 to bring the State ownership of housing stock to a minimum of 200,000.
This will ensure a build of at least 70,000 social units and at least 30,000 cost purchase and cost rental housing units by 2030.
We will increase requirements under Part V to 20% social and affordable housing on all new developments with 10 % social and at least 10% affordable housing.
We will ensure that all housing construction delivered by the State is designed in mixed tenure developments of social housing with differential rents, sheltered housing, cost rental and cost purchase, alongside good infrastructure and amenities.
Rents
We will review all property-related tax reliefs that encourage speculation for profit.
We will re-examine urgently the practice of capping rent subsidies -simultaneous to the introduction of rent regulations, to ensure rents demanded by landlords do not escalate to meet any increase in the rent cap.
We will create rent certainty by linking rent increases to inflation.
To provide greater security of tenure, we will amend the Residential Tenancy Act to restrict the grounds on which landlords can serve notices to quit.
We will establish a Deposit Retention Scheme, authorising the PRTB to hold private tenancy deposits until the conclusion of a tenancy agreement.
Social, environmental supports & geographic supports
We will end the practice of removing HAP recipients from housing waiting lists.
We will extend the Warmer Homes Scheme to include window and door insulation and increase funding to the grant system.
We will continue to allow and smooth the planning process for the building of houses in rural Ireland as primary residences ,
but ensure this is achieved where the building is sustainable.
Planning regulation & building quality
We will establish an Office of Planning Regulator, with the appointment of a Regulator to be made following open public competition by an Independent Appointments Board.
We will ensure all public areas are finished by developers by requiring lodgment of a realistic bond to cover the works.
We will ensure that developers and/or builders who do not finish their developments to the required standard will be put on a shared LA list and barred from applying for planning permission for further housing developments.
We will ensure that where developers are found to have knowingly put residents at risk in their dwellings through bad building practices, legal and financial proceedings will be brought against those developers and a ban put in place to prevent them from building future developments.
We will include all homeowners whose houses have been built with the Mica Muscovite (weetabix) block and include them in any redress scheme -along with homeowners suffering with pyrite issues.
Homelessness, inclusivity and special needs
We will make an additional €30 million available to LAs and homeless agencies to house the homeless in emergency accommodation in year one of government.
We will frontload funding to Local Authorities with a good track record of drawing down funds and providing Traveller accommodation, with penalties for those who refuse to build needed Traveller accommodation.
We will develop Universal Design and Lifetime Adaptability Guidelines so new buildings can accommodate people with disabilities and save on future adaptation costs.
We will remove blocks on survivors seeking social housing if they are named on a mortgage with their former abuser, as laid out in Sinn Fein's Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2014.
We will increase funding for domestic violence refuges by €5.45 million in year one of government.
Community safety and justice
Communities across this State have felt the serious impact of cutbacks to An Garda Siochana delivered by Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fail since 2010.
Garda numbers are down and 139 garda stations have been closed.
Elderly people and families in rural communities in particular are living in fear.
Morale in the force is at an all-time low, due to scandals arising from profound management failings and an abdication of responsibility for oversight by successive governments.
Our penal system also needs to be reformed.
The latest available figures show it costs €68,959 per annum to imprison one person.
Repeat offending is facilitated by a prison system that fails in its vital rehabilitative role to our society.
Sentencing is inconsistent.
There is much work to do.
Commitments
Gardaí
We will recruit 3,000 gardaí over our government term to restore An Garda Siochana force levels to 14,250, or pre-crisis levels.
We will ensure that An Garda Siochana works in partnership with the PSNI on the new task force to tackle the cross border criminality that plagues communities.
We will reverse the closure of garda stations these closures have provided minimal 'savings' to the state of €556,000 per annum and are a shameful legacy of this government.
We will empower the Policing Authority to oversee the implementation of recommendations from Garda Inspectorate reports over recent years, in partnership with the management of An Garda Siochana.
We will strengthen the role of the Policing Authority and the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission in the oversight of An Garda Siochana.
We will ensure gardaí are adequately skilled to protect and support vulnerable people including work on child sexual exploitation, vulnerable adults, domestic violence, victims of trafficking and people with mental health issues.
We will continue to challenge any inappropriate police behaviour and any failure of duty.
We will legislate for increased powers and resources to be provided to Joint Policing Committees.
Justice system & sentencing
We will establish a Criminal Justice Inspectorate based on the model in the North of Ireland that would be primarily responsible for the oversight and the effectiveness and efficiency of the workings of organisations within the criminal justice sector.
We will establish - through the North South Ministerial Council - an all-island process to deal with the issue of support mechanisms for all of those who were victims of sexual abuse during the conflict.
We will repeal the Offences Against the State Acts.
We will introduce a Sentencing Council that issues sentencing guidelines to the judiciary to ensure accountability and consistency in sentencing.
We will ensure the enactment of a Judicial Council Bill and implement our party's Reform of Judicial Appointments Procedures Bill 2013 to ensure that judicial appointments are always based on merit rather than political affiliation and to ensure that the judiciary are representative of the diverse society that they serve.
We will integrate restorative justice processes into the existing criminal justice system.
We will introduce an enhanced remission scheme on an incentivised basis for certain categories of prisoners, aimed at genuine rehabilitation and reducing recidivism levels.
We will invest the money seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau back to frontline services in the communities worst affected by crime.
We will create a dedicated family courts system aimed at reducing the prolonged stress and cost to families of separation and divorce, backed up by legislation directing families to mediation services prior to entering legal proceedings.
Education
Fine Gael and Labour have seriously damaged education in Ireland.
They have removed supports for children with special needs so they have less time with their Special Needs Assistants and Resource Teachers.
They have increased student fees and removed many grant supports, forcing many third-level students to drop out and leave their courses.
They cut funding to schools, which resulted in students being taught in overcrowded classrooms.
Principals are finding it more and more difficult to cover the basic costs of running a school, including paying for light, heat and insurance.
In many cases, parents have to make up the shortfall.
Teachers who cannot secure full-time employment are told to teach in JobBridge positions.
Teaching principals are overworked and are only given minimal time to engage in the tasks required for running a school.
Many teachers at third level are employed in low paid, in secure positions.
Guidance counselling services in schools have been cut dramatically, leaving students from less well-off backgrounds at a major disadvantage.
Huge numbers of children are regularly excluded from their local school on the basis of their religion.
Yet the government continues to subsidise private schools with millions in taxpayers' money, further entrenching educational in equalities and a two-tier system.
Moves are being made to progressively increase the role of corporate interests in third level institutions.
Sin n Fein believes that education is a basic and fundamental human right and should be available to everyone on the basis of full equality and that academic freedom must be protected.
Commitments
Invest in Education
We will shrink class sizes and gradually reduce the ratio of pupils to teachers from 27:1 to 20:1, beginning with a one point reduction in year one and a further point in year two.
During these first two years we will conclude an analysis of the impact of continuing to reduce the PTR in terms of the need for additional classrooms and schools arising and introduce a capital programme to facilitate the further reduction of class sizes.
We will allocate funding to commence the reduction of the Pupil Teacher Ratio in DEIS schools to 15:1, an objective on which may take a second term of government to deliver.
We will increase the capitation rates for primary and secondary schools by 10% over the term of government and for Youthreach, VTOS and PLCs by 5%.
We will increase teaching principal administration dates to one extra per month and reduce the threshold for acquiring an administrative principal from 178 to 145.
We will defend small schools by reversing changes to the staffing schedule for schools with less than 85 pupils.
We will reverse the cuts to guidance counselling and ensure at least one guidance counsellor per 500 pupils ex-quota.
We will promote adult literacy by providing opportunities for 20, 000 learners to participate in a course leading to a Level 3 or Junior Cert qualification.
We will introduce 1,000 additional apprenticeship places for trainees.
We will invest additional funds to tackle staffing shortages at third level, including Institutes of Technology.
Anti-discrimination
We will end the laws that allow for religious discrimination against children in school admissions and we will support increased diversification of patronage.
Resource inclusive education
We will increase resource-teaching hours for children by 15% and increase funding for SNA provision to facilitate greater access by children with special needs.
We will increase the number of psychologists in NEPS by 10% and ensure cover for maternity and other forms of extended leave.
We will extend funding supports for people with disabilities in higher education to part-time students to make education more accessible.
We will introduce 500 additional places on the Momentum scheme for jobseekers with disabilities.
Reduce the costs of education
We will increase funding to the school meals programme by 40% and the School Books Grant by 30%.
We will also increase the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance by €50.
We will increase the Back to Education Allowance for under 26s to €188.
We will remove PLC fees and end the practice of requiring FAS apprentices to pay pro-rata student contributions.
We will abolish student fees over a term of government by incrementally reducing the student contribution while replacing the revenue lost to the third level institutions through the central exchequer.
We will introduce maintenance grants for postgraduate students and reverse the changes to the adjacent rate of grant so that greater numbers can avail of this support.
We will introduce rules so that schools must have generic school uniform policies to reduce back-to-school costs for families.
We will regulate the payment of voluntary contributions by parents so that they are truly voluntary and so that boards of management are accountable to parents.
Protect through education
We will provide age-appropriate sexual violence, education and prevention programmes for primary and secondary schools.
We will place school guidelines on anti-bullying and addressing diversity as well as guidelines on mental health and suicide awareness policies on a statutory footing, so that they are implemented across all schools to the same high standard.
We will ensure every school has a defibrillator on site.
Pay and promotions
Sinn Fein is opposed to two-tier pay scales.
In future pay negotiations, we will prioritise public sector workers on low to middle incomes, work towards pay equalisation and tackle the casualisation of employment, including for newly qualified teachers.
Childcare
Sinn Fein sees childcare as a public service for both children and parents.
When it works, a State's childcare system can be a huge employer; help with the health and mental development of our youngest children; facilitate parents, especially women, to access the workforce; and be a positive component of economic growth.
This government, like the last, has paid lip-service to the area of childcare.
Under its watch, the average cost of childcare in Ireland ranges between €800 and €1, 100 per month for a single child, depending on location.
Those who can avail of it do so at crippling costs and those who can't are forced to remove themselves from the labour market altogether, or rely on one income to sustain the family.
For employees in the system, childcare work is low-paid with little recognition of the skills involved or the dedication required.
Rather than providing its maximum potential for employment, the sector faces a mass exodus as other areas of the economy recover and offer more in wages than the bare minimum.
Commitments
Affordability and helping parents
We will extend maternity benefit by 6 weeks and allow that portion to be taken by either parent at the end of the current 26 weeks maternity leave.
we will deliver 52 weeks of maternity or parental leave, to be achieved by increasing maternity benefit by 5 weeks in each of the subsequent years of government.
We will increase the rate of maternity benefit paid to allow mothers to avail of their leave without financial hardship.
We will increase it to €260 per week to begin with.
We will cap maximum fees for childcare costs at €180 per week and move to €150 per week (€3.75 per hour) over the term of government.
We will further reduce parents' fees in a second term of government.
Childcare workers' rights and qualifications
We will aim for a 60% degree-led ECCE workforce by 2025, as recommended by the EU-i.e. that 60% of all supervisors, managers, etc, hold degrees.
We will extend the Learner Fund to support progression to Level 7 and 8 qualifications. We will allocate a fund of €80 million over 5 years for this professionalisation.
We will implement rights and standards for child ca re workers and initiate progress towards contract s with professional salaries that provide for CPD planning and preparation.
lnclusivity
We will provide an additional 1,000 SNAs to the ECCE Programme and additional needs training for all childcare employees working with children with special needs.
Quality and regulation
We will increase capitation grants for the Free Pre-School Year by €5 per week to €67.50, and by €9.50 for the higher capitation rate to €82.50.
We will open up the Community Childcare Scheme so that the funding follows the child, not the setting.
We will extend the Community Childcare Subvention scheme by making subsidised places available in privately run early-years services.
We will implement the immediate rollout of Siolta and Aistear through County Childcare Committees (CCCs).
We will ensure consistency in reporting standards and cooperation between investigating services and care providers to ensure quality and standards can be achieved in provision.
We will review supporting agencies to ensure that they are sufficiently funded and to eliminate any duplication of work.
We will increase the number of Tusla inspectors by 30%.
We will move to a person-centred, not service-centred approach to vetting , providing a time-limited passport-type document to ensure continued monitoring of individuals' suitability for working with children, but also to ease the burden of re-vetting for each new position.
The Environment
Sinn Fein is committed to reaching the State's renewable energy targets for 2020.
The State has committed to generating 16% of its overall energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020.
Sinn Fein will introduce measures to grow renewable energy production and to reduce Ireland's carbon emissions.
This will require involvement from the State and at community level.
In addition , in this term of government, we want to address the issue of flood defences.
Our capital expenditure commitment for water and flood investment is outlined in our jobs section.
Energy costs
We will install a dedicated route to the national energy grid for community projects.
We will ensure that all energy projects are subject to the Strategic Environment Assessment; that a Feed -in-Tariff is made available for Solar PV electricity; and that a fair export tariff is given for electricity from micro-generation, with the carbon-offset contribution recognised.
We will invest in retrofitting of housing as a means of carbon reduction and tackling fuel poverty.
In the first instance this will mean extending the warmer homes scheme to windows and doors.
We will oppose any further privatisation of state energy assets.
Sustainable energy
We will keep Ireland free of fracking and nuclear power.
We will bring the Sinn Fein Wind Turbine Regulation Bill 2014 to committee and rema1ntng stages and introduce proper regulation of wind turbines.
We will bring in staged tax measures on offshore oil and gas fields, as outlined by the report by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Natural Resources and Agriculture.
We will engage with climate change experts to set specific targets and create a roadmap to reduce C02 emissions.
We will then develop an interdepartmental strategy to meet carbon emissions reduction targets, and ensure there is innovation in the green economy, the provision of public transportation and so forth.
Flood defences
We will regulate planning to prevent areas being built on or developed which are at risk of flooding, and we will ensure government investment in flood defences.
All planning decisions will fully comply with EU directives on flood mapping to tackle high-risk areas.
We will invest in our water and sewerage, drainage and coastal infrastructure.
We will introduce measures to militate against climate change and its effects, including rising sea levels, storms, coastal flooding, etc.
We will address the market failure of the insurance industry and political failure of the government through its lack of State intervention to provide affordable, capped insurance cover to domestic households and SME properties against high flood risk.
This will involve loo kin g at a Memorandum of Understanding between the government and the insurance industry (similar to Britain), operating within EU State Aid rules, which commits insurers to make flood insurance for high-risk elements available to domestic households and SME properties.
We will establish a single Shannon River Authority to ensure that there is proper coordination of and a robust response from the various agencies responsible when flooding occurs and also that necessary steps are taken to minimise the risk of flooding in the future.
Building communities
Communities throughout the State depend heavily on publicly-supported initiatives and programmes.
Sinn Fein is totally opposed to the privatisation of local community services, with the consequent risk not only to jobs and working conditions
but to the services that have been provided to date.
Funding for the Local Community Development Programme has been slashed by over 40% since 2008.
The overall community and voluntary sector is worth billions to the economy, employs tens of thousands of people, and encompasses around 7,500 charitable, community and voluntary groups, which provide essential services to children, older people, people with disabilities or ill health, drug users, women and Travellers.
We also see sport as having a vital role in developing communities and want to ensure that investment is made in recreational sport first and foremost at community level; and that all sporting bodies, particularly at professional level, are properly funding and governed.
Commitments
Funding security
We will invest an additional € 36 million in Local Community Development Programmes.
We will introduce multi-annual minimum funding to enable community and voluntary organisations to plan ahead.
We will introduce VAT refunds as outlined in the taxation section of this document.
We will amend the Charities Act to provide for the recognition of human rights promotion as a charitable activity.
Community employment
We will reshape and extend Community Employment to recognise it as a path to regular employment and also in recognition that community employment and services are ends in and of themselves.
We will introduce practical supports through professional support staff, advice and guidance, alongside funding to recruit, induct, train and support volunteers.
We will support collective bargaining for all community and voluntary sector workers who currently do not have the ability to negotiate their pay and conditions on a collective basis.
We will fund the roll out of an area-based anti-poverty programme based on the Young Ballymun model.
The programme will focus on prevention and early intervention strategies, working to improve outcomes in education, health and mental health for all children, young people and families in areas with high levels of socio-economic disadvantage.
The programme will start by identifying new pilot areas across the State, including continuing funding for Ballymun.
An all-island approach
We will establish the All-Ireland Consultative Civic Forum to enable communities to learn from best practices being carried out elsewhere in the country and share information and ideas.
Investment in sport
We will invest an additional €42 million in sport at community level.
Working with people with disabilities
Fianna Fail, followed in turn by Fine Gael and the Labour Party, all promised to protect and prioritise people with disabilities.
In power, they did the opposite.
The budget for Disability Services was drastically decreased, the Mobility Allowance scheme was closed, the annual Respite Care Grant was slashed by almost 2 0 per cent, and funding for the Housing Adaptation Grant was more than halved.
Disability Allowance, Household Benefits Package and Fuel Allowance were all reduced.
Educational supports, including Resource Teachers and SNAs, have been diminished.
Medical cards were targeted and the mainstream public services upon which those with disabilities disproportionately depend were decimated.
The outcome of these austerity policies for people with disabilities and their families has been devastating.
People with disabilities remain more than twice as likely to be unemployed compared to the typical population and just 15% of people with an intellectual disability are in employment.
The CSO Survey on Income and Living Conditions published in 2015 shows that 53% of people who are not in work due to disability or illness are experiencing enforced deprivation.
They cannot afford the very basics such as heating their homes, putting food on the table and buying appropriate clothing.
Commitments
Accountability for implementing inclusion
We will give the department of An Taoiseach specific responsibility for Disability Inclusion.
This will ensure a named person with overarching responsibility for the advancement of the rights of people with disabilities sits at the Cabinet table and is party to all decisions affecting people with disabilities.
Dedicated staff in the Department of An Taoiseach will be allocated responsibility for driving the cross-departmental National Disability Strategy Implementation Plans, with the Taoiseach accountable to the Oireachtas.
We will also establish an Oireachtas Committee on Disability Inclusion.
The cost of disability
We will begin to recognise the cost of disability by increasing Disability Allowance by €20.
We will extend an automatic full medical card to every child qualifying for the Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) and introduce a secure medical card for people with disabilities, immune from changes to household finances or employment status.
This is essential, otherwise the medical card system will continue to trap people with disabilities in unemployment and poverty.
Employment
We will tackle further barriers to employment for people with disabilities by opening positive mainstream jobseeker supports to people with disabilities on a voluntary basis; increasing the capacity and promotion of specialist employment supports; securing and rolling out good practice models developed by projects such as WALK PEER and the Integrated Employment and Mental Health Support pilot project; and introducing a new facility for claimants to voluntarily suspend for a time their claim for Disability Allowance if they enter into or increase their employment, without having to make a fresh claim from scratch if they become unable to work once again.
Health care
We will increase investment in disability specific services, personal assistant hours and respite care services, as provided for in Sinn Fein's Health Policy.
Education
We will deliver further on the EPSEN Act 2004 prioritising entitlement to an Individual Education Plan with associated resources for every child with a disability.
To this end, we will increase funding for the provision of resource teachers , SNAs, educational psychology provision and equipment.
We will extend supports to students with disabilities in part-time education currently available only to those in full-time education.
Housing
We will make such funding as the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with Disabilities payable to voluntary housing agencies and private landlords who are willing to adapt to the requirements of a long-term tenant.
We will allow tenants of Local Authorities to claim the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with Disabilities.
We will develop Universal Design and Lifetime Adaptability Guidelines so new buildings can accommodate people with disabilities and save on future adaptation costs.
We will introduce national standards for support for housing adaptation.
The costs of this should be examined and increased incrementally after consultation with the Disability Federation of Ireland, CIF and other stakeholders.
We will develop All-Ireland strategies for accommodation for people with intellectual disabilities and for people who experience mental illness.
We will fully integrate supported housing into the community for people with intellectual disabilities and for people who experience mental illness and increase sheltered accommodation schemes.
Transport
We will introduce a scheme to refund VRT/ VAT for taxi drivers who purchase a wheelchair accessible vehicle, with a clawback provision should they cease to operate within a certain timeframe.
This scheme will support the purchase of 1,000 wheelchair-accessible taxis, which would double the current number and bring us to almost 10% of all public-service vehicle licences.
We will roll out Access Ireland Transport -a major infrastructure programme to make all public transport services fully wheelchair accessible.
We will invest a total of €187 million to replace non-wheelchair accessible vehicles in Bus Eireann subsidised service, construct wheelchair accessible bus stops, and undertake accessibility works to bus stations, railway stations and the train fleet over the term of government.
Part 4
Rural Ireland
Addressing the imbalance
Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Labour have long sinceabandoned rural Ireland.
It received little investmentduring the boom to redress the imbalance of failed policies, and the subsequent austerity policies have all but devastated rural counties.
Cuts have hit communities, families, public services and the local economy.
Austerity has taken away the opportunity for people to live and work in rural Ireland and has forced a generation to emigrate.
Local communities have been disempowered.
Infrastructure has deteriorated as a result of severe cuts to regional and local budgets - affecting roads, broadband delivery and, most noticeably in recent times, flood protection.
Garda stations have been closed.
These closures, which have saved little money, have left elderly people in particular living in fear.
The creation of jobs has been impeded by a number of factors but particularly by the poor quality of infrastructure and a lack of focus by the enterprise development agencies.
Sinn Fe in w ants to make rural Ireland a sustainable place to live and work, where the quality of life is matched by the quality of public services; a place where young educated graduates have theopportunity to stay and build their future and a place that welcomes back emigrants, including those forced to leave over recent years.
The measures out lined below are just a small section of what we've outlined in detail in our more comprehensive policies on rural Ireland, particularly the most recent West of Ireland document, which also includes proposals for the islands.
Commitments
Rural equality
We will introduce a Rural Equality Bill to provide for carrying out rural impact assessments where measures affect rural areas.
In simple terms, all legislation and regulation will be rural-proofed under Sinn Fein, ending discrimination against rural areas.
Open for business
We will develop a new enterprise spatial strategy in order to orientate infrastructural development and IDA and Enterprise Ireland development in a balanced regional manner
We will create a new arm of Enterprise Ireland to assist with the development a new generation of cooperative enterprises.
We are committed to keeping open post offices, libraries, garda stations and other services that connect people with their local towns.
We will guarantee that the Exchequer will make up the shortfall in cuts to leader funding from EU level.
We will end the government's power-grab for LEADER and community development programmes, thus protecting community control and the bottom-up ethos in the rollout of these programmes.
We will increase coordination between all programmes and agencies tasked with rural diversification and economic development.
Broadband, communications & IT
We will make the West the e-commerce focal point of Ireland and provide financial stimulus to build a new generation of micro enterprises and co-ops in rural communities, to be operated in a similar manner to the current High Potential Start Up support scheme run by Enterprise Ireland.
We will oversee the replacement of copper with fibre optic cable and the provision of industrial cable broad band to municipal towns.
We will strive to ensure all householders and businesses have access to a minimum speed of 100Mbps
We will create a digital hub in Galway City through the provision of sufficient broadband levels and IOA/government incentives.
This hub will become a n economic driver in the West and could contribute to rebalancing economic regional development.
We will ensure that mobile phone companies' licences include conditions around the provision of coverage, particularly in rural areas, and that future spectrum licences should be based on geographic coverage instead of percentage coverage.
Rural resettlement & emigration
We will introduce a pilot scheme for rural resettlement.
This will provide are location package of up €5,000, including return flights for qualifying emigrant families to return to rural Ireland.
We will facilitate and support those returning to care for elderly relatives, implementing changes to the habitual residence clause.
Transport & infrastructure
We will ensure that in rural areas with declining population profitability is not the key consideration regarding investment in transport infrastructure.
We will increase funding for the rural transport programme and provide a funding package for improving the condition of rural roads.
We will support the development of Ireland West Airport Knock as a strategically important international gateway to the region through the continued growth of the airport.
We will restore funding to local authorities for the LIS community involvement scheme for non-council roads.
Energy
We will ensure proper regulation of all aspects of wind turbine construction.
This includes proper zoning of areas for wind turbine developments, the duties of planning authorities, setback distances and the responsibility for decommissioning wind turbines.
We will ensure the retention of domestic turbary rights for families in the West of Ireland who cut turf to heat the family home, as has been part of Irish tradition and heritage for centuries.
We will introduce a full legislative ban on tracking.
A good deal for fishing and coastal communities
The natural resources of Ireland belong to the people of Ireland.
Our waters and our fish stocks are some of our most valuable strategic resources, however years of neglect and mismanagement by successive governments have thwarted the potential for a vibrant, sustainable and valuable fishing industry.
European regulations, rigidly and enthusiastically enforced by successive Irish governments, have hurt fishermen, held back our fishing industry
and hampered economic growth in coastal communities.
Sinn Fein is determined to support a rejuvenated fishing industry that is environmentally sustainable and economically viable.
Such an industry could act as an engine for growth and employment in communities up and down our coast, delivering a fair recovery for this neglected sector.
Commitments
Charter of Rights
We will implement a Charter of Rights for the Fishing Industry, setting out the responsibilities of both government and those involved in fishing.
We will repeal the penalty point system currently in place, which criminalises fishermen and devalues their business.
We will reform fisheries management by making fisheries management structures more democratic and by involving fishermen in the collection of independently verifiable scientific data.
We will introduce a sectoral work permit scheme especially for fisheries to ensure that the recruitment of non-EU workers is regulated and that they are afforded the same protections as EU workers.
We will facilitate island cooperatives and development companies in buying fishing licences and/or polyvalent 'tonnage', which could be leased out to island fishermen who wish to enter the industry or to expand their fishing operations.
Fighting in Europe for better conditions for Irish fishing
We will fight for adequate quotas and ensure their fairer distribution amongst Irish fishermen.
We will oppose further cuts to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, which exists to give financial assistance to coastal communities and the fishing industry.
We will pursue at a European level restrictions on factory vessels and super-trawlers in Irish waters.
We will negotiate a reform of the Common Fisheries Policy and related legislation to simplify regulations and put an added emphasis on development in coastal communities.
We will negotiate an increase in draw-down of EU Funds to support the Irish fishing industry through: provision for a Single Boat Payment under a reformed Common Fisheries Policy;
investment in Naval Surveillance to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by foreign vessels; and
investment in health and safety schemes for fishermen.
Innovative methods
We will pursue innovation, diversification and investment in the fisheries sector to:support research and development in fisheries and seafood production, in coastal tourism, and in renewable maritime energy;
promote Ireland as a key hub for fish processing;
examine investment in hatcheries and spawning beds to facilitate restocking native fish species; and
explore capacity for blue growth along the Irish coast.
We will develop an environmentally sustainable cooperative-based aquaculture industry that takes into account international best practice and the Kunterra model in particular.
We will address the inland fisheries conservation practices that have led to dwindling stocks and mass fish kills.
Fairness for farmers
The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has provided great support for farmers.
Unfortunately, many of its measures and how they are interpreted by Department officials in Ireland has made accessing CAP payments and adhering to programmes unnecessarily troublesome to farmers, particularly with regard to onsite inspections.
It is possible to introduce a system that ensures that our environment is protected and that consumers can continue to have full confidence in our produce without an excess of bureaucracy.
We have been calling for CAP simplification and particularly less burdensome site inspections involving longer periods of notice, introduction of a yellow card system, immediate reports of breaches and more proportionate penalties.
Inspections must be carried out in a mutually respectful manner, aimed at improving farming methods and increasing compliance, not just at penalising farmers at every turn.
In June 2014, following a period of intensive consultation with farming stakeholders, Minister Michelle O'Neill outlined how the new Common Agriculture Policy will look for farmers in the North.
In the new CAP, Minister O'Neill fought hard to ensure a more equitable and fair allocation of single farm payments.
The successfully negotiated changes will see a short transition period of seven years towards flat rate payments.
This will tackle years of imbalance, which particularly impacted on our hill farmers.
Minister O'Neill also brought forward a £250 million Farm Business Improvement Scheme and a Young Farmers ' Scheme to provide a financial incentive for our younger farmers, helping them make necessary adjustments and improvements to their farms.
These decisions form part of the minister's 'Going For Growth' strategy, which aims to create 15 ,000 new agri-food jobs, as well as growing exports and sales 60% by 2020.
This is what can be achieved with a Sinn Fein minister in charge.
Commitments
Farming rights
We will implement the Charter of Rights for Farmers and will implement them so that direct payments and farm schemes can be delivered to farmers efficiently and speedily, with the minimum bureaucracy and in a spirit of constructive cooperation between farmers, farm organisations and the organs of the state.
The new Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) is taking money from the most vulnerable farmers, particularly in the West, by demanding clawbacks and imposing penalties.
One-third of farmers who received reductions have appealed the Department's decision and to date 45% of these appeals have been fully or partially successful.
We are calling for an amnesty (for those who made claims in good faith) for retrospective penalties levied on LPIS overclaims and for refunds to be issued immediately.
We will establish a €12 million compensation fund for Hen Harrier designated conservation lands.
We are committed to the principles of food sovereignty, which in the case of Ireland means no GMO, no hormones in beef and the survival of the family farm as we know it.
It also includes the maintenance of our agri-food industry under Irish control and with ecological standards that we now regard as the norm, but which, in fact, are unique within the industrialised world.
We will encourage more Irish food producers and farmers to apply for EU certification schemes such as PDOs (protected designations of origin), PGIs (protected geographical indications) and TSIs (traditional speciality indications) to promote and protect special and artisan local brands.
We will maintain the concept of income averaging for taxation purposes to compensate farmers for extreme income volatility.
Less bureaucracy
We will work for the simplification of the Beef Data Genomics Programme to encourage wider uptake.
We will instigate another round of applications to ensure full use of the fund allocated for this scheme.
We will publish clear guidelines for farmers applying for Areas of Natural Constraint payments to avoid the lengthy waiting period thousands of farmers endured in 2015.
We will set up an effective communication system for farmers to contact the department to enquire about the status of their applications so that those in need are not left in the dark.
TTIP
We will continue to oppose the current Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the free trade and investment treaty being negotiated between the EU and the USA.
TIIP is a bad deal for Irish agriculture as well as for consumers, citizens and workers.
The Copenhagen Economics Report commissioned by the Irish government has warned that the State's beef sector is expected to contract by between one and three percent, equivalent to €25 million-€45 million, as a result of TIIP.
Agricultural protection and rural proofing must be a red line issue in the ongoing EU-US trade negotiations.
Price assurances & income
We will restore €5 million of Farm Assist -this measure reduces the assessment of means from self-employment, including farming, to 85% and reinstates the deductions from income in respect of children that were discontinued in 2013.
We will create an additional 500 places on the Rural Social Scheme, expanding the current number of scheme places by 20%.
We support an increased short-term intervention price for m ilk and other safety net measures to protect smaller dairy farmers facing price volatility since quota abolition.
We will introduce legislation to oversee and regulate pricing, introducing transparency, including daily reporting of prices paid by processers to farmers and prices paid by retailers to processors and its comparison with retail prices paid by consumers.
We will establish an all-island agri-food label for Irish produce.
New EU la belling regulation, in force since April 2015, demands that the country of origin must be on the label of all foodstuffs.
The partition of Ireland creates an anomalous situation whereby an animal reared in the North and slaughtered in the South must be labelled as "mixed origin" , that is, British beef slaughtered in Ireland.
The reputation of Irish meat, whether beef, lamb or pork, is second to none; foreign buyers do not want a label which indicates "mixed" origin.
Sinn Fein has called on the EU Commission to introduce measures to develop an all-island label and other measures to ensure a more integrated agricultural sector in Ireland.
We will reintroduce the Groceries Order with immediate effect to combat be low-cost selling of products and return to fair prices for producers and fair competition between mega supermarkets and smaller independent retailers.
The repeal of the Groceries Order in 2005 enabled large supermarket chains to lower prices on certain high-profile items to be used as loss leaders to attract customers.
This has sent many smaller retailers to the wall while dramatically driving farm gate pri ces down for farmers.
Independent Alliance
Charter for Government 2016
This Charter provides the basis for a radical, but responsible, government for Ireland in 2016 and beyond.
We Independents have resolved to retain our independence.
However, we recognise the need for stable government.
We are willing to support a government in votes of confidence provided our principles and priorities are adequately and vigorously addressed in legislation.
We are open to several alternative ways of ensuring that our programme is implemented.
We are only prepared to accept seats in cabinet if that is the best way of seeing that our principles are advanced.
If we support a government we will nonetheless reserve our right to vote and speak on all legislation according to the needs of citizens and the guidance of our individual consciences.
We are willing to negotiate with government before the introduction of such legislation, but the final arbiter will be the Oireachtas, not the cabinet.
Good legislation will be passed, bad legislation improved or even defeated.
The government will not fall.
Stability will be provided.
We will not support any government shown to be corrupt or to have promoted illegal activity.
We have set out our principles, to reform the way Ireland is governed.
1. Cronyism has contaminated Irish politics for decades.
We believe politicians of all parties have grossly abused their power.
We will insist that they surrender the right to make political appointments.
This demand includes the end of the practice of a party in government putting its favourites on the boards of state bodies, into the judiciary, the top ranks of the Gardai and the Central Bank Commission.
Independent bodies must be set up which exclude all politicians from the ranks of those making such choices.
Political patronage and cronyism will end.
2. We will insist on far-reaching Oireachtas Reform, first by ensuring that no party whip is imposed on our own members.
The reform must be more than token window- dressing.
It will include a fundamental change in the operation of Oireachtas committees, the time given to questions, the abuse of the guillotine and the interaction with Seanad Éireann.
We will require any incoming government to implement the Seanad Reform Bill introduced by Independent Alliance Parliamentary Chairman, Senator Feargal Quinn.
We will seek a veto on any nominee to the posts of both Attorney General and Minister for Justice.
3. We will make it a precondition for any incoming government that the needs of rural Ireland are addressed and the neglect of our countryside, of our rural towns and of our villages, ends.
We will prioritise the development of a functioning rural broadband infrastructure.
The closure of rural post offices and Garda stations has done massive damage to the social fabric of rural communities.
The creation of new, stable jobs needs to be distributed nationwide for everyone to feel the benefits.
The neglected rural transport network must be rebuilt.
A full and functioning, customer-led banking system should be set up in smaller towns and villages.
The requirement for a fairer distribution of CAP payments is paramount if we are to deliver the necessary economic stimulus.
4. We do not accept establishment claims that the banks have implemented meaningful reform.
Insiders still call the shots in the financial institutions.
Proposals to sell off Allied Irish Banks before the sick banking culture has changed must be postponed.
The policy of promoting “pillar banks” is leading towards a duopoly.
No Irish government should be allowed to privatise the banks until competition and other reforms are firmly restored or enacted.
Middle Ireland needs protection to combat the banks’ role as their persecutors- in- chief.
5. We will not tolerate discrimination of any type, whether it is on the basis of gender, race, age, creed or otherwise.
We believe in equal access for all to health and education.
Children must be cherished, recognising that smart investment in our young people is a progressive way to secure Ireland’s future.
6. We will prioritise the needs of small business.
We recognise the contribution made by the self- employed entrepreneur to the Irish economy at a time when equally necessary multinationals are receiving favourable tax treatment.
All those who provide jobs for the Irish economy must receive appropriate recognition and equitable treatment.
7.  Insiders, a plague on Irish public life, must be outed.
Lack of transparency and excessive salaries in government-supported bodies, like the Central Remedial Clinic and other charities, have already been exposed.
Elsewhere powerful lobby groups, like the Irish Farmers Association, have failed to reveal important information to their members.
These practices must end.
Successive governments have lived happily alongside the unacceptable governance culture of many of these insiders.
8. Ireland should remain within the European Union.
But we will not support any government that continues to play second fiddle to other countries in Europe.
We will not permit any coalition of which we are part to pursue the path of deference to powerful European leaders.
Ireland must challenge the European consensus, dominated by the needs of Germany and France.
We must no longer be one of a group of small nations, obedient observers at the tables of the rich countries.
Proposals from Europe that are an obstacle to progress should be opposed, not rubber-stamped.
9. Ireland’s most vulnerable must be protected.
We will sign a separate, binding pact with any other group in government that the sick, the elderly, those worst- off in society and those with additional needs, must be given priority.
We will insist this pledge is underpinned by legislation, including the enactment of our Equality of Access (Down’s Syndrome) Bill within the first six months of government.
The next government should ratify the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities, without delay.
10. Criminals are winning the battle against crime.
Serial offenders should not be given the privilege of bail.
Our prisons should not be full of minor offenders who pose no threat to society.
Garda morale is consequently at a low ebb.
Community policing has been neglected.
As a result, Garda intelligence-gathering has failed to stop the spike in burglaries and other offences.
Garda whistle-blowers have been treated shamefully.
A complete overhaul of our Justice system is necessary.
Our mission is nothing less than to end the abuses born out of civil war politics.
We abhor the phoney differences dominating Irish public life, a legacy of the contrived political battles waged between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and Labour.
Unlike them, we will not do any special constituency deals as a price for going into government.
The Independent Alliance is a unique force in Irish politics.
We deplore the party whip imposed by all other groups, large or small.
We aim to change Irish politics radically, whether in or out of cabinet.
This is our Charter for change.
SOCIAL CREDIT
OFFERS A REAL
ALTERNATIVE
Too many New Zealanders are being hurt today by high and unfair taxation,
high real interest rates,
excessive Government red tape,
and loss of job opportunity.
The New Zealand Social Credit Party wants to distribute the resources of this country more fairly to stop this hurting,
and provide everyone with a fair share of the income they produce.
Social Credit offers New Zealand a different political philosophy, and a different economic system.
This modern approach is reflected in the comprehensive policies which the party has in all sectors of the economy.
Social Credit believes in true individual and cooperative enterprise,
in structuring a society which gives people the maximum degree of freedom and individual choice to lead the fullest possible life.
Government must serve the people, not dominate them.
A PROPERTY OWNING DEMOCRACY
Every person has the right to own his own home, farm or business.
Unfortunately, for many people, high interest rates, heavy taxes and soaring costs are making this dream an impossible one.
New policies are needed which will distribute the country's resources more fairly.
Social Credit wants ALL New Zealanders to receive a just share of the wealth they produce.
The economic and financial systems must be reformed to allow a greater spread of private ownership of property and production throughout society, so that economic power and therefore political control is more widely distributed at all levels.
A NEW SOCIETY
Social Credit's new society will be one of
(a) self-employed, owner-operators
(b) co-operative ventures
(c) worker participation and shareholding.
All of this will be built on incentives rather than the wielding of a big stick.
New Zealanders will have a greater say in the running of their own affairs, nationally and locally, and more freedom of choice.
As a nation we will be able to stand on our own two feet and hold our heads high again.
We welcome the benefits of the new technology which will enable people to enjoy more leisure and be creative.
The League's policies have been designed for New Zealand conditions NOW.
They provide realistic solutions to our current problems and look forward  to the future.
SOCIAL CREDIT IS FOR:
* Financial Reform
* Individual Enterprise
* Racial Harmony
* Decentralisation of Power
* Conservation of Natural Resources
* Law And Order
* Stable Prices
* Sovereign Independence
* Political Honesty
* Real Democracy
* Security
With Freedom
* Balanced Communities
SOCIAL CREDIT IS AGAINST:
* Financial Exploitation
* Monopoly Growth
* Racial Discrimination
* Increasing Bureaucracy
* Centralism
* Inflation
x Foreign Takeovers
x Political Expediency
* Abuse Of The Environment
* Breakdown Of Family Unit
AGRICULTURE
The most efficient farmer is the owner-occupier.
Social Credit farming policy will provide security of ownership,
promote further development and settlement,
assist with erosion control,
and ensure necessary incentives for further production.
This will be achieved by stabilising costs,
reducing taxation (for farm workers as well),
providing finance at reasonable rates,
and providing adequate rural services.
Social Credit will assure the farmer his costs of production, including a reasonable profit.
We will see that he is paid for his valuable overseas earnings, at their internal cost in N.Z. dollars, and at a variable premium.
Farmer-worker co-operative freezing works will lead to extended killing seasons, and fewer strikes.
Social Credit supports orderly export marketing both by private interests and co-operatives.
For young farmers we will introduce a special lease buy scheme with low rental, cheap loans, and right of purchase.
Economic family units will be exempt from death duties.
A new rating system based on land classification will be introduced;
the purchase of economic units by non-farming interests will be halted;
and energy farming for fuel alcohol will help to replace oil imports.
BROADCASTING
Social Credit is committed to a free and responsible media,
private enterprise participation,
educational television,
and FM radio.
We will provide open access to the media by multi-cultural groups,
give Maoritanga more television prominence,
and provide news programmes for the deaf.
Community radio stations
will he fostered and overseas broadcasts reintroduced.
For those alleging bias and unfair treatment there will be a right of appeal to the Supreme Court.
CULTURE AND THE ARTS
Social Credit aims to create a cultural environment in which the arts can flourish.
We will promote professionalism,
provide adequate facilities for training,
make the arts accessible to all regions of New Zealand,
develop home-grown New Zealand art,
and encourage Maori and Pacific Island arts.
We support the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council and will supply it with triennial grants, to enable forward planning, which will be inflation-indexed.
We will investigate a tax deferment scheme for professional artists,
support the establishment of a National School of Performing Arts,
promote a greater level of New Zealand content in television programmes
and aid the growth of the nation's movie industry.
Other policies include support for the Historic Places Trust,
national and regional archives,
the craft industry,
and civic and regional arts' festivals.
Tax concessions will be provided for business sponsors.
DEFENCE
Social Credit will adopt a self-reliant policy of Armed Neutrality, providing real security for the nation for the first time since the advent of nuclear deterrence,
a world initiative towards a saner path to peace,
withdrawal from the ANZUS Pact,
the establishment of a Nuclear Free Zone in New Zealand's 20O mile EEZ
and encouragement for other South Pacific nations to co-operate in expanding that zone.
This will be achieved at no extra cost, by re-organising the present armed services,
re-equipping them where possible from New Zealand industry,
use of appropriate new technology
and by harnessing the huge potential of our people for emergency self help in co-ordinated security and civil defence.
Key elements in this policy are:- -
* The Navy and Air Force will be responsible for surveillance, patrol and interdiction in New Zealand's economic zone, including the policing of the nuclear free zone
* A national defence system will be established, using specialist commando units, specialising in airborne, amphibious and mountain defence.
* All citizens would be encouraged to obtain a background knowledge of civil defence,
and would undertake community projects with the defence corps.
EDUCATION
Education is so important to the country's future that it will have the highest priority in Government expenditure.
Our policy is built on the following principles:
all-round development and independence of the individual person,
training in basic skills,
equality of opportunity,
multi-culturalism,
the spirit of co-operation,
diversity
and freedom of choice,
continuing education from infancy to old age,
and education for a technological society.
We will foster decentralisation of administration,
and greater local and parental involvement in decision-making.
School buildings will be designed more flexibly, and the community will be encouraged to make greater use of them.
Detailed policy includes more professional status for teachers,
study leave,
periodic return to the classroom of college lecturers,
regional education centres and resource libraries,
smaller classes and schools,
support for independent schools,
an open university,
summer schools,
education shops,
schemes for wholesome school lunches,
a boost for physical education
and early childhood education,
a Certificate of Attainment for all school leavers.
annually renewable student bursaries automatically rising with increases in the cost of tertiary study,
and an investigation into the idea of Junior and Senior High Schools.
ENERGY
Our aim is energy self-sufficiency,
a sustainable level of economic growth,
and the careful husbanding (and the curbing of exports) of our non-renewable resources, including coal.
To conserve energy we will stagger working hours, and encourage more efficient use of energy in homes and industry by a massive public education campaign on television.
Our resources will not be exploited by overseas interests,
and New Zealanders will have a majority shareholding in any oil strikes.
We will develop the full potential of our geothermal resources, avoiding the present huge waste;
organically produce methane:
research alternative forms, e.g.  solar, wind, wave, tidal;
produce fuel from wood and crops;
and encourage local power plants.
We oppose nuclear fission power stations.
Coal will be fully utilised for fertilizer, dyes, fuel
... and natural gas will be used as a premium fuel, reticulated to both Islands.
Private service stations will retail CNG, and incentives will encourage the use of gas in homes, industry and transport.
The Electricity Department will be converted into a public Energy Corporation,
and authorities will be charged a uniform price.
South Island domestic and industrial users will have their price discounted.
ENVIRONMENT
Protection of the environment, human well-being, and ecological sanity should dominate economics, not vice-versa.
We oppose foreign interests buying New Zealand land titles and mining rights unless it can be proved definitely to be to our advantage.
Social Credit will preserve wilderness areas,
promote sustainable yields from forest and sea.
balance regional development,
and fight pollution.
Any proposed development and use of natural resources will entail a full cost-benefit analysis, including social and environmental costs, and public involvement.
A legally enforceable Conservation Code will ensure that all commercial and industrial development conserves our natural resources and protects them against exploitation.
We will set up environmental zones throughout the country.
A Nature Conservancy will plan long-term, co-ordinate environmental research, and promote full, multiple use of the land.
Social Credit aims to recycle all agricultural, industrial and municipal wastes,
subsidise greater use of organic manures,
mechanically harvest and process lakeweed,
use pesticides more carefully and gradually replace them with better alternatives.
Logging will cease in North Island virgin forests,
and small native bush reserves will be vested in the Forest and Bird/Acclimatisation Societies for better protection of rare species.
Highways will be separated from residential zones by grass and tree strips,
there will be a greater emphasis on public transport,
and smokeless zones will provide healthier living in our cities.
Litter penalties will be strengthened
We will work internationally to prevent nuclear pollution
and to outlaw the dumping of radioactive waste on the seabed.
FINANCE
Social Credit will introduce financial reforms which will restore to the people the ownership of their own money system.
We will move unnecessary internal debt which is clogging up humanitarian progress,
repay overseas loans as soon as possible,
properly balance the total amount of purchasing power in the community with the production of goods and services,
provide cheaper loans for Government and local boy purposes to reduce costs,
and encourage investment in private and local industry.
We will not borrow from the International Monetary Fund.
Social Credit will stabilise the price of living by introducing a compensating price scheme on essential consumer goods.
We will further protect the consumer by governing business monopolies and takeovers and by overhauling hire purchase schemes.
Tax reforms include reduction in income taxes instead of wage increases,
increased rebate on overtime taxes,
and the abolition of death duties to a level which protects the family home, business and farm.
Company tax will be revised to ensure greater equity and incentive.
Social Credit will encourage the Credit Union movement and similar co-operative savings groups.
Trading banks will maintain normal relations with their customers.
Trustee Banks will be changed into Regional Development Banks, with savings on term deposit being guaranteed against inflation.
Savings institutions will be encouraged to invest in local, private industry.
A minimum living wage will be established.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Social Credit's foreign policy is built on the principle of sovereign independence of action in international relations.
We will re-examine economic, trading and military agreements in this light.
We will establish diplomatic relations with any country irrespective of political system or belief,
and promote trading ties with underdeveloped countries.
We will support the United Nations and its agencies insofar as they work for true freedom, peace and economic security,
and speak out more on matters of global importance.
Peace Studies will be established in a university and in schools.
We will adopt an active role in international mediation,
support the Gleneagles Agreement,
and promote a nuclear-armaments-free zone in the South Pacific.
Economic and cultural co-operation with nations of the Pacific Basin and South-East Asia will be expanded.
We will promote bilateral trade,
reduce restrictions and tariffs on imports where possible,
and provide assistance for educational programmes and local industry.
We affirm our allegiance to the British Crown and Commonwealth
FORESTRY
Social Credit recognises the importance of forests and trees to the community in a wide variety of ways - timber, recreation, protection of animals, shelter, control of erosion and pollution ...
They should be carefully managed for the benefit of present and future generations.
Social Credit's guidelines for production forest include correct land usage, crop diversification, management for high and sustained yields, and the most modern refinements to technique.
We will increase the area of land under forest by providing tax concessions for farm forestry,
leasing suitable land from private owners,
and encouraging co-operative ventures.
We favour the complete use of the whole tree, including branches, leaves and bark, for building, furniture, pulp, paper, paints, dyes, fuel ...
Processed products will be exported in preference to raw logs.
HEALTH
Social Credit will emphasise preventive medicine,
public health education,
decentralisation of administration,
operational efficiency,
support for voluntary organisations,
small community hospitals,
community fellowship cottages for the elderly,
freedom of choice,
a more enlightened attitude to mental health,
community-type maternity hospitals,
and increased help for the mentally handicapped.
The pressure on hospital beds will be eased by the provision of full outpatient facilities with day recovery beds.
Public education on the dangers of alcohol, smoking and drug abuse will be stepped up.
Drug addicts will be registered and treated through special clinics.
Social Credit will support cancer and cardiac research as well as research into all aspects of occupational health.
A Sociological Research Centre will investigate serious problems e.g.  crime and violence, illegitimacy, alcoholism
We will encourage mental health associations and expand extramural care.
Alternative forms of medical care e.g.  homeopathy, chiropractic, will be recognised.
The ambulance service will be standardised.
HOUSING
Everyone has the right to acquire his own home, without financial hardship.
All first home buyers will be eligible for Housing Corporation finance, with an interest rate progressively reduced to no more than 3%.
Home ownership accounts will be inflation-proofed.
The development and renovation of existing houses will compete equally for loans with new constructions.
New design standards will allow for greater variety and ensure privacy.
In urban areas more emphasis will be placed on the multi-use functions of buildings, and user research on new buildings.
Speculation of land adjacent to major urban areas will be stopped.
Co-operative housing will be encouraged, especially for low-rise apartments in inner suburbs and for housing on rural land, to assist self-supporting rural communities.
Rates will be related to services enjoyed.
Rates, maintenance and interest charges on mortgages raised for a first-home purchase will he tax deductible.
Steady, long-term policies will aid the building industry to plan confidently.
IMMIGRATION
Each application will be considered in its own right regardless of race, colour or creed,
having regard for our specific needs
and humanitarian obligations to refugees and displaced persons.
Employment of New Zealanders will be safeguarded and an acceptable level of social and economic services maintained.
Special regard will be paid to requests from permanent New Zealand residents to sponsor spouses, dependents and relatives to New Zealand where not covered by present immigration rules.
Special advice and education will be given to all immigrants, especially from the Pacific, about New Zealand language, work and way of life.
Voluntary, community groups engaged in refugee and migrant settlement will be encouraged.
Free movement of people between Australia and New Zealand will be retained.
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Reform will be based on co-operation and harmony, a joint responsibility by employers and workers, a multi-skill team.
Using incentives and collective-agreement contracts Social Credit will foster mutual employer-worker shareholding and profit-sharing,
and worker participation in industrial management and planning.
We favour the amalgamation of unions into industrial unions representing all workers in related industries throughout the country:
industrial councils will represent all workers at one place of work.
We uphold the principle of conciliation and arbitration in industrial disputes.
The Minister of Labour will be a single, full-time portfolio.
Social Credit believes in full employment,
will introduce new policies to create new jobs,
and redundant workers will be assisted in re-establishing themselves.
Other policies include job-sharing,
margins for skill,
staggering annual holidays,
improving working conditions,
lessening drudgery through the use of technology
and working towards a shorter working week and more leisure time.
LAW REFORM
A Bill of Rights will be introduced to limit the power of government and safeguard the individual against the invasion of rights and liberties, especially in respect to modern bugging devices and computer data banks.
The S.I.S. Act will be amended so that only the Chief Justice will have power to issue interception warrants, and the definition of its activities revised.
Penalties for crimes will emphasise restitution to the injured party;
and alternatives to imprisonment for some crimes will be investigated with a view to rehabilitation e.g.  heavier fines, confiscation, forced community service ...
Policies include increasing the police force,
providing additional welfare officers in courts and prisons,
supporting neighbourhood law offices,
overhauling legal aid,
and establishing more small claims courts.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Social Credit firmly believes that people should be able to participate fully in, and have control over, their own affairs.
It supports, therefore, decentralisation of government and a strong community identity.
Social Credit opposes the United Council concept,
will make provision forward representation,
and will involve the public more in urban planning.
Loans for the development of basic community amenities will be made available at an administrative charge only,
subject to approval by the Local Authorities' Loans Board.
This will speed development and help to halt the continual rise in rates.
The following will be fully investigated: a citizens' tax, revenue-sharing with central government, and rating based on urban town planning and rural land classification.
We will boost pensioner housing.
urban renewal,
and the composting of sewage wastes.
Councillors will be required to declare their financial interests.
MARINE
Social Credit will give high priority to the research of our strategic fishing grounds, so that planned use can be made of them by our own fleets.
Finance will be made available to assist the fishing industry to build up a fleet of vessels and to process for export.
Individual and co-operative ownership will be encouraged.
Every step will be taken to protect our fishing grounds from damage.
Territorial limits will be extended to 50 miles.
We will establish a university Chair of Aquaculture, and a school of fishing at a selected technical institute.
Crayfish will be harvested in rotation by zoning.
OVERSEAS TRADE
Present protectionist policies create friction, conflict, and prevent New Zealand gaining access to n any international markets.
Social Credit will promote bilateral and reciprocal trade with countries other than traditional markets,
and gradually reduce tariffs.
Trade with Pacific nations will -e extended and we will work towards a Pacific Free Trade Association.
An Export Credit Account will be established for those countries wishing to trade on a reciprocal basis.
Credits will be at a nominal rate of interest only, in order to promote economic justice rather than charitable aid.
A Board of Trade will be set up to allocate our export earnings on a long-term priority basis in terms of our imports and internal needs.
More professionalism will be fostered in marketing,
the processing of primary products expanded,
and a diversity of new products developed.
PARLIAMENTARY REFORM
Social Credit will curb executive power and upgrade parliament as a decision-making body.
We will recognise all political groups and independents within the parliamentary process instead of just two parties.
The Speaker will not be a party-political appointment.
Measures will be introduced to prevent laws being passed too hastily.
Free votes will take place on conscience matters.
The committee system will be streamlined a
nd proceedings open to the public.
A code of ethics will restrict personal attacks on people both inside and outside parliament.
M.P. 's will also be required to disclose their financial affairs.
Elections will be conducted under a proportional representation system,
and there will be a greater use of referenda on important issues,
and a common roll for all New Zealanders.
RACE RELATIONS
Social Credit will foster a multi-racial, multi-cultural society.
The needs of urbanised Polynesians will be met by experimentation with new culturally-oriented, housing designs,
the establishment of a race relations research centre.
the building of community centres.
the appointment of vocational guidance officers,
the extension of orientation courses.
We will promote the Maori culture so that all New Zealanders become more conscious of their heritage.
Houses will be able to be built on and near maraes.
The land and citizenship provisions of the Treaty of Waitangi will be ratified non-retrospectively.
Maori people should be able to decide themselves whether they should control their own lands and assets.
They will be encouraged to place fragmented land under a co-operative.
A referendum on the Maori seats will be held at a general election.
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Companies will be encouraged to establish industries in smaller centres, with maximum local shareholding.
We favour low capital, high labour-content operations, preferably based on local resources, rather than isolated huge industries.
We will foster integrated, self-contained communities,
subsidise transport costs of all decentralised companies.
improve housing,
educational
and cultural amenities
, and expand feeder rail and air services.
The full policy will be announced during the election.
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
Social Credit will reform the D.S.I.R. into a Scientific and Industrial Research Corporation.
It will research all aspects of primary and secondary industry,
relate pay scales to overseas,
investigate modern equipment,
and provide opportunity for scientists to visit overseas.
The Corporation will initiate research into many areas affecting human health, e.g.  the problem of waste.
More information will be disclosed to the public.
SECONDARY INDUSTRY
The growing trends towards overseas control will be halted.
We will establish industries based on our own raw materials,
and will expand industrial research,
provide realistic tax incentives,
ensure an adequate flow of imports of necessary raw materials,
develop greater co-operation between workers and management,
establish assured markets for exports,
and liberalise transport regulations to promote greater economy and efficiency.
SOCIAL WELFARE
Social Credit will promote self-help rather than dependence,
greater local responsibility,
strengthen family life,
and improve support for voluntary agencies.
A minimum net weekly income which provides a good standard of living for the single income family will be assured.
A rehabilitation division will be established to service the needs of the disabled, e.g.  supportive community complexes.
Social work services will be improved, and travel awards offered for study.
Where sufficient support exists Karitane hospitals will be re-established,
and neighbourhood centres, creches, and day-care centres at work and study places established.
The foster system will be upgraded.
The superannuation scheme will be revised to ensure the benefit is improved for those in need.
Accident compensation will cover disabling sickness e.g.  multiple sclerosis.
SPORT AND RECREATION
Social Credit will reduce Government control and direction,
protect outdoor recreation areas from damage by huge developments,
and improve training and coaching facilities, including those at schools.
Policies include sports scholarships for summer school advanced training,
easier access to natural areas and state forests,
stricter noise controls in recreational areas,
support for the work of Acclimatisation Societies,
and restricted access to wilderness and marine reserves.
Participants who achieve international ranking will have tax deductions on the sales tax and import duties on sports equipment, as well as travel and accommodation costs.
TOURISM
Our natural scenic beauty will be conserved as a national asset for the enjoyment of future generations.
Imagination, planning and promotional incentives are required, to provide facilities for the increasing numbers of tourists and the earning of valuable overseas exchange.
We will encourage the private development of hotels and resorts
, and liberalise the aviation industry to make it more competitive.
We align ourselves with all sporting organisations opposed to takeovers of our inherited sporting and recreational rights in our national parks.
TRANSPORT
Our aim is to integrate the industry for the overall benefit of the nation.
While profitable operation will be encouraged, the social needs of people will be our first concern.
The railways will be formed into a public corporation
with modernisation,
training in new technology,
electrification of main lines,
and the building of new track to provincial centres as top priorities.
There will be research into urban rail passenger services,
the integration of bus and rail systems,
/ and fast, frequent inner-city services.
Policies include the abolition of road user charges,
encouragement of short-haul rail-link systems,
reintroduction of the Wellington-Lyttleton ferry,
promotion of the `iron bridge' concept for the Picton link
, the development of coastal shipping,
and private feeder air services.
YOUTH
Social Credit will encourage all groups and societies responsible for youth activities e.g.  Outward Bound.
There will be a spokesman for youth in cabinet,
training in social and community work for youth workers,
pre-employment and job-finding schemes,
and a re-examination of the apprenticeship system.
Social Credit has many other policy sections which deal with the needs and activities of young people e.g.  Sport and Recreation, and Education.
New Zealand Labour Party 1993
JOBS. GROWTH. HEALTH.
Jobs.
Growth.
Health.
These three words stand for so much of what is not right with New Zealand;/ for so many things that concern every New Zealander; and for the critical differences between the New Zealand Labour Party and the present Government.
At this moment there are 420,000 New Zealanders out of work, in part time employment but wanting more work, or on job schemes.
One in four teenagers is out of work, wasting their life on the dole.
National is waving the white flag of surrender.
They have given up.
Jim Bolger says the current level of unemployment is an inevitable cost of an open economy.
His latest budget allows for no significant change in unemployment for the forseeable future.
This is not good enough.
In Jim Bolger's decent society there is no place for 420,000 New Zealanders.
We are in this desperate situation largely because National's policies have failed to raise economic growth to a level where business is expanding with confidence and creating new jobs in the process.
And National hasn't restricted its extremist agenda to economic policy.
Since 1990 they have taken the first steps towards the destruction of what was once the best public health system in the world.
Health has become a commodity.
Market principles rule.
Charges for using our public hospitals have been introduced and our hospitals and community services are now required to make a profit for the so-called crown health enterprises.
Public hospitals should not pay company tax.
The Legacy of the Richardson Recession
It is clear that the National Government's slash and bum approach to economic management has failed.
The country's accounts are in a far worse position than when National was elected in 1990.
The deficit and debt are larger, and any recovery is jobless.
Unemployment has not been halved as promised. It has increased by 27 per cent.
Any gains in the economic statistics can invariably be traced back to the effective de-regulating policy changes implemented by the Fourth Labour Government.
Any improvements-reducing inflation to below 2 per cent, single figure mortgage interest rates and a surplus in our balance of trade- did not simply begin to 'happen' on the day National took office.
As any economist will confirm, they are the end result of policies put in place by Labour in the late 1980s to rebuild the New Zealand economy-
six years hard slog and sweat by the country
and great sacrifices by workers, from the waterfront to the classroom.
The National Government inherited an economy that was expected, by independent economic commentators like the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, to grow by 4.79 per cent by 1993 with a continuation of Labour's policies.
Economists, and others concerned about our economy, were appalled when National drove New Zealand into an unnecessary recession with the ill-considered December 1990 mini-budget and its many benefit cuts.
So strong was the concern in professional quarters that, in June 1991, 15 Auckland economists warned the Government in an open letter.
"We wish to state in the strongest possible terms our view that in the present state of the economy, and in the midst of an international recession, the deficit cutting strategy is fatally flawed.
It can only depress the economy further".
Events have since proved those fears to be understated.
Along with the freeze on pensions and tighter eligibility conditions, the Government took $1.3 billion, mainly from the pockets of beneficiaries and the elderly.
There was an immediate flow-on effect of spending cuts in the community.
Families stopped spending money, shopkeepers reduced stock levels and shops began to close.
Instead of unemployment falling, as had been projected under Labour's policies, it rose steadily under National.
The Government's response was to cut deeper.
Public hospital charges were imposed in the infamous 1991 'Mother of all Budgets'.
ACC coverage was cut
and the tax on workers was increased to fund the ACC.
Employment schemes were slashed by $50 million;
education spending was cut
and Housing Corporation tenants had their rents increased.
The Government also increased the superannuitants' surcharge and froze pensions.
National promised to halve unemployment, but official unemployment, as registered by the Household Labour Force Survey, has gone up by nearly 30 per cent.
One in four teenagers is out of work, and this figure rises to 60 per cent among young Maori New Zealanders.
One of the worst costs of National's failure to deal with unemployment is the appalling rise in crime.
Since September 1990, reported violent crime has increased 13.2 per cent, sexual crime 20.7 per cent and theft and burglary 14.3 per cent.
Our teenage suicide rate is amongst the highest in the western world, as is the pregnancy rate amongst non-pakeha young people.
These figures are distressing.
National has no policy to stop the dole queues getting even longer if their growth projections prove too optimistic.
They are budgeting for failure and for the steady erosion of what was special about New Zealand.
Despite all the pain, economic activity under National remains lower than the levels that were expected had Labour's policies been continued.
In September 1990, the Institute of Economic Research forecast the level of economic activity to grow by 4,79 per cent by 1993 under Labour's policies.
The combined effects of the Richardson recession resulted in a 'growth' rate of minus 2.1 per cent in National's first year in office.
The recent 2,8 per cent growth, which National is promoting as a major achievement, comes from the low base of that Richardson recession.
Economic activity is now just 1 6 per cent above 1990 levels, well below the 4.79 per cent expected under Labour.
Working Together for Jobs and Growth
Labour will lift the level of growth in die economy
and provide the best long term jobs programme this country has ever had.
As Tradenz reports, by stretching the level of economicgrowth from current official forecasts of less than 3 per cent a year to around 4 per cent under Labour's plan, an additional 108,000 jobs will be created by the year 2000.
The first Labour Government led New Zealand out of the depression, and led the world with social security.
Labour in the 1980s opened our economy up and startled die world with its boldness, bringing New Zealand out of the economic closet, expanding CER, and creating the conditions for growth the National Party now claims credit for.
We are now competitive and can take full advantage of the world's markets.
Labour's historic obligation in the 1990s will be to break the curse of Anglo-American economies-to manage the economy for all New Zealanders, not just those at the top.
We believe that without decisive and bold action unemployment will not come down.
Through a reorganised Enterprise Council, we will achieve a better strategic focus and build and expand upon the work of the major industries: manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, forestry and fisheries.
As Tradenz reports, we can stretch their growth rates with extra effort.
They say earnings from the food and beverage industry, for example, could be stretched from just over $12 billion per annum to $17 billion and earnings from tourism could be expanded from $6 billion to $9 billion.
Tradenz correctly identifies die need for a partnership between government and industry to help realise this potential.
But this partnership will not be pursued under National's hands off policies.
Labour will help industries add value and jobs by adopting a strategic focus at industry level.
Labour will apply proper and targeted tax credits,
linked with research and development and marketing
and will provide assistance to open new export markets.
We will encourage the industries of the future, such as biotechnology, eco-industries, computer software and education services.
Through an active small business policy, we will promote new jobs and growth.
We will introduce a much simplified tax code written in plain English which will cut the cost of being in business.
Labour will foster small business mentoring schemes,
provide venture capital finance,
assist with the development of training,
and pay the equivalent of the dole to small companies to take on new staff.
We will help businesses develop good product ideas by improving copyright laws and reducing costs,
and we will help shopkeepers overcome the "feast or famine' problem by staggering benefit paydays.
Mainstream Nineties Thinking
We've learnt that die 1960s approach of throwing money at every problem doesn't work,
and in any case the legacy of Bill Birch's "Think Big' public debt is that there is simply no money left to throw.
In the 1970s we recognised that the Government cannot do everything,
and in the 1980s we learnt that, left entirely to its own devices, the market has no commitment to fairness or equity.
Labour's plan for a strategic partnership between the Government, enterprise and the workforce reflects mainstream nineties thinking.
We have drawn on what has now become the new international orthodoxy.
Internationally, everyone talks about joint ventures.
It is time we started talking about some joint ventures at home, and fresh instruments to achieve them.
The most successful economies of the past decade have proved-in Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, the Scandinavian countries, Taiwan, Korea and Singapore-that collaborative partnerships between government, industry and the workforce substantially boost economic performance.
This is a path New Zealand will take under Labour.
Partnerships between government, industry and the workforce will develop strategic plans to improve the performance of individual industries, particular sectors and the economy as a whole.
The result will be an economy growing at a pace that creates jobs and greater wealth, improving the quality of life of all New Zealanders in the process.
International economic power is shifting to the Pacific Basin.
We have the opportunity to become a major trading nation in the region.
Labour will ensure that New Zealand, with Mike Moore's leadership, plays a prominent role in the development of a Pacific Basin grouping, seeking common security through co-operation on trading, environmental and political issues.
Ensuring No-one is Left Behind
Our policies will lift New Zealand's rate of economic growth.
But even when we get 4-5 per cent growth and have a functioning market economy that can look after 90 per cent of New Zealanders, 10 per cent are still left out in the cold.
Dole payments and work schemes must be married to industries' and workers' needs, not the needs of the bureaucrats who run the systems.
Labour will bring industry and educational institutions closer together to ensure training results in jobs, rather than more training.
We will offer businesses a subsidy equivalent to the dole if they take on new workers, to train and equip the young for a lifetime of work, rather than a bleak future of soul-destroying dole payments.
We are currently in the ridiculous position of having a skills shortage while unemployment is at record highs.
Over 1000 machinist jobs are vacant in Auckland because we have not linked our training to the needs of business,
The market alone cannot achieve our aims.
Too many firms believe they get no quantifiable return from training and research.
Apprenticeships have collapsed and training and research have reduced as National has steered the economy into a low wage, low skill downward spiral.
Our competitors are not asleep.
Successful nations tell companies to train their workers for the sake of their industry s future.
Industries that do not train are levied.
The next Labour Government will require all employers to have their workers participate in training.
This requirement will be phased in over time, starting with the public sector and large private firms.
We will introduce industry self-funding training levies.
All proceeds will be ploughed back into training.
Progressive firms like Fisher and Paykel, Lion Nathan and Cardinal Network are already doing the training but their skilled workforces are poached by employers who do not invest in training.
Labour's policy will ensure that all firms invest in training, so that good employers are not made less competitive by bad employers.
Meeting the Demands of the Next Century
Our industrial relations policy is designed to meet the demands of die next century.
Workers and employers are equally important within the economy.
Neither can succeed without the other.
We will replace the scorched earth approach of die Employment Contracts Act with a fair and balanced industrial relations system.
There will be no return to compulsory unionism, blanket coverage and compulsory arbitration.
Workers will be free to join whichever union they choose, or to join no union at all.
National has a secret agenda to extend the impact of its Employment Contracts legislation even further.
Powerful business interests want no minimum wages anywhere in the economy.
And they want to abolish the specialist industrial relations institutions, like the Employment Court.
Good employers have nothing to fear and everything to gain from the changes Labour proposes.
We want an employment relations regime which encourages employers and employees to find and develop their common interests
and to work together to improve productivity,
workplace skills
and product quality.
We must also change the way policy is made.
Economic policy must be inter-related with other policies if we are to be successful in the 1990s and beyond.
There are jobs in energy efficiency if we do it right.
New Zealand's energy bill, for example, is greater than the cost of education and health put together.
The Clyde Dam cost us $1.7 billion, but insulating 80 per cent of New Zealand's hot water cylinders would save half the energy produced by Clyde at a cost of$30-$50 million
There are also jobs in reducing our infrastructure deficit, if we are innovative in our approach.
Labour will make as much use of market forces and private enterprise as possible
while ensuring that our infrastructure base remains clearly in public ownership.
We will use an old idea which is now radical in the 1990s.
It is an idea which was used to build the Auckland Harbour bridge and the Lyttelton tunnel in earlier times.
We will call it Build, Operate and Toll (BOTs).
Infrastructure completed under such a scheme would be partially or fully funded by tolls.
Tenders could be let and bids invited from the private sector and local authorities for the construction and operation of the projects.
Once the construction costs have been met, the toll would be removed.
Re-inventing Social Security
Perhaps the most fundamental change Labour will make will be to re-invent social security-to take people off welfare and to use some of the $1.5 billion currently spent on unemployment benefits to get people back into meaningful, useful work in the community.
Labour will grasp the problem of youth unemployment in a / bold way.
Under Labour there will be a new deal that will take s courage and lateral thinking
and will need to involve the  whole community.
We must offer our young people some- s thing useful to do.
And we must also offer something to those working for the good of the community who don't have the " resources they need to do the job.
Labour will offer young people the choice of training or employment through a new system of community work.
There is no city or town which can not find useful projects for our young to be involved in.
We will challenge employers to take on additional young people.
We also know of the loneliness of those in retirement, and of their need to pass on skills and information.
We will encourage those who have been forced to retire early, and who have much experience and many skills to pass on, to guide our young people on our community projects.
We want to reward those aged 55 years and older who contribute in such a way by paying a top-up to their existing benefit payments.
With this new deal comes social security, but it also means social obligation, social responsibility and therefore social mobility.
It means new respect both ways.
Labour's policy offers a breakthrough denied other western economies.
We will enlist the support of voluntary agencies and all New Zealanders to help win this battle.
Our Children, Our Future
Education is the engine room of our economy, the trigger for jobs and growth.
In the international marketplace, education will be New Zealand's launching pad.
Yet the National Government has set our education system back with its cuts and its move to privatisation.
And they have plans to do to education what they are doing to health.
National's secret agenda in education will mean:
• Good schools for the wealthy, bad schools for the poor.
Schools in wealthy suburbs will become even better off than those in poor areas if National implements its plan to hand over ownership of land and buildings to local communities.
Schools in wealthy areas will be in a much better position to maintain and improve their buildings, and hire more staff than those in poorer areas.
• Kindergartens and schools paying rent to the Government.
The Government already charges kindergartens a yearly rent of $10.
The National Government is looking at handing over ownership of buildings to communities, and may then charge market rents for the land.
This would impose higher costs on schools and kindergartens, forcing them to raise fees.
• The closure of schools which are unprofitable.
Public schools which are unprofitable under National's new education system could be forced to close by the Government.
Small schools in rural areas would be particularly vulnerable.
• University and Polytech students deeper in debt.
National is reported to be considering the abolition of living allowances for students.
This would mean students having to go deeper into debt to study at polytech or university.
• Unqualified teachers in schools.
National has abolished compulsory registration for teachers, and is planning to allow schools to hire teachers on individual contracts.
This would mean that schools could hire unqualified teachers on lower wages, which would lead to a drop in education standards.
Labour will require teachers to be registered to maintain standards,
and we will abolish bulk funding.
We reject National's formula for New Zealand: a low-waged, low skilled workforce mainly exporting raw materials and commodities.
We cannot go on selling a bigger and bigger block of cheese, made by cheaper and cheaper pairs of hands.
New Zealanders deserve a better future than that.
While New Zealand's education system has been, in its time, a world leader, there is growing evidence that we are now beginning to lag seriously behind many comparable countries.
Children in the countries we most compete with are better educated, stay at school longer and leave with higher qualifications than students in New Zealand.
They are more likely to get a job than the New Zealand school leaver, and later enjoy a higher standard of living.
To compete with these people and their economies we must meet or better their standards.
Ruth Richardson says that the market should sort it out.
We say the Government, enterprise, organised labour and our great educational and research institutions can, in partnership, raise the skill level of our workforce and give New Zealand an equal chance of competing in the world.
Looking Ahead
Labour is looking ahead to the year 2000 with a seven year plan for expanding education opportunities for all New Zealanders.
Our plan is based on achieving these goals:
• To have 90 per cent of all three year olds participating in culturally appropriate early childhood education by the year 2000;
• To have, by the year 2000, 90 per cent of third formers continuing their education to the equivalent of the seventh form,
• To have, by the year 2000, no student leaving school to be on the dole and doing nothing.
• To have 85 per cent of school leavers going on to further education and training by the year 2000.
• To provide opportunities for continuing learning and skills creation in the workforce.
• To increase adult participation in education and
expand the choices for open learning.
• To provide appropriate access to Maori-based education, for example Kohanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Maori.
• To address the gap persisting between Maori and non-Maori educational attainment.
• To provide appropriate learning opportunities for all those with special educational needs.
Skills training is the key to boosting our economic performance to a level that will lead to a large number of new jobs.
Upgrading skills in the workforce is needed urgently, yet skills training is an area where New Zealand compares most unfavorably with many other countries.
The OECD has gone so far as to warn that our failure to develop a skilled workforce is of major concern.
The shortage of skilled labour is already being acknowledged by industry.
The July 1993 survey by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research reported that skilled labour is becoming increasingly difficult to find.
A tunnel-vision free-market approach can be blamed for a significant part of this shortage.
It is critically important for the Government to take a leading role in improving the level of skills in New Zealand.
Seventy per cent of those who will be in the workforce in the year 2000 are already in paid employment.
In order to meet the changes and challenges of the 21st century, most of these people will need to improve their existing skills and gain new ones.
Why should today's young have to accept that they are not going to have the same start in life their parents had?
We want our children to grow into good citizens and taxpayers of the future.
They deserve their share of the New Zealand dream, and we need their energy and contribution to achieve it.
We cannot afford to waste a single person, or manage New Zealand with only four-fifths of its people assets fully utilised.
We need to nurture our leaders in business, science and agriculture from every class, suburb, race and gender.
We are in the post industrial age.
Knowledge and skills are the real wealth of nations.
Knowledge provides the opportunity to break social moulds and increase social mobility.
There is no reason or excuse to starve the economy of the skills of the many who come from the 'wrong' suburbs.
New Zealand is too small for that.
We cannot afford to bring back the English disease of class war to this country.
Too many children in our schools have poverty related illnesses, and are poorly clothed, poorly housed and poorly fed.
Labour's policies for jobs, economic growth, health, housing and social security will tackle these problems.
Teachers should not have to raise money and dig into their own pockets to provide breakfast for pupils.
Children should not come to school with basic problems, such as glue ear, left untreated.
They cannot learn under these conditions.
New Zealanders want to enjoy a better quality of life.
Most are prepared to work for it.
But quality of life cannot be measured just in terms of higher incomes.
We must strike a balance between the opportunities of the open market and the needs of a fair and just society.
We have endured too much to have, as our reward, low wages, low skills and continuing high unemployment.
New Zealanders deserve better than this.
We must improve the position of increasingly desperate low income families
and restore security and certainty to middle income earners.
The Americanisation of Health
The open market is the best generator of jobs and growth, but the so-called 'level playing field' is completely inappropriate when ill-health and sickness are involved.
Public health is not only fairer and better, but it gives us a competitive edge over our neighbours and competitors who must cost the inefficiencies of private systems into their products and services.
The National Government seems determined to copy the worst aspects of the American health system, treating those who can pay, rather than those who need care.
The tragic irony is that America is now deeply troubled by the immense problems of a private health system that does not work.
The system is elitist and discriminating,
and employers, who pay private health insurance for their workers, have found this crippling overhead a threat to survival and a barrier to business.
The introduction to our country of hospital part charges did nothing to reduce surgical waiting lists, nor did it lead to the employment of more doctors or nurses.
Instead the Government employed an army of bureaucrats to administer and police the system.
That hasn't helped one sick person get back into the workforce a day faster, nor enhanced a single patient's quality of life.
They merely ensured that the account for hospital treatment reached a patient's home as soon as they were discharged.
Public outrage forced the Government to temporarily drop the controversial hospital bed charges, but National has kept the law in place so that the charges can be reimposed after the election.
The outpatient charges have continued.
National's Secret Agenda for Health
It is a matter of life and death for our hospital system.
National's radical health moves are just the first steps.
Further implementation of their secret agenda is on hold.
For obvious reasons, the full force of commercialisation will not be felt until after a National election win.
Yet the signs are already there.
The first private heart patient has jumped the queue at Dunedin Hospital.
The commercial boards of the crown health enterprises are now planning what services they will slash if their National Government masters are returned to power.
If National is re-elected, privatisation and hospital closures are certain.
National's secret agenda will mean:
• Higher hospital charges for middle income families.
National has decided that hospitals must be run like businesses.
Higher charges for middle income families are likely if hospitals are to be made profitable.
• Wealthy patients will buy public hospital care ahead of ordinary New Zealanders.
National has announced that under its health reforms wealthy patients will be able to buy places in public hospitals.
This will mean fewer beds for most New Zealanders who don't have the money to jump hospital queues.
• The cost of health insurance will go up, and coverage will drop.
As public hospitals begin to charge more for services, and offer fewer free services to the public, the private health system will be forced to raise its insurance costs.
Insurance costs for hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders went up following the introduction of hospital charges.
If National is re-elected, they will go up again.
• The closure of hospitals which are unprofitable.
Public hospitals which are classified as unprofitable under National's new health system will be dumped from National's crown health enterprises.
Small hospitals in rural areas will be particularly vulnerable.
People Ahead of Profits
The next Labour Government will stop this madness by putting the public back into our health system.
We will ensure that New Zealanders have free access to those public hospital services which have traditionally been free.
Under Labour, the emphasis will be on people and their health needs, not on profits; on improving people's health and not the financial balances of health corporations.
We will ensure that the public health system puts people before profits,
is accountable to local communities,
drops National's hospital user charges,
and returns to universal subsidies for health care by phasing out the community services card.
Priorities within the health service will be determined by people's health needs rather than their ability to pay,
and the success of our policy will be judged by the improvements in the nation's health, not by the financial return on assets.
We will:
• Change the law to guarantee that New Zealanders receiving treatment in public hospitals cannot be charged for services traditionally provided free of charge.
• Immediately remove the remaining hospital outpatient charges imposed by the National Government.
• Replace National's profit-driven crown health enterprises with non-commercial district health services.
• Not allow private patients in public hospitals to jump the queue for treatment over public patients.
It will not be possible for public hospitals to treat private patients, outside traditional arrangements in maternity services.
• Phase out the community services cards
and stop any further development of income targeting for health services.
• Give priority to getting rid of the backlog of surgery by tagging funding for a blitz on waiting times.
Rebuild a comprehensive accident compensation system.
National is adding insult to injury by turning ACC into an insurance industry as a first step to privatisation.
Greater Accountability
All our policies come to nothing unless there is a responsive system of government that can efficiently deliver the pledges given by politicians to the people.
The idea of Government must be reinvented if we are to achieve the partnerships we need to get the jobs and growth New Zealand must have.
We must restore New Zealanders' trust in the institutions that govern.
Our children deserve to inherit more than a cynical and suspicious attitude towards politics.
When a nation does not have strong and respected institutions it loses its way and becomes vulnerable.
Labour is committed to implementing the public's decision in this year's referendum on the future of New Zealand's parliamentary system.
But irrespective of the outcome of the referendum, Labour will move to improve the way Parliament and the political system operates.
Accountability strikes at the heart of how we as a nation manage ourselves and the structures we have created over the years that have made New Zealand special.
Governments must work better in the interests of the people.
Over the past decade the New Zealand Parliament has demanded higher standards of accountability from government and business.
It is now time to demand higher standards of accountability from Parliament.
As we move to decentralise power to our communities and local government we must ensure that standards of account ability are not diminished, but enhanced.
When our democratic institutions suffer from public mistrust it is inevitable that our international reputation suffers.
For the sake of democracy in New Zealand, and our economic and social future, we must take action.
In pursuing the goal of quality government we will start at the top: Parliament.
At present individual MPs in all parties are restricted in their independence to represent their electorates by the 'whipping' system.
The next Labour Government will change this.
The party 'whipping' system will be loosened to allow MPs more freedom to represent their own views and those of their electorates.
This will require changes to the conventions of Parliament to ensure that a government only falls if it loses a vote of confidence.
Relaxing the 'whip' will force the Government and Opposition to be more mindful of the concerns of their caucuses.
We will improve the select committee system to ensure Parliament passes better laws.
All wisdom does not reside in the Government party or the Opposition party, or the minority party.
We can be more open.
Select committees will become more independent and better resourced.
They will be given more power to initiate as well as receive legislation.
We will ensure that points of view other than those of Cabinet have a real opportunity to influence the lawmaking process.
The size of Cabinet will be reduced.
This has been made possible by the changes that have taken place in our government departments and state owned enterprises.
a The next Labour Government will demand higher levels of accountability from politicians and others directly involved in the political process.
For example we will appoint an independent Electoral Commissioner to oversee the legal and ethical standards required of Parliament and political institutions.
And we will ensure that all government advertising contracts over the value of $50,000 are independently audited.
Labour's challenge is to rebuild the sacred social contract between the people and their government.
We must earn that trust and reclaim the people's belief in our democratic process.
It is a trust that cannot be demanded or expected.
It must be earned and deserved.
Democracy must be more than something people 'do' on election day.
Our political system does not belong to any government.
Even less does it belong to a Cabinet.
It belongs to the people, and they are going to get it back.
An exciting future
Jobs.
Growth.
Health.
This is not an empty slogan; it is a solemn commitment to a better, fairer life for all New Zealanders.
Labour will attack unemployment and die social deficit with the same determination used to attack inflation and the financial deficit in the 1980s.
The future is exciting for New Zealand.
We can do much better-given the leadership, the vision, the ideas, the energy and the commitment.
Our opponents want to surrender.
They say New Zealand can't do any better; that this is as good as it gets.
That is nonsense.
Our best days are before us.
We have only just begun.
LABOUR'S MANIFESTO FOR NEW ZEALAND
Jobs, Growth and Health have been identified as the most critical issues facing New Zealand in this election.
Labour's well researched policies on these and other important issues are summarised in the following pages.
Our policies are the result of the most intensive consultative process in New Zealand's political history.
By the time of the last election, the Labour Party recognised that a profound credibility problem existed between the political process and the public.
In Opposition Labour resolved that we needed a fresh approach to the making of policy.
We knew we had to re-earn the public's support and assure New Zealanders that we meant what we said.
To that end, a programme of community and party consultations was introduced, called Labour Listens.
It was time-consuming, it was frustrating, but it worked.
This manifesto is the result.
Some of the policies appear here in abridged form.
For further information, write to the New Zealand Labour Party, P 0 Box 784, Wellington, or visit your local library.
ACCIDENT COMPENSATION
Fairness for all New Zealanders
Accidents can happen to anyone, at any time.
Every day on1 the roads, we're all just seconds away from becoming the victims of someone else's drunken or careless driving.
Car accidents alone cause horrendous injuries that can change for ever the lives of those hurt and their families.
As accidents are often a lottery, even for the most cautious and careful, previous New Zealand Governments had developed a comprehensive and fair accident compensation system.
Now the National Government has turned accident compensation into a quasi-insurance industry as a first step to privatisation.
New Zealanders will end up with the worst of both worlds no right to sue and no comprehensive cover.
Wage earners are being taxed more for ACC, yet they are now getting less cover and protection than ever.
There is mounting bitterness as people denied other legal redress see themselves treated shabbily by a once fair and effective institution.
In rebuilding the accident compensation system, the next Labour Government will take the following action:
• Reject National's secret agenda to privatise ACC by repealing the current Act
and restoring a comprehensive, no-fault accident compensation system.
• Restore compensation which is a fair reflection of lost earnings.
• Bring back an inclusive definition of personal injury.
• Reinstate a fair form of lump sum payments for serious permanent injury.
But there will be no more cheques from ACC for injuries sustained by those committing crimes or while drink-driving.
Replace the experience ratings system for employers with a bonus and penalty system based on safety practices.
•• Stop the pilot programmes already under way for employers taking over their own accident compensation.
It is a Trojan horse for privatisation.
• Review the rules relating to victims of crime who do not fit well into a no fault accident scheme.
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL COMMUNITIES
Still the Number One Exporter
Despite the impressive growth in forestry, fishing and in the manufacturing and service sectors, our agricultural industry is still the single most important contributor to New Zealand's export earnings and wealth.
For that reason, a successful rural sector is critical to achieving the nation's economic and social goals.
The last Labour Government's reforms of ports and railways, and the spectacular gains in productivity that flowed from them, have significantly revitalised agriculture.
Labour is intent on continuing the process of developing the advanced and specialised infrastructure needed to encourage environmentally sustainable industries that will add much greater value to our primary produce.
The next Labour Government will:
• Strengthen New Zealand's global marketing competitiveness.
We will work with producer boards to ensure that they are able to respond effectively to changes in international markets.
• Demand rigorous, regular, independent audits of the efficiency and effectiveness of producer boards.
• Ensure that Tradenz, a Labour-developed concept for helping exporters, is further developed.
• Support research into and the development of cost-effective forms of biological control of rabbits and other pests.
• Fund a concerted drive to tackle the problem of possums which are a major risk to agriculture.
• Ensure that contestable public good research funding is available for investigations into the development of superior horticultural varieties,
further reductions in chemical dependence,
and the elimination of unwanted residues.
• Strongly support the principle of joint co-operative action in research, development and marketing.
The Commodity Levies Act, passed by Labour, will be reviewed to ensure it can do the job intended for producers.
• Review National's policy of winding down and privatising Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries advisory services, which has created potential problems, such as the reduction in contact between government policy advisors and practical farmers.
Labour will be a strong partner in research and technology transfer where this serves the public interest.
• Reintroduce a scheme based on the Facilitating Active Risk Management (F.A.R.M) partnership concept,
and adjust the East Coast forest scheme to ensure that land protection goals are met.
• Encourage and support innovative approaches to meeting the social needs of rural New Zealand.
Examples include "bootstraps' community economic development programmes, enhanced training and employment opportunities, and nursing services where there are no doctors.
New initiatives for turning back the rising tide of crime, which threatens rural communities, will be promoted.
• Analyse all policy decisions coming before the next Labour Government for their likely impact on rural communities.
•Ensure the new Community Affairs Unit within Internal Affairs fully addresses the issues facing rural communities.
National has a secret agenda to strip rural communities of services such as schools and hospitals.
• Retain ownership of NZ Post.
• Pursue an economic policy which will maintain low inflation and low interest rates.
• Increase our efforts to promote greater liberalisation of world trade.
• Continue to work toward a successful outcome to the current GATT round.
• Advance New Zealand's interests through GATT-compatible open regional trading arrangements.
Labour realises that New Zealand cannot rely on the GATT alone.
We see the Asia Pacific Economic Council (APEC) as the start of an open regional Asia-Pacific grouping.
• Work to ensure that New Zealand is not disadvantaged by other regional economic groupings, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement or an Asian Free Trade Agreement.
• Aim at more than doubling our total research and development spending, from 0.9 per cent of GDP to 2 per cent, over the next few years.
Labour recognises the need for New Zealand to keep its competitiveness, and to stay at the forefront of agricultural research.
• Review the definition which, for tax purposes, applies to expenditure on research and development.
Agriculture and Small Business
Labour's plan for small business will make growth and job creation within agriculture an achievable aim.
We will;
• Establish a substantial venture capital fund to help many more innovative businesses get established and grow successfully.
• Introduce a simplified Small Business Tax Code written in plain English.
• Establish a small business taskforce to examine how to simplify taxation and cut the amount of paperwork that government departments demand of small businesses.
After the taskforce has identified ways of cutting central government department paperwork it will turn its attention to the demands of local government.
• Establish a Register of Small Businesses.
This will make it easier to pass on information about available resources to all small businesses.
• Require all government departments and State Owned Enterprises to pay accounts owed to registered small businesses within four weeks.
Currently some government departments are notoriously late in paying accounts.
• Provide assistance for the copyrighting of ideas and products, so they can be taken from the back of the garage to the market.
ARTS AND CULTURE
Developing our Identity
A country's national identity is die amalgam of a number of things; but none is more important than a confident and self-assured cultural life.
The next Labour Government, like previous ones, will be committed to die development and strengthening of the rich and varied cultural heritage that contributes to our uniqueness as a nation.
As well, a thriving arts and cultural scene has the potential for significant export earnings and job creation.
Labour will also adopt an active marketing programme to promote New Zealand internationally as a culturally and artistically diverse tourist destination.
The next Labour Government will:
• Maintain significant funding for arts and culture.
• Support the participation of New Zealanders in artistic and cultural activities, ensuring their availability to the widest range of people.
• Give the strongest support to the development and promotion of Maori arts and culture.
• Create a Community Affairs Unit within the Local Government division of the Department of Internal Affairs.
The unit will investigate ways to revitalise our cities, and foster the development of the performing and visual arts, in association with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
• Maintain structures which promote community arts, in contrast to National's proposed legislation to demolish them.
• Provide support and encouragement for Pacific Island and other ethnic minorities to express their cultures.
• Ensure our most significant historic places are preserved by adequately resourcing the Historic Places Trust
and ensure that the Government sets a good example with its own historic buildings and places.
Local government will be encouraged to do likewise.
• Promote research into and action on employment generation in the arts industry.
• Negotiate with the broadcasting industry to encourage a steady rise in the amount of New Zealand content on television and radio.
If there is not a dramatic improvement, we will impose quotas.
• Encourage the export of New Zealand music and art through Tradenz and other avenues.
• Enter into negotiations with Australia about reciprocal quotas which may benefit the arts industries of both countries.
• Ensure, through funding and other means, the conservation of existing cultural properties, including art, film and books.
• Give priority to the completion of the Museum of New Zealand.
• Investigate funding initiatives for films,
and the promotion of New Zealand as a location for overseas film makers.
• Continue to support the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and its development.
• Invite private sector involvement in the development of copyright policy.
• Remove some of the obstacles facing bands and other groups of artists by simplifying the tax system and cutting red tape for small businesses and the self-employed.
BROADCASTING
The Most Powerful Medium
The electronic media are the most powerful forms of communication.
Access to information and entertainment is an important democratic and social right.
Their power must be understood and channelled constructively,
while at the same time their independence is protected.
The electronic media simply can't be ignored as the National Government has done.
Labour's broadcasting policy will ensure a higher local content,
genuine choice of programmes,
opportunities for jobs,
and the development of exports.
The next Labour Government will:
• Stop the trend towards increasing levels of violence on television by ensuring our legislation is as strict as any in the western world.
We are particularly concerned to ensure that programming aimed at children contains less violence.
• Negotiate with the broadcasting industry to encourage a steady rise in the amount of New Zealand content on television and radio.
If there is not a dramatic improvement, we will impose quotas.
• Encourage the development coeducational television.
• Press for the development of regional television.
• Support the extension of TVS transmission services to provide the same coverage as TV1 and TV2.
• Instruct New Zealand on Air to ensure that a higher level of funding is made available for children's programming.
• Maintain the real value of the broadcasting fee to ensure the money available can meet community demands.
• Encourage the development of partnerships, including broadcasters, to advance distance education.
• Establish an independent public radio organisation funded through the Broadcasting Fee, with a charter to preserve the National and Concert programmes.
• Continue to support the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and its development.
• Not privatise TVNZ.
• Support Te Beo Whakapuahi Irirangi.
• Establish a New Zealand Music Commission to develop and promote contemporary music.
• Investigate the establishment of a public service television channel.
• Promote media studies in schools.
CHILDREN
Our Hope and Responsibility
If children are the hope for the future, they are also our responsibility now.
Yet New Zealand's children have suffered most from the economic and social policies of the National Government.
Those policies mean some children are going to school hungry, are not being taken to the doctor because of the cost, and have less chance of a university or polytechnic education as fees soar.
Labour will not just pay lip service to me young.
Our first priority will be the very best possible health care and education for our children.
We want our children to grow into good, healthy, productive citizens and taxpayers.
It is their imagination, labour and energy that will continue to develop this nation.
Labour will also encourage and assist parents to understand and accept responsibility for raising children.
The next Labour Government will safeguard and enhance the lives of today's children on a number of fronts.
Children and Health
New Zealand now has child health statistics which are a national disgrace.
Tackling the following child health issues will be a priority of the next Labour Government:
Asthma
Child abuse
Child safety
Children with disabilities or chronic disease
Co-ordination of services
Cot death
Hearing loss
Immunisation
Maori child health
Nutrition
Parenting
Child health screening and surveillance
All New Zealanders should have access to appropriate primary care services at prices they can afford.
The next Labour Government will:
• Phase out the community services cards and stop any further development of income targeting for health services.
The community services card categories for children will be abolished immediately.
• Subsidise all medical care and pharmaceuticals for children at a level no less than that now established for community services card holders.
Based on average doctors' fees, no child under five should pay more than $6 for a visit to the doctor,
and no child over five should pay more than $11.
• Ensure that prescription charges for children will not exceed $3 for each of the first 20 items, with all items free of charge thereafter.
• Immediately attend to boosting immunisation levels to prevent epidemics breaking out.
Schools and pre-schools will be asked to help identify children who have missed out on immunisation so that catch-up programmes can be implemented.
An action plan for immunisation will be required to be produced within four months of the election.
• Require public health authorities to work with schools to identify the need for school food programmes and to make recommendations on a coordinated response to relieving the problems of hunger among children.
Children and Education
Labour recognises the critical importance of enlightened policies at all levels and will:
• Implement a staged plan to enhance funding for early childhood centres.
• Require compulsory registration for kindergarten teachers.
Under the current Government's rules, it is possible for someone convicted of child abuse to teach in a kindergarten.
We will not let that happen.
• Ensure that all children have the right of access to their nearest neighbourhood school.
• Reverse the National Government's policy of increasing, grants to private schools.
Labour believes that public funding for compulsory schooling should concentrate on the public school system.
Savings made will be used to help disadvantaged schools.
• Reaffirm the commitment to lower teacher pupil ratios.
• Ensure all school leavers receive a Record of Achievement, replacing the current leaving certificates which often give no indication of what the student has achieved.
The Record of Achievement will detail the range and level of all skills- academic, vocational and personal-which a student has acquired at school.
• Replace the narrowly focused School Certificate with the New Zealand National Certificate, which will be more flexible, will cover a wider range of subjects, and will provide a more complete picture of a student's skills.
• Maintain the successful Reading Recovery programme in primary schools, which gives children with reading problems individual attention,
and further develop mathematics recovery programmes.
• Expand guidance teacher resources in primary schools to enable the early identification of students at risk and the development of individual programmes to assist these children.
• Reinstate the School-Community Liaison programme to provide local help to students at risk.
and assistance to deal with the problem of truancy.
• Reinstate compulsory registration for school teachers.
• Maintain the level of funding for special education at least at current levels
and ensure that a centrally-funded special education service is maintained.
Children and Families
Labour regards proper assistance for children and families to be of primary importance.
The next Labour Government will:
• Strengthen the role and status of the Commissioner for Children.
• Reinstate the Department of Social Welfare childcare subsidy for beneficiaries where families are not in work.
• Establish immediately an independent review of the Child Support Act.
Parents should support their children financially,
but the current child support arrangements are producing anomalies, unfairness and stress.
• Give priority to preventive work and to dealing with cases of child neglect and abuse, focusing on work with families under stress.
It is important that problems are identified early to avoid the continuation of long term disadvantage.
• Review both the support payments available for families and the costs associated with raising children, with a view to ensuring hat families have the means to live with dignity and participate fully in their communities.
• Stop the trend towards increasing levels of violence on television and videos.
Labour is particularly concerned to see that programming aimed at children contains less violence.
• Instruct New Zealand on Air to ensure that a higher level of funding is made available for children's programming.
• Pilot a community mentors scheme to pass on to younger generations the life skills, experience and knowledge many older New Zealanders have.
Children and Recreation
The next Labour Government will:
• Continue to promote Kiwisport, as a way of encouraging children to participate in and enjoy sport through the use of modified rules and equipment.
• Promote the design of safe playgrounds.
• Encourage increased participation in secondary school sport, and promote improvements in the quality of sports education in schools.
• Support programmes which encourage all sportspeople to play fair.
CITIES
Putting the Heart Back into our Cities
Labour will put the heart back into our cities.
Our policies will combat the rising unemployment, crime, homelessness and poverty that are turning our cities into places of fear.
Concerted action on urban problems and the active encouragement of cafe society' type developments and diverse cultural opportunities for residents of all ages will transform our cities.
For the first time in 100 years we have local government units in a position to be real partners with central government.
The next Labour Government will:
• Bring together the interests of central and local government, as well as the commercial community, in a strategic partnership to reinvigorate our inner cities.
• Investigate ways of speeding up the conversion of vacant commercial space into residential apartments, to bring people to live in our inner cities.
• Create a Community Affairs Unit within the Local Government division of the Department of Internal Affairs.
The unit will investigate ways to revitalise our cities.
• Erasure that our most significant historic places are preserved by adequately resourcing the Historic Places Trust.
We will also ensure that the Government sets a good example with its own historic buildings and places.
Local government will be encouraged to do likewise.
• Ensure closer co-operation between central and local government over the pressing issue of attacking the infrastructure deficit building up in our cities.
Addressing this problem will create jobs as well as investment in our future.
• Allow no major reorganisation of local government in our first term in office.
The local government reforms of the last 10 years need more time to settle in.
Cities and Crime
Cities are the major breeding ground for crime, and its causes and effects must be confronted immediately and effectively.
The next Labour Government will:
• Apply the community policing approach throughout New Zealand as a top priority.
• Aim to have a neighbourhood support group active in every residential street.
• Invite local bodies to form safer community councils,
and make support and resources available.
• Investigate and trial a neighbourhood warden scheme along the same lines as the successful Maori warden scheme.
• Ensure the police have the equipment they need to fight crime, such as police helicopters, fingerprint computers, DNA testing facilities, modern computers, word processors and printing facilities, cars, speed cameras, radio telephones, and equipment for die videoing of police interviews.
Cities and Unemployment
High urban unemployment casts a long shadow over city life and affects far more than standards of living.
Labour's plan aims to achieve the 4 per cent annual economic growth we need to make real inroads into unemployment.
The next Labour Government will:
• Aim to ensure that no young person under 20 is left on the dole with nothing to do, by offering them the choice of training, employment or community work.
• Enlist the help of voluntary groups, non-profit and service organisations to develop projects to usefully employ young people
and to rebuild our community infrastructure.
• Ensure that the Enterprise Council plans five years ahead for more jobs.
• Stagger the payment of benefits.
The Department of Social Welfare's policy of paying benefits on the same day often causes problems for small businesses which are faced with meeting peak demands as beneficiaries stock up, and then a slump in sales for the next fortnight.
Cities and Education
The next Labour Government will:
• Ensure all children have the right of access to their nearest neighbourhood school.
• Reinstate the School-Community Liaison programme to provide local help to students at risk and assistance to deal with the problem of truancy.
Cities and Transport
The next Labour Government will:
• Require Transit New Zealand to give greater weight to public transport.
Our aim is to increase the share of people travelling by public transport.
• Investigate the prospect of exhaust emission testing as part of a vehicle's warrant of fitness.
This will reduce pollution and enhance efficiency.
• Phase out lead in petrol.
• Change transport use patterns by encouraging cycle and bus lanes,
improved urban planning,
and through a public education campaign on the environmental impact of private motoring.
• Encourage improved design and operating standards of motor vehicles.
This includes a move towards zero emission vehicles and hybrid (petrol/electric) vehicles,
more fuel efficient vehicles,
and improved safety features and standards.
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Pro-Business and Pro-Jobs
Labour will be pro-business and pro-profit because it is pro-jobs.
We will re-invent government so that it is not seen as an obstacle to growth and opportunity, but as an enthusiastic partner and friend of business,
Labour sees industry and sector planning as an essential ingredient in improving economic performance and achieving sustainable growth and jobs.
For economic growth to be sustainable there must be a solid basis of industrial growth
within an open and competitive economy.
We will take an active part in promoting strategic planning, but recognise that those who are best able to evaluate opportunities for various sectors are those involved in them, both employers and employees.
These are the people the Labour Government will be working with to develop strategic plans for their sectors.
The next Labour Government will:
• Refocus and strengthen the business growth division of the Ministry of Commerce.
It will be known as the Business and Industry Development Division and will be given primary responsibility for developing policies to promote business and industry expansion.
• Reconstitute the existing Manufacturing Advisory Group to incorporate a wider range of interests.
It will be known as the Industry Development Group.
It will comprise representatives of industry and workers, and will provide the Ministry with access to relevant practical experience in specific sectors.
• Send all legislation with tax implications to a panel of experts with the power to recommend practical changes and improvements to Government.
There will be more certainty on tax regimes.
• Retain Business Development Boards,
but allow for their statutory functions and the administration of certain government programmes to be contracted to other local enterprise agencies, where that is more appropriate and will increase services.
• Ensure that locally-based advisory services are available to both new and existing enterprises, providing basic information and advice in areas such as productivity, taxation and depreciation regimes, research and development, and market development opportunities.
• Ensure that Business Development Boards work more closely with Tradenz, effectively becoming regional focal points for its activities.
• Expect Business Development Boards to work more closely with unions, local and regional government, Maori authorities, unemployed groups, universities, polytechnics and employers groups to help identify employment prospects and promote regional self help and development.
• Beef up the Industrial Supplies Office so that it can develop a high profile with industry
and ensure that Government agencies and SOEs take maximum advantage of domestically manufactured products.
• Ensure that SOEs run as efficient businesses producing goods and services and dividends for the taxpayer.
• Accelerate the Buy New Zealand campaign.
• Initiate awards for the best products that have displaced imports, as we do with our export awards.
• Encourage manufacturers to share information about where they get imports, in die same way that information is shared about markets for our exports.
• Encourage the establishment of Industry Development Organisations (IDOs),
especially in industries such as forestry, tourism, agriculture, aquaculture, skilled manufacturing, agro-technology, environmental protection and biotechnology.
Industries like these are New Zealand's best hope for more jobs
and sustainable profits.
• Ensure IDOs report on existing barriers to development, such as infrastructure shortcomings or skills shortages,
and recommend government policy initiatives which might aid development and
job growth.
• Promote the integration of Australia's and New Zealand's car assembly and components industries under CER.
To this end we will review the conditions governing the importation of used cars.
These moves will save local jobs
and assist the expansion of the local industry by enabling rationalisation with Australia to take place.
Labour is committed to a New Zealand motor vehicle and tyre industry.
• Oppose the importation of dangerous second, hand tyres.
The motor and tyre industries have made substantial improvements in productivity and quality in recent years.
They are now capable of being export winners as well as supplying competitive products locally.
Industry and Skills
Upgrading the skills of the New Zealand workforce needs to begin urgently,
and we believe industry should contribute.
Labour will:
• Expect all industries to develop training strategies as part of their strategic planning.
• Considerably strengthen industrial training legislation.
• Introduce training levies.
• Encourage unions and employers to build co-operative relationships at the industry level,
through which they can address the skill needs of the workforce.
• Require all schools to provide a properly coordinated career planning and advisory service,
and ensure that all students in Form 4 have individual career/future focus interviews to help develop agreed career and training paths.
• Pilot a new 'Work-Link' programme, modelled on the Australian TRAC scheme.
This will be open to students from Form 5 onwards and will provide work experience and training in several workplaces within an industry.
Students will be expected to gain units towards a qualification recognised by the industry concerned and part of the Qualifications Framework.
• Increase participation in the Youth Traineeship Programmes.
• Retain the Training Opportunities Programme.
We will expand the eligibility criteria to provide opportunities for those people currently refused access to training.
• Aim to more than double our total research and development spending from 0.9 to 2 per cent of GDP over the next several years.
• Review, as part of our programme to lift investment, the definition which, for tax purposes, applies to expenditure on research and development.
• Ensure adequate funding for the Technology for Business Growth programme.
• Promote the free movement of researchers between institutions,
as well as joint appointments, and joint venture funding from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.
COMMUNICATIONS
The Leading Edge
We are in the post-industrial age-the information age.
Communications and information will be to the next decade what coal, steam and steel were to earlier generations.
Poor and costly communications systems are a tax that will stop an economy in its tracks.
That is why the Fourth Labour Government opened up New Zealand's communications systems.
But if New Zealand fails to keep up with telecommunications developments over the next decade, we will cease to be truly competitive in the export fields that dictate our level of prosperity.
The National Government has carried the hands-off, no interference approach too far, completely failing to understand that the hugely complex and expensive telecommunications business must be a creative partnership between government and private enterprise.
Labour, on the other hand, has developed a forward thinking communications strategy that involves governmental assistance for and encouragement of the private telecommunications sector.
The next Labour Government will:
• Aim to ensure that, within 10 years, businesses, institutions and homes have access to the most modem communications technology, such as a fibre optic cable network.
Such systems are already advanced in some of the economies we compete against in the global marketplace, such as Japan, the United States and France.
• Require Telecom to adhere to the principles of the Kiwi Share.
• Retain ownership of New Zealand Post.
• Ensure that New Zealand does not become divided into information rich and poor' by ensuring the public have access to information services.
• Encourage the use of new communications technology for distance and open education.
• Actively promote a competitive, efficient and effective telecommunications market.
• Explore a range of incentives to encourage the development and adoption of new communication-is technologies, including support for research and development, and a suitable tax regime for software development.
• Ensure there is an Information Technology and Communication Industry Training Organisation which will provide a means for government, industry and trade unions to work together on development and training issues.
• Investigate the establishment of a new crown research institute for information technology which might embrace strategic research for our promising software and electronics industries.
• Conduct an early review of copyright law.
• Take an active role in standards and quality issues and promote their importance to industry.
• Explore the establishment of a Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
CONSERVATION
Protecting Our Comer of the Globe
New Zealand is a magnificent land-mighty mountains, rugged coastline, splendid forests, luxuriant farmland.
Our environment is not an achievement, so much as a birthright.
We did not create it, but we inherit the onus of protecting it.
We owe it to our children, and to the world.
Conservation has slipped backwards under the National Government.
The Department of Conservation is in danger of losing the battle to maintain our conservation estate.
Labour accepts the challenge to actively protect our comer of the globe, and the extraordinary species it supports.
The next Labour Government will:
• Establish a Kauri National Park in Northland and a National Park in Nelson, subject to positive New Zealand Conservation Authority recommendations.
• Ensure that the special status of National Parks is fully maintained against pressure for inappropriate commercial development.
• Pass a law prohibiting mining in National Parks, national, nature or scientific reserves, wilderness areas, sanctuaries and ecological areas,
and consult on including all conservation land in the Coromandel in the mining ban.
• Maintain the various threatened species programmes, and expand them as necessary.
• Ensure more effective control of predators of native species.
We will, for example, change the law so that rogue dogs worrying protected species such as kiwi, weka and penguin can be dealt with quickly.
• Overhaul both the Wildlife Act and the Native Plants Protection Act to improve the level of protection for threatened species.
• Establish a comprehensive network of protected natural areas.
• Investigate the establishment of New Zealand Heritage Areas, if doing so is desirable to give certain areas outside the conservation estate a higher status of legal protection.
• Move as quickly as possible to stop remaining native forest clearfelling.
Clearfelling of native forests is unacceptable in the 1990s.
• Expand the successful Forest Heritage Fund into a Natural Heritage Fund, to protect other habitats such as wetland and tussock grassland.
• Secure protection for wetlands of international, national and regional importance.
• Aim to have a representative 10 per cent of our coastal waters in marine reserves by the year 2000.
• Take vigorous action to protect marine mammals from fishing operations.
• Insist on high environmental standards for ships entering our waters,
and restrict ship movements around areas of high conservation values.
• Tackle the country's pest problem urgently and vigorously.
We will ensure that properly coordinated national and regional pest management strategies are put in place.
• Promote the protection of natural landscape conservation values in the South Island high country,
and allow for its ecologically sustainable use by reviewing the Land Act 1948.
Labour will not introduce myxomatosis.
• Promote public access to our natural heritage.
• Protect the Queen's Chain
and work to extend its coverage.
We will appoint independent Guardians to help achieve these objectives.
• Ensure that our most significant historic places are preserved by adequately resourcing the Historic Places Trust.
We will ensure that the Government sets a good example with its own historic buildings and places.
Local Government will be encouraged to do likewise.
CONSUMER RIGHTS
Real Consumer Power
In theory, consumers have more power in a less-regulated market.
Unfortunately the National Government has made no attempt to turn theory into reality.
They have failed to understand that consumer power must be informed and organised.
National's neglect of consumer rights means that New Zealand is slipping badly behind most similar nations in terms of consumer protection law.
Today, Labour is as committed to ensuring consumers get a fair deal as it was in giving New Zealanders a much wider choice of consumer goods from around the world in the late 1980s.
The next Labour Government will:
• Ensure there is real competition in the marketplace.
• Review all existing consumer legislation to ensure it is relevant to modem consumer needs.
• Promote product safety and consumer education.
• Take steps to ensure that label information fully informs consumers of the contents of products that may pose a danger to their health.
• Reform and consolidate consumer credit laws.
• Help groups of consumers, such as older New Zealanders, negotiate better prices for goods.
• Encourage the formation of community based consumer affairs groups.
• Actively promote green labelling, which has an important role to play in advising environmentally conscious consumers.
We will ensure that industry is closely involved in the development of standards.
• Focus, via the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, particular attention on the needs of disadvantaged groups of consumers, particularly those on low incomes and those for whom English is a second language.
Consumers and the Bureaucracy
The interests of consumers and the public must be protected in relation to central and local government bureaucracy, state owned enterprises, and other bodies to which parliament has given powers.
Labour will;
• Protect the rights of health consumers by ensuring that legislation establishing independent advocacy and complaints procedures is passed speedily, if such legislation is not in place by the election.
• Guarantee community involvement in the health system by ensuring a majority of elected members and a minority of ministerial appointees on regional health boards.
• Ensure meetings of regional health boards are open to the public and the news media.
• Ensure that agendas of local government meetings are adequately published and available in advance.
Decisions taken without proper notification or with the public improperly excluded should be able to be declared invalid.
• Investigate ways of effectively monitoring the services provided by SOEs and their accountability to the New Zealand consumer.
Appoint a Retirement Commissioner to oversee the new New Zealand superannuation account, and act as guardian for the account on behalf of all New Zealanders.
• Appoint guardians to ensure the protection of the Queen's Chain.
• Strengthen the office of the Ombudsman.
• Appoint an independent Electoral Commissioner to oversee the legal and ethical standards required of Parliament and political institutions.
• Ensure that all government advertising contracts over the value of $50,000 are independently audited.
CRIME AND POLICING
Our Neighbourhoods can be Safe Again.
There is a difference between condemning crime and doing something about it.
The National Government has panicked in the face of the rising crime rate, and attacked the symptoms rather than the causes.
The emphasis has been on short-term fixes rather than a serious attempt to understand and remedy the underlying causes that are making New Zealand an increasingly dangerous and frightening place for many residents.
By contrast, Labour will be tough on both crime and its causes.
It is completely unacceptable that since September 1990 reported violent crime has increased 13.2 per cent, sexual crime by 20.7 per cent, and theft/burglary by 14.3 per cent.
Labour knows there are not instant cures, but we will make New Zealand a safer, more secure and more caring society by being both tough on today's criminals
and much more sensitive to the underlying economic and social factors that could, but need not, breed next generation's criminals and disaffected.
Education, childcare, housing and employment policies are all part of our integrated approach to combating crime.
Labour will concentrate on community policing, community crime prevention, safer community councils, better sentencing, an improved justice system, (see Justice section, page 136)
and, most important, an expanding economy and workforce that will give the maximum number of New Zealanders secure and stable futures.
The next Labour Government will:
• Ensure the community policing approach is applied throughout New Zealand as a top priority.
Community policing is the cornerstone of our plan to make our streets and homes safer.
• Aim to have a neighbourhood support group active in every residential street.
Neighbourhood Support and Rural Support programmes work, but they have not received a high priority from the National Government.
• Invite local bodies to form Safer Community Councils, and make support and resources available.
• Investigate and trial a neighbourhood warden scheme along the same lines as the successful Maori warden scheme.
• Review the Arms Amendment Act, and examine how fire-arms are  falling into the wrong hands.
National's Act has been a failure, and firearms offences have been increasing.
• Ensure the police have the equipment they need to fight crime, such as police helicopters, fingerprint computers, DNA testing facilities, modem computers, word processors and printing facilities, cars, speed cameras, radio telephones, and equipment for the videoing of police interviews.
• Consider establishing a Public Prosecutions Office as part of our ongoing commitment to having more police on the street.
Shifting responsibility' for time-consuming court work to such an office may free up more police resources for frontline policing.
Victims of Crime
Much of New Zealand's current law and order and justice policies are focused on the offender.
Little attention is paid to the victim.
The next Labour Government will:
• Establish a Victims' Charter.
(For details, see the Justice section on page 136. )
• Investigate the possibility of making an advance payment to victims, where reparation has been ordered.
• Ensure that victims of crime will be entitled to claim the costs involved in being a witness for the prosecution.
Tackling the Worst Kind of Violence
In many respects, domestic violence is the worst kind.
It is generally perpetrated by men against women, and is often witnessed by children.
It is traumatic enough to be attacked by a stranger on the street, but there is an added element of betrayal when attacked by someone trusted.
The next Labour Government is going to get tough on domestic violence and will:
• Ensure, where there is evidence of assault, the assailant is charged using the same criteria that mould be applied to an equivalent assault on the street.
The fact that it is a domestic dispute should not be a factor.
• Provide for an automatic check of gun licences on all call-outs to reported cases of domestic violence, so that arms may be seized at the time.
• Ensure that police bail is not normally granted unless the victim's safety can be reasonably assured.
Victims will have the right to be notified of an impending release.
• Extend the range of people against whom protection orders can be obtained.
Crime and Safety
Labour's policies for health, the economy, jobs, education, housing, social security and ACC will tackle the causes of crime.
We will:
• Promote national guidelines for adolescent-specific health services
and ensure all regional health boards develop adolescent health service strategies which address the problems of youth suicide, and alcohol and drug abuse.
• Have an economic policy designed to achieve die 4 per cent annual growth New Zealand needs to make real inroads into unemployment.
• Aim to ensure that no young person under 20 is left on the dole with nothing to do, by offering young people the choice of training, employment or community work.
• Enlist die help of voluntary groups and non-profit and service organisations to develop projects to usefully employ young people
and to rebuild our community infrastructure.
• Expand guidance teacher resources in primary schools to enable die early identification of students at risk
and die development of individual programmes to assist these children.
• Reinstate die School-Community Liaison programme to provide local help to students at risk
and assistance to deal with the problem of truancy.
DEFENCE
A Commitment to Peace
Labour believes in maintaining a defence force which is appropriate to New Zealand's and our region's needs.
We will continue to develop New Zealand's internationalist tradition by actively seeking defence and security partnerships based on mutual self interest and common security.
Defence issues in the post-Cold War era are complicated, and will require fresh and creative policies, and skilful leadership by the Minister of Defence.
The next Labour Government will:
• Work to promote common security within the Pacific region,
recognising that New Zealand's past military alliances, such as ANZUS, are no longer an adequate basis for meeting our region's post-Cold War needs.
• Re-orient the armed forces to give priority to South Pacific resource protection,
disaster relief,
New Zealand civil defence
and United Nations peacekeeping work.
• Limit New Zealand's participation in the Australian frigate project to the existing two vessels.
We will review the outfitting of these vessels to make them less costly and more appropriate to our needs,
and to maximise New Zealand jobs.
We believe that New Zealand should have a blue water capacity, and any new vessels must meet that need.
• Support a standing military capacity for the United Nations,
and contribute to peacekeeping and peacemaking roles as required.
Labour sees the United Nations as a force for peace to dampen down regional hot spots.
• Continue to support a nuclear-free New Zealand
and protect the integrity of our nuclear-free policy.
• Increase the use of the military to assist in activities such as engineering projects and health programmes in the South Pacific.
• Work with the Returned Services Association and other ex-service organisations to ensure the needs of veterans are being met by the community.
Our country must honour the debt owed to generations of New Zealanders who sacrificed their youth and risked their lives to uphold the ideals of liberty, community and nationhood.
• Appoint a Minister for Veterans' Affairs and War Pensions.
• Ensure that war and veterans pensions are adjusted every year for the cost of living.
• Investigate ways in which the resources of our Defence Forces can be used to train New Zealanders at home.
The first and most important duty of our army, navy and air force is the security of New Zealand.
But Labour will find ways to make better use of our Defence Forces to expand our common security at home.
• Use military assets, especially surplus ones, to provide opportunities for training and motivation of unemployed people.
ECONOMY
A Vital New Partnership
The National Government has failed to build on the economic restructuring undertaken by the Fourth Labour Government.
We now have a jobless recovery with inadequate growth levels which will not deliver significant reductions in unemployment.
Labour's target is to raise growth levels to 4 per cent a year.
We recognise the need to manage the economy so that growth is sustainable
and generates jobs.
Labour has an integrated plan to build a high skills,
high income,
high quality,
high employment society.
The Economy and Jobs
The best long-term jobs programme this country will ever have is sustainable economic growth.
Our policies are designed to get the 4 per cent annual economic growth we need:
to make real inroads into unemployment;
to increase household incomes;
to control and then eliminate the deficit;
to begin reducing the country's debt.
The Economy and Economic Management
Having achieved low inflation, we must not surrender it.
Labour will work within the present framework of the Reserve Bank Act to maintain price stability.
This is crucial to improving competitiveness and encouraging investment.
If the dangers of inflation are now widely recognised, so too are the dangers of unnecessarily harsh disinflation.
Thousands of jobs were lost in 1991 because the inflation target was reached too quickly.
Labour will hold the Governor of the Reserve Bank equally accountable for undershooting monetary goals as for overshooting them.
The National Government has the worst record of financial management in recent New Zealand history.
Deficits in excess of $2 billion have been recorded in each of the last three years, and further deficits are forecast if their policies continue.
Labour will take a more responsible approach to fiscal policy and will:
• Keep tight control over Government expenditure.
• Publish a target band for the budget deficit/surplus, expressed as a percentage of GDP, extending over a four year period.
We will commit ourselves to achieving a deficit or surplus within that band each year.
This means a Labour Government will not be able to make election year promises without showing how those promises could be paid for.
This will enable a more informed debate over the options.
• Set the target band to meet the objective of eliminating the deficit over time.
The Economy and Inflation
Thanks to the low inflation policies put in place by the Fourth Labour Government, New Zealand now enjoys one of the lowest inflation rates in the world.
We should also have some of the lowest interest rates in the world.
Labour will:
• Ensure, with our responsible approach to fiscal policy, further falls in interest rates.
• Achieve control over the nation's accounts,
halt the rising burden of debt for future years,
and begin to reduce it.
The Economy and Treasury
For too long Treasury has followed a narrow ideological agenda.
It has become out of touch with everyday life and the real needs of business.
That has to change.
Labour will:
• Undertake an independent review of Treasury's structure and operations.
• Re-focus Treasury to concentrate on its key roles of efficiently scrutinising public expenditure and providing the Government with a broad range of sound economic policy advice to achieve our growth objectives.
• Ensure that the Minister of Finance also has access to alternative economic advice.
The Economy and Strategic Planning
If we are to get the growth, jobs and fairness New Zealanders need and deserve, there must be a much greater emphasis on strategic planning and partnerships.
Labour's planning focus will begin with a reconstituted Enterprise Council which will develop a strategic plan for the economy,
and identify those industries and sectors with the best potential for creating growth and jobs.
Labour will:
• Change the membership of the Enterprise Council to make it more representative of key sectors of society.
The new Council will include people with experience in business, unions, the social services and the environment.
Most new jobs will be created by small business, which has not been well understood by government.
Under Labour's  plan, the interests of small business and the self employed will p be represented on the Enterprise Council.
Long-range planning is essential.
New Zealand has had no independent long-range planning since the National Government abolished the Commission for the Future and the Planning Council.
Labour will:
• Ensure that, within six months, the new Enterprise Council has produced a five-year strategic plan for the New Zealand economy.
The Economy and Partnerships
We will enlist the expertise of business and the workforce to work with the Government in identifying business opportunities and promising new developments.
Labour will:
• Encourage the establishment of Industry Development Organisations (IDOs), especially in industries such as forestry, tourism, agriculture, aquaculture, skilled manufacturing, agro-technology, environmental protection and" biotechnology.
Industries like these are New Zealand's best hope for more jobs
and sustainable profits.
• Have the IDOs report on existing barriers to development, such as infrastructure shortcomings or skills shortages, and recommend government policy initiatives which might aid development and job growth.
The Economy and Industrial Relations
Workers and employers are equally important within the economy.
Neither can succeed without the other.
Our industrial relations policy is designed to meet the demands of next century.
The next Labour Government will:
• Ensure organised labour is one of the parties with a role in setting the strategic direction of the economy via the Enterprise Council.
• Encourage unions, workers and employers to build cooperative relationships aimed at improving productivity and raising skill levels in the workforce.
• Repeal the Employment Contracts Act and replace it with legislation which will be fair to individual workers, organised labour and employers.
• Not return to compulsory unionism, blanket coverage and compulsory arbitration.
Establish a realistic minimum code of employment rights,
including minimum wage rates for those under 20.
The Economy and Education
Education and skills training is the key to boosting our economic performance to a level that permits the creation of a large number of new jobs.
At present, too few people have the level of skills demanded by industry, too many are unable to find a job, and far too many students leave school lacking even the most basic skills that would allow them to find work.
Our education policies are designed to achieve the following:
• Have 90 per cent of third formers continuing their education to reach the equivalent of Form 7 by the year 2000.
• Have 85 per cent of school leavers going on to further education and training by the year 2000.
• Have no young person leaving school to be unemployed.
Upgrading the skills of the New Zealand workforce needs to begin urgently,
and we believe industry should contribute.
Labour will:
• Expect all industries to develop training strategies as part of their strategic planning.
• Considerably strengthen industrial training legislation.
• Introduce training levies.
The Economy and Research
Labour's entire policy is directed towards the future, and that means embracing a high skill, high technology approach.
New Zealand's research and development expenditure has deteriorated seriously since 1980.
Labour will:
• Aim to more than double our total research and development spending from 0.9 to 2 per cent of GDP over the next several years.
• Review, as part of our programme to lift investment, the definition which, for tax purposes, applies to expenditure on research and development.
The Economy and Business
It's time to re-invent government so that it is seen as an enthusiastic partner and friend of business, rather than an obstacle to growth and opportunity.
We are passing up too many opportunities for growth and jobs because we do not have enough confidence to invest in promising business development areas.
At present, many of our best ideas go overseas, taking their profits and their jobs with them.
In moving to redress this situation, Labour will:
• Establish a venture capital fund that can offer more than token assistance to able and innovative small businesses.
This fund will be enlarged to around $100 million.
• Provide a targeted investment tax credit to encourage investment in the new plant and productive equipment we need to compete in the global economy.
• Send all legislation with tax implications to a panel of experts with the power to recommend practical changes and improvements to Government.
There will be more certainty on tax regimes.
• Set up a small task force to attack with vigour the excessive complexity of the Government's administrative demands on small business.
• Require all government departments to review off forms which employers are regularly required to complete for government agencies.
Departments will be required to make their forms easier to fill in and to use plain, simple language.
We will also take a hard look at whether all the information currently being sought is really necessary, as employers, particularly small business ones, are being overwhelmed by the forms they must complete for government.
• Work in partnership with Maori authorities to encourage Maori economic development.
The Economy and Infrastructure
Infrastructure is integral to the growth of our country and the health and welfare of our people.
The Government's responsibility to maintain and enhance the country's infrastructure has been neglected by National.
Labour will;
• Undertake an audit of the nation's infrastructure to identify what major problems exist.
• Allow private companies or local government/private enterprise joint ventures to construct special public works through a new Build, Operate and Toll scheme (BOT).
Such works would be operated by toll until they were paid for,
and then would become part of the State's infrastructure.
• Introduce a New Zealand Transport Strategy.
• Ensure the funding of Transit New Zealand is maintained at a level which enhances our reading infrastructure.
The National Government has plans to slash Transit New Zealand's budget.
We believe New Zealand's $60 billion of roading infrastructure is too important to lose.
The Economy, Social Justice and Environment
No government policy or part of society can live or flourish in isolation.
Our economic policy is closely integrated with our policies for social justice
and our policies for the environment.
Under Labour, the Cabinet Social Justice Committee will be responsible for monitoring the impact of economic and other policies on social conditions and trends.
Labour is committed to sustainable development.
We recognise that the economy and the environment can no longer be considered in isolation from one another.
Both the Enterprise Council and the Industry Development Organisations will be expected to take full account of the environmental consequences of various options in their strategic planning.
At present, our system of accounts offers no indication of changes to our environmental assets.
We will progressively develop a set of natural resource accounts which will sit alongside our present system of national accounts.
Labour's plan to increase energy efficiency could make as important a contribution to economic growth and jobs as Labour's previous success in lowering the cost of getting exports across our wharves and cutting the costs of unnecessary red tape in government.
EDUCATION
An Urgent Need to do Better.
The future shape of education in New Zealand-and our economic progress next century-will be decided at this year's election.
Education is central to Labour's planning, just as it is central to the nation's future.
It is the trigger for investment and jobs.
We ignore it or undervalue it at our peril.
The reality today is that children in our major competing markets are better educated than young New Zealanders, they stay at school longer and leave with higher qualifications.
The National Government's extraordinary response has been to cut the investment in education, abolish compulsory registration of teachers, and leave training to the whims of the free market.
If New Zealand is to achieve necessarily ambitious educational goals, the co-operation and partnership of all those involved is essential.
This means the Government, parents, the community and industry all need to make their contributions.
Our challenge is not to betray the faith and the hope our young people have in us.
They have a right to expect, as we expected of our parents, to inherit a society and a country in which they can take a pride
and where they can develop to their full potential.
They also have the right to expect that their schools will provide them with a safe environment in which they can learn without threat of physical or emotional harassment.
They simply ask for the opportunities to learn the skills that will prepare them for a demanding future.
This is the least we can do for them; it is also the least we can do for the future well-being of New Zealand.
Education and Early Childhood
The first five years of life are crucial to a child's future.
Our goal is to lift participation by three year olds in early childhood education to 90 per cent by the year 2000.
The next Labour Government will:
• Implement a staged plan to enhance funding for early childhood centres.
• Encourage and adequately fund planned growth in Kohanga Reo and the development of Pacific Island language nests.
• Reinstate the Department of Social Welfare childcare subsidy for beneficiaries where families are not in work.
• Require compulsory registration for kindergarten teachers.
Under the current Government's rules, it is possible for someone convicted of child abuse to teach in a kindergarten.
We will not let that happen.
Education and School
Labour's goal is to have 90 per cent of third formers continuing their education to reach the equivalent of Form 7 by the turn of the century.
The next Labour Government will:
• Ensure that all children will have the right of access to their nearest neighbourhood school.
• Reaffirm our commitment to lower teacher pupil ratios.
• Reinstate compulsory registration for school teachers.
• Cease bulk funding of teacher salaries in schools.
Bulk funding leads to a two-tiered education system, in which schools in wealthy suburbs are able to afford more or better teachers than schools in poor areas.
• Ensure dedicated finance is available to deal with deferred maintenance and capital works in schools.
• Adequately fund schools to employ relief teachers through their operations grant.
• Reverse the National Government's policy of increasing grants to private schools.
Labour believes that public funding for compulsory schooling should concentrate on the public school system.
Savings made will be used to help disadvantaged schools.
• Ensure that all school leavers receive a Record of Achievement.
This will replace the current leaving certificates which often give no indication of what the student has achieved.
The Record of Achievement will detail the range and level of all -academic, vocational and personal-which a student has acquired at school.
• Replace the narrowly focused School Certificate with the New Zealand National Certificate, which will be more flexible, will cover a wider range of subjects, and will provide a more complete picture of a student's achievement and skills.
• Ensure greater use of technology in schools.
Telecommunications technology has an important role in enhancing education and training.
• Maintain the successful Beading Recovery programme in primary schools, which gives children with reading problems individual attention.
Mathematics recovery programmes will be further developed.
• Provide appropriate access to Maori based education, for example Kura Kaupapa Maori.
• Ensure that educational institutions take into account the needs of minority cultures, in particular the desirability of promoting their languages.
• Expand guidance teacher resources in primary schools to enable the early identification of students at risk and the development of individual programmes to assist these children.
• Promote the development of peace and conflict resolution programmes.
• Reinstate the School-Community Liaison programme to provide local help to students at risk,
and assistance to deal with the problem of truancy.
Education and Transition
Labour's aim is to ensure that no young person leaves school to become unemployed.
Our goal is to have all school leavers going on to farther learning, either in the workplace or in the formal education system, by the year 2000.
The next Labour Government will:
• Require all schools to provide a properly coordinated career planning and advisory service, starting with individual career/future focus interviews with all students in Form 4 to develop agreed career and training paths for students.
• Unify the approach to industry training so that young people making the transition from school to work will enter into a training contract which will lead to a recognised qualification.
• Riot a new 'Work-Link' programme.
This will be open to students from Form 5 onwards and will provide students with work experience and training in several workplaces within an industry.
Students will be expected to gain units towards a qualification recognised by the industry concerned and part of the Qualifications Framework.
• Increase participation in the Youth Traineeship Programmes.
• Retain the Training Opportunities Programme (TOPs),
and expand the eligibility criteria to provide opportunities for those people currently refused access to training.
Education and Universities/Polytechnics
Labour is committed to increasing the number of people attending universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
We are also committed to lowering the overall cost of education to students and their families.
Our goal is to have 85 per cent of school leavers going on to farther education and training by the year 2000.
The next Labour Government will:
• Not cut tertiary funding, as National has done.
• Restore funding for tertiary courses to no less than 85 per cent of agreed course costs,
and remove the distinction between Study Right and non Study Right funding.
• Fund planned growth in the number of equivalent fall-time students.
• Move towards providing a living allowance for all students over time.
The first priority for phasing in this policy will be to raise the income level at which the means test on parental income begins.
More students from low and modest income families will thereby receive a fall allowance, an increased allowance, or some allowance where they currently receive nothing at all.
• Increase the level of the parental income test for families with more than one child in tertiary education, in recognition of the considerable extra burden carried by these families.
• Change the sole parent criteria for student allowances to remove the inequities and complexity of the current test.
Lower the age of eligibility for a living allowance which is not subject to a parental means test.
This will be Labour's second priority in phasing-in a living allowance.
• Continue to provide student loans for fees and course costs.
The threshold for repayment of student loans will be raised to about $20,000 per annum.
A Labour Government will not aim to profit from the loans scheme.
Education and Learning Difficulties
Education is a right which should be available to all children, not only those who find learning easy.
Under Labour, schools will continue to play the major role in helping those children with behavioural difficulties and those at risk.
The next Labour Government will:
• Maintain the level of funding for special education at least at the current level
and ensure that a centrally funded special education service is maintained.
• Expect schools to identify children at risk early and provide appropriate development plans for them.
Education and Adult and Open Learning
Labour will:
• Ensure that, as part of the work of the education sector strategic planning forum, a plan is drawn up for the development and co-ordination of open learning.
• Support one overall coordinating and funding body for community and adult learning.
• Develop a funding formula which ensures stability in funding for community and adult education services.
• Co-ordinate high tech distance learning with more traditional distance education, such as the Correspondence School and the Open Polytechnic.
Education and Health
The issues of health and education are interrelated.
The next Labour Government will:
• Give immediate attention to boosting immunisation levels to prevent epidemics.
Schools will be asked to help identify children who have missed out on immunisation so that catch-up programmes can be implemented.
An action plan for immunisation will be required to be produced within four months of the election.
• Subsidise medical care and phamaceuticals for all children at a level no less than the level now established for community services card holders.
• Ensure that prescription charges for children will not exceed $3 for each of the first 20 items, with all items free of charge thereafter.
Based on average doctors' fees, no child under five should pay more than $6 for a visit to the doctor.
and no child over five should pay more than $11.
• Make a priority of also tackling other child health issues, such as asthma, child abuse, hearing loss, nutrition and parenting.
• Require public health authorities to work with schools to identify the need for school food programmes and to make recommendations on a coordinated response to relieving die problem of hunger among children.
EMERGENCY SERVICES
Helping Them Help Us
Emergency services need more support to help them carry out their valuable and increasingly diverse activities.
In addition to their traditional roles, emergency services today might want to link with neighbourhood support groups to assist the police in making our communities safer.
in other places, they might want to teach unemployed people skills such as lifesaving and first aid.
The next Labour Government will:
• Forge closer links between our external and civil defence services and other uniformed emergency services such as the Fire Service and ambulance services, and voluntary organisations such as the Red Cross, Coast Guard and Neighbourhood Support coordinators.
We will explore ways to share skills and widen the base of promotion, while maintaining the independence, integrity and culture of each organisation.
• Establish a working party to see where there is synergy between the various organisations, how we can get savings and a better deal for service people and staff, and expand services.
• Ensure that the work of the Fire Service, ambulance services, Coast Guard, and Civil Defence is coordinated with the activities of organisations of volunteers such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army, by expanding the role of the Minister of-Civil Defence to become the Minister of Civil Defence with Responsibility for Emergency Services.
• Review the Civil Defence legislation in light of the recommendations of the Civil Defence Review Panel.
ENERGY
The Importance of Efficiency
Labour's commitment to sustainable development is demonstrated most clearly in our energy policy.
Increasing energy efficiency could make as important a contribution to economic growth and jobs as Labour's previous successes in lowering the cost of getting exports across our wharves and cutting the cost of unnecessary government red tape.
The National Government has no energy policy.
It has acted in government on the belief that competition alone is sufficient to solve all economic problems.
We say New Zealand needs a strategy for energy efficiency, and that it must be led by government.
The next Labour Government will:
• Produce a national energy policy statement under the Resource Management Act.
• Review energy pricing structures and systems to ensure they do not discourage energy efficiency.
» Establish pilot energy efficiency programmes in homes, for example in pensioner units and state housing, as well as in selected commercial and industrial sites.
• Establish energy efficiency programmes in public buildings, such as schools and offices, to reduce the cost of energy to the taxpayer
and provide impetus to the growing energy efficiency industry.
• Identify and rank in priority order a list of specific energy efficiency measures to be promoted, such as hot water cylinder wraps, home insulation, compact fluorescent lighting and more efficient electric motors.
• Require Transit New Zealand to give greater weight to public transport.
Our aim is to increase the share of people travelling by public transport.
• Investigate the prospect of exhaust emission testing as part of a vehicle's warrant of fitness.
This will reduce pollution and enhance efficiency.
• Phase out lead in petrol.
• Not sell Ekctricorp.
We are opposed to the privatisation of electricity.
We support the separation of Transpower from Electricorp because it will reduce Electricorp's dominance in the industry.
But we are opposed to the sale of Transpower to private investors.
• Support, at the retail level, continuing community ownership of electricity companies, either via community trusts or local government.
We are opposed to any further privatisation of energy companies.
• Promote more research into renewable energy.
We need to prepare now for the time when Maui gas begins to run out early next century.
• Actively promote research into environmentally acceptable wind turbine sites,
promote the installation of turbines,
and investigate marketing mechanisms to integrate the electricity into the national grid.
• Amend the Crown minerals regime to ensure its purposes and principles are compatible with the Resource Management Act.
Mining has a place in the spectrum of industries offering employment and investment in New Zealand,
but not at the expense of the environment.
ENVIRONMENT
Restoring Our Proud Record
Labour is proud of its leadership on the environmental front.
In the 1980s, the Labour Government took an international lead, and was often far in advance of public opinion, on issues as diverse as ozone protection, driftnet fishing, threatened species, climate change, resource management, carbon dioxide reduction, marine sanctuaries, and waste management.
But New Zealand's impressive reputation as a world leader on environmental issues has been seriously tarnished by the inaction, delays and incompetence of the National Government.
Labour is committed to the principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.
We cannot rest on last decade's record.
We must earn again, every year, new credentials with fresh, forward-thinking policies.
Environment and the World
The National Government's secret agenda to water down our nuclear free legislation, its silence over the plutonium shipment through the Tasman Sea, and its lack of will on the ozone issue all point to a serious downgrading of New Zealand's role as a leading nation on environmental matters.
In restoring that role, the next Labour Government will:
• Ensure there will be no nuclear weapons, nuclear-powered ships or nuclear power stations in New Zealand territory.
• Promote the establishment of a world park in Antarctica, so that the continent can be permanently protected from mining and other environmental threats.
• Work with other sympathetic countries, and with committed organisations like Greenpeace and the World Wide Fund for Nature, to establish a whale sanctuary in the Southern Ocean.
• Promote an international regime for the management of all fishing of migratory fish species, as a logical next step to Labour's earlier campaign against driftnet fishing.
• Endorse the new phase-out timetables for the production of some ozone depleting chemicals.
Labour believes the production of remaining chemicals can be phased out faster, and we will return to the world stage to argue this.
We will also focus on reducing the release of existing ozone depleting chemicals.
• Get New Zealand back on track to achieving a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent of 1990 levels by the year 2005, as part of our contribution to stopping global warming.
Inaction by the National Government has meant that our carbon dioxide levels have increased in the last three years.
Environment and Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency is at the heart of Labour's environment policy.
The next Labour Government will:
• Establish energy efficiency programmes in public buildings and conduct pilot programmes in the domestic, commercial and industrial sectors.
• Investigate the prospect of exhaust emission testing as part of a vehicle's warrant of fitness.
This will reduce pollution and enhance efficiency.
• Phase out lead in petrol.
• Promote more research into renewable energy.
• Actively promote research into environmentally acceptable wind turbine sites and the installation of turbines.
Environment  and the Economy
Labour is committed to sustainable development.
We recognise that the economy and the environment can no longer be considered in isolation from one another.
By integrating economic and environmental policy, we will create more jobs.
For example, environmental protection industries offer enormous export potential, as well as a large growth and job potential at home.
The next Labour Government will:
• Expect both the Enterprise Council and the Industry Development Organisations to take full account of the environmental consequences of various options in their strategic planning.
• Progressively develop a set of natural resource accounts which will sit alongside our present system of national accounts.
At present, our system of accounts offers no indication of changes to our environmental assets.
• Promote employment in new environmentally friendly job-rich areas such as aquaculture and eco-industries.
• Reverse the decline in environmental research in New Zealand.
We need to research areas such as biological alternatives to chemicals, marine resource management, energy efficiency and renewable energy alternatives.
We will also extend research into other areas of environmental protection, and into new disciplines such as environmental reporting and natural resource accounting.
Environment and Awareness
The next Labour Government will:
• Make the reporting of serious environmental accidents compulsory.
Failure to disclose will be an offence, additional to any offence arising from the accident itself.
• Actively promote green labelling.
Environment and Transport
The next Labour Government will:
• Require Transit New Zealand to give greater weight to public transport.
• Change transport use patterns by encouraging cycle and bus lanes,
encouraging public transport,
improved urban planning,
and through a public education campaign on the environmental impact of private motoring.
• Encourage improved design and operating standards of motor vehicles.
This includes a move towards zero emission vehicles
and hybrid (petrol/electric) vehicles,
more fuel efficient vehicles,
and improved safety features and standards.
• Strengthen marine pollution legislation,
draw up bilateral agreements with other nations so we are better able to deal with maritime environmental disasters,
and ratify the Marine Pollution Convention.
Environment and Waste
Labour is determined to make progress on the issue of waste, especially hazardous waste.
Good waste management policies will create real jobs as well as reduce pollution.
The next Labour Government will:
• Establish a New Zealand Waste Management Foundation.
Its roles will include funding research into industrial waste reduction,
establishing voluntary targets for waste reduction from industry groups,
analysing job opportunities,
and examining overseas projects and trends.
• Establish the Environmental Risk Management Authority,
and extend its role to include contaminated sites and hazard ous wastes as well as hazardous substances.
Promote the use of recyclable materials in industry.
ETHNIC AFFAIRS
The Richness of Diversity
The increasing ethnic diversity of New Zealand is an asset that enriches our society as a whole, but little has been done to recognise the distinctive presence of ethnic minorities or to protect their cultural traditions.
Surely New Zealand has the intelligence, tolerance and leadership to take advantage of this diversity?
Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand, but the history and contribution of the many other ethnic groups in this country must also be reorganised.
Labour will actively encourage ethnic communities to play a larger part in New Zealand life at all levels.
The next Labour Government will:
• Designate a Minister to have oversight of the Ethnic Affairs Unit in the Department of Internal Affairs.
He or she will be responsible for coordinating consultation between government agencies and ethnic groups.
• Encourage greater public support for and understanding of the benefits of ethnic and cultural diversity.
• Ensure that the Office of the Race Relations Conciliator and the Human Rights Commission have sufficient resources to vigorously uphold the rights of all ethnic minorities to be protected against discrimination.
• Review the adequacy of existing interpretation services, particularly in the areas of justice, health and social welfare.
• Ensure that educational institutions take into account the needs of minority cultures, in particular the desirability of promoting their language.
• Promote greater provision within the broadcasting system for programmes catering for ethnic minorities.
• Take into account the representations of established ethnic groups on behalf of refugees and asylum seekers.
• Ensure that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs focuses particular attention on the needs of those for whom English is a second language.
FAMILIES
Families Come First
The family, in all its shapes, is the basic unit of our communities.
If our increasingly diverse family units are under siege, then our society is in trouble.
We are close to that situation today, courtesy of the combined pressures of the National attacks on public health and education, and on our housing, industrial relations and accident compensation systems.
Labour's policies put families first.
Families and Health
The next Labour Government will:
• Change the law to guarantee that New Zealanders receiving treatment in public hospitals cannot be charged for services traditionally provided free of charge.
• Remove immediately the hospital charges imposed by the National Government.
• Phase out the community services cards
and stop any further development of income targeting for health services.
The first step will be to abolish community services card categories for children and senior citizens.
As resources permit, universal subsidies will be restored to adults.
All New Zealanders should have access to appropriate primary care services at prices they can afford.
• Give priority to getting rid of the backlog of surgery by tagging funding for a blitz on waiting times.
• Give immediate attention to boosting immunisation levels  to prevent epidemics.
Schools and pre-schools will be asked to help identify children who have missed out on immunisation so that catch-up programmes can be implanted.
We will require an action plan for immunisation to be produced within four months of the election.
• Ensure all regional health boards develop adolescent health service strategies which address the problems youth suicide, and alcohol and drug abuse.
Too many families have to think twice about the expense before taking their young children to the doctor and picking up their medicines from the chemist.
Labour will:
• Subsidise all medical care and pharmaceuticals for children at a level no less than that now established for community services card holders.
Based on average doctors' fees no child under five should pay more than $6 for a visit to the doctor,
and no child over five should pay more than $11.
• Ensure that prescription charges for children will not exceed $3 for each of the first 20 items,
with all items free of charge thereafter.
• Identify, via public health authorities working with schools, the extent of the need for school food programmes.
Labour is committed to keeping senior citizens independent and in their own homes for as long as possible.
Labour will:
• Encourage the development of home-based services services and independent living services for senior citizens.
Families and Education
The next Labour Government will:
• Implement a staged plan to enhance funding for early childhood centres.
• Reinstate the Department of Social Welfare childcare subsidy for beneficiaries where families are not in work.
• Give all children the right of access to their nearest neighbourhood school.
• Reinstate the School-Community Liaison programme to provide local help to students at risk,
and assistance to deal with the problem of truancy.
• Move towards providing a living allowance for all students over time.
The first priority will be to raise the income level at which the means test begins.
More students from low and modest income families will thereby receive a full allowance, an increased allowance, or some allowance where they currently receive nothing at all.
• Increase the level of the parental income test for families with more than one child in tertiary education, in recognition of the considerable extra burden carried by these families.
• Change the sole parent criteria for student allowances to remove the inequities and complexity of the current test.
• Lower the age of eligibility for a living allowance which is not subject to a parental means test.
This will be Labour's second priority in phasing-in a living allowance for all students.
Families and the Economy
Our policies are designed to get the 4 per cent annual economic growth we need to make real inroads into unemployment, and to increase household incomes.
Labour will:
• Ensure, with our responsible approach to fiscal policy, further/alls in interest rates.
• Make the Cabinet Social Justice Committee responsible for monitoring the impact of economic and other policies on social conditions and trends.
Families and Jobs
If we are to get the growth and jobs New Zealanders need and deserve, we need a much greater emphasis on strategic planning and partnership.
The next Labour Government will:
• Aim to ensure that no young person under 20 is left on the dole with nothing to do, by offering young people the choice of training, employment or community work.
• Enlist the help of voluntary groups, non-profit and service organisations to develop projects to usefully employ young people
and to rebuild our community infrastructure.
• Use the skills of mature unemployed to train young people.
• Offer businesses subsidies up to the equivalent of the dole, to take on new workers, to train and equip the young for a lifetime of work.
Families and the Workplace
Labour will:
• Replace the 'scorched earth' approach of the Employment Contracts Act with a fair and balanced industrial relations system.
• Review minimum wage levels and all statutory minimum conditions immediately on taking office.
• Establish minimum wage levels for people under 20.
There is currently no statutory minimum wage for people aged under 20.
Young people can be, and have been, harshly treated.
Families and ACC
Labour will:
• Reject National's secret agenda to privatise ACC.
We will restore a comprehensive no-fault accident compensation system.
• Restore compensation which is a fair reflection of lost earnings.
• Restore an inclusive definition of personal injury.
• Restore a fair form of lump sum payments for serious permanent injury.
Families and Cities
The next Labour Government will:
• Reinvigorate our inner cities and make them more appealing to families by bringing together the interests of central and local government, as well as the commercial community, in a strategic partnership.
• Investigate ways of speeding up the conversion of vacant commercial space into residential apartments, to bring more people to live in our inner cities.
Families and Housing
Labour will:
• Ensure, once again, that home ownership is a goal all New Zealanders have a fair chance of achieving.
We will work with the private sector to establish deposit gap schemes to assist people to secure a mortgage.
• Ensure interest rates remain low by adopting sound fiscal policies.
• Re-establish the Housing Corporation as a social agency which addresses the problems of those in serious housing need.
• Link Housing Corporation rents directly to tenants' ability to pay, through income related rent scales.
Housing assistance will be allocated on the basis of need.
Families and Crime
Our goal is to have a neighbourhood support group active in every residential street,
and at the same time we are going to take action against domestic violence.
Labour will:
• Invite local bodies to form Safer Community Councils, and make support and resources available.
• Ensure, where there is evidence of domestic assault, that the assailant is charged under the same criteria applying to an equivalent assault on the street.
The fact that it is a 'domestic dispute' should not be a factor.
Families and Justice
Labour will:
• Consider extending the principles of die Children, Young Persons and their Families Act to young adults, to compel young offenders and their families to confront the real effect of their offending,
and to give victims a role in the outcome.
Families and Social Security
We regard proper assistance for children and families to be of primary importance.
Labour will:
• Establish immediately an independent review of the Child Support Act.
Parents should support their children financially,
but the current child support arrangements are producing anomalies, unfairness and stress.
• Provide support for families under stress
and ensure parents are assisted to give their children a good start in life.
• Provide financial assistance for rape crisis centres, women's refuges, victims' support services, and other support services such as marriage guidance.
Families and Older New Zealanders
Labour will:
• Ensure that better support services are made available to families looking after frail and dependent older relatives.
FISHERIES AND AQUACULTUBE
The Exciting Potential of Fish Farming
Growth and jobs are the key economic issues in Labour's plan for fisheries and aquaculture.
Foreign exchange earnings from fish have topped $1 billion, but we can do even better.
Labour's objective is further export growth
and the creation of permanent jobs,
backed by investment, skills, research,
and an improving marine environment.
We stopped hunting sheep and cattle hundreds of years ago, but we still use similar approaches to harvest the sea's bounty.
There is enormous potential in aquaculture.
To ensure this industry will grow and flourish, strict environmental standards must apply.
The Minister of Fisheries in the next Labour Government will become the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture to reflect fresh priorities.
Labour will protect the right, deep in the New Zealand psyche, to throw a line over the side of the wharf or dinghy.
We will ensure access to waterways by protecting the Queen's Chain and appointing independent guardians to help achieve this.
The rights of recreational fishers and Maori will be recognised at all stages of policy making.
Many fishing and aquaculture ventures are small businesses and will benefit from the comprehensive range of policies designed to help them increase investment and jobs.
(See page 157)
We will:
• Encourage the formation of an Industry Development Organisation to develop and implement a strategic plan for fishing and aquaculture.
As well as identifying jobs and growth potential, the IDO will examine infrastructural barriers, research priorities, and develop a training strategy for the industry.
• Work vigorously to gain fair access to overseas markets for our fish products.
• Aim to have 75 per cent of all sea-going jobs filled by New Zealanders
and 75 per cent of the catch processed here by the year 2000.
Only 39 per cent of the total catch from our exclusive economic zone was caught by New Zealand-owned or crewed boats last year.
• Strengthen the law to ensure that the 24.9 per cent ceiling on foreign ownership of fishing companies is the absolute limit.
• Resume the process of transferring remaining commercial fish species to the quota management system.
• Safeguard the recreational right of all New Zealanders to fish in the sea.
• Simplify the Fisheries Act
and incorporate the lessons learnt in the first seven years of quota management.
• Vigorously prosecute poachers and quota fraudsters.
• Encourage the enhancement of natural fish stocks
and the extension of marine farming, including land-based operations, to a wider range of animal and plant species.
• Involve commercial, recreational and traditional users, and conservationists in fisheries policy-making.
• Ensure that Maori continue to enter the business and activity of commercial fishing.
• Provide for Maori to exercise their customary fishing rights as provided for under the Treaty of Waitangi.
• Investigate the establishment of a new crown research institute for fishing which would promote research into fish processing and aquaculture.
• Aim to more than double our total research and development spending from 0. 9 to 2 per cent of GDP over the next several years.
• Review the definition which, for tax purposes, applies to expenditure on research and development.
• Pursue an economic policy which will maintain low inflation and low interest rates.
FORESTRY
Jobs from Logs
New Zealand is a world leader in growing plantation softwoods.
Our environmentally sustainable industry is the result of far-sighted decisions taken by Governments throughout this century.
Radiata pine now maturing in new plantations is expected to increase the woodflow by one-third over the next 10 years.
New Zealanders are expecting jobs from logs.
Labour has a plan to make sure it happens.
The next Labour Government will:
• Encourage the formation of an Industry Development Organisation to develop and implement a strategic plan for forestry.
As well as identifying jobs and growth potential, the IDO will examine infrastructural barriers, research priorities, and develop a training strategy for the industry.
• Continue to support the active promotion of New Zealand's plantation softwood industry overseas,
and to attract foreign investment.
• Negotiate much more aggressively with our trading partners, so that barriers to our processed timber are reduced and eliminated over time.
• Maintain the current taxation regime for forestry establishment so that planting, pruning and thinning costs will be fully deductible in the year of expenditure.
• Support and promote the work of the Forest Industry Training and Education Council,
and ensure its work is integrated with the industry's strategic plan.
• Support the establishment of a venture capital fund, funded jointly by government and financial institutions, to provide short-term equity funding to approved forestry business ventures.
• Promote tax simplification in the forestry industry.
• Promote models such as forestry co-operatives for multiple small investors to extend forest plantings of non-radiata species.
• Encourage the establishment of pilot plantations of indigenous species such as kauri for wood production.
• Move as quickly as possible to stop remaining native forest clearfelling.
Clearfelling of native forests is unacceptable in the 1990s.
• Work with individuals and communities to create stand alone forest industries in regions with high unemployment and degrading soils.
• Consider more constructive uses of the unemployment benefit if permanent jobs will follow
and the environment is protected or enhanced.
This could include combining the land resources of iwi and other groups with the funding of programmes of the Government to develop resources that will lead towards reduced unemployment and enhanced self reliance.
• Aim to more than double our total research and development spending from 0. 9 to 2 per cent of GDP over the next several years.
• Review the definition which, for tax purposes, applies to expenditure on research and development.
• Pursue an economic policy which will maintain low inflation and low interest rates.
• Encourage the success of small business operations and other exporters by promoting company clusters and by continuing to promote adding value to products through further processing.
Small forestry businesses will benefit from Labour's policies designed to help them increase investment and jobs. (See page 157).
HEALTH
People Ahead of Profits
Health policy is, or should be, about keeping people healthy and out of hospitals, enhancing people's quality of life and, when they are sick, helping them back to good health.
It has nothing to do with hospital profitability.
National is destroying our health system by putting profits ahead of people.
It is time to stop this nonsense.
Labour is going to save, then improve, our public health system by ensuring that people get access to health services according to their health needs rather than their ability to pay,
and that National's profit-driven policy is abandoned.
The success of Labour's policy will be judged by the improvement in people's health, not by the financial return on assets.
The next Labour Government will:
• Change the law to guarantee that New Zealanders receiving treatment in public hospitals cannot be charged for services traditionally provided free of charge.
• Immediately remove the hospital charges imposed by the National Government.
• Replace National's profit-driven crown health enterprises with non-profit district health services.
• Not allow private patients in public hospitals to jump the queue for treatment over public patients.
It will not be possible for public hospitals to treat private patients, outside existing arrangements in maternity services.
• Phase out the community services cards and stop any further development of income targeting for health services.
The first step will be to abolish community services card categories for children and senior citizens.
As resources permit universal subsidies will be restored to adults.
All New Zealanders should have access to appropriate primary care services at prices they can afford.
• Subsidise medical care and pharmaceuticals for children and senior citizens at a level no less than that now established for community services card holders.
Based on average doctors’ fees, no child under five should pay more than $6 for a visit to the doctor,
and no child over five should pay more than $11.
The cost per visit to the doctor for all senior citizens should on average be no more than $16.
• Work with the New Zealand Medical Association to ensure that, as in the past, the benefits of the funding boost are passed on to patients.
On these funding levels it should be possible for many practices to offer services for even less than the fees quoted above.
• Ensure that prescription charges for children and senior citizens will not exceed $3 for each of the first 20 items,
with all items free of charge thereafter.
• Give priority to getting rid of the backlog of surgery by tagging funding for a blitz on waiting times.
Health and Children
Improving child health is of the utmost priority.
Labour will:
• Give immediate attention to boosting immunisation levels to prevent epidemics.
Schools will be asked to help identity children who have missed out on immunisation so that catch-up programmes can be implemented.
We will require an action plan for immunisation to be produced within within four months of the election.
• Identify, through public health authorities working with schools, the immediate need for school food programmes.
Public health authorities will be asked to present a coordinated response to the problems of poverty and hunger among children to the Ministries of Health and Education within three months of the election.
Health and Older New Zealanders
Frail and vulnerable patients in geriatric beds in public hospitals should not be made to pay for their care.
Labour will:
• Scrap the law which applies means and assets tests to senior citizens in geriatric beefs in public hospitals.
Labour will return to the previous regime of no means or assets testing for geriatric hospital beds in the public sector
and an income tested but non asset tested subsidy for those assessed as requiring geriatric hospital beds elsewhere.
• Encourage the development of home-based support services and independent living services for senior citizens.
Our objective is to keep senior citizens independent and in then-own homes and in the community for as long as possible.
Health and All New Zealanders
Labour will give priority to explicit health status goals and strategies to achieve them.
The goals are to:
• Discourage non-smokers, especially adolescents, from taking up smoking, and reduce the overall number of smokers and the consumption of tobacco;
• Reduce the incidence of dietary-related health disorders by improving nutrition;
• Reduce alcohol-related health problems by reducing alcohol consumption;
• Reduce the prevalence of high blood pressure;
• Reduce preventable death and disability from motor vehicle crashes;
• Reduce hearing loss in children in the under five year age group;
• Reduce disability and death from asthma;
• Reduce avoidable illness and death from coronary heart disease and stroke;
• Reduce the incidence of invasive cervical cancer and the cervical cancer death rate;
• Reduce skin cancer (melanoma) incidence and death rates;
• Protect children from preventable infectious diseases by improving immunisation levels.
• Continue the reduction in cot death rates.
Health and Women
Labour's emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention is of critical importance to women.
Most women in the course of their lives have contact with the health system not only when they are sick but also when they are healthy and having children.
It is essential that the health services improve their responsiveness and sensitivity to women and women's health issues.
The next Labour Government will:
• Promote 'well women's health services.
• Discourage the over-medicalisation of the condition of older women.
• Promote both choice in child birth services for women
and the autonomous practice of midwifery.
• Vigorously promote the national cervical screening programme.
• Work with regional health boards to ensure that women throughout New Zealand have adequate access to facilities for safe and lawful abortions.
Health and Accountability
National's ministerially appointed regional health authorities are neither accountable to, nor representative of, the communities they serve.
Labour's regional health boards will have a majority of elected members and a minority of ministerial appointees.
Their meetings will be open to the public and the news media.
Health and Mental Health Services
Labour believes the move to more community-based mental health services is appropriate and should continue.
Labour will quickly review the range of mental health services available in each of the regions.
A taskforce will be set up to develop and co-ordinate a National Mental Health Strategy.
Each regional health board will be required to produce a coordinated mental health service development plan
and to fund a comprehensive range of services.
Health and Voluntary Organisations
Voluntary organisations providing health services are being subjected to immense pressure in National's commercially-oriented contracting regime.
Labour will ensure that voluntary organisations are able to enter into stable funding arrangements with the regional health boards and district health services.
Health and Consultation
It is essential that clear national guidelines be set for health policy,
and that the consumers' voice is heard in die development of national health policy.
The next Labour Government will:
• Establish a Health Council to help co-ordinate national health policy and provision.
The council will be chaired by the Minister of Health and will comprise the chairpeople of each of the health boards.
• Consider the establishment of a national consumer health forum which could provide advice to the Minister of Health and the Health Council.
• Establish a health and disability support sector development organisation, modelled on Labour's industry development organisations.
It would involve employers and employees in the health and disability service sectors and would be a forum for developing a strategic plan for those sectors.
Health and Patient Advocacy
The National Government has failed to support the passage of strong legislation to protect health consumers' rights.
The next Labour Government will;
• Ensure legislation establishing independent advocacy and complaints procedures is passed speedily, if such legislation is not in place by the election.
If inadequate legislation has been passed, Labour will amend it to strengthen both patient advocacy and the Office of the Health Commissioner.
Health and Society
No government policy or part of society can live or flourish in isolation.
Our economic policy is closely integrated with our policies for health and other areas of social justice.
Under Labour, the Cabinet Social Justice Committee will be responsible for monitoring the impact of economic and other policies on social conditions and trends which are important for the promotion of health.
HOUSING
Rebuilding the Kiwi Dream
The National Government's housing policies show no understanding of the real needs of New Zealanders.
Its decision to turn the Housing Corporation into a profit-making real estate company and to charge market rents to people who have no market income means New Zealand now faces the prospect of overcrowding and homelessness on a scale not seen for decades.
New Zealand's proud housing record was achieved only with a strong political commitment to ensuring that people had good access to housing, regardless of their social or financial position.
Under National, that commitment has gone.
It will return with the next Labour Government.
Labour will:
• Ensure, once again, that home ownership is a goal all New Zealanders have a fair chance of achieving.
We will work with the private sector to establish deposit gap schemes to assist people to secure a mortgage.
• Work with the housing industry to establish a five year strategy for residential building in New Zealand.
This will identify areas which have shortfalls of lower-cost housing.
• Repeal the Housing Restructuring Act
and reestablish the Housing Corporation as a social agency.
Housing and Assistance
Allocation of housing assistance will be on the basis of need.
Labour will:
• Reintroduce income-related rent scales for State house tenants.
The objective will be to achieve rent scales similar to those in operation before the 1990 election.
• Provide an accommodation supplement for renters in the private sector.
• Ensure that rental accommodation is available at peppercorn rentals for community groups offering special needs and emergency housing.
The Housing Corporation will be expected to work with community groups to assess the need for community housing and to develop appropriate solutions.
Priority will be given to providing appropriate housing for those in need of refuge, emergency or supervised accommodation,
and for older people
and people with disabilities.
• Support kaumatua, marae-based and other community housing in response to Maori and Pacific Island needs,
and ensure that papakainga housing is once again promoted.
• Establish pilot energy efficiency programmes in homes, for example in pensioner units and State housing.
• Investigate ways of speeding up the conversion of vacant commercial space into residential apartments, to bring people to live in our inner cities.
• Ensure further falls in interest rates by pursuing a responsible fiscal policy.
IMMIGRATION
Putting New Zealand's Interests First
The real competitive advantage for New Zealand lies in its people, not its raw materials.
Immigration will become an important trigger for economic growth by adding to the skill base that helps create jobs.
Labour's immigration policy will put New Zealand jobs and interests first in establishing the number and mix of immigrants.
We will:
• Identify and implement ways of ensuring that the business skills of new immigrants are effectively harnessed and matched with local opportunities.
• Make it one of the options within the Business Immigration Scheme that immigrants agree to invest $250,000 into an approved Venture Capital Scheme.
These funds would be required to be invested for three years and would yield an annual 3 per cent rate of return for the investor.
• Consider ways of attracting expatriate New Zealanders with relevant business skills to return home.
• Defend the present rights of New Zealanders to entry to Australia.
• Streamline application procedures and regulations to ensure the most efficient use of resources.
• Monitor the activities of private immigration consultants to ensure migrants are given quality information and a good standard of service.
• Encourage the successful settlement of immigrants into New Zealand by ensuring suitable information and programmes relating to New Zealand's cultural identity and the importance of the Treaty of Waitangi are available to them.
• Ensure that prospective migrants who meet the standard criteria are not discriminated against on the basis of gender, race, disability or sexual orientation.
• Examine the rules governing inter-country adoption to make sure they are fair and transparent to all concerned.
• Continue to welcome refugees
and provide a coordinated resettlement programme for them.
• Ensure there are just and accessible appeal procedures.
• Retain the right of the Minister of Immigration to review immigration cases where exceptional circumstances exist.
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Meeting the Demands of the Next Century
Workers and employers are equally important within the economy.
Neither can succeed without the other.
Industrial relations is one of the weapons used by the National Government to divide New Zealand.
The Employment Contracts Act has been used to attack the wages and conditions of many workers.
Women, the lowly paid and young people have suffered the most.
National has a secret agenda in industrial relations.
Powerful business interests are open about wanting no minimum wages anywhere in the economy.
And they want to abolish employment laws and courts.
Labour's industrial relations policy is designed to meet the demands of the next century.
Unions, workers and employers will be encouraged to build co-operative relationships aimed at improving productivity, and raising the skill levels in the workforce.
We will:
• Replace the 'scorched earth' approach of die Employment Contracts Act with a. fair and balanced industrial relations system.
• Promote collective bargaining.
Not return to compulsory unionism, blanket coverage and compulsory arbitration.
Workers will be free to join whichever union they choose, or to join no union at all.
• Continue to provide in law for the negotiation of individual contracts by and for those who so choose.
• Ensure legal recognition of unions,
promotion of free collective bargaining,
and a duty to bargain in good faith.
• Review minimum wage levels and all statutory minimum conditions immediately on taking office.
We will establish minimum wage levels for people under 20 for whom there is currently no protection.
Young people can be, and have been, harshly treated.
• Provide for unions the right to bargain on behalf of their members.
If the membership at individual sites agree, unions will be able to lodge multi-employer claims on behalf of their members.
• Ensure unions have reasonable rights of access to workplaces.
• Rebalance the law governing strikes and lockouts.
The use of partial lockouts to impose conditions sought unsuccessfully by employers in the course of negotiations will not be lawful.
Nor will it be lawful to dismiss striking or locked out workers simply because they are on strike or locked out.
Workers will be able to take lawful strike action in pursuit of a multi-employer agreement.
• Ensure Labour's legislation is consistent with the International Labour Organisation conventions on freedom of association, and the rights to organise and bargain collectively.
• Promote more rapid and widespread adoption of workplace reform as a key objective for lifting the performance of the economy.
• Ensure equal employment opportunity provisions are put into legislation.
Industrial Relations and Skills
Upgrading skills in the New Zealand workforce needs to begin urgently,
and we believe industry should contribute.
Labour will:
• Expect all industries to develop training strategies as part of their strategic planning.
• Considerably strengthen industrial training legislation.
• Introduce training levies.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
New Zealand and the World
A country's international relations policy is an expression of its ideals, and of its people's values, as well as their interests.
Labour's international relations policy has always stressed the human factor-the overriding interests of people as a first priority.
Over the years it has been characterised by an independence of view and a clear vision of New Zealand's place in the world and the contribution we can make within die broader global community.
That focus will not change.
The next Labour Government will promote abroad what we demand at home-a dedication to fairness, social justice, cultural pluralism and economic sustainability.
We will:
• Assert New Zealand's independence as a responsible member of the international community.
• Make more vigorous use of New Zealand's seat on the UN Security Council to press for a stronger voice for smaller countries and greater protection of their interests.
• Support UN peacekeeping operations where these directly contribute to humanitarian objectives, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.
• Promote New Zealand's credentials as an honest broker on issues which New Zealand can play a useful part in resolving.
• Keep New Zealand free of nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors.
• Promote the World Court Project seeking an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice on die legality of nuclear weapons.
• Prepare and promote a special international initiative against conventional arms transfers and sales.
• Support positive peacemaking measures, particularly in the South Pacific.
Labour will promote the development of a South Pacific conflict resolution facility, designed to serve as a regional focus for the peaceful settlement of disputes in the area.
• Enlarge the mandate of the Public Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control to enable it to undertake an analysis of future security needs in the Asia-Pacific region and New Zealand's role in that context.
International Relations and Defence
Defence issues in the post-Cold War era are complicated, and will require fresh and creative policies and skilful leadership by the Minister of Defence.
A Labour Government will maintain a defence force appropriate to New Zealand's and our region's needs.
We will:
• Work to promote common security within the Pacific region,
recognising that New Zealand's past military alliances, such as ANZUS, are no longer an adequate basis for meeting our region's post-Cold War needs.
• Re-orient the armed forces to give priority to South Pacific resource protection,
disaster relief,
New Zealand civil defence
and United Nations peacekeeping work.
• Limit New Zealand's participation in the Australian frigate project to the existing two vessels.
We will review the outfitting of these vessels to make them less costly and more appropriate to our needs,
and to maximise New Zealand jobs.
We believe that New Zealand should have a blue water capacity, and any new vessels must meet that need.
• Contribute to United Nations peacekeeping and peacemaking roles as required,
and ensure that New Zealand's Defence forces have the capacity to respond adequately where circumstances require a New Zealand contribution.
• Increase the use of the military to assist in activities such as engineering projects and health programmes in the South Pacific.
International Relations and the Environment
Labour has a long and proud record as a party prepared to stand up for environmental concerns.
The Fourth Labour Government set New Zealand in the forefront of international environmental action.
Since 1990, however, New Zealand's record has been second rate and apologetic.
The next Labour Government will set environmental diplomacy as a central pillar of New Zealand's international relations policy.
We will;
• Encourage progress toward the establishment of World Park status for Antarctica.
• Support the international initiative instituted by France for a whale sanctuary in the southern ocean.
• Ratify the law of the Sea Convention and the Marine Pollution Convention.
Labour will promote an international underwater minerals regime
and a broadening of the jurisdiction of the Law of the Sea Convention.
• Strongly promote the establishment of international targets for a reduction in production and release of ozone depleting chemicals.
• Get New Zealand back on track to achieving a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 20 percent of 1990 levels by the year 2005.
This will be our contribution towards slowing global warming; inaction by the National Government has meant that our carbon dioxide levels have increased in the last three years.
• Draw international attention to the need for protection of migratory fish species by promoting an international regime for the management of all fishing of such species in international waters.
• Seek international support for a strengthening of the implementation of the Drift Net Convention and the means of enforcement of that convention.
International Relations and Trade
The next Labour Government will:
• Actively promote, bilaterally and multilaterally, a successful outcome to the CATT negotiations.
New Zealand will continue to strengthen the role of the Cairns Group until and beyond the conclusion of the current GATT round.
• Advance New Zealand's interests through GATT-compatible open regional trading arrangements.
We see the Asia Pacific Economic Council (APEC) as the start of an open regional Asia-Pacific grouping.
Labour recognises that New Zealand should have a dual policy of working for a fair GATT result, while at the same time negotiating an open GATT-compatible regional grouping of Asia Pacific nations.
• Seek a significant strengthening of the relationship between New Zealand and Australia at all levels.
• Consult with our Pacific neighbours to find ways of extending political co-operation in the region.
This could include the concept of a Pacific Parliament, in addition to the Pacific Forum.
International Relations and Human Rights
The next Labour Government will:
• Promote the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Bights of Indigenous Peoples.
• Participate in international programmes designed to promote democracy in Eastern Europe.
• Provide assistance, through the Commonwealth and the UN, to initiatives designed to assist South Africa towards democratic government based on majority rule.
• Actively support peace agreements between Israel and the Palestinian people, based on mutual recognition of the right to co-exist free of aggression.
• Support international refugee programmes, notably through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
and undertake to accept New Zealand's fair share of refugees.
International Relations and Aid
Labour will:
• Devise additional and more creative ways of delivering aid, for example by providing expert technical assistance to help smaller nations get more aid from international agencies.
• Ensure that aid expenditure is devoted to projects that are environmentally sustainable.
JOBS
The Breakthrough on Jobs
Right now 420,000 New Zealanders are out of work and want work, or are in part-time jobs and want more work.
That's the true unemployment figure.
National promised to halve unemployment, but it's gone up by 27 per cent.
Labour's policies will lift our level of growth
and be the best long-term jobs programme this country has ever seen.
But economic growth alone will not solve the problem of unemployment.
Labour's policy offers a breakthrough.
We will enlist me support of voluntary agencies and all New Zealanders to help win this battle.
The next Labour Government will:
• Aim to ensure that no young person under 20 is left on the dole with nothing to do, by offering young people the choice of training, employment or community work.
• Enlist the help of voluntary groups, non-profit and service organisations to develop projects to usefully employ young people
and to rebuild our community infrastructure.
• Use the skills of mature unemployed to train young people.
• Offer businesses subsidies up to the equivalent of the dole to take on new workers, to train and equip the young for a lifetime of work.
• Change work schemes and training courses to reflect the needs of industries and workers, not the bureaucrats who run the systems.
Jobs and Training
To equip our workforce for the high skill, high wage path Labour will;
• Provide over time a living allowance for all tertiary students,
and raise the income level at which the means test on parental income begins.
• Make tertiary study more accessible for mature students.
• Require employers to ensure their workforce has access to training.
• Increase the number of people in Training Opportunities Programme (TOPs).
• Ensure the Careers Service is maintained and appropriately resourced.
Jobs and Industry
Labour will help major industries add value
and jobs.
We will:
• Develop a strategic plan to build and expand upon the work of the major industries through a reorganised Enterprise Council.
• Encourage industries of the future, such as aquaculture, biotechnology, eco-industries, communications, and education services.
• Work with industry to identify and remove barriers to development, such as infrastructure shortcomings, skill shortages, and red tape that strangle growth.
• Establish a substantial venture capital fund to let many more innovative businesses get started and grow successfully.
• Assist with research and development, marketing and the creation of new export markets.
• Provide a targeted investment tax credit to encourage investment in new plant.
• Help domestic industries lift their performance to displace imports.
Jobs and Small Business
Small businesses are die innovators and the risk-takers who will provide most of our extra growth and jobs.
Labour will:
• Establish a Register of Small Businesses to make it easier to pass on information about available resources and assistance to all small businesses.
• Establish a Small Business Taskforce to examine how to simplify the tax rules for small businesses
and cut the amount of paperwork government departments demand of small business.
• Introduce a Small Business Tax code written in plain English.
• Expand the Be Your Own Boss scheme so more individuals can set up their own businesses.
• Modernise intellectual property legislation to protect New Zealand inventions
and to reduce the costs of gaining copyright.
• Provide more pre-venture training and ongoing business development support.
• Promote a government-local community partnership to support more local employment initiatives.
Jobs and the Unemployed
Labour will assist unemployed people
and remove some of me disincentives for people to re-enter the workforce.
We will:
• Abolish the punitive six month stand-down.
• Review minimum wage levels and all statutory minimum conditions immediately on taking office.
• Promote more affordable childcare for those wishing to return to the workforce.
• Review benefit abatement levels and effective marginal tax rates.
• Develop action teams to work alongside companies and their employees when major redundancies are planned, in order to minimise the number: of workers who become unemployed,
and to promote alternative training and employment opportunities.
• Increase subsidised job opportunities,
especially for youth, Maori, Pacific Islanders, women, people with disabilities, and the mature unemployed.
• Conduct an employment audit before all major Government policies are finalised to assess the employment outcome.
JUSTICE
Restoring the Balance
There are more people imprisoned in New Zealand per capita than in any other country except the United States, and a large proportion of them have committed violent crimes.
It is critically important to develop a strategic plan for the long-term reduction of offending.
There is no single solution to the problems we face.
There are multiple causes of crime and violence.
Crime affects us all, and we are all responsible for doing something about it.
Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done.
Labour will act on the largely ignored recommendations of the Roper Report into the prisons system, the reports of the Victims Taskforce, and the reports of the Crime Prevention Action Group.
Our integrated approach will address both the causes and effects of violence.
Justice and Victims
Much of New Zealand's current law and order and justice policies are focused on the offender.
Little attention is paid to the victim.
Labour has developed the most comprehensive policy on victims' rights ever produced in this country.
Our Victims' Charter willl establish:
* the right to be treated with courtesy, compassion and respect for personal dignity and privacy by all officials;
* the right to access to welfare, health, counselling, medical and legal assistance responsive to needs;
* the right to be informed of available services and remedies;
* the right to information about the progress of the investigation.
* the right to be informed about charges laid, or the reasons for not laying charges, and the outcome of any proceedings or appeals.
* the right to have property which is required for evidence returned as promptly as possible.
* the right to have a victim impact statement conveyed to the sentencing judge;
* the right to non-disclosure of residential addresses.
* the right, in cases of sexual violation or serious assault or injury, to have fears about the release of the alleged offender conveyed to the judicial officer considering the bail application;
and to be informed of the offender's impending release, or escape, from custody.
Justice and Society
The next Labour Government will:
• Proceed with consideration of a new Crimes Bill which more accurately reflects the kinds of offences that the courts encounter today.
In particular, the definition of murder and manslaughter will be urgently reviewed.
• Investigate die development of public defenders' offices,
and increased funding to community law centres.
• Improve court administration to provide better scheduling of court hearings.
This will reduce unnecessary delays which are time-wasting and frustrating for offenders and witnesses.
• Encourage and support alternative options to courts, such as dispute tribunals and community mediation.
• Consider extending die principles of die Children, Young Persons and their Families Act to young adults, to compel young offenders and their families to confront the real effect of their offending,
and to give victims a role in the outcome.
• Review the legal aid system, not only to control potential abuses and costs,
but also to ensure that there are no financial barriers to obtaining justice.
We will amend the law to provide some legal aid to group claimants and also to refugees.
• Develop a new system of habilitation, providing custodial programmes aimed at overcoming the factors behind crime.
• Not approve private prisons.
Labour believes the State should continue to accept responsibility for directly providing prisons.
• Continue with the Home Detention Pilot project as a means of reducing prison numbers.
• Encourage the courts to consider a wider range of remedies and sanctions.
More than $75 million is now owed to our courts in unpaid fines.
• Vigorously pursue the proceeds of crime.
A good weapon in the war against crime-particularly white collar crime and drug trafficking-is to allow the law enforcement agencies to get court orders to confiscate the proceeds.
Such legislation exists but is not being used.
• Monitor the Films, Videos and Publications Classifications Act to ensure that pornography is prohibited.
We will investigate the extension of anti-pornography legislation to include live pornographic and sex shows, and computer-generated pornography.
• Extend Human Rights legislation to cover non discrimination on the grounds of trade union membership or participation, as this was specifically excluded in the recent amendments.
• Work to incorporate anti-discrimination protection into general legislation.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Better Services and Opportunities
Following the Fourth Labour Government's reforms, New Zealand now has city and local government units of substantial size that can be true partners with central government in providing better services and opportunities for citizens.
The system we have in place today is simpler, more efficient,
and gives voters a better opportunity to judge the performance of their local authority.
The reforms of the last decade now need time to consolidate.
The next Labour Government will:
• Allow no major reorganisation of local government in our first term in office.
• Develop an effective partnership between local communities and government to promote employment opportunities.
• Form a Community Affairs Unit within the Local Government division of the Department of Internal Affairs.
The unit will collect and analyse the best ideas from New Zealand and overseas for developing the economic and social life of our cities and towns, and present them as options to other parts of the country.
• Support local initiatives for employment such as the Mature Employment Service, small town and city self help, Conservation Corp and community tourism.
• Support local initiatives to create jobs such as community owned enterprises, work trusts, labour pools, and employment and training bonds.
• Support local business initiatives which help create jobs such as sister cities, trade fairs, Business Grow, Company Rebuilders, local venture capital, mentoring, Be Your Own Boss, managed workspace and venture factories.
• Ensure that local government elections are based on the principle of one-person, one-vote.
Labour does not support the privileged system of additional votes for absentee landlords, which effectively gives additional representation based on wealth.
• Retain die ward structure, which we believe is an important part of the democratic process in local government.
• Ensure the law requires that agendas of local government meetings are adequately publicised and available in advance.
Decisions taken without proper notification or with the public improperly excluded should be able to be declared invalid.
Local government is far more open than it used to be, and should remain so.
MAORI
An Integrated Approach
Labour has an ongoing, strong commitment to supporting the social and economic development of Maori.
Our approach to policy will promote more jobs, better health, higher educational attainment and improved housing for Maori.
It is not always a matter of more money; resources at the moment are badly spent and poorly targeted.
Our policies will be framed within the terms and principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.
The next Labour Government will:
• Consult with Maori authorities about the best ways of supporting Maori economic and social development.
• Put resources into developing training programmes for Maori.
Improving Maori employment is critical for Maori development.
• Repeal the Employment Contracts Act and replace it with a fairer system of industrial relations.
Maori are highly vulnerable to the pay cuts and poor working conditions which are becoming widespread under the Employment Contracts Act.
• Investigate, in consultation with veterans of the Maori Battalion and other Maori services organisations, the establishment of a Maori Battalion Employment Programme, to use the mana and kaupapa of such an organisation to benefit Maori.
• Implement strategies which will allow more Maori women to find jobs,
and promote training programmes which will provide a long-term answer to unemployment.
• Take steps to address the gap persisting between Maori and non-Maori educational attainment.
Labour is committed to bicultural education.
• Provide appropriate access to Maori-based education, such as Kohanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa Maori.
• Encourage and adequately resource planned growth of bilingual units and immersion programmes in primary and secondary schools, Kura Kaupapa and Kohanga Reo.
Maori language resources will have priority in the development of learning media resources.
We will ensure that Te Reo Me Ona Tikanga Maori is an integral part of the school curriculum.
• Pay close attention to the recruitment, retention and promotion of Maori teachers to ensure their input is not lost or taken for granted.
• Support iwi involvement in the provision of primary health care, including marae-based programmes.
• Work with Maori, local government, the building industry and financial institutions to develop innovative and shared approaches to meeting housing needs, including papakainga and kaumatua housing.
• Abandon the regime of market rents for State housing and return to income-based rents.
Housing initiatives will be developed in conjunction with Maori groups to provide appropriate assistance.
• Seek positive means alongside Maori to improve the justice system
and reduce the Maori rate of imprisonment.
• Develop a partnership with Maori groups to address ways of recognising Maori values within the justice system,
and the integration of counselling, support and supervision of Maori offenders by iwi or whanau.
• Further develop the Safer Communities policy piloted in 1990, involving iwi as strategic partners with community groups and safer community councils.
• Encourage the Police to work with iwi to establish whether the marae could provide an appropriate alternative to prison-based sentences.
• Increase the number of Maori wardens and their resourcing.
• Ensure that pathologists act without delay in autopsies, and release the tupapaku, intact, as early as possible, in keeping with Labour's amendments to the Coroners Act.
• Ensure support for Maori radio.
A hui will be held early in the term of the Labour Government to discuss options for Maori television.
• Recognise that Maori have a key role to play in the fishing industry,
and work with Maori to build investment, skills and research,
and improve the marine environment.
The principles established by Labour in 1986 for issuing new fish quota, including historical catch and commitment to fishing, will continue to apply.
Twenty per cent of quota in new species will be allocated to Maori as of right.
• Encourage Maori to use their land to develop an economic base.
Land is of supreme spiritual and economic importance to Maori identity.
Action is needed which will address both injustices of the past and promote Maori development.
• Promote the Waitangi Tribunal as a means of hearing claims regarding breaches by the Crown of the Treaty.
• Encourage greater participation by Maori in recreation and sport.
• Support guaranteed Maori representation in Parliament.
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
Healthier and Safer Workplaces
Achieving healthier and safer work environments is a high priority for Labour.
Workers should have the right to expect that their working conditions will be safe.
New Zealand has for too long downplayed the significance of occupational health as a distinct area of specialisation.
There are a number of work injury areas where injury could either be prevented or the impact significantly reduced either through better work design or through early intervention.
The next Labour Government will:
• Raise the profile of occupational health as a distinctive area of practice.
• Amend the Health and Safety in Employment Act to ensure that it is clearly focused on promoting safe and healthy workplaces
and guarantees workers or their representatives the right to be part of the design and promotion of safe and healthy workplaces.
• Introduce a system of placing provisional improvement notices on machinery or processes which are deemed to be unsafe.
This would have the effect of immediately stopping their use.
The employer would then be required to take action to remedy unsafe practices before work recommenced.
If die employer did not accept that there was an unsafe situation, an inspector would be required to be called in to adjudicate on the issue.
• Amend the legislation to ensure that information regarding safety and health issues is provided in a form which is able to be understood by the employees.
• Establish a bipartite Occupational Safety and Health Commission, whose duties will include advising the Minister on matters relating to occupational safety and health, promoting worker safety and health, and training and education related to these matters.
• Scrap the current ACC experience rating system, which is based on the accident record of an employer, in favour of a bonus and penalty system based on safety practices.
OLDER NEW ZEALANDERS
Keeping Our Side of the Bargain
Until recently New Zealand had a simple deal between the generations.
Our parents looked after us when we were young, and then it was our turn to look after them when they were old.
Labour's plan for older New Zealanders is based on the need for security and certainty.
It is part of our new social contract with New Zealanders.
It incorporates the provisions agreed in the multi-party accord on retirement incomes, but recognises that policy for older New Zealanders must be more comprehensive.
The next Labour Government will:
• Ensure there is always enough money to pay for the pension.
A special portion of everyone's tax will be paid into a new and separate New Zealand superannuation account.
• Appoint a Retirement Commissioner to oversee die new New Zealand superannuation account, and act as guardian for die account on behalf of all New Zealanders.
• Introduce a permanent 60-plus allowance for those over the age of 60 caught out by National's increase in the qualifying age for national super.
Tills will mean an increase after tax of $33 a week for singles and $55 a week for couples who qualify.
• Introduce a trial scheme where die 60-plus allowance is paid to people 55 and over who give up their job to young unemployed people, or who make a contribution through certain voluntary work.
• Adjust pensions every year for the cost of living, to ensure they will always be at a liveable income level linked to die average wage.
By repeating die Employment Contracts Act, we will ensure that average wages are not forced down through exploitation.
• Inflation-adjust the levels at which the surcharge cuts in.
• Separate pension and benefit funding because we believe t)w pension is not a benefit.
• Look at exempting private pension income from the income test for those receiving the 55-plus and 60-plus allowances.
• Relax the trawl and work tests (or those receiving the 55-plus and 60-plus allowances.
• Abolish hospital in-patient and out-patient charges.
• Provide a subsidy of $15 per doctor's visit to all senior citizens, making the average cost of visiting the doctor no more than$16.
• Ensure that senior citizens pay only $3 per prescription
item for the first 20, with all subsequent items free of charge.
• Give priority, as, part of Labour's health status goals, to reducing the prevalence of high blood pressure, and reducing avoidable illness and death from coronary heart disease and stroke.
• Abolish the means and assets tests for geriatric care in public hospitals.
• Encourage the development of home-based support services and independent living services for senior citizens.
Labour is committed to keeping older New Zealanders independent and in their own homes for as long as possible.
• Ensure that better support services are made available to families looking after frail dependent older relatives.
• Encourage the Hillary Commission to develop inexpensive local community activities and fitness programmes for older people in partnership with city councils and communities.
• Maintain and enforce high standards of rest home care.
• Help city councils provide affordable pensioner housing,
and ensure that senior citizens in Housing Corporation properties only pay income-related rents.
People can't pay market rents when they don't have market incomes.
• Establish pilot energy efficiency programmes in homes for example in pensioner units and State housing.
• Set up a free 0800 telephone hotline so older New Zealanders can get advice on how to deal with problems.
• Set up a seniors discount card scheme for older New Zealanders to buy items at cheaper rates.
• Keep the broadcasting fee discount concession for senior citizens.
• Draw up a Senior Citizens Charter setting out the special rights and responsibilities of older New Zealanders.
• Limit, if necessary the proportion of fixed line charges in electricity accounts so that moderate power users, such as older New Zealanders are protected.
• Pilot a community mentors scheme to pass on to younger generations the life skills, experience and knowledge of many older New Zealanders.
• Set up a Senior Citizens Advocacy Forum to ensure older New Zealanders have a better say in government.
• Provide a voice to war veterans in the Labour Government through a Minister for Veterans' Affairs and War Pensions.
• Encourage older New Zealanders to continue to learn and work,
and remove barriers to their participation in the education system.
PACIFIC ISLAND AFFAIRS
Confronting a Crisis
Few groups have suffered more from National's policies than New Zealand's Pacific Island community.
The rate of unemployment among Pacific Islanders is now greater than that among Maori.
Under the National Government, more than 30 per cent of adult Pacific Islanders are unemployed and many more are on low incomes.
There is a crisis in Pacific Island education, with one in four young Pacific Islanders leaving school with no qualifications.
And the changes in National's State housing policies have hit Pacific Island people hard because over half the community live in rental housing.
Labour's economic policies are aimed at creating more jobs,
and special attention will be paid to the needs of Pacific Island New Zealanders in this regard.
The next Labour Government will:
• Tackle the crisis in Pacific Island employment by launching special training and retraining programmes,
and schemes to enable Pacific Islanders to start their own businesses.
• Call a conference of Pacific Island teachers and educationalists to devise an action plan to improve Pacific Island student performance.
• Encourage die teaching of Pacific Island language and culture,
and encourage the recruitment of Pacific Island teachers at all levels of die education system.
• Require health boards to develop, in association with die Pacific Island community, programmes directed at Pacific Island health needs.
National's health changes have ignored the health needs of Pacific Island people.
• Ensure a wider range of houses are available to meet Pacific lifestyles.
• Review the rules relating to the portability of pensions.
• Ensure that Pacific Island people are consulted over policy development.
• Re-establish, through the New Zealand Arts Council, an allocation of funding specifically for the promotion of Pacific Island arts and culture.
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
The Need for Certainty
People with disabilities need certainty of entitlement to support services.
Labour's strategy is based on the underlying principles of autonomy, empowerment, and the need for an integrated approach across the different areas of support services.
The next Labour Government will:
• Monitor all policies for their impact on people with disabilities.
• Develop a strategic plan for disability support services in conjunction with people with disabilities and their service providers.
This strategy will be driven by the Minister Responsible for Disability Services.
• Ensure statutory entitlements for people with disabilities.
• Investigate the introduction of a flexible care subsidy to assist the development of appropriate services for individuals.
• Move towards mainstreaming of services for those with disabilities,
while recognising the need to maintain a degree of choice, and of specialist services for 'intensive' or 'unique' need.
• Carry out research into the nature, incidence and needs of people with disabilities in New Zealand.
• Review twine support and attendant care services to ensure they meet the needs of those with disabilities and their carers.
• Review public transport services to identify how comprehensive access to transport for people with disabilities can be developed.
• Ensure that the Human Rights Commission and other public bodies act to eliminate discrimination against people with disabilities, particularly in employment.
• Restore accident compensation that is a fair reflection of lost earnings.
• Restore an inclusive definition of personal injury in ACC legislation.
• Restore a fair form of lump sum compensation payments for serious permanent injury.
• Ensure that rental accommodation is available at peppercorn rentals for community groups offering special needs and emergency housing.
The Housing Corporation will be expected to work with community groups to assess the need for community housing and to develop appropriate solutions.
• Support the Hillary Commission's KiwiAble programme which encourages people with disabilities to capitalise on their abilities and skills.
RECREATION AND SPORT
Getting New Zealand Involved
Labour recognises the important contribution sport and recreation play in building a physically, mentally and emotionally healthy and co-operative society.
The Hillary Commission, set up by Labour in 1987, will continue to be the key agency through which our recreation and sport policies will be developed and managed.
An estimated 60 per cent of New Zealanders do not regularly participate in physical activity.
Our policies aim to increase that rate of participation.
The next Labour Government will:
• Continue to promote Kiwisport, as a way of encouraging children to participate in and enjoy sport through the use of modified rules and equipment.
• Promote the design of safe playgrounds.
• Encourage increased participation in secondary school sport,
and promote improvements in the quality of sports education in schools.
• Support programmes which encourage all sportspeople to play fair,
and which aim to reduce the level of violence in sport.
• Support programmes which provide volunteers with administrative and management skills.
• Encourage greater participation by women, Maori and Pacific Island people in recreation and sport.
• Encourage the Hillary Commission to develop inexpensive local community activities and programmes for older people in partnership with local authorities and communities.
• Support the KiwiAble programme which encourages people with disabilities to capitalise on their abilities and skills.
• Provide funding to assist New Zealand's participation in international sport.
• Encourage greater television coverage of women's sport.
• Support campaigns to eliminate the misuse of drugs in sport.
• Encourage the Hillary Commission to develop programmes to increase the participation in sport and recreation activities of people who are unemployed or on low incomes.
• Ask the Hillary Commission and sports federations to work with the Justice Department, the Prisoners' Aid and Rehabilitation Society, and the Police to establish appropriate sports programmes for penal institution inmates and for offenders under the control of the Community Corrections.
RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Focusing on the Future
Labour's policies are focused on the future, and that means embracing a high skills, high technology approach.
The greatest added-value product of all is a new idea.
New Zealand's research and development expenditure has deteriorated seriously since 1980.
The next Labour Government will:
• Aim to more than double our total research and development spending from 0. 9 to 2 per cent of GDP over the next several years.
This will bring us closer to the amount spent by other western nations.
• Review, as part of our programme to lift investment, the definition which, for tax purposes, applies to research and development.
• Support the Crown Research Institute concept, and investigate establishing new CRIs in areas such as fishing and information technology.
A fishing CRI would promote research into fish processing and aquaculture, and an information technology CRI might embrace strategic research for our promising software and electronics industries.
• Help with the establishment costs of science and technology parks, where willing participants exist.
• Promote the free movement of researchers between institutions,
as well as joint appointments, and joint venture funding from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.
• Reverse the decline in environmental research in New Zealand.
We need to research areas such as biological alternatives to chemicals, marine resource management, energy efficiency and renewable energy alternatives.
We will also extend research into other areas of environmental protection,
and into new disciplines such as environmental reporting and natural resource accounting.
• Modernise intellectual property legislation to protect New Zealand inventions,
and at the same time reduce the costs of gaining copyright.
SMALL BUSINESS
The Key to Job Growth
Small business holds the key to New Zealand's future prosperity.
For the current jobless recovery to turn into a job-rich economy, we need greater levels of economic growth.
This extra growth will come largely from small business.
New Zealand has a proud reputation as a nation of innovators.
Labour's plan for small business makes it easier for the small entrepreneur to get established, and to expand.
The next Labour Government will:
• Establish a substantial venture capital fund to help many more innovative businesses get established and grow successfully.
• Actively encourage investment in new plant through targeted investment tax credits.
• Remove small businesses from National's entertainment tax.
• Introduce a simplified Small Business Tax Code written in plain English.
• Establish a small business taskforce to examine how to simplify taxation and cut the amount of paperwork that government departments demand of small businesses.
After die taskforce has identified ways of cutting government department paperwork it will turn its attention to the demands of local government.
• Establish a Tax Advisory Panel of business people and others to minimise disruptive tax changes and promote a stable tax climate.
• Establish a Register of Small Businesses.
Tills will make it easier to pass information on available resources to all small businesses.
• Increase to $500 the amount small businesses are allowed to fully deduct for each low-value asset.
• Cut the costs of complying with the fringe benefit tax by allowing small businesses to file only one annual fringe benefit return,
and by simplifying die formula.
• Allow small businesses to defer the ACC cost of employing additional staff.
• Require all government departments and SOEs to pay accounts to registered small businesses within four weeks.
Currently some government departments are notoriously late in paying accounts
• Modernise intellectual property legislation to protect New Zealand inventions
and at the same time reduce die costs to small business of gaining copyright.
• Stagger benefit paydays, to remove the feast or famine problem that sees small businesses with a run on their stock every payday and little custom the rest of the week.
• Expand the Be Your Own Boss scheme and ensure it is more adequately funded to allow more individuals to set up their own businesses.
• Consider making higher payments to people who are unemployed and receiving the 55-plus benefit, when they contribute through voluntary work or by helping small business in a mentoring role.
• Encourage a higher level of small business involvement in research and development.
• Expand the promotion of New Zealand products already earned out by the Industrial Supplies Office.
Under Labour, not just government agencies but also the private sector will be encouraged to buy New Zealand products.
• Appoint a Minister of Business and Industry Development to give small business a more direct input into government decision-making.
• Work with Tradenz and the Business Development Boards to give practical and appropriate assistance to allow small businesses to establish new export markets.
• Initiate awards for the best products that have displaced imports, as we do with export awards.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Promoting Social Justice
Labour believes that the guiding principle of social security should be that all New Zealanders should be able to participate in society.
Since 1990, the most vulnerable members of our society have been those hardest hit by a combination of benefit cuts, new user charges, the loss of child care subsidies and the imposition of often mean and petty rules relating to some benefits.
Income support for New Zealanders in need must be thoroughly reviewed.
We regard proper assistance for children and families to be of primary importance.
The next Labour Government will:
• Reinstate the Department of Social Welfare childcare subsidy for beneficiaries where families are not in work.
• Establish immediately an independent review of the Child Support Act.
Parents should support their children financially.
But die current child support arrangements are producing anomalies, unfairness and stress.
• Provide financial assistance for rape crisis centres, women's refuges, victims' support services, and other support services such as marriage guidance.
• Review all benefits and abatement rates to examine the extent to which they create incentives or disincentives for people to find work or alter living arrangements, and their impacts on particular groups.
• Remove the punitive 26 week unemployment benefit stand down period and return to a regime similar to that in operation prior to die 1990 election.
• Review the criteria for the stand down period for people who have been made redundant.
• Establish a Social Welfare complaints authority as a review authority of last resort in the social work area.
• Change the law to guarantee that New Zealanders receiving treatment in public hospitals cannot be charged for services traditionally provided free of charge.
• Remove immediately the hospital charges imposed by die National Government.
• Phase out the community services cards and stop any further development of income targeting for health services.
All New Zealanders should have access to appropriate primary care services at prices they can afford.
• Abolish the means and assets tests for geriatric care in public hospitals.
Social Security and Voluntary Organisations
Voluntary organisations are being subjected to immense pressure in National's commercially-oriented contracting regime.
Labour will ensure that voluntary organisations are able to enter into accountable and stable funding arrangements with regional health boards, district health services, and government funding agencies such as die Community Funding Agency.
Social Security and Society
No government policy or part of society can live or flourish in isolation.
Our economic policy is closely integrated with our policies for social justice.
Under Labour, die Cabinet Social Justice Committee will be responsible for monitoring die impact of economic and other policies on social conditions and trends.
Labour will change the membership of the Enterprise Council to make it more representative of key sectors of society.
The new council will include people with experience in the social services.
TOURISM
Showcasing New Zealand
The expansion of New Zealand's tourist industry as a foreign exchange earner and as a generator of employment will be a key part of Labour's strategy for growth,
jobs
and fairness.
The industry must be encouraged and nurtured and Labour believes that both revenue and jobs from tourism can be steadily increased in the immediate future.
Many tourism ventures are small businesses and will benefit from Labour's comprehensive range of policies designed to help them increase investment and jobs.
Our natural heritage is the main reason why tourists come here from all over the world.
It is important that we continue to protect our environment and carefully monitor the effect of additional tourist flows on our corner of the globe.
The next Labour Government will:
• Create a Kauri National Park in Northland and a National Park in Nelson, subject to positive New Zealand Conservation Authority recommendations.
• Create more marine reserves.
* Create more wetland reserves.
* Ensure a comprehensive network of protected natural areas.
* Prohibit mining in National Parks and other reserved areas, and investigate including conservation land in the Coromandel in the ban.
• Encourage the establishment of a strategic plan for the tourism industry.
Its primary focus will be the domestic infrastructure, including human resources.
The Government will invite the new Tourism Industry Association, the Tourism Board and the Maori Tourism Board to be partners in the IDO.
• Accelerate the programme to encourage more airlines to New Zealand, especially charter flights.
• Work closely with other Pacific nations to promote our region internationally.
• Negotiate with Australia through CER to advance trans-Tasman tourism.
• Ensure that Government and the private sector continue to work together to market New Zealand abroad as a tourist destination.
• Maintain the $20 million Government contribution to the joint venture marketing facility,
subject to annual review of the performance of the fund.
• Promote domestic tourism and the jobs it could create by encouraging more vigorous campaigns to convince New Zealanders to explore their own country.
• Urgently review domestic infrastructural needs in the tourism industry.
• Invest in tourism infrastructure through the Ministry of Tourism, the Department of Conservation and the Ministry of Transport, in accordance with identified investment priorities.
The Tourism Faculties Development grant will be retained.
• Examine offering a grant in lieu of depreciation or a tax credit for hotel and infrastructure development where there is clear evidence of a specific regional need.
Where there is a normal depreciation regime in place, and there is proven evidence that investment is lagging, Labour would consider bringing that depredation regime up ahead of time to encourage important investment.
• Allow private sector companies or local government/private enterprise joint ventures to construct special public works through a new Build, Operate and Toll scheme (BOT).
Such works would be operated by toll until they were paid for,
and then would become part of the State's infrastructure.
• Review the existing range of economic incentives to New Zealand tourism operators with a view to ensuring that the industry can operate in future within the best possible climate for investment.
An assessment of the impact of the Entertainment and Fringe Benefit tax regimes will be a first priority.
• Establish a programme for ongoing review of tourism service standards in all sectors
and bring greater clarity to the grading of services and facilities.
• Assess the opportunities for enhancing Maori participation in tourist initiatives
and for new joint venture projects involving iwi, and public and private sector interests.
• Devote particular attention to developing tourist networks and visitor packages in secondary centres both for New Zealanders and for overseas visitors.
• Encourage the development of national and regional calendars of events, including major conferences, designed to harmonise the flow of visitors from abroad
and maximise the tourist trade opportunities available to visitors.
• Promote the development of a more widespread homestay network.
TRADE
Growth and Jobs Through Trade
New Zealand is a great trading nation.
A larger percentage of our GDP is based on exports than just about any other country, including die great economies of the United States and Japan.
With the globalisation of the world economy it has become even more important for New Zealand to advance its interests through trade and to integrate its economy to the international marketplace.
This will be the greatest source of jobs and opportunity for New Zealand.
Trade policy has been on hold for the last three years.
The National Government has done little.
We have a plan to enhance our trading opportunities.
The next Labour Government will:
• Increase our efforts to promote greater liberalisation of world trade.
• Continue to work toward a successful outcome to the current GATT round.
• Work to develop an open GATT-compatible trading arrangement in the Asia Pacific region, not as an alternative to GATT, but as an equally important trade objective.
We see the Asia Pacific Economic Council (APEC) as the start of this process.
• Work to ensure that New Zealand is not disadvantaged by other regional economic groupings, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement or an Asian Free Trade Agreement.
• Seek a significant strengthening of the relationship between New Zealand and Australia at the most senior level possible.
New Zealand is Australia's biggest market for exported manufacturing, as Australia is ours.
New Zealanders are Australia's biggest tourism market, as they are ours.
• Work to extend the CER concept beyond New Zealand and Australia to include other Pacific nations.
We are strongly committed to the principle of a single trans-Tasman market for goods and services.
Under National, Closer Economic Relations with Australia has stalled.
• Establish strategic links with New Zealand enterprise and overseas investors to penetrate new markets.
Develop closer relationships with the nations and institutions of East Asia.
• Help New Zealand's Pacific Island neighbours find export markets for their goods and services.
• Encourage, through sector partnerships, participants in industries such as forestry, tourism, agriculture, aquaculture, skilled manufacturing, agro-technology, environmental protection, eco-industries, biotechnology and education services work together to remove obstacles to trade and boost export.
• Co-ordinate industry growth plans by working directly with business sector groups through Tradenz.
• Support moves by Tradenz to develop an export strategy.
• Encourage Tradenz to focus its activities on the promotion of added-value products,
differentiation of New Zealand products in the world marketplace,
and the identification and targeting of wealthy niche markets.
• Encourage the success of a wider range of exporters by promoting company 'clusters',
and by continuing to promote the adding of value to products through further processing.
• Assist small businesses into exporting or expanding their export potential.
Business Development Boards will work more closely with Tradenz and will effectively become a regional focus for Tradenz's activities.
TRAINING
Massive Retraining Essential
Seventy per cent of those who will be in the workforce in the year 2000 are already in paid employment.
In order to meet the changes and challenges of the 21st century, most of these people will need to improve their existing skills and gain new ones.
The development of training strategies and programmes requires considerable resources.
Labour will provide some assistance,
but we believe industry should also contribute.
The next Labour Government will:
• Require all employers, including those in the public sector, to ensure that their workforce is able to participate in appropriate training.
This requirement will be phased-in over time, starting with the public sector and large private firms.
• Introduce training levies.
Proceeds from the levies will be applied directly to training through the relevant training organisations.
• Ensure Industry Development Organisations investigate existing barriers to development, such as skills shortages, and recommend government policy initiatives which might help development of an industry or sector.
• Encourage unions and employers to build co-operative relationships at the industry level, through which they can address the skill needs of the workforce.
• Require all schools to provide a properly coordinated career planning and advisory service,
and ensure that all students in Form 4 have individual career/future focus interviews to help develop agreed career and training paths.
• Pilot a new 'Work-Link' programme.
This will be open to students from Form 5 onwards and will provide work experience and training in several workplaces within an industry.
Students will be expected to gain units towards a qualification recognised by the industry concerned and part of the Qualifications Framework.
• Increase participation in the Youth Traineeship Programmes.
• Review the funding levels and eligibility criteria for subsidised work schemes, such as Job Plus, compared with those for work-based training schemes like Youth Traineeships to ensure employers are encouraged to take on trainees.
• Retain the Training Opportunities Programme.
We will expand the eligibility criteria to provide opportunities for those people currently refused access to training.
• Make full we of the surplus buildings and equipment likely in many intermediate and secondary schools as we approach the year 2000, particularly for community education.
• Encourage the drawing up of a plan for the development and co-ordination of open learning as part of the work of the education sector strategic planning forum.
There are presently many exciting projects using new technologies, but they lack co-ordination.
High tech distance learning must also be co-ordinated with more traditional distance education, such as the Correspondence School and the Open Polytechnic.
• Investigate ways in which the resources of our Defence Forces can be used to train New Zealanders at home.
• Pilot a community mentors scheme to pass on to younger generations the life skills, experience and knowledge many older New Zealanders have.
TRANSPORT
The Route to Economic Growth
The National Government has relegated transport to the back of its priorities list, and the few initiatives attempted have been either half-hearted or misdirected.
Labour recognises the primary importance of transport to economic growth and job creation.
Labour's plan contains a series of dear objectives aimed at providing the most efficient and effective transportation system for New Zealanders.
The next Labour Government will integrate transport policy with its environmental, economic and social objectives.
We will:
• Introduce a New Zealand Transport Strategy.
• Ensure that Government transport agencies take environmental considerations properly into account.
• Require Transit New Zealand to give greater weight to public transport.
• Encourage greater use of public transport by those travelling to work.
The proportion of people travelling to full-time work on public transport has declined from about 15 per cent in 1971 to close to 9 per cent.
• Initiate a select committee inquiry into the state of the taxi industry following five years deregulation.
• Encourage a change in transport use patterns by encouraging cycle and bus lanes,
encouraging public transport,
unproved urban planning,
and through a public education campaign on die environmental impact of private motoring.
• Investigate the prospect of exhaust emission testing as part of a vehicle's warrant of fitness.
This will reduce pollution and enhance efficiency.
• Phase out lead in petrol.
• Ensure the funding of Transit New Zealand is maintained at a level which enhances our reading infrastructure.
The National Government has plans to slash Transit New Zealand's budget.
We believe New Zealand's $60 billion of reading infrastructure is too important to lose.
• Aim to dramatically reduce road accidents and fatalities by the year 2000, and the proportion of fatal accidents involving drunk drivers, in line with Labour's health goals on road crashes and alcohol.
• Consider tightening the laws on vehicle confiscation for drivers who commit an offence.
• Encourage a change in the design and operating standards of motor vehicles.
This includes a move towards zero emission vehicles and hybrid (petrol/electric) vehicles,
more fuel efficient vehicles
and improved safety features and standards.
• Prohibit ships not registered in New Zealand from New Zealand's domestic coastal trade.
• Strengthen marine pollution legislation,
draw up bilateral agreements with other nations so we are better able to deal with maritime environmental disasters,
and ratify the Marine Pollution Convention.
• Insist on high environmental standards for ships entering our waters,
and restrict ship movements around areas of high conservation values.
• Support further trans-Tasman aviation integration.
WOMEN
Promoting Equality
In the centenary year of women's suffrage, Labour is totally committed to ensuring that women have full equality in the workplace,
good public health services,
educational opportunities,
and the security of knowing that their communities are safer.
Women and Health
Labour's emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention is of critical importance to women.
Most women in the course of their lives have contact with the health system not only when they are sick but also when they are healthy and having their children.
It is essential that the health services improve their responsiveness and sensitivity to women and women's health issues.
The next Labour Government will:
• Promote 'well women's' health services.
• Discourage the over-medicalisation of the condition of older women.
• Promote both choice in child birth services for women
and the autonomous practice of midwifery.
• Vigorously promote the national cervical screening programme.
• Ensure that existing pilot breast cancer screening programmes are adequately monitored and evaluated before consideration is given to extending their reach.
• Work with regional health boards to ensure that women throughout New Zealand have adequate access to facilities for safe and lawful abortions.
• Change the law to guarantee that New Zealanders receiving treatment in public hospitals cannot be charged for services traditionally provided free of charge.
• Immediately remove the hospital charges imposed by the National Government.
• Not allow private patients in public hospitals to jump the queue for treatment over public patients.
It will not be possible for public hospitals to treat private patients, outside existing arrangements in maternity services.
• Phase out the community services cards
and halt any further development of income targeting for health services.
The first step will be to abolish community services card categories for children and senior dozens.
As resources permit, universal subsidies will be restored to adults.
All New Zealanders should have access to appropriate primary care services at prices they can afford.
• Give priority to getting rid of the backlog of surgery by tagging funding for a blitz on waiting times.
• Give priority to explicit health goals and strategies to achieve them.
The goals include a reduction in the incidence of invasive cervical cancer and the cervical cancer death rate.
National's ministerially appointed regional health authorities are neither accountable to, nor representative of, the communities they serve.
Labour's regional health boards will have a majority of elected members and a minority of ministerial appointees.
Their meetings will be open to the public and the news media.
The National Government has failed to support die passage of strong legislation to protect health consumers' rights.
The next Labour Government will:
• Ensure legislation establishing independent advocacy and complaints procedures is passed speedily, if such legislation is not in place by the election.
If inadequate legislation has been passed, Labour will amend it to strengthen both patient advocacy and the Office of the Health Commissioner.
Women and Education
Women are concerned about their own educational opportunities and also their children's.
Labour will:
• Implement a staged plan to enhance funding for early childhood centres.
• Require compulsory registration for kindergarten and school teachers.
• Ensure girls and women have a fair chance throughout the education system.
• Require educational institutions and training providers to include Equal Employment Opportunities policies in their charters.
• Remove the distinction between study right and non study right students, which particularly penalises women.
Labour will encourage women to return to the educational system rather than put barriers in the way.
• Strengthen industrial training legislation to ensure women have access to training in the workplace.
Women and Violence
Labour's goal is to have a neighbourhood support group active in every residential street.
We will invite local bodies to form safer community councils, and will make support and resources available.
In many respects, domestic violence is the worst land of violence.
It is generally perpetrated by men against women, and is often witnessed by children.
It is traumatic enough to be attacked by a stranger on the street, but there is an added element of betrayal when beaten by someone who was trusted.
Labour is going to deal with domestic violence.
We will:
• Ensure, where there is evidence of domestic assault, that the assailant is charged under the same criteria applying to an equivalent assault on the street.
The fact that it is a 'domestic dispute' should not be a factor.
• Ensure that police bail is not normally granted unless the victim's safety can be reasonably assured.
Victims will have the right to be notified of an impending release.
• Extend the range of people against whom protection orders can be obtained.
• Stop the trend towards increasing levels of violence on television by ensuring legislation is as strict as any in the western world.
• Monitor the Films, Videos and Publications Classifications Act to ensure that pornography is prohibited.
We will investigate the extension of anti-pornography legislation to include live pornographic and sex shows, and computer-generated pornography.
• Establish a Victims' Charter.
(For details, see the Justice section on page 136.)
Women, and Social Security
We regard proper assistance for children and families to be of primary importance.
Labour will:
• Reinstate the Department of Social Welfare childcare subsidy for beneficiaries where families are not working.
• Establish immediately an independent review of the Child Support Act.
Parents should support their children financially.
But the current child support arrangements are producing anomalies, unfairness and stress.
• Provide financial assistance for rape crisis centres, women's refuges, victims' support services and other support services such as marriage guidance.
Women and Work
The next Labour Government will:
• Remove some of the disincentives for women to re-enter work by repealing the Employment Contracts Act,
abolishing the six months stand-down,
promoting more affordable childcare for those wishing to return to the workforce,
and reviewing benefit abatement levels and effective marginal tax rates.
• Review minimum wage levels and all statutory minimum conditions immediately on taking office,
and establish minimum wage levels for people under 20 where there is currently none.
Young women can be, and have been, harshly treated.
• Increase subsidised opportunities for women.
• Ensure that a proportion of the Venture Capital Fund is specifically targeted to women's business ventures.
Industrial relations has been one of the weapons used by the National Government to divide New Zealand.
The Employment Contracts Act has been used to attack the wages and conditions of workers.
Women, along with the lowly paid and young people have suffered the worst.
Labour will:
• Replace the 'scorched earth' approach of the Employment Contracts Act with a fair and balanced industrial relations system.
There is ample evidence that women have been traditionally discriminated against in the workforce in terms of the pay rates they have received.
Labour will put employment equity back on the agenda.
We will;
• Ensure that provisions similar to the equal employment opportunities section of the 1990 Employment Equity Act are put into legislation.
• Re-establish an Employment Equity Office, which will have responsibility for monitoring the implementation of equal opportunities programmes.
• Take a fresh look at the now outdated equal pay legislation.
• Charge the Employment Equity Office with advising government on how to provide pay equity in a manner consistent with Labour's Employment Relations Act.
Women and Housing
The next Labour Government will:
• Ensure that the allocation of housing assistance is on the basis of need.
• Repeal the Housing Restructuring Act and replace the commercially-driven Housing New Zealand with an organisation committed to meeting Labour's social justice goals.
• Re-establish the Housing Corporation as a social agency with the objective of addressing the problems of those in serious housing need.
• Direct Housing Corporation services principally towards those people in serious housing need because of market failure, special needs (arising, for example, from health problems or violent relationships), low incomes, discrimination, or Jack Y of supply of low cost housing.
Link Housing Corporation rents directly to tenants' ability to pay, by reintroducing income related rent scales.
YOUTH
Creating Opportunity
Young people are facing an increasingly complex, changing and uncertain world.
One in every four New Zealand teenagers is out of work.
Today, more than ever, young people must become highly skilled and adaptable if they are to succeed.
To assist New Zealand's young people adapt and compete, the next Labour Government will implement a wide range of new policies.
The next Labour Government will:
• Aim to ensure that no young person under 20 is left on the dole with nothing to do, by offering young people the choice of training, employment or community work.
• Establish minimum wage levels for people under 20.
There is currently no statutory minimum wage for people under 20.
Young people can be, and have been, harshly treated.
• Enlist the help of voluntary groups, non-profit and service organisations to develop projects to usefully employ young people
and to rebuild our community infrastructure.
• Use the skills of mature unemployed to train young people.
• Offer businesses subsidies equivalent to the dole to take on new workers, to train and equip the young for a lifetime of work.
• Change work schemes and training courses to reflect the needs of industries and workers, not the bureaucrats who run the systems.
• Provide over time a living allowance for tertiary students,
and raise the income level at which the means test on parental income begins.
• Require employers to ensure their workforce has access to training.
• Increase the number of people in the Training Opportunities Programme (TOPs).
• Ensure that all school leavers receive a Record of Achievement, replacing the current leaving certificates which often give no indication of what the student has achieved.
The Record of Achievement will detail the range and level of all  skills-academic, vocational and personal-which a student has acquired at school.
• Require all schools to provide a properly coordinated career planning and advisory service.
• Pilot a new 'Work-Link' programme.
This will be open to students from Form 5 onwards and will provide students with work experience and training in several workplaces within an industry.
Students will be expected to gain units towards a qualification recognised by the industry concerned and part of the Qualifications Framework.
• Increase participation in the Youth Traineeship Programmes.
• Launch pilot training programmes aimed at giving young unemployed people the opportunity to learn about building, carpentry, painting and other skills by working on State housing maintenance.
• Promote national guidelines for adolescent-specific health services
and ensure all regional health boards develop adolescent health service strategies which address the problems, of youth suicide, and alcohol and drug abuse.
• Introduce a trial scheme where the 60-plus allowance is paid to people 55 and over who give up their job to young unemployed people, or who make a contribution through certain voluntary work.
• Pilot a community mentors scheme to pass on to younger generations the life skills, experience and knowledge of many older New Zealanders.
Jim Anderton has been MP for Sydenham for nine years and is widely respected for his forthright views and integrity.
Jeanette Fitzsimons and Sandra Lee have also been politically active for many years.
Together they form the leadership of the most effective and coherent new political force in New Zealand - The Alliance.
They are proud to introduce you to your copy of the Alliance manifesto.
"Many people in New Zealand have already committed their votes to the Alliance.
Some supporters give their reasons in this manifesto.
The middle section contains Alliance policy highlights beginning with the most important of all - the Alliance Economic Plan.
Our policies bring together the experiences, expertise and hopes of thousands of New Zealanders.
They have been costed by professional economists.
If you want further details about any policy please use the cutout slip on page 21.
"Pictures and pocket biographies of all ninety-nine Alliance candidates standing for Parliament arc presented in the back section.
You will see that the Alliance candidates possess impressive skills and experience.
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When you vote, consider what's best for you and those you are responsible for, and vote for what you want.
Together we can make a difference.
STATE OF THE NATION
Valuable New Zealand assets have been sold at knock down prices
Since the sale of Telecom the people of New Zealand have lost out in many ways: profits from our phone calls go to the USA, our taxes pay the benefit of thousands laid off Telecom workers.
Is this planned for health and education too?
The alliance will control New Zealand services so overseas interests do not exploit New Zealanders.
Labour's appalling economic management doubled NZ's debt from $20 billion to over $40 billion between 1984 and 1990.
They begin selling our assets in 1988 in a futile attempt to reduce the debt.
In 1990 alone Labour sold almost $7 billion worth of public assets including Telecom.
Under National assets sales have continued Including NZ Rail tills year and the debt keeps on growing.
The Alliance is against assets sales.
Under Rogemomics and Ruthenasia unemployment has almost trebled since 1984.
The Alliance will plough capital back Into New Zealand's economy to grow new forests,
repair our sewers, schools and roads.
creating thousands of new jobs.
The above shows how, and why, the gap in spending power between the highest earners and the lowest earners has widened since 1985.
(Statistics showing the expanding gap between rich earners and poor beneficiaries are not available)
The graph shows how Labour's 1988 tax earners get richer-and that National has kept it that way .
The Alliance will introduce a fair tax system and restore fair benefits.
EMPLOYMENT
Under the Labour Government unemployment doubled.
Under National it has risen a farther 30%.
The social costs of unemployment including crime, drug abuse and family breakdown must be tackled.
The Alliance will immediately increase the number of jobs available.
Employment initiatives
The Alliance Economic Development Fund, the Capital Investment Budget and new Regional Development Agencies will trigger employment and economic activity throughout New Zealand.
The Alliance will:
•Build 1,000 new homes in its first year.
• Upgrade sewers arid treat raw sewage.
• Protect land from floods and erosion.
• Employ more health workers.
•Start maintenance work on long neglected schools, hospitals and roads.
• Control weeds and pests.
• Replant native bush
and establish new plantation forests.
• Install Insulation and energy efficiency systems.
"We won't set unsustainable growth targets like Labour and National.
We will measure our economic success by how much we reduce unemployment, homelessness, poor health, poverty and crime.
By how we improve education, transport and community spirit.
And by how we protect the resources we will hand on to our children…
In the long term unemployment needs creative solutions such as a shorter working week, and a fairer sharing of available work.
The Alliance will start this process of change by creating wider options for part-time and job share work in the public service.
Work opportunities programme
This Alliance programme will fink beneficiaries with Alliance employment initiatives.
It will Integrate training with employment opportunities for those worst affected, by the Impact of unemployment.
The Alliance will:
• Provide resources so that communities can match work that needs doing with the people available to do it.
• Support part-time work.
Job-sharing
and child care Initiatives.
• Allow realistic Increases in Income before reducing benefits.
• Run the programme within present training schemes and through private initiatives.
• Ensure there are management and overseer roles for older and skilled unemployed people.
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The Alliance will set up an Economic Development Fund to finance local and regional projects
which are defined and planned locally.
This is fundamentally different from the "top-down" approach of other parties.
The Alliance believes that providing development planning and funding at regional level will put power in local hands, away from Central Government.
This decentralised approach will be essential so that different pans of the country can reconstruct their local economies to meet local needs,
and provide worthwhile jobs to those out of work.
"It's been trickle up for almost a decade.
And 300,000 jobless reckon there must be an alternative.
The Alliance is it.
We want to get to work straight away on unemployment.
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
• The Alliance will make sure regions and districts throughout New Zealand take stock of their resources, local skills, weaknesses and needs, and from this prepare plans for regional development.
• Individuals, small businesses, iwi organisations, community trusts and other groups will be able to apply to their Regional Development Agency for money from the Economic Development Fund
for projects which meet local priorities,
which are high in employment opportunities
and are ecologically sustainable.
• The Alliance will make some loan finance available to local government at low or even no Interest.
Finance will be available for essential capital works prioritised by the local community, and which meet criteria for employment, regional development and ecological sustainability.
The Alliance Regional Development Programme will invest ^urgently in the reforestation of eroded Land, bridge and water supply repairs, sewage and stormwater schemes, special housing projects, and recycling initiatives - throughout New Zealand.
FINANCE AND TRADE
We believe that private business must thrive.
At the same time, important resources like electricity, and essential services like NZ Post and TVNZ, must be publicly owned and run.
The Alliance has always been against asset sales.
The Alliance will try to stop the sale of Electricorp, Trans Power and Post Offices.
We will not allow the sale of farmland, islands, or areas of cultural or recreational importance to overseas owners.
The Alliance will make sure that owners of assets already sold like NZ Rail, Telecom and privatised Power Boards, do not exploit New Zealanders.
The Alliance will order a full public enquiry into the constitutional and economic matters surrounding the BNZ in the late 1980's.
ALLIANCE FINANCE POLICY
• The Reserve Bank Act will be changed.
The present narrow focus on Inflation will go.
The Alliance will give equal priority to creating jobs
and regional development.
• The Alliance will make sure that the NZ dollar remains at a realistic level.
It will be managed to protect NZ jobs, give certainty to farmers and manufacturers, and cut out ups and downs in the NZ economy.
ALLIANCE TRADE POLICY
The Alliance supports fair trade, rather than free trade.
The Alliance will use carefully selected Import controls and tariffs to:
Protect "sunrise" Industries like new energy technologies.
• Protect NZ jobs and environmental standards.
• Help control the balance of trade.
Import controls will have strict time limits, and will not be allowed to "featherbed" inefficient Industries.
The Alliance will argue for fair trade in the GATT.
We support GATT if it leads to fair access to markets for agricultural products.
However we also support the right of countries to insist that imported products meet environmental and health standards and to protect their resources from unsustainable exploitation.
TAXATION
The present tax system is unfair.
Labour changed income tax so those on the highest incomes pay the same tax rate as those on middle incomes.
Labour introduced GST which falls heavily on low income earners who spend all their weekly income.
Some companies pay little or no tax, and large profits earned through the sharemarket and in speculative ventures pay no tax at all.
National, through levies and increased user charges, has made things even worse.
The Alliance will introduce a progressive tax system where those who can afford to will pay more, and those on the lowest incomes (the majority) will pay less as shown below:
Those earning less than $613/week will pay less tax with the Alliance.
For example, a worker earning $400/week will get $600 extra after-tax income each year which is about $50 more per month in the hand.
Those who pay more tax will, along with everybody else, get free health services, free education for their children, better superannuation, and a fairer society.
OTHER TAX REMORMS
•The regressive ACC levy will be abolished and funded from progressive income tax.
• Company tax will be 40% which 1» more in line with our trading partners and the new Income tax rates.
•A Financial Transaction Tax amounting to 12 cents per hundred dollars will be applied to •II withdrawals from bank accounts.
This Is simple to administer by banks and requires no form filling.
After one year GST will be reduced and will ultimately be abolished.
• There will b« a small carbon tax to encourage energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources like solar and wind power.
EDUCATION
ALLIANCE PRINCIPLE:
Education should be free for everyone.
Education is a vital investment for the full development of each and every New Zealander throughout their lives.
The alliance will:
• Get rid of fees or students at polytechs universities and teachers colleges.
• Give students living allowances without means testing their parents.
• Provide free pre-school education Including kindergarten, playcentres, kohanga reo and Pacific Island nests.
• Provide free primary and secondary education.
School activity fees will not be needed with proper funding.
• Build more pre-school classroom facilities.
• Spend money on much needed school maintenance.
• Employ more teachers so children get more Individual attention.
• Stop bulk funding
and pay teachers at nationally agreed rates.
"The country gets what it pay $ for in education.
Cuts mean less skills and fewer opportunities.
The Alliance will employ more teachers
and give them the resources, to do their job properly, without activity fee donation.
We will ensure that inability to pay won't stop people getting a tertiary education.
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
The Alliance will ensure there is a rich diversity of education options available to meet the different needs of New Zealanders.
To provide links between schools and to co-ordinate education services at a local level, the Alliance will set up Regional Education Bureaux.
And the Alliance will:
• Provide further training for school leavers.
• Provide new apprenticeship schemes.
• Provide adult and "second chance" education.
LOCAL GOVERMENT
The Alliance wants Local Government to be truly local,
and to be actively responsible for stimulating regional economic reconstruction and sustainable development.
• The powers of Community Boards will b« strengthened.
• The sale of defined public assets will be prohibited.
• The use of referenda will be promoted.
• Any decision to change local government will be done by poll, not by the Local Government Commission.
HEALTH
ALLIANCE PRINCIPLE:
Every New Zealander has the right to free, high quality health care.
People will not be healthy if there is poor housing, widespread unemployment, poverty, crime or environmental pollution.
Alliance Employment, Welfare and Environment policies deal with these major issues.
Healthy communities aim to prevent illness as well as providing good primary health care and hospital services.
HEALTCH CARE EARLY BACKED UP BY OPEN HOSPITALS
The Alliance will remove the financial barriers and waiting lists which now delay early treatment of health problems.
The Alliance will:
• Remove prescription charges.
• Phase out GP charges over three years.
• Get rid of public hospital charges immediately.
• Increase nursing and clinical staff levels
and re-open hospital wards.
• Scrap the Community Services card which won't be needed.
"I believe forcing people to pay for health is making the country unhealthy.
We want to stop hospital closures.
The majority of New Zealanders want the security of free locally available health services -paid for by taxes"
MAINTAINING A RESPONSIVE HEALTH SERVICE
Our emphasis is on providing a service.
The Alliance Is against free market changes to the health system started by Labour and now being pushed through by National.
The changes we propose are the minimum necessary.
We will:
• Save money by getting rid of Regional Health Authorities along with their unnecessary extra layer of managers.
• Directly fund democratically elected Area Health Boards.
• Area Health Boards will fund hospitals, GPs and other health services.
• Community Health Committees will act as local health Issue watchdogs,
and will consult and liaise locally over specific health needs and health-related Issues including water quality, transport and sewage systems, and noise pollution.
SUPERANNUATION
The Alliance recognises that retired people make a positive contribution to New Zealand society and have the right to their independence.
We believe they should have the right to a retirement income which will enable them to fully participate in, and belong to, their community.
The Alliance took part in the Super Accord with National and Labour to fight for a better deal for retired people no matter which party Is Government.
Our participation in the Accord has ensured that all political parties are now committed to publicly funded super for all New Zealanders 65 and over.
The Accord commits all parties to protecting the buying power of Super, and:
• Super will be linked to prices and be valued at between 65% and 72.5% of the average wage.
• The surtax on superannuation will be retained by those parties which do not have a progressive tax system.
In addition to the Accord commitments, the Alliance will:
• abolish the surtax.
Superannultants will pay the same rates of tax as anybody else according to their Income (See tax table on page 9).
• Introduce a Senior Citizens Benefit for people between 60 and 65 who do not have significant other Income.
It will be valued at 95% of Super.
HOUSING
It is an Alliance priority to eliminate homelessness, overcrowding and substandard accommodation.
The Alliance would combine Housing NZ and Housing Corp into the Housing Corporation of New Zealand (HCNZ).
• 1000 extra homes will be financed or built each year.
• State rental housing will be maintained at not less than 70,000 homes
and rents will be set at no more than 25% of any householder's net Income.
• No-deposit State loans at lower than market rates of interest will be available to those unable to meet private sector lending and repayment criteria.
• Approved home purchasers who are unable to meet private sector deposit or security criteria will be able to obtain a HCNZ mortgage guarantee.
ALLIANCE PRINCIPLE:
Access to adequate food, housing, and clothing should not be limited by a person's status in society or ability to pay.
New Zealand is fast becoming an unequal society.
The Alliance does not believe those in greatest need should bear the brunt of cutbacks and restructuring.
We will set aside $500 million to make immediate welfare improvements.
• Benefit abatement restrictions will be eased.
This will provide an Incentive for people to seek work.
• Benefits will be restored to their pro- 1991 levels by a combination of tax reductions for low Income earners, and benefit increases.
• Benefit stand-down regulations will be urgently reviewed and unfair stand-down regulations will be scrapped.
• The operation and funding of all child and young person care will be reviewed urgently to ensure It is safer and more effective.
• Residential care for retired people will be part funded from income greater than $S200/annum,
but basic assets Including the family home will not be Included in asset means tests.
Longer term objectives also form part of the Alliance Social Welfare policy and we will seek an Accord between political parties to remove specific welfare needs from the political battleground.
JUSTICE
The Alliance will remove barriers to justice by revamping the legal aid system so that legal assistance is more accessible to citizens and community organisations.
The Alliance will reduce prison populations by introducing Habilitation Sentencing for offenders.
We recognise the rights of crime victims to fully participate in legal proceedings
and will establish 3 Criminal Compensation Board to assist the victims of crime.
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
The Alliance will repeal the Employment Contracts Act and restore fairness to the wage bargaining process.
Democratic unions will be able to negotiate pay agreements on behalf of groups of employees.
Union membership will be voluntary.
A set of minimum wages and conditions will apply by law to all workers, including part-time, job-share and casual workers.
Pay equity will be introduced.
INTERNETIONALS AFFAIRS
The Alliance International Affairs focus will be on the Pacific Basin, particularly the South Pacific.
However we will not forsake our peace-making broader dudes to the rest of the world.
• The Alliance Wilt increase NZ's overseas aid from the present .2% of GDP to the international standard of .7% over 10 years.
This aid will be aimed at promoting renewable energy and sustainable agriculture projects.
• The Alliance will co-operate Internationally on shared environmental threats like global warning, ozone depletion, deforestation, and the killing of endangered species.
• The Alliance will use NZ's Security Council seat to propose change* to IMF and World Bank monetary policy so that future Investment promotes sustainable economic activity.
Specific policies for the South Pacific, our immediate neighbourhood include: continued and strengthening support for a nuclear-free Pacific;
opposition to French nuclear testing and waste dumping;
supporting independence movements and those striving for democracy and human rights;
working within the South Pacific Forum to advance regional trade, transport and fisheries protection.
DEFENCE
The Alliance will withdraw New Zealand from ANZUS and the 5 Power Defence Agreement
and will consult on alternative defence arrangements.
We will cancel the ANZAC frigate project because we believe patrol boats and an ice-strengthened ship are more appropriate for New Zealand's needs.
The Navy and the Air Force will be combined into one service with the primary role of looking after NZ's Exclusive Economic Zone.
The Army's primary role will be civil and national defence and specialist UN peace-keeping work.
IMMIGRATION
The Alliance criteria for new settlers in New Zealand are:
• People who have existing relationships with NZ citizens or residents.
• People with skills short in NZ and who will make a commitment to both live and invest in New Zealand.
The Alliance would comply with obligations under international law to protect refugees and those seeking refuge in New Zealand on humanitarian grounds.
WOMEN
The Alliance will improve the status of women through promoting equal opportunities ' in education and employment and equal political representation in Parliament.
• Introduce pay equity and equal employment law.
• Restore the childcare subsidy
and support pro-school education.
• Enforce minimum wages and conditions for all part-time, job share and casual workers.
• Expand physical and psychiatric health services for women.
• Fund a major programme to minimise abusive and violent relationships and the damage they do to children, young people and women.
PEOPLE WITH A DISABILITY
People with a disability need choice, security and equity, to assist their independence and their integration into the wider community.
The Alliance believes those severely disabled people who are unable to secure regular employment should be entitled to a benefit which allows them to enjoy a reasonable standard of living.
MAORI
The Alliance acknowledges the Treaty of Waitangi as New Zealand's founding document and constitutional base,
and will continue to honour its obligations and negotiate the settlement of long-standing grievances.
The Alliance believes that Maori society's desire to participate fully in both the nation's affairs and Maori self-determination must be encouraged and strongly supported.
The Alliance will introduce legislation to establish Rohe Pooti (elected Regional Councils) to promote the social, economic and cultural advancement of the Maori people as a complement to public policies.
The Alliance will work with the Rohe Pooti on new initiatives in employment, education, health, housing and cultural pursuits.
In supporting the fisheries settlement between the Crown and Maori, the Alliance pledges its continuing support for the fulfillment of fisheries and all other Treaty settlements.
PACIFIC ISLAND AFFAIRS
The Alliance will strengthen relationships with Pacific nations through the establishment of a South Pacific Council.
We will build up the status of Pacific Islanders in New Zealand by supporting their art, languages and cultures, and by promoting their involvement at all levels of government in New Zealand.
ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION
Alliance environment policy runs throughout this manifesto, however Conservation and Sustainable Management features are described here.
Conservation
10% of New Zealand land is seriously eroded.
80% of original forest cover has been removed and 90% of wetland* destroyed.
I I% of the world's endangered bird species live here.
• Substantial funding will be available to control possums and other pests.
• Marine reserves and protected areas will be supported for 10% of NZ's coastline.
• Conservation Park* and Reserves will be closed to mining.
• Funding for the Forest Heritage Fund will be Increased.
• Clear felling of native forest on State Owned Enterprise land will be ended.
Sustainable management
Our productive resource base is threatened by climate change, hazardous chemicals and raw sewage:
• An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will control the use of hazardous chemicals.
Levies will pay to restore contaminated sites.
• We will reinstate the commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by the year 2000.
• We will speed the removal of lead from all petrol.
• Labelling and tax policies will promote durable, reusable and recyclable products.
• Economic Development Funding will be available for local projects such as land restoration, sewage treatment, forest planting, recycling.
ENERGY AND TRANSPORT
Electricorp, Trans Power, local energy companies and roads will remain in public ownership.
Those assets already privatised will be regulated to operate in the interests of New Zealanders.
Our energy plan will centre on increased energy efficiency, cutting out waste and moving from fossil fuel burning, eg. petrol, coal, oil to solar, biomass and wind resources.
• Fixed electricity line charges will be abolished, and progressive power charges will mean the less you use, the less you pay.
• All new vehicles, buildings and appliances will have to meet energy efficiency standards.
• Solar water heating will be fitted to hospitals, schools and government owned buildings
where savings would be made.
• No farther large scale hydro dam building will be permitted.
• Public transport will be improved to present a genuine alternative to cars.
• We will work with the new owners of NZ Rail to ensure It plays a central part in an Integrated transport system.
New Zealand's agriculture based industry remains the foundation of our economic and social well-being.
The Alliance Economic Development Fund will provide low cost finance for added value processing initiatives and young farmer start-ups.
We will provide tax deductions to assist current changes in farming practices which protect and restore land, water and soil quality.
• The Alliance support* organic standards like Biogro and Demeter
and will stimulate export* by promoting these standards internationally.
• The Alliance will provide incentives to plant trees on exposed farmland and control erosion.
• We will stimulate reductions of chemical residues In produce by levying the use of hazardous chemicals,
and by providing research backup.
The Alliance will monitor rural health and education services, and differential rates in communications, fuel and power charges to ensure reasonable parity with the urban sector.
This will assist growth and social stability in rural areas.
FISHING
The Alliance will control fishing activity to sustain and maintain fish stocks and marine ecosystems, as well as the livelihoods of fishing communities around New Zealand's coast.
A new Ministry of Marine Resources will integrate planning for commercial and recreational fishing with conservation, coastal management and Treaty issues.
The Quota Management System will be reformed to meet its original objectives more effectively and reduce waste.
Quota issued for new species will be subject to time limits.
FORESTRY
The Alliance intends to rebuild NZ forest assets, many of which have been sold by the National Government to overseas buyers.
We have allocated S100 million from the Economic Development Fund over three years for planting further forest.
• Investment capital will be available to farmers for farm forestry and woodlots.
A diversity of tree species will be required.
• Existing forest resources will be managed and harvested for sustained yield In perpetuity.
• A total ban will apply to the export of Indigenous logs unless from plantation forests.
The Alliance will assist regional forest communities to develop, by creating diverse employment opportunities in nursery work, planting, environmental assessment, tree-training, pruning, logging, value added processing, and domestic and export marketing.
ARTS AND SPORTS
The Alliance believes that sport, art and cultural activities help give New Zealand a distinct identity as an independent country.
Our aim is to stimulate active participation in sport and the arts.
The Alliance will:
• Double government funding to sporting and recreational organisations, and to the Arts Council within three years.
• In consultation with iwi set up a Maori organisation to preserve, develop and advance Maori language, art and culture.
• Increase funding of NZ's film Industry through a small tax on video hire and cinema ticket sales.
BROADCASTING
The deregulation of broadcasting and restructuring of Radio New Zealand and TVNZ has not brought the promised benefits of better radio and TV.
The Alliance considers that the great promise of broadcasting - to inform, educate, entertain, and provide a "meeting place" for all New Zealanders - remains unfulfilled.
• The Alliance will work toward eliminating advertising on TV).
• TV2 will continue to be operated as a commercial State Owned Enterprise.
• Overseas ownership of broadcast media will be limited to 50%, the longer term objective being 25%.
• New Zealand content on TV will be protected by a 25% quota requiring a variety of programme types and screening times.
TOURISM
Visitors come to New Zealand primarily to enjoy our landscapes, and our flora and fauna.
NZ's conservation estate is our greatest natural resource and must be managed with absolute care to prevent it being destroyed by the very tourists who want to appreciate it.
Alliance commitments include:
• The Department of Conservation (DOC) will get the funding It needs to function alongside the Tourism Board without being compromised by having to rely on commercial funding.
• Public access to conservation land, coastlines, rivers and lakes will be guaranteed by absolute protection of the "Queen's Chain".
YOUTH
Polytech, Training College and University courses will be free under an Alliance Government,
and all students will be entitled to a good living allowance.
The Alliance will provide apprenticeship schemes
and extend the minimum wage to workers under 20.
Contraception will be available free.
We will also create a Youth Charter under the Human Rights Commission to ensure young people know their rights.
ALLIANCE EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE
This shows the cost of the Alliance's planned investment over and above the Government's 93-94 budget.
Necessary additional income is also shown.
MMP AND ELECTORAL REFORM
In past General Elections many New Zealanders have cast votes that had no effect whatever on the outcome of the election.
Many of the 124,000 people who voted Green in 1990 felt their votes were wasted.
Not a single Green MP was elected.
The 20% who voted for The New Zealand Party in 1984 feel the same as do the thousands who voted Social Credit and Values before that.
Hundreds of thousands of voters have been ignored by the current First Past the Post (FPP) voting system.
In 1985 a Royal Commission examined New Zealand's voting system and unanimously recommended MMP.
It is a fairer system than FPP because it will ensure that candidates from political parties other than National and Labour can become Members of Parliament if those parties win over 5% of votes.
When you vote on November the 6th you have TWO decisions to make.
You will be voting for your electorate's next Member of Parliament, AND you will be voting for the electoral system you feel is best for New Zealand.
You can vote to retain the old First Past the Post system, or you can vote for the Mixed Member Proportional system - MMP.
The Alliance, along with many other groups and individuals, believes that MMP is much fairer and better than FPP.
• MMP votes are never waited - Every vote counts.
• MMP gives you two votes - One for the person you want as MP, and one for the Political Party you prefer.
• MMP Governments will not b« able to push unpopular decisions through - There will be more checks and balances because parties will need to work together and reach agreed decisions like the Superannuation Accord.
• MMP will be reviewed after 6 years - If we want to change this new voting system, or get rid of it, we can.
We can't change FPP.
MMP is Mixed Member Proportional representation.
In Europe 30 out of 34 countries use a form of proportional representation.
The Alliance believes that New Zealand should have it - because it's fairer and will result in better Government.
VOTE ALLIANCE: TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
There are two Alliance MPs in Parliament at present and they have achieved a lot.
Jim Anderton recently scored a major victory on behalf of New Zealand's retired people when the Super Accord was signed.
If the Alliance had not been present retired people would not have the protections now enshrined in the Super Accord.
But two can only do so much.
"We need more Alliance MPs in Parliament.
We need you to support your candidate in your electorate.
Your Alliance candidate is committed to Alliance policy and has signed the Alliance Candidate Pledge.
If you want 'what is in our manifesto, we ask you to support your candidate.
Vote Alliance: Together we can make a difference.
When elected, I undertake during this Parliamentary term to work to implement the policies contained in the Alliance 1993 election manifesto and to remain part of the Alliance.
Should I vote against, or obstruct the implementation of these policies, or leave the Alliance, I undertake to resign from Parliament and seek a new mandate from the electorate.
I make this pledge so that electors can have full confidence that the Alliance policies they vote for will be those that will be implemented by an Alliance government.
ALLIANCE PRINCIPLES
THE ALLIANCE SEEKS A FAIRER FUTURE FOR NEW ZEALAND AND IS COMMITTED TO THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES
1 Honesty and accountability.
We will consult and stick to our promises.
We will work for MMP.
2 The protecdon and restoration of the environment as the basis of all life.
3 The right of New Zealanders to meaningful 'work and an adequate living income.
4 The right to free healthcare, free education and access to good quality housing.
5 Services like electricity, telecommunications, post and public transport must be run as a service to the community, not purely for the profit.
6 The Treaty of Waitangi IS New Zealand's founding document and constitutional base.
The Alliance supports settlements recommended by the Waitangi Tribunal.
7 Control of our own destiny.
No further sales of strategic assets to were as interests.
No involvement in foreign military pacts.
Fair trade rather than free trade.
8 New Zealand will remain nuclear free.
EDUCATION POLICY
THE MOST HIGHLY SKILLED NATION IN THE WORLD
NATIONAL'S VISION
The Government's vision for education and training was set out in Path to 2010.
That document stated;
"Education is the single most important investment we can make in the future of our country.
It will be education that will make our economic and social goals possible; indeed it is the bridge that links them. "
A solid foundation for economic growth and job creation has been established.
The New Zealand economy is now growing strongly again.
Sustaining and accelerating that growth requires a major focus on developing the skills of our students and all New Zealanders.
Path to 2010 also clearly spelled out the Government's role in achieving our goal to be the most highly skilled nation in the world.
It is:
"To set clear goals for excellence ...
to resource institutions and the community ...
to help students achieve...
in an environment that removes barriers
and takes account of individual needs./"
This manifesto paper sets out how the National Party intends to achieve those goals.
NATIONAL EDUCATION AIMS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
In July this year Education for the 21st Century was published.
This is a consultative document.
The National Party believes it should be the basis for the work that is required for the rest of this century and on into the next.
Education for the 21st Century established ten National Education Aims for the 21st Century.
These are endorsed by the National Party.
They are:
• A community of shared values.
• A sound foundation in the early years for future learning and achievement.
• High levels of achievement in essential learning areas and essential skills throughout the compulsory schooling years.
• The promotion of excellence in tertiary education,
post-graduate study
and research.
• Attainment of qualifications to enable all to participate successfully in the changing technological and economic environment.
• A highly skilled workforce at enterprise and industry level to enhance New Zealand's international competitiveness.
• Equality of educational opportunity for all to reach their potential and take their full place in society.
• Success in learning for those with special needs.
• Full participation and achievement by Maori in all areas of education.
• Improvements in the effectiveness and efficiency of resource use in education.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE FIRST TERM
The achievements of the first three years of the National Government fall into three categories:
Setting and attaining higher standards of achievement.
2. Improving access to education and training.
3. Enhancing management of resources
and expanding choice.
SETTING AND ATTAINING HIGHER STANDARDS OF ACHIEVEMENT
• Piloted the Parents as First Teachers Programme: This programme assists parents to encourage early language development and identify health problems which can impair their children's learning.
• Progressed the implementation of the Achievement Initiative: This establishes a new curriculum for schools and improves assessment procedures.
• Introduced the National Qualifications Framework: This framework ensures that all learning, be it in formal education, workforce training, or second-chance education, is recognised under a unified qualification system.
• Supported teacher professional development: An additional $ 15 million is being invested this year and over the next two in professional development to support the Achievement Initiative.
• Raised the school leaving age to 16 years.
• Transferred funding from the bureaucracy into the classroom: $61 million from the central bureaucracy has been redirected into teaching and the classroom.
• Invested in Maori education: Funding has been directed into Maori language proficiency courses for trainee and practising teachers and for Maori medium education.
National has approved the establishment of 22 new kura kaupapa Maori, two kura kaupapa Maori taurua and two wananga.
Maori participation has increased by 2509 in Te Kohanga Reo, and by 9904 in Tertiary Education.
• Pacific Island Education: The Government is in the process of recognising the Pacific Island Education Resource Centre as an autonomous tertiary institution.
IMPROVING ACCESS TO EDUCATION AND TRAINING
• Increased numbers in tertiary education and training: 78,000 more New Zealanders are now in tertiary education and training than when the Government took office, with new campuses at Albany and Tamaki.
• Introduced a Student Loans scheme: All students have access to financial assistance for fees, course-related costs and living allowances through the loan scheme.
Repayments are made on the basis of income.
• Increased the funding of Tertiary Institutions: $167 million of additional funding has been allocated.
• Introduced Skill New Zealand: This is a training strategy led by industry.
Opportunities for systematic training have been extended to a much wider range of industries and people than ever before.
$59 million has been allocated to Skill New Zealand.
• Introduced the Training Opportunities Programme which will provide a "second-chance" to gain nationally recognised qualifications to those who have previously not achieved in our education system.
• Increased the funding of early childhood education: $71 million of additional sessional funding has been allocated.
Numbers have increased by 17,577 since 1990.
ENHANCING MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES AND EXPANDING CHOICE
• Improved responsiveness and accessibility of early childhood education: Childcare subsidies for lower income families have increased from $32 to $65 per week.
Restrictive building requirements for early childhood centres have been relaxed to avoid closures.
• Taken a new Special Education Policy through an extensive consultation and development process:
The policy supports special schools, attached units and regular classes for children with disabilities.
It will direct more resources from the bureaucracy to children with special needs.
• Given parents greater choice in who they can elect to their boards of trustees.
• Given parents greater choice of schools.
• Established the Schools' Consultative Croup: This group has been established to consider policy issues associated with school management, including funding reform.
• Trialed the bulk funding of teacher salaries on a voluntary basis:
The Schools' Consultative Group will advise the Government on the future of this concept.
• Provided support for independent schools: To ensure that private education is a realistic alternative for parents, the Government has reinstated the equivalent of a 20 per cent salary subsidy.
• Introduced the Education Development Initiative: This allows community initiatives to reorganise their schooling to improve the delivery of education to the advantage of the local community.
• Spent $185 million on deferred maintenance: A further $ I 78 million is budgeted to be spent.
The backlog of deferred maintenance is forecast to be cleared by 1995.
This compares to the last Labour Government accumulating a backlog of $435 million.
THE NEXT STEPS ON THE PATH TO 2010
The first steps in the establishment of the complete education system which will carry us into the next century have been taken.
The overall design of the new system as spelled out in Path to 20/0 is clear.
The consultation document Education for the 21st Century is the focus for community input to further development.
The key next steps that need to be taken are to:
• Expand Parents as First Teachers from the research pilots to eight other areas.
New programmes will be set up in Waitakere City, Rotorua, Mt Maunganui/ Papamoa, Hamilton, Masterton, Wellington, Levin and Greymouth.
In total another thousand families will have access to the programme by 1994.
The Rotorua and Mt Maunganui programmes are specifically for Maori
and the Wellington programme is for Pacific Islanders.
• Plan for the national provision of Parents as First Teachers - by 1998 all parents will have access to the programme.
• Implement National Curriculum guidelines for early childhood education.
This will ensure the quality of early childhood education
while maintaining its diversity.
• Complete the implementation of the Achievement Initiative and NZ (Qualifications Framework.
These policies are at the heart of education and are supported by teachers, principals, and trustees.
They will significantly improve achievement for students at school
and will contribute to the development of a seamless education system through the school years and beyond.
• Retain the external examinations
• Ensure bursary and scholarship payments appropriately reflect achievement.
• Encourage the study of foreign languages, particularly the languages of our trading partners.
Research has shown that a country's trading potential is enhanced by the foreign language skills of its workforce.
• Plan for a school leaving age of 17.
• Pilot the proposals of the special education implementation team.
• Review the funding arrangements of English as a second language.
• Review the truancy protocols between Education and Social Welfare to ensure they operate more effectively.
• Expand the use of technology to improve distance education.
• Remove anomalies to improve teacher/pupil ratios.
The Government currently funds one person on the primary teacher payroll for every 18.9 students, and one person on the secondary teacher payroll for every 15.5 students.
The Government will work to ensure that the reality in classrooms more closely reflects these numbers.
• Resolve schools funding issues
after consultation with the Schools' Consultative Croup.
This group will report back to the Government by the end of 1994.
• Ensure boards of trustees have continued access to training and advisory support.
• Introduce support services and a property management system which involves more local input, flexibility and achieves greater efficiency.
• Protect and enhance the quality and flexibility of our tertiary institutions.
A SEAMLESS EDUCATION SYSTEM
Education must relate to the wider world.
We must support students as they follow pathways which meet their needs.
There must be no artificial barriers to learning in the complete education system of the future.
It must be a seamless education system.
In the seamless education system, it will no longer matter whether students are enrolled at school, a tertiary institution, participating in Skill New Zealand or taking a "second-chance" through the Training Opportunities Programme: they will all be working towards qualifications within the same framework.
Students will be able to begin working towards a qualification at school and con-tinue building on it at a tertiary institution, a private training establishment or at the workplace.
They will be able to spend some of their time at school, while also participating in workplace learning or tertiary education.
There will be no barriers to participation; no limits to the opportunities available.
National's vision of a seamless education system focuses on the knowledge, understanding, and skills required by the modern world and the needs of individuals as they seek to attain them.
It is a vision we have already begun to realise.
ENVIRONMENT POLICY
THE CLEANEST GREENEST PLACE ON  EARTH
NATIONAL'S VISION
A major component of the Government's vision and strategy for New Zealand as set out in Path to 2010 concerns our environment.
One of the most important objectives the document established was to ensure that over the next 20 years we achieve both high rates of economic growth
and enhance and sustain our environment.
This is entirely possible.
As Path to 2010 stated: "Good environmental policies are consistent with our goal of sustainable growth.
Our economy is dependent on the land, the forests and the sea.
Sustainable growth requires that we maintain, renew and enhance these three key resources./ "
Our international reputation as a clean and green country is important for us as a trading nation and a tourist destination.
Enhancing our environment is not only about ensuring sustained economic growth.
The National Party's vision is for New Zealanders to be able to enjoy a quality of lifestyle unmatched anywhere in the world.
Policy initiatives will be practical, well planned and based on sound information.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE FIRST TERM
National has:
• Passed the Resource Management Act into law following a refocus on environmental effects.
It is based on the principle of sustainable management of our natural and physical resources.
• Gainfully provided work for over 13,000 unemployed people on programmes to improve the environment through Taskforce Green.
• Improved the Ozone Layer Protection Act by setting phase out deadlines for ozone depleting substances, which are tighter than existing international requirements.
• Dramatically increased forest plantings from 15,000 hectares in 1990 to over 61,000 hectares in 1993 and an estimated 100,000 hectares in 1994.
• Introduced consumer labelling of environmental friendly products called "Environment Choice".
• Established the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) which is charged with helping New Zealand become more energy efficient,
promoting the careful use of the nation's energy resources,
and encouraging appropriate and economic use of renewable energies.
• Improved protection of endangered species by increasing penalties for illegal trade,
and increasing investment in protection work by 20 per cent.
• Trebled the number of marine reserves to nine.
• Passed legislation banning driftnet fishing.
• Passed legislation to allow the introduction of game bird habitat stamps to support an increase in game bird habitat.
• Successfully lobbied internationally for the protection of Antarctica.
• Introduced and passed legislation to give the Historic Places Trust greater independence and more strength.
• Initiated a major reforestation project for the highly erodible and marginal East Cape/Gisborne region.
• Passed legislation requiring the sustainable management of indigenous forests on private land.
• Passed- the Crown Minerals Act 1991 giving land owners the right of veto on mining applications.
• Worked towards the establishment of Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.
• Introduced amendments to the Conservation Act to improve management of the Crown's estate.
• Introduced legislation to provide for effective management of pollution from oil spills.
THE NEXT STEPS ON THE PATH TO 2010
National will continue to integrate the Government's environmental and economic objectives by three general approaches:
1.Develop the concept of market mechanisms as introduced by the Resource Management Act into practical measures.
Options such as "polluter pay levies" will be investigated.
2. Facilitate a closer working relationship between business and environmental leaders to meet common objectives.
3.Continue to ensure widespread public participation in the development of environmental policy.
PROTECTING OUR HERITAGE
National will:
• Aim to preserve all New Zealand's indigenous species by protecting their habitat
and supporting research efforts into ensuring the survival of endangered fauna and flora.
• Maintain public access to coastlines, lakes, streams and waterways.
• Support the work of the Historic Places Trust to protect our architectural heritage.
• Develop more marine reserves to protect and preserve elements of the coastal environment.
• Encourage local authorities and businesses, through programmes such as Taskforce Green, to join with their communities in beautification programmes to protect and plant more trees and to develop more landscaped areas in urban communities.
• Carefully manage the Crown's conservation estate to ensure it can be enjoyed by future generations of New Zealanders.
• Expand pest control measures on possums and other pests
and invest in research efforts aimed at developing effective means of biological control.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
National will:
• Keep New Zealand at the forefront of international efforts to protect whales from commercial exploitation
and will advocate the establishment of a Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
• Phase out the use of ozone depleting substances
and advocate stronger protection of the ozone layer.
• Work with the international community to develop effective agreements to deal with the global issue of climate change.
• Ratify the 1991 Protocol on Antarctica
and continue to work with the international community to protect the continent from commercial exploitation.
• Ratify the climate change and biodiversity conventions of the Rio Earth Summit.
ENERGY
National will:
• Strive to improve New Zealand's energy efficiency to levels in each industry comparable to other similar OECD economies.
• Extend the role of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA)
and expand the loan scheme for financing energy efficiency improvements in central and local government.
• Encourage energy efficiency information labelling on domestic appliances
and investigate efficiency labelling for motor vehicles.
• Improve residential and commercial building standards for energy efficiency.
• Encourage the development of renewable alternative sources of energy such as wind energy.
WASTES AND POLLUTION
National will:
• Aim for all inland and coastal waters to be of a quality that is safe for swimming and fishing through effective measures in the National Coastal Policy Statement.
• Continue to clean up toxic waste sites
and encourage research into methods of safe treatment and disposal of hazardous substances.
• Improve emission standards for motor vehicles
and continue to promote the increased usage of lead free petrol.
• Legislate for improved environmental risk management by providing new systems for dealing with hazardous substances and new organisms.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of packaging levies and regulations as a means of encouraging recycling and waste minimisation.
JUSTICE AND LAW AND ORDER POLICY
BUILDING SECURE COMMUNITIES
NATIONAL'S VISION
New Zealanders have a right to feel secure in their homes and communities.
During its first term the Government has maintained a major focus on the issues of crime reduction, crime prevention, sentencing, victim support and law reform.
The Government's stated policies designed to get tough on white collar crime have been implemented.
The National Party's approach to building a more secure future for New Zealand families is broadly based.
The approach is to prevent crime by targeting at-risk families for assistance and early intervention,
to demonstrate that society will not put up with violent crime by severely punishing those who offend
and to assist victims in recovering from their ordeal and in helping with prosecution.
Finally the only way to solve the problem of crime is for communities to join with the police in taking responsibility for crime prevention.
Many communities are already responding to this challenge and the results of their work are most encouraging.
This manifesto paper sets out how the Government will continue to work towards achieving its goals in these areas.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE FIRST TERM
The achievements of the first three years of the Government fall into four categories:
1. Crime Prevention
2. Law and Order
3. Victim Support
4. Business and other Law Reform.
CRIME PREVENTION
The National Government recognises that crime prevention is of the utmost importance as a long-term strategy.
Therefore National has:
• Developed a comprehensive crime prevention strategy: This has led to the establishment of a special crime prevention unit in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
The unit is working to implement the Government's long term crime prevention strategy.
This strategy will focus on ways to help the Government and the community to work together to develop positive solutions to the problem of offending and anti-social behaviour.
Crime prevention is a community problem.
It needs a community solution.
Focused on the crucial issue of good parenting: A pilot scheme, Parents as First Teachers, has been introduced to improve parenting skills.
• Supported programmes to identify children and families at risk: Many private sector groups in this area receive funding.
• Financed and will expand the Safer Community Council Programme: These aim to reduce crime in local areas.
Local Authorities have been given funding to co-ordinate activities best suited to their region.
Currently four pilot programmes have been in operation in Wairoa, Ashburton, Christchurch and Manukau, and others are coming on stream.
In every area in which the councils have been established there is evidence of strong community commitment and positive progress towards achieving their goals.
• Established pilot schemes to prevent child abuse,
and support programmes for anger management, drug abuse, and gambling problems.
• Provided financial assistance to many community groups involved in crime prevention.
• Begun the building of a second special sex offenders rehabilitation unit following the outstanding success of the first unit in Rolleston.
An important part of crime prevention is the prevention of re-offending once offenders are released back into the community.
The Government has taken significant steps in this area:
• Intensive therapeutic communities known as Habilitation Centres have been established: These centres target certain types of offending, for example violent offences, substance and alcohol abuse.
The aim is to rehabilitate and reintegrate offenders within the community while still being subject to strict control.
• Home detention is being introduced: Low risk offenders will be required to remain in their own homes according to their parole conditions.
They will only be able to leave their homes for certain approved purposes, for example, to work.
• Offenders are now encouraged to learn skills and gain educational qualifications.
LAW AND ORDER
In its first term, the National Government has taken strong action in the continuing fight against crime including:
• The maximum sentences for rape and sexual violation have been increased to 20 years or in some cases where the risk of re-offending is high, preventive detention for an indefinite term is available.
• Courts can now impose non-parole periods for serious violent offenders: For murder there is no limit on the non-parole period a judge can impose.
• Bail eligibility has been substantially tightened.
• Tough new recall provisions for prisoners have been introduced: Inmates on parole can be recalled to serve out their full sentence if they re-offend, or are deemed likely to re-offend.
• A wider mix of tough sentencing options is now available: The courts now have the power to impose the sentence of preventive detention (detention for life) on first offenders convicted of sexual violation.
• Inmate privileges, for example, home leave and leave to work, have been restricted.
• DNA identification techniques are to be introduced.
New powers are now being enacted which allow the police to question juveniles if they have reasonable grounds to suspect them of committing an offence.
• International assistance against criminals is now more readily available: Important witnesses can be brought to New Zealand to give evidence.
• Proceeds of criminal activity or property used in the committing of a crime can now be forfeited.
• 900 extra frontline police have been recruited.
• The integration of the police and the traffic safety service has been completed.
• New fingerprint technology has been provided: This enables data matching for all crimes within minutes.
• Random breath testing has been introduced: This is reducing our road toll.
In 1990 there were 729 deaths on our roads.
This fell to 650 in 1991, 646 in 1992, and 231 deaths in the year to May 1993, compared with 264 for the same period in 1992.
• Tough new censorship laws have been introduced to reduce the spread of violent and pornographic material.
• White collar crime has been clamped down on through new financial reporting requirements for companies together with a new Companies Act:
In addition rigorous accounting stand-ards will have to be followed and share-holders have greater rights to hold directors accountable.
VICTIM SUPPORT
National is putting more emphasis on victims' rights and has:
• Directed funding of victims through Vote Social Welfare to victim support groups.
• Provided an extra $3 million annually for victims and their families: Support will be provided to victims and their families in attending trials, in the administration of justice, and at court.
• Established a sole discretionary fund to pay compensation to those who incur costs associated with giving evidence (for example damage to property).
• Emphasised in law the importance of reparation for victims: Amendments have been made to the Criminal Justice Act directing courts to consider reparation to victims in all cases.
• Requested the parole board to take account of the views of victims when considering parole.
BUSINESS AND OTHER LAW REFORM
• Business and investors will benefit from the new Companies Act, the Financial Reporting Act, the Takeovers Act and other changes to commercial law.
The data at Births, Deaths and Marriages, the Land Transfer Office and the Companies Office are being com - puterised to enable prompt access.
• The new Privacy Act controls the use of our personal information held by someone else
and the new Privacy Commissioner stands as guardian.
• The new Defamation Act will assist speedy resolution when someone's reputation is attacked.
• Amendments to the Legal Services Act have resulted in a dramatic reduction in applications.
The total cost to the taxpayer has reduced by approximately $20 million.
• A referendum on electoral reform is to be held at the time of the General Election this year.
THE NEXT STEPS ON THE PATH TO 2010
Rarely if ever has a Government concentrated so much effort on the blight of crime in our communities.
Many significant measures have been taken.
A clear strategy is in place.
The next steps in the implementation of this strategy are:
1.To prevent crime and to strike at the fundamental causes of criminal behaviour by:
• Expanding successful programmes such as Neighbourhood Support and Community Oriented Policing as part of the de-centralisation of policing: 50 new policing centres have been set up around the country over the past three years.
In addition, consultative committees have been set up throughout New Zealand helping to make the police more accessible to the community.
• Ensuring that the police five year Strategic Plan is an important part of the blueprint for the future:
What is in the plan Community Policing?
The plan's motto is "Safer- Communities Together" and involves direct collaboration with the public in developing initiatives to reduce crime.
• Expanding early intervention programmes, such as Parents as First Teachers,
and targeting new pilots to specific problems.
* Developing the skills of inmates in institutions so they become equipped to work and contribute to society when they are released.
* Providing financial assistance to Prisoners Aid and other post release groups.
2.To continue to send a clear message to criminals, including white collar criminals, that anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated by:
* Providing strong continued support for the New Zealand Police and their five year strategic plan for crime reduction and crime prevention.
* Providing strong continued support for the Serious Fraud Office and the Securities Commission as separate bodies.
* Continuing to review the appropriateness of sentences.
* Rapidly expanding the DNA database to include samples for any person convicted of the most serious crimes.
3.To further assist victims by:
* Monitoring the payments of reparations.
* Treating firmly those who avoid reparations.
* Ensuring the process of giving evidence and dealing with court procedures is as efficient as possible.
HEALTH AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE POLICIES
CARING  FOR NEW  ZEALAND FAMILIES
NATIONAL'S VISION
Just as we had to renew our economy if we were to regain our place in the top league of developed nations so we have had to renew our health and social programmes.
For some years the health system and the social welfare system have not been meeting the needs of a modern New Zealand.
The National Government's commitment to care for New Zealand families could not be delivered without reform of the systems which deliver that care.
National has changed the health system to deliver better health and disability services by making it more efficient
and will continue to monitor the changes to ensure objectives are met.
As Path to 2010, the document which sets out the Government's vision for New Zealand, states:
"We had to renew our social welfare structures if they were to meet the needs of New Zealand families in the 21st century...
"… we had to make certain that families in similar circumstances with similar needs received the same level of support.
Too many families missed out in the past.
"The very nature of New Zealand society is changing and the systems that support it have to be altered to meet the needs of many different family structures. "
Underpinning these changes have always been a number of fundamental commitments.
In health, the National Party is committed to:
• maintaining a taxpayer-funded public health system.
• getting more health care for the money spent, that is, reducing waste and focusing on what people really need.
• improving access for all to the public health system, that is, reducing waiting times and providing new services where possible.
• monitoring closely the delivery of services
and putting in place systems to continuously improve the quality of care.
• improving the working environment for all those who work in the public health system.
• focusing on prevention as better than cure.
HEALTH GOALS AND PRIORITIES
The reform of the health service has for the first time, allowed the Government to set meaningful goals and priorities, work towards attaining them and monitor performance.
National health priorities have been set.
These include:
Hospital based and community care:
• improving children's health services.
• supporting people with difficulties due to age or disability to remain independent, and as close to their homes and communities as possible.
• enhancing the integration of community care and support services.
• improving the health of Maori and Pacific Island people.
• improving access to assessment and rehabilitative services.
• improving mental health services.
• improving substance abuse services.
• improving the flexibility and co-ordination of the health service to better match services and needs.
• providing an improved system for assessing psychiatric patients and meeting their needs appropriately.
Other priorities for the next term are:
• co-ordinated emergency ambulance services.
• hospice services.
• rehabilitation services,
and • replacing waiting lists with a new booking system to provide those with the greatest need, the quickest service.
Broad population-based initiatives;
The Public Health Commission has set six initial goals for the new public health service. These are to:
• continue the reductions in cot death rates.
• protect children from preventable infectious diseases by increasing the number of children immunised.
• reduce the incidence of cervical cancer and the cervical cancer death rate.
• reduce hearing loss in young children.
• reduce the incidence of skin cancer (melanoma) and the resultant death rate.
• discourage smoking and the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy.
SOCIAL POLICY GOALS AND PRIORITIES
The renewal of our social welfare structures has reshaped the support families are entitled to.
Now families in similar circumstances receive the same level of support.
Many families which missed out in the past are now cared for.
Tremendous changes in age profile, family structure and work habit will occur in New Zealand over the next decade.
Social support programmes are being renewed to match these changes.
The renewal has always been based upon fundamental goals and priorities.
These are:
• the family is the basic unit of society and strengthening the family should be an important aim for Government.
• the rights of children must be protected.
• the elderly require respect as valued members of society.
Providing consistency to allow them to plan with security is very important.
• the state will provide the guarantee of support for those in need.
This commitment will include a determination to help people get off welfare, not encourage them to go on it.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE FIRST TERM
HEALTH
Reform of the public health service has been undertaken.
The new system came into being on 1 July 1993.
The reforms have resulted in much change at the administrative level and will over time result in very significant improvements in the health services delivered to New Zealanders.
• Regional Health Authorities; these four bodies pay out money for health services in their regions.
It is the Regional Health Authority that pays the GP and the hospital for treating you.
They are important because they are charged with finding out what the needs of the people they serve are and funding the best hospital-based and community-based services to meet those needs.
• Core Services Committee: this committee was set up to advise what health and disability services should be top priorities for the Government.
It will continue to consult with the community to determine need.
• Public Health Commission: the new Public Health Commission has responsibility for diseases which affect populations.
It promotes good health and focuses on prevention.
• Community trusts: some communities are now able to take over the provision of health services in their area and establish a community trust.
Communities can now tailor the available health and disability support services to their needs.
The involvement of the community ensures strong support.
• Community based services: more services are moving back to the community.
This is part of a concentrated effort to focus on prevention of illness.
Through a well developed network of community health professionals illness is detected early and can often be treated in home communities.
• Public hospitals: which have been renamed Crown Health Enterprises are structured to provide the best possible health care.
The way in which public hospitals are managed and run has been changed to have less managers and more health workers to meet patient needs.
The quality of the care delivered will be monitored and improvements sought.
Public hospitals want to ensure that their patients get the best possible service.
• Health and Disability Commissioner: a Commissioner will be appointed to help people who are having problems with the health care they are receiving.
The Commissioner is neutral and advocacy services are available to promote the interests of individuals.
• Advocacy Services: more patient advocates will be available to assist people who have problems with the public health service.
• Introduced Human Rights legislation: which makes it illegal to discriminate on the grounds of disability.
• Safety in Employment: new legislation provides for safer workplaces and complements ACC law to encourage safer practices in the workplace.
• New ACC legislation: returns to the original principles of accident compensation to provide a fairer scheme for premium payers and accident victims.
SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
Reform of the systems delivering social assistance and of a number of programmes has been undertaken.
The reforms have included:
• Balancing benefits and wages: people in need are still assisted
but more encouragement is provided for those who want to work.
Since National became Government the number of people under 20 on UB and DPB have both fallen.
• Retirement Income: the Government has entered into a multi-party Accord with the Labour and Alliance parties to provide consensus and certainty for New Zealanders in the provision of retirement income.
The Accord is based on the recommendations of the Taskforce on Private Provision for Retirement.
"New Zealand Superannuation" will be adjusted to reflect changes in inflation and held stable relative to average wages.
A transitional retirement benefit will be introduced from April 1994.
• Protecting employment rights: Human Rights legislation has been introduced in order to ensure that elderly people are protected in their employment opportunities.
• Delivering social assistance programmes efficiently: the Department of Social Welfare has been split into three business units with each focused on delivering high quality, efficient services to their clients,
• Positive parenting: the National Government together with the Positive Parenting Trust has introduced a programme that supports parents and reinforces the importance of their role.
• Delivery of Social Services: the Government is committed to the continued funding of social service providers.
These include organisations such as IHC, women's refuges, budgeting services, Citizens Advice Bureaux and family counselling services.
This year over $132.3 million has been spent in this partnership between Government and the voluntary and private sector through the New Zealand Community Funding Agency.
• Parents as First Teachers: the Government has introduced the Parents as First Teachers programme.
This is a health and education-based strategy that reinforces parents' knowledge and confidence that they are the most important influence in the development and growth of their child.
Breaking the cycle of dependence: a pilot programme aimed at providing intensive integrated services for families at risk is being introduced.
Family service centres will be piloted at six locations providing a range of services including information on early childhood education, assistance for educationally disadvantaged parents to help them prepare their children for school, as well as providing community-based health and social services.
Preventing violence: a special Community Funding programme has included a number of special pilots including the Hamilton Abuse Intervention Pilot Project, and the Christchurch Therapeutic Trust.
Both programmes are designed to reduce family violence and to encourage violent offenders to take responsibility for their own behaviour.
• Childcare: childcare centres to the end of 1992 have been increased by 190.
A childcare subsidy was introduced in 1992 to allow more people than ever before on benefits and low incomes who are wishing to train, go into education or employment, to access affordable childcare.
As at 28 July 1993, 26,077 people were receiving the childcare subsidy.
• Children, Young Persons and Their Families: The Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act was brought in 1989.
The processes and procedures involved with this Act have been reviewed.
This allowed both the Police and the Department of Social Welfare to identify areas in which they were doing well and areas that required change.
Short comings in the Act have been identified and amending legislation has been introduced into Parliament.
• Training social workers: an additional $5 million has been made available each year for the next nine years in order to further train social work staff.
• Caring for the elderly: we have guaranteed that elderly people who are in need of long-term care will be provided with that care.
National has increased the amount of money that people in care can keep and still receive the government subsidy.
• Community-based services: more community-based services for those who need help but are not in need of long-stay care are being provided.
Attendant care and home help have been increased.
• Introducing the community services card and the high use health card: to ensure low cost access to health services for low income families and high users of health services.
• Increasing Income Support for families with teens: new rates of Family Support from 1 October 1993 recognise the extra costs to families with two or more teenage children.
They also provide increased assistance to other large families.
An extra $35 million a year has been allocated for this.
• Reducing fraud and abuse: the three-week benefit amnesty resulted in 9,504 cancellations and benefit adjustments with an estimated saving of $22 million over a six month period.
Information sharing and investigation techniques are used to ensure that those who are entitled to welfare receive it and those who are not are deterred from getting on the system.
• Improving disability services: a consultation process has been completed between the Government and various disability groups to ascertain the needs of disabled people.
Regional Health Authorities will be the sole purchasers of services for people with disabilities.
The Government is giving an extra $128 million in the 1993 Budget for health and disability services.
• Victim support: the Victims Task Force has completed its report on guidelines for the provision of assistance to victims of crime,
and overseen the services and information available to victims of crime.
A pilot scheme to provide $420,000 for Victims Court Assistance officers has been set up for the 1993/94 financial year.
This will be increased to $2.3 million annually by 1995/96 and will provide nationwide coverage.
• Accommodation supplement: from 1 July 1993 the new Accommodation Supplement became available to assist low income home owners with rent or mortgage payments.
Tenants will be able to rent from either the private or public sector and still receive the supplement.
• State housing: under National there has been an increase in state housing of 2,506.
For the first time ever an extensive maintenance survey has now been done, and there is now very comprehensive information on the condition of that housing stock,
which will be maintained at the current levels of over 70,000.
• The child support legislation is being reviewed to address anomalies.
THE NEXT STEPS ON THE PATH TO 2010 HEALTH
The major administrative changes of the health reforms are now in place.
The changes which patients notice will be evolutionary not revolutionary.
Over time, as each element of the system plays its part, patients will notice significant changes:
• waiting times for operations will reduce.
• new ways of integrating primary (GPs) and secondary (hospitals) care will develop.
• new local and community-based forms of treatment will appear.
• the experience of spending time in hospital will change - service, courtesy and efficiency will be the hallmarks of our public hospitals.
• specific forms of delivering health care which are best suited to particular groups in the community will evolve.
• local communities will have much more say in how their local health care services are delivered.
• a greater focus on preventing illness will emerge.
Each of the major elements of the new system will play its part in delivering these results.
• The Core Services Committee: will continue to consult the public
and provide priorities for the RHA's in funding services.
• The Regional Health Authorities: will monitor the performance of health care providers
and will fund only those providers who are providing the best quality service at value to the taxpayer.
• The Crown Health Enterprises: will improve the delivery of health care in both quality and quantity.
More operations will get done, more people will be treated
and the investment in buildings and machinery will be better utilised.
New and innovative ways of delivering care will emerge.
• Public Health; special efforts will be made to immunise more children,
public education programmes will grow,
and specific targets for reduction in the incidence of certain cancers and other diseases will be established and worked towards.
• Community care: more elderly and those who would otherwise be institutionalised will be able to be treated in the community.
•Ministry of Health: the Ministry will monitor and oversee the whole system.
In particular the Ministry will ensure that RHA's carry out their functions as the Government intends, working towards the Government's National Health Goals.
SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
The renewal that was necessary in our social welfare structures is well on the way to being completed.
During its second term the National Government will consolidate the changes that have occurred
and focus on running the new systems as effectively as possible.
In particular a National Government will: ensure that the New Zealand Income Support Service, the Children and Young Persons Service, and the Community Funding Agency are focused on serving the needs of their clients.
• expand current projects and pilot additional ones designed to break the cycle of dependency, prevent violence and improve parenting.
• seek to further reduce the incidence of fraud and abuse of social assistance.
• maintain the availability of state housing at current levels.
• continue to implement improvements to the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act, and
• work alongside the RHA's and the Ministry of Health to improve the co-ordination of community-based care for those in need and those with disabilities.
MAORI DEVELOPMENT POLICY
NATIONAL'S VISION
"Diversity is a strength and within the context of our overall goals as a nation we must learn to value the cultural and racial diversity that we have in New Zealand.
It can be one of our greatest assets".
The National Government's vision and strategy for New Zealand, as set out in the document Path to 2010, explicitly acknowledges the importance of Maori development to New Zealand's future.
It goes on to say: "The strategy we have set for the country is based on education and innovation.
"It is not only open to all New Zealanders; it in fact requires that all contribute if it is to succeed.
If any segment of society is alienated from it, then the entire programme is placed in jeopardy".
The National Party's strategy for Maori development is based on the foundation principles of greater participation by Maori,
improved educational performance
and through these two, improved standards of living.
Greater participation means more Maori contributing by developing successful businesses,
by gaining qualifications and senior positions in management and the professions,
by reducing the prison population,
by improving health
and by continuing to develop Maori language and art.
These are the firm objectives that the National Party is committed to achieving.
The National Party affirms the Treaty of Waitangi as the foundation document for New Zealand and continues to fulfil the obligations of Government.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE FIRST TERM
This Government has made more genuine progress in resolving Treaty of Waitangi issues and in providing an environment in which Maori can achieve their goals, than any Government before it.
This progress includes:
• Settlement of Maori commercial fisheries claims (the Sealords deal): all such claims have now been settled and reference to Treaty of Waitangi obligations removed from fisheries legislation.
The allocation of quota and the management of the resource is now in the hands of Maori through the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission.
• Passing of Te Ture Whenua Maori - the Maori Land Law Act 1993: provides Maori with more flexible options for the development of their land.
Created to reflect the Maori philosophy that land is a taonga tiku iho to be preserved, this is the first major piece of legislation framed according to what Maori have said they need.
Release of Maori Reserved Lands proposal: the vexed issue of Maori land being leased in perpetuity with 21 year rent reviews has finally begun to be tackled.
Preliminary proposals for a solution have been published and consultation continues.
• Restructuring of the Maori Affairs portfolio and establishment of Te Puni Kokiri the Ministry of Maori Development: this has enabled the successful return of social assistance and training programmes to mainstream Government departments.
This policy is driven by a desire to ensure Maori and non-Maori receive equivalent assistance
and that social and educational outcomes for Maori improve.
• Reshaping of the Maori Trust Office has commenced: a thorough review has taken place and proposals to improve the operating of the Office, and achieve a greater focus on beneficiaries, are being worked through.
• Amending of the Treaty of Waitangi Act: this will prevent the Waitangi Tribunal recommending the return to Maori ownership of any private land or the acquisition by the Crown of any private land.
The aim is to improve the climate for advancing the claims settlement process.
• Revision of Maori Trust Boards' structures and accountabilities has commenced: Boards will be reorganised on more representative, efficient and effective lines.
• Expansion of educational opportunities: since 1990 over one hundred new kohanga reo and 1 0 additional kura kaupapa Maori have been established and two wananga funded.
6,500 Maori students have been assisted with tertiary fees in 1993 under the Manaaki Tauira programme.
• Establishing of Maori health initiatives: for example, the Tainui Capitation Scheme, Tipu Ora.
THE NEXT STEPS ON THE PATH TO 2010
The National Party believes that future Maori development must aim to establish an environment in which Maori can secure their own futures.
Removing impediments to Maori making use of their own resources,
moving from grievance to development mode in respect of Treaty of Waitangi claims,
improving educational outcomes and health status
and continuing to facilitate the development of Maori language and culture, are all part of this strategy.
In the next term the National Government will focus on the following areas:
• Removing impediments to development: with the passage of Te Ture Whenua Maori - the Maori Land Law Act 1993, the problem of multiple ownership of land preventing development has been addressed.
Pilot projects will be established and monitored to find the best way to implement the Act.
New ways to raise capital on multiple-owned land and fragmented land will also be investigated.
• Providing employment: the East Coast Forestry Scheme is now being established with major participation by Ngati Porou.
Funding has been set aside for the facilitation of further forestry development in the Far North.
• Progressing Treaty of Waitangi claims: both Maori and the Government want to move as quickly as possible beyond a focus on grievance and wrong-doing.
The settlement of Treaty claims must be seen as a vehicle for progressing issues of Maori development.
The Government reaffirms its commitment to settling all major claims by the end of the century.
• Continuing to improve the delivery of services: the returning of Maori development programmes to mainstream Government ministries - Housing, Education, Social Welfare, Labour and Employment - and out of the Department of Maori Affairs is part of the Government's philosophy of improving the delivery of services to Maori
and delivering equivalent services to Maori and non-Maori.
This will continue.
Te Puni Kokiri-the Ministry of Maori Development will concentrate on facilitating and monitoring the delivery of services and on providing policy advice to Government.
• Improving Maori health: the health reforms are providing an opportunity for Maori to develop health services that particularly suit their needs.
These opportunities will accelerate in the next few years as initiatives such as the Tainui Capitation Scheme and Tipu Ora multiply as they are able to access mainstream health funding from Regional Health Authorities.
• Focusing on Maori education: success in gaining skills is crucial if Maori are to participate in, and contribute to, New Zealand's future.
The Training Opportunities Programme, the Maori Vocational Programme, te kohanga reo, kura kaupapa Maori and wananga are all initiatives which will be consolidated and built on in the next term.
• Maintaining   Maori   parliamentary representation: the number of Maori seats in Parliament will not be set at four but will be determined by the number of people on the Maori roll should the proposals for electoral change to be voted on in the referendum this year become law.
The National Government will make a similar change if the First-Past-the-Post system is retained.
GROWTH AND EMPLOYMENT POLICY
PEOPLE, PROSPERITY AND SECURITY
NATIONAL'S VISION
The National Government's economic policies are about people - their hopes and aspirations for a better life for themselves and their families as we approach the 21 st century.
National seeks a New Zealand that is prosperous, growing and confident about its place in the world.
National seeks a country where people enjoy greater security than in the recent past.
Only a growing economy can offer New Zealanders the high quality social services we aspire to.
Above all, National seeks an economy where many thousands more New Zealanders are engaged in productive work.
National wants to see all New Zealanders sharing in the greater security and greater opportunity brought about by its strategy for growth.
ECONOMIC GOALS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
National has a number of key goals for the year 2010:
• reach and maintain economic growth of 3.5 -5.0 per cent per annum,
• a reduced public debt burden achieved by budget surpluses,
• a continuing rise in employment and reduction in unemployment,
• higher incomes for all New Zealanders,
• a broader economic base,
with higher value-added
and a more diversified export mix,
• skill levels to match or better our trading partners,
• a growing economy
that does not sacrifice our environment, and
• an improved credit rating for New Zealand.
ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE
INCREASED JOB OPPORTUNITIES
• 17,000 more people were in full-time jobs in June 1993 than in June 1992.
• The unemployment rate has been falling for over 18 months, and is now in single figures and is forecast to continue to decline.
It is lower than the rates in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
• Around $185 million is spent annually on subsided employment programmes like JobPlus, Taskforce Green, Enterprise Allowance and Community Taskforce.
• Some $634 million is budgeted this year to help return the long term unemployed to the workforce.
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
• Price stability: New Zealand has now secured an inflation rate of 0-2 per cent, compared to 5.0 per cent when National took office.
The current rate is 1.3 per cent.
This is one of the lowest rates in the OECD.
• Controlling public expenditure to reduce the future financial burden on taxpayers: expenditure has fallen from 40.4 per cent of GDP in 1989/90 to 37.9 per cent in 1992/93, and is projected to fall to around 34.5 per cent by 1995/96.
• Lower tax burden: taxation as a percentage of GDP has fallen from 36.1 per cent in 1989/90 to 33.5 per cent in 1992/93, and is projected to fall to around 33.0 per cent of GDP by 1995/96.
• Much lower interest rates: on the wholesale market both short and long term interest rates have more than halved since the Government took office, and are now at record lows; while base lending rates now stand at around 9.5 per cent compared to 16.3 per cent at the last election.
• Reformed workplace arrangements: the Employment Contracts Act has boosted productivity in the workplace by bringing greater flexibility and much closer cooperation between management and their workforces.
• The economy grew by around three per cent in the year to March J993: this year New Zealand is expected to have the second equal fastest economic growth rate of any OECD country.
• Business confidence is buoyant: business confidence has maintained high levels for 18 months; earlier this year the survey by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research recorded a 21 - year high.
Business investment intentions are at levels not seen since 1984.
BENEFITS FOR ALL NEW ZEALANDERS
• Lower mortgage rates: mortgage rates have dropped by around 8.0 per cent since National took office.
For a household with a $60,000 mortgage and a 25 year repayment schedule, this means a saving of around $325 per month.
For a family on the average wage, this is equivalent to a wage increase of around $l 05 per week.
Home ownership became 26 per cent more affordable last year, according to an index compiled at Massey University.
• Rising incomes and stable prices: incomes are rising faster than prices.
• Higher retail spending: spending by New Zealand households has been rising for two years, reflecting strong consumer confidence, lower Interest rates and the turnaround in unemployment.
HIGHER SKILL LEVELS
• Introduced the Industry Training Act: the basis of the Skill New Zealand training strategy to encourage employment-based skill development across all industries, leading to nationally recognised qualifications.
• Encouraged the development of Industry Training Organisations (ITO's): the Government has already funded the establishment of 29 ITO's to take control of training in the industries they represent.
ITO's should be established in most major industries by early next year.
• Introduced a new national curriculum in schools, and a qualifications framework:  to promote portable and competency-based qualifications.
• Introduced the Training Opportunities Programme: to replace ACCESS, to ensure better targeted and more effective training for disadvantaged job seekers that leads to nationally recognised qualifications.
• Put in place the Employment Contracts Act: which enables firms and employees to develop skills through improved training contracts.
A survey by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research shows that 29 per cent of all businesses have increased staff training as a result of the Act, while only one per cent have decreased staff training.
• Reformed tertiary funding: including Study Right and a loans scheme to ensure that scarce funds provide access to high quality education for a greater number of students.
The number of those enrolled in tertiary education is estimated to have increased by 80,000 between 1990 and 1993.
ENTERPRISE AND INNOVATION
The Government has:
• Reformed industrial relations: which has greatly expanded the opportunities for improving productivity in the workplace.
• Corrected anomalous features of the tax system.
• Removed many regulations that stifled competition and innovative responses by business: leading to a more competitive cost structure for New Zealand business.
For example, liberalising coastal shipping.
• Established ten new Crown Research Institutes: to improve the link between public sector science and the private sector.
• Reformed the energy sector: including the removal of statutory barriers to competition in electricity and gas distribution,
and the establishment of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Agency.
• Established an industrial relations environment: which reduced stoppages from an average of 160 per year for the three years 1988-90 to 54 in 1992.
INCREASED PARTICIPATION IN THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY
The ability of businesses to compete internationally is being hugely aided by price stability,
a consistent exchange rate,
and control of government spending.
In addition, we are gaining greater access to international market skills and technology through:
• modification of immigration policy rules to improve rates of quality migrants to New Zealand; and
• the announcement of a clear and more streamlined tax regime for foreign direct investment.
Freer trade and wider international contacts have been promoted by continuing to push for a successful conclusion to the Uruguay Round of GATT trade negotiations, and for more open trade generally.
Despite a subdued international environment New Zealand's exporters are thriving.
The latest twelve month period saw the highest return to our exporters ever recorded.
Many sectors of the economy are playing a confident role in our export-led recovery.
AGRICULTURE
Initiatives: • Taxation changes for farm development expenditure, maintenance costs, and diesel have all removed anomalies and disincentives affecting farm investment and profitability.
• A major focus on pest control has been taken including the new Biosecurity Act and implementation of a five year strategy to dramatically reduce TB.
The TB strategy involves increased funding of $6 million for further research into biological possum control,
$30.5 million increase in funding for the Animal Health Board,
a $3 million annual increase in Department of Conversation's funding
and a $7 million allocation for Taskforce Green to assist possum control.
• A comprehensive strategy for sustainable land management has been introduced.
• The removal of remaining tariffs on significant farm inputs has further lowered costs for farmers.
• A successful conclusion to the GATT round has been and continues to be vigorously pursued.
•Innovative marketing projects have been undertaken by the Game Industry Board and the Meat Board.
• A substantial review of methods of livestock valuations for tax purposes has been made.
Amendments were made to these methods to remove the taxation of unrealised income.
Results:
• The value of agriculture exports has grown rapidly.
In the past two years, exports of agriculture-based products have grown by 17 per cent to $9.923 billion in 1993.
There continues to be a greater commitment to "added-value" and market development by agriculture export industries.
Gross "farm gate" agricultural production has risen 7.8 per cent in 1992/93 to $9. 735 billion and is forecast to continue to climb in 1993/94.
Dairy exports have increased by 14 per cent in the last twelve months to over $3.3 billion.
Wholemilk powder has increased by 19 per cent in the last twelve months.
Average dairy farm profit for 1993 is forecast to be up 35 per cent over 1992.
Meat exports have increased by 38 per cent since 1990 to over $3.5 billion in 1993.
Beef and veal exports increased by 28 per cent, and lamb exports by 25 per cent, over this period.
• Improved farm incomes are reflected in quantities of fertiliser sold in 1993, up 19 per cent on 1992.
Sales are at their highest level in seven years.
Fertiliser sales in 1994 are expected to increase, reflecting further increases in farm confidence and incomes.
• New markets continue to open up for our products; Malaysia, Mexico and China in particular are of increasing importance.
MANUFACTURING
Initiatives:
• Created a general economic environment highly supportive of export-led growth.
• Established the New Zealand Industrial Supplies Office to promote the Government's purchasing policy,
and to ensure fair and equal opportunity is given to local industry when competing for Government business.
• The $25 million Greenstone Fund was established in early 1993 by the Government and three private sector financial institutions to provide capital for small to medium sized companies with strong growth potential.
• The Manufacturing Advisory Group was established in 1991.
The Group has published Manufacturing for Growth, a sector strategy document which has been a catalyst for strategic refocusing in the sector, raising the image of manufacturing, and developing a consultative dialogue between manufacturers and the banking sector.
• Established a target to become internationally renowned for the quality of our products and services.
Regional and national quality awards have been introduced to support this aim.
• Plant and machinery depreciation rates have been improved.
Results:
• Between 1991 and 1993 manufacturing exports increased from $3 billion to $4 billion, representing an increase of 35 per cent.
• Productivity is increasing.
In just the year to June 1993, the total number of hours worked grew by Five per cent.
• Total salaries and wages paid now exceed $5.5 billion - the highest ever and an increase of 5.5 percent in the June year to 1993.
• Total manufacturing sales grew I I per cent in the June 1993 quarter - the strongest performance in nine years.
• The number of small business exporters in New Zealand has grown by 16.2 per cent since 1992.
TOURISM
Initiatives:
• The New Zealand Tourism Board has been established.
It has given direction to the industry through its "growth strategy" and many other programmes.
• With the recent addition of $20 million, total funding for the Tourism Board has climbed to $56.5 million.
In addition private sector contributions have contributed $40 million to a joint venture marketing fund.
• An integrated approach to utilising and protecting our environment is being pursued with the Department of Conservation.
Maintaining and enhancing our environment is a key element of our strategy for tourism development.
Results:
• Over 12,000 new jobs have been created by international tourism since the end of 1990.
The tourism industry now employs over 171,000 people.
• $3.093 billion in foreign exchange was earned in the year to March 1993.
1.1 million visitors arrived in the year ending April 1993.
Visitor arrivals increased by 11 per cent compared to a previous yearly average of 3.8 per cent.
83 per cent of the growth in visitor numbers has been attributed to the joint venture marketing of the Tourism Board.
FISHING
Initiatives:
• Settled Maori commercial fisheries negotiations enabling the introduction of further species into the quota management system.
• Initiated policy reform of Fisheries Act to simplify and strengthen the world leading quota management system.
• Facilitated voluntary agreements with the seafood industry rather than the imposition of bureaucratic regulation.
Results:
• Exports of seafood products have increased to over $1 billion.
• Creation of the "aquaculture variation" policy has led to significant diversification in the marine farming industry.
Species ranging from seaweed to rock lobster and southern bluefin tuna can now be farmed.
• The southern scallop fishery has entered the quota management system.
• The backlog of marine farming applications has been cleared.
• The seafood industry has introduced more fishing vessels to the New Zealand fleet in the last June year than in the past several years.
FORESTRY
Initiatives:
• The taxation of forestry investments has been amended to remove disincentives to new plantings, thinning and pruning forests.
• The creation of a low inflation, low interest rate, flexible labour market environment has stimulated productivity gains and the incentive to further process forestry products.
• A project to establish one of the largest planted forests in the world on marginal, erodible land on the East Coast of the North Island was started.
Results:
• Forestry exports have increased by 28 per cent in value to $2.3 billion in the last twelve months.
• There has been a dramatic increase in investment in further processing and adding of value to forest products.
• Sawn timber exports have increased by 44 per cent in value and 16 per cent in volume over the last twelve months.
• Fibreboard exports have increased by 19 per cent in value and 16 per cent in volume over the last twelve months.
• 2,200 more jobs have been created in the industry since 1990.
• New plantings have increased from 16,000 hectares to 61,000 hectares per year in the last three years.
Next year's estimate of 100,000 hectares means that the equivalent of Kaingaroa Forest will be planted in two years.
HORTICULTURE
Initiatives:
• The domestic monopoly of the Apple and Pear Board is being removed.
• The Horticultural Export Authority Act and the Commodity Levies Act have been amended to improve the effectiveness of marketing and research and innovation in the industry.
Results:
• The value of horticultural exports continues to expand, rising 10 per cent to $1.3 billion for the year ending June 1992.
• Horticultural exports now make up 13 per cent of the value of all primary produce exports at $1.026 billion in the year ended June 1993.
• Exports of apples and pears increased by 60 per cent between the year to June 1990 and the year to June 1993.
• The fresh vegetable and processed fruit export sectors are increasingly important -up 39 per cent and 26 per cent in value respectively for the year ended 1992.
• Access to the Japanese market for apples has been achieved.
• Wine exports have increased by 39 per cent in value to almost $50 million in the year to June 1993.
THE NEXT STEPS ON THE PATH TO 2010
In its second term of office, National will continue to pursue an economic strategy that is sound, clear and consistent.
In continuing the policies that have brought the recovery National will;
• Focus on unemployment and job creation as its number one priority.
• Continue to demonstrate consistency and certainty in government policy.
• Maintain its responsible approach to fiscal management based on control of government spending.
• Continue to deliver stable prices through low inflation.
• Further improve New Zealand's participation in the international economy.
• Invest in education and skills development.
• Achieve the best possible climate for business by continuing to remove barriers to employment and enterprise.
RESPONSIBLE FISCAL MANAGEMENT TO PROVIDE GROWTH AND JOBS
National's goals are;
• To further reduce government spending as a proportion of GDP by the end of its second term.
• As government spending continues to be reduced, so the tax-take as a percentage of GDP can also over rime be allowed to continue to fall.
• A balanced budget followed by surpluses.
By the year 2000 National aims to have been running budget surpluses for some years.
• A sound revenue strategy to match firm control of expenditure.
For that reason National is committed to a "broad-base, low rate" taxation strategy.
National will not be putting up tax rates.
Tax rate increases would choke off the economic recovery achieved by New Zealanders.
• National will work to dose loopholes in the tax system to ensure all New Zealanders pay their fair share of tax,
and National will continue to work to reduce compliance costs.
• Reduce public debt as a proportion of GDP.
• The Government will seek full value from the business enterprises it owns,
while aiming to reduce risk to the Crown.
We will continue to evaluate our ownership options where businesses may be better placed for expansion in the private sector.
As in National's first term of office, proceeds from any sales of government-owned businesses will be dedicated to repaying debt.
• National is also legislating for greater openness in fiscal reporting.
The disclosure of timely and relevant fiscal information will be required by law, including the full public release of an economic and fiscal outlook prior to each General Election.
This means that no Government will be able to mislead the people of New Zealand as to the state of the country's books the way Labour did in 1990.
ENSURING PRICE STABILITY
National's goal is:
• To continue to maintain inflation in the range of 0-2 per cent.
PARTICIPATING IN THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY
National's goals are:
• Increased volume and value of exports to ail markets.
• Continued diversification among the goods and services we export.
• Greater value-added in our exports.
• To continue to push for global liberalisation of trade and improved access for New Zealand exports.
• To further promote CER.
National will achieve this by:
• Seeking increased overseas investment in New Zealand.
Overseas investment brings new capital, new ideas and new technologies that are needed to facilitate enterprise and innovation.
• Actively strengthening our trading relationships at the government-to-government level, especially in the Asia-Pacific region where so much potential for new markets exist.
• Continuing to support the valuable role that the Trade Development Board is making to the export-led recovery.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
National's second term goals are:
• A measurable increase in the level of attainment throughout our education system and the workplace.
• A rapid expansion of the Skill New Zealand programme to extend systematic training across all industries.
• More widespread appreciation by New Zealanders of the value of tertiary education and work-based training.
• To ensure ail school leavers enter either training or work.
How these goals will be achieved is set out in the National Party's Education policy The Most Highly Skilled Nation in the World.
THE CLIMATE FOR ENTERPRISE
National will:
• Monitor the operation of the Employment Contracts Act to ensure it operates in a way that is fair
and enables the economy to grow
and provide new jobs.
• Improve efficiencies in our energy and transport sectors to boost New Zealand's productivity and competitiveness.
• Continue to promote a national focus on quality and innovation to further enhance New Zealand's international competitiveness.
• Continue the process of making our commercial law clearer and more robust
and keeping under close review the Resource Management Act.
National seeks the best possible regulatory environment in which businesses can plan and invest with certainty.
National's economic strategy is based on a number of simple but crucial elements; the unleashing of enterprise and innovation;
responsible fiscal policy;
stable prices;
a more internationally competitive economy;
and a commitment to skills.
If our goals for the 21 st century are to be fully realised, it is vital that National's economic strategy be continued.
1. Philosophy and Values
ACT was founded by Sir Roger Douglas and The Hon. Derek Quigley in 1994 as New Zealand’s first political party under the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system.
Our vision was for a party based on values, not politics; to put real people into Parliament - not politicians into office.
New Zealanders from all walks of life share Derek and Roger’s vision and ACT has grown from two men to a grassroots organisation of more than 14,000 people.
It is led by The Hon. Richard Prebble, a key Minister in the reformist fourth Labour government and best-selling author of ‘I’ve been thinking.
’
In its first election ACT will be standing candidates in 62 electorate seats and will offer a party list of 56.
What defines ACT from all other political parties is simple:
ACT believes that New Zealanders can make better choices for themselves and their families than any politician can;
ACT believes that the key to national success is hard work, thrift and individual responsibility;
ACT’s policies are designed to reward those values, not punish people as current policies do.
2. ACT’s Vision
ACT’s vision is of a New Zealand that is prosperous, well-educated, secure and economically and socially healthy.
Our policies will ensure:
the lowest tax rates in the Western world;
all New Zealanders saving and accumulating wealth to ensure their security in retirement;
every child funded for education
at a school chosen by their parents;
every New Zealander having access to quality health care;
a social welfare system that builds independence, not state dependency.
3. Goals for Government: What We Must Do Better
SUPERANNUATION:
The present superannuation policies are unsustainable, divisive and reduce retired people to State dependency.
ACT policy is to switch from a pay-as-you-go tax-based scheme to one based on compulsory savings.
It will produce real security,
real wealth for New Zealand,
increased growth
and lower tax rates.
HEALTH:
The government-run health system is failing, with more than 94,000 New Zealanders stuck on waiting lists unable to get treatment.
ACT policy is to give all New Zealanders the option of taking out private health insurance.
Those who now have private health insurance will no longer pay twice.
EDUCATION:
Throwing more money and more teachers at the education system will not solve the problem of many children leaving school without the basic skills they need to support themselves.
One-fifth of secondary school students are risking educational failure because of poverty, truancy, abuse or behavioural problems.
ACT policy will encourage every child to leave school with the skills needed to undertake further trade or tertiary training, or to enter the workforce and support themselves and their future families.
WELFARE:
Many people are trapped into accepting social welfare as a way of life, with dysfunctional families imposing huge and growing costs on state agencies which process symptoms, not address causes.
Meanwhile, people in genuine need find it hard to get the help they require.
ACT policy will lead to fewer people dependent on state welfare
and ensure adequate support for people with special needs.
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT:
While we need to use our natural resources to earn our living, we often damage the environment without thinking of the consequences.
The management of competing interests has become complex and costly without delivering intended outcomes.
ACT policy will lead to sustainable outcomes that recognise the need to balance competing interests.
MARKETS:
New Zealand’s business people can best create employment and wealth when they are free to choose how to invest their resources in competitive and open markets.
Current government intervention and regulation distort market signals and impose costs that reduce international competitiveness.
ACT policy will reduce government intervention in markets and government direction of business activity to a level necessary to promote competition, prevent exercise of monopoly powers and protect consumers.
SAFETY AND SECURITY:
Too many New Zealanders no longer feel safe in their own homes and on the streets; juvenile crime continues to increase, and our justice system is slow, inefficient and largely ineffective.
Meanwhile, an increasingly uncertain world presents new challenges and new and unforeseen risks to our security.
ACT policy will reduce crime and repeat offending
and introduce community-based restitution and rehabilitation for offenders that recognises the position of the victim.
ACT will also provide effective defence of our economic and territorial integrity where this is threatened
and an effective emergency response capability for deployment here and overseas.
GOVERNMENT:
Government is too expensive and keeps getting things wrong.
Too many New Zealanders now look to the government to solve problems they could resolve themselves.
ACT policy will limit the role of government with the objective of returning decision- making power to the people.
ACT will reduce the number of government agencies,
the cost of central and local government
and frame legislation that is simple and effective.
The government should not be involved in business unless it can provide superior or more competitive service.
4. Achieving ACT’s Goals
4.1 Community Support
ACT’s Goal is to have fewer people dependent on state welfare
but to increase support for people with special needs.
ACT PROPOSALS:
Family Support will be abolished for working families
with tax-free thresholds of up to $21,505 for one child, up to $24,731 for two children and up to $27,957 for three children.
The tax-free threshold will increase by $3226 for each additional child.
These amounts of tax-free incomes will also establish a Guaranteed Minimum Family Income for low-income working families, ensuring that they are always better off in employment than in dependence on the state.
People who receive community income support for more than three months, and who are physically and mentally capable of some work to support themselves and their families, will be expected to join a community mentor programme until they no longer need income support.
Mentors can access additional funding to help these people until they are able to help themselves.
People with special needs requiring extra help will be able to join a mentor programme and access additional funding.
Mentors must be ‘approved’ and acceptable to the people they will be working with.
People who depend on community income support and decline to join a mentor programme will be supplied with food, shelter and clothing
and arrangements will be made to provide members of their family with the opportunity to develop the skills that will help them to support themselves.
Some people may, by their behaviour, present a threat to themselves or to others if they remain a part of the community at large.
They should be given the special care in ways that accord them fair treatment, dignity and respect while ensuring they cannot harm others or themselves.
4.2 Tax and Superannuation
4.2.1 Tax
ACT’s Goal:
ACT wants a tax system which is simpler,
fairer,
enables people to save for their retirement,
makes New Zealand more internationally competitive
and encourages hard work, thrift and individual responsibility.
ACT PROPOSALS
A flat tax of 19 cents in the dollar for individuals and companies.
The personal income tax rate will effectively be 12.5 cents plus a superannuation and health in retirement contribution of seven cents.
Income will be taxed at the one rate or not at all.
All New Zealanders would pay the same tax rate.
Individual New Zealanders will have a tax-free threshold of $3000.
Family Support will be abolished for working families
with tax-free thresholds of up to $21,505 for one child, up to $24,731 for two children and up to $27,957 for three children.
The tax-free threshold will increase by $3226 for each additional child.
These amounts of tax-free income will also establish a Guaranteed Minimum Family Income for low-income working families, ensure that they are always better off in employment than in dependency on the state.
4.2.2 Superannuation
ACT’s Goal:
To move progressively to a fully funded superannuation scheme for all New Zealanders.
ACT PROPOSALS:
ACT’s flat tax rate of 19.5 cents in the dollar includes seven cents to go into each taxpayer’s private pension fund as a contribution to their pension and health care in retirement.
People who are unable to set aside sufficient funds will have their savings topped up when they retire to provide a pension and health care better than retired people enjoy now.
During the transition to a fully-funded superannuation scheme, those already retired will continue to receive New Zealand superannuation at an increased rate and access to public health care.
Payments must be to an approved superannuation fund manager.
Fund Managers will have to comply with prudential criteria and industry performance review, audit and reporting requirements.
People will only need to save up to a threshold sum in an approved superannuation fund ($155,000 in today’s dollars).
Once they have saved the required sum, they will no longer have to save further compulsorily.
4.3 Health and Education
4.3.1 Health
ACT’s Goal:
Everyone should have access to quality healthcare regardless of their own financial circumstances.
They should receive the health services they need - when they need them - in ways that give priority to preventive health care, and have protection against the costs and effects of catastrophic illness or injury.
ACT PROPOSALS
Structures and systems will be introduced that promote competition in the supply of health services to meet patient needs.
Every New Zealander will be entitled to a minimum level of health cover.
An annual sum of money will be available from the government to purchase personal ‘catastrophic’ health insurance from an approved health insurance provider.
Where premiums are less than the specified amount, the extra money can be used to insure against other healthcare costs in a way that takes into account personal and family responsibilities.
Where people choose not to manage their own health insurance, the government will buy a catastrophic healthcare policy for each person.
Other healthcare costs will be their own responsibility.
Children will be automatically covered at birth by their parents’ health insurer.
Insurers will not be able to refuse to provide cover.
If the health insurance costs of high-risk individuals exceed the budgeted sum, they will be eligible for extra community support funding.
Insurers will need to be approved.
Approval will be dependent on compliance with specified operational and reporting criteria.
In addition, insurers will have to publish information annually on their financial performance and standard data on the health of those they cover.
4.3.2 Education
ACT’s Goal:
Every child should leave school with the skills they need to undertake further trade or tertiary training or to enter the workforce and to support themselves and their future families.
ACT PROPOSALS
Funding for schooling will follow children.
Schools, however, will not receive payment for truant pupils or for pupils barred from attending lessons or the school.
Parents will be free to send their children to the school they decide will best meet the needs of their child.
A specified annual sum of money ($3400 a year for primary students, $5200 ‘ a year for secondary students in current dollars) will be available to parents to pay for the education of children of primary school and secondary school age attending a school registered by a government-approved certifying agency.
Registered schools will specify the courses they offer and the expertise available to meet the needs of different categories of student.
Schools will have in place quality management systems, means of assessing their educational achievement relative to industry standards and performance, and performance and achievement reporting systems for parents.
Schools will bill the government for the cost of each child’s schooling.
Parents who choose schools which charge more than the set annual sum for their children’s education will pay the extra cost themselves
unless they or their child have special needs, in which case the additional fees may be paid through the community support programme.
Any unused money won’t be lost, but will be accumulated to be used for later education in a specific account in that child’s name.
The cost of further education will be the responsibility of each student, who will then be able to use any funds remaining in their childhood education account for further training.
Businesses will be able to offset part of the cost of any scholarships or bursaries to fund the trade or tertiary training of prospective employees against their liability for income tax.
The government will continue to operate a student loan system
but loan payments will be a first call on earnings ahead of income tax.
4.4 ACC
ACT’s Goal:
New Zealand’s policy on accidental injury must promote the deterrence of accidents,
encourage rehabilitation and a return to work as rapidly as possible for those in employment,
protect income in the event of injury
and provide the maximum choice in obtaining protection.
ACT PROPOSALS
The current no-fault regime would be continued at least initially
but ACC would be opened up to competition.
Universal third party cover would be set at minimum prescribed levels to provide compensation to third parties who are injured because of the actions of the insured.
Voluntary first party cover would be available for those who wish to protect themselves and their families beyond the social welfare and health-care provisions currently funded through general taxation.
Work-related injuries would continue to be the responsibility of employers.
All other third party injuries would be the responsibility of the insured who caused the accident and would affect that policy-holder’s premium rates, or in the event of an unidentified or uninsured party, the third party pool or insurer of last resort.
Cover for injury to individuals not covered by third party insurance would be a matter of personal choice on the basis of other competing expenditure priorities,
with the fall-back option of access to taxpayer state benefits and/or healthcare.
The private insurance industry would have incentives to develop a range of innovative insurance strategies and options to cater for the requirements of the market.
Considerations of exclusion or limitation of cover would not arise in the case of injured third parties,
but in the case, for example, of injury to a drunk or unlicensed driver or a person injured in the course of committing a crime, would be a matter between that party and his or her insurer on the basis of normal first party insurance principles and practices.
4.5 Maori and Treaty Issues
ACT’s Goal:
ACT aims to replace violence and poverty amongst Maori with caring and security through education, enterprise and self-discipline.
ACT PROPOSALS
Skills in parenting, career planning, job retraining and adult literacy will be readily available
through the provider of an individual’s choice.
Community Help programmes will assist young people to prepare for work.
Maori with serious needs will be able to choose mentors to help them with financial planning, guidance and the acquisition of new skills.
Maori will be able to operate their own primary and secondary schools with funds following the child.
Restorative justice will bring greater involvement of Maori communities in the management of justice.
Where laws have deprived Maori of property or a fair return on assets, affected parties can negotiate directly with the Crown or through the High Court.
Claims before the court will be heard in two parts: a hearing to establish the claim, and if successful a twelve-month timeframe to negotiate a full and final settlement with the Crown.
If no settlement is reached, claimants will be entitled to a second hearing before the High Court to enforce a remedy binding on the Crown and the claimants as a full and final settlement.
A Waitangi Research Unit will replace the Waitangi Tribunal and provide funding and research assistance to the Crown and claimants.
Courts will be able to award ownership shares in any returned property to the individuals of the iwi or hapu,
with direct whakapapa links to the claimant group as the basis for owning shares.
Forestry land claims will go through the same procedure as other land claims.
ACT will continue procedures to eliminate the two-title land system.
ACT will return to ordinary people the right to make decisions about their family’s lives that are now made for them by government.
ACT will take steps to remove all forms of discrimination.
4.6 Law and Order
ACT’s Goal:
There must be less crime and repeat offending so New Zealanders no longer need live in fear.
Community-based restitution and rehabilitation for offenders that recognises the position of the victim should be introduced.
New Zealand should be able to mount an effective defence of its economic security and territorial integrity where this is threatened from within or outside our shores.
We should have an effective emergency response capability for deployment in New Zealand and overseas.
ACT PROPOSALS
We want effective enforcement of the law so that people can be confident that they will not be harmed by others.
Penalties for breaches of the law should be clear, straightforward and applied consistently.
Police must have the power to intervene effectively to manage and deter juvenile offending.
The responsibility for the prevention of re-offending in the case of minor misdemeanours and juveniles should be clearly assigned to families and communities working with a community mentor in the case of each offender.
Offenders should work or undertake training that will equip them with skills they can use to earn their living in a legitimate way when they have completed any sentence imposed by the courts.
Prisoners will not be eligible for early parole unless they have acquired those skills,
agree to work with a community mentor for the full term of their parole,
and the opinion of the victim(s) of their crime is sought and considered.
In its relations with other countries and in international fora, New Zealand should work to defend and secure clearly identified political and economic strategic interests.
In doing so, New Zealand should help to promote the development of open, progressive and benevolent societies in which individuals are free to achieve their full potential.
In managing New Zealand’s international relationships and defending its borders the government should always work in ways that are consistent with its internal policies.
It should distance itself from bilateral or multilateral arrangements that are inconsistent with the domestic policies in place in New Zealand.
We need a capacity to defend New Zealand or support other like-minded societies in the case of military or civil emergencies.
One agency should also have overall responsibility for the co-ordination, management and staffing of responses to such emergencies in New Zealand or overseas.
Every New Zealander should be encouraged to gain and maintain emergency response skills.
4.7 Parliamentary Reform and Governance
ACT’s Goal:
ACT wants to return the New Zealand Parliament to the people,
and confine government to its proper role, with reduced costs for central and local government and legislation that is simple and effective.
The standard of Parliamentary behaviour and debate must improve to restore New Zealand politics to a reputable level.
ACT PROPOSALS
The level of Parliamentary debate should be lifted through improvements to standing orders and committee work programmes.
Independent advice should be provided to select and standing committees.
The executive should not have a monopoly on the introduction of legislation.
Parliamentary resources should not be applied for party political purposes.
The proportion of GOP attributable to government activity should be reduced.
Government should set simple, easily understood rules and guidelines for people to work with.
Government should make sure that people have every incentive to abide by the rules.
Government should measure and audit progress in achieving national goals.
The number of government agencies should be reduced.
Key Points of Labour’s Jobs and Economic Policy.
"My vision sees New Zealand developing as a knowledge-based, high skills, high income, and well employed nation, underpinned by an active government committed to reducing inequalities and building strong social services.
My priorities in our economic portfolio are to work towards.
full employment.
higher real incomes.
a fairer distribution of income.
Labour will provide intelligent and active government to help the economy grow and speed up the transformation of the economy to one based increasingly on knowledge, skills and technology. We're going to create jobs through promoting New Zealand industries and we will ensure better support for exporters and small business."
"We have to excite young and enterprising New Zealanders that we can create a dynamic, worldleading economy which provides real opportunities."
Hon Dr Michael Cullen, Finance Spokesperson.
INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT.
Industry New Zealand, working actively in partnership with the private sector, will deliver programmes in seven key areas.
A nationwide business development programme
Highlights include.
* a one-stop shop for business development advice.
* independent benchmarking and monitoring of effectiveness.
* affordable business capacity audits for "first time" or "first time for a while" businesses.
* general management skills (capacity building) programmes and business mentor schemes.
* specific management skills programmes and specific technical management skills.
* grants to assist with costs in investigating a new product, process or expansion, a new export market or a significant technology shift.
2. Enterprise financing and increased financing options for small and medium sized enterprises.
The range of options will include.
* development finance.
* adequate venture capital.
* pooled development finance and venture capital (with the private sector).
* angel networks.
Labour will also seek foreign direct investment that specifically creates new greenfield enterprises, or expands existing enterprises.
3. Innovation.
Labour will identify and remove the barriers to innovation through.
* better tax treatment for research and development
All such expenditure will be eligible for full expensing in the year of investment.
* allowing faster depreciation for new capital investment in technology.
* reinvesting all Crown Research Institute "profits" from research and development in innovation.
* boosting programmes like Technology for Business Growth, making support available for emerging high technology companies to develop their idea to production stage.
4. Local economic development.
Labour will work in partnership with local government to regenerate local and regional economies.
Labour's new Local Economic Assistance Fund (LEAF) programme will.
* fund the research and development of local economic strategies.
* identify and develop local clusters, as well as the civic entrepreneurs needed to champion that process.
* fund specific promotional activity.
* fund identified and specific initiatives to secure new investment.
Funds raised locally will be supplemented by between 20% and 80%, depending on the level of unemployment, the rate of recent economic growth or decline, and the rate of recent population growth or decline in the local area.
5. Workplace productivity.
Our agenda embraces upgrading skills and securing the rewards of a positive, progressive and co-operative workplace culture - rather than focusing narrowly on cutting costs.
A new Workplace Development Fund will help businesses increase productivity through reform of the workplace.
6. Ecological sustainability.
Moving towards ecological sustainability can deliver environmental gains as well as significant economic advantages, by reducing input costs, such as energy costs.
It can also deliver advantages for both direct marketing and international competitiveness.
Labour supports and will encourage such development.
The integrated, participatory, and transparent approach to planning for sustainability contained in the Resource Management Act will be retained,
however the issues of cost, delay, and unevenness of implementation of the RMA will be addressed.
7. Procurement policy.
Labour will.
* support private sector initiatives that facilitate or promote the purchase of New Zealand made goods by expanding and promoting the ISO (Industrial Supplies Office).
* ensure all central and local government purchasing tenders are notified so all have the option of submitting tenders online.
"Labour's Modern Apprenticeship Programme (MAP) will see thousands of young New Zealanders in workplace mentored training while they gain the qualification they need to be part of the knowledge economy".
Lianne Dalziel, Youth Affairs Spokesperson.
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT.
A skilled workforce is the key to a high wage, knowledge based society.
Employer and industry associations, unions and educator representatives will all have an important part to play in enhancing and improving the nation's skills.
Labour will.
* build a modern apprenticeship system.
* ensure that no young person leaves school to go on the dole.
* promote a school-business partnership programme.
* establish a new Gateway programme to enable young New Zealanders experience a variety of workplaces.
* set in place a skills training system to upskill continuously the existing workforce and meet the needs of industry.
* provide incentives for tertiary institutions to encourage more students to study sciences, engineering, technical, and technological subjects.
* ensure a better link between research and industry.
RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.
Labour recognises basic research as a key driver for innovation.
Labour also accepts that a key to future growth lies in the translation of basic research into innovations that can be marketed and profited from.
Labour will.
* continue to provide for a research component within degree and postgraduate level teaching funding.
* maintain existing research funding sources.
* provide additional research funding to tertiary education institutions.
Labour will stop the erosion of public science funding
* and increase over time the proportion of GDP invested in research, science and technology.
* allow CRIB to reinvest all their profits from research and development.
Labour will enhance the status of science and technology by.
* establishing a high-level Science and Innovation Advisory Council to report to the Prime Minister.
* improving career structures in science
, attracting more young people to science and technology,
and stopping the 'brain drain'.
* rewarding excellence in science and technology.
To facilitate the transfer of research into practice, Labour will.
* establish centres to enable graduate students and staff, whose work has commercial relevance, to prepare their work for transfer to the marketplace.
* extend the Graduate. Research in Industry Fund (GRIF).
* provide incentives for the private sector to fund research and development.
Labour's Labour and Employment Caucus.
Labour's eCommerce Strategy.
Labour will.
* ensure government is a leader and a model user of eCommerce.
* provide information on eCommerce strategies, cluster development, technology, mentoring, and web site development for small and medium sized enterprises.
* ensure there is an appropriate competitive telecommunications industry to encourage innovation and investment in information technology.
SMALL BUSINESS.
Labour will.
* establish an Office of Small Business as a strong voice in government.
* address regulatory issues from a small business perspective.
* develop a single electronic gateway to government so businesses can find out from one site which regulations affect them.
* provide better access to finance by developing a range of new financing options, including venture capital, and by promoting the development of "angel networks".
* ensure that government departments give small businesses fair consideration in their purchasing decisions.
The Industrial Supplies Office will help small businesses gain access to government tenders.
* develop a modern Business Development Programme to provide affordably priced business audits, technical and management skills training, and grants to investigate new products, markets, and technology uses.
* ensure small business people are aware of the various forms of government assistance available.
* reduce the cost of doing business by, among other things, implementing the recommendations of the 1998 Select Committee Inquiry into Compliance Costs.
* encourage small businesses to export through an expanded Tradenz and through the provision of new export guarantees and credits.
* promote small business incubators to allow small businesses operating in similar industries or providing complementary products or services to share some of their costs or pool equipment and information.
* actively assist the growth of industry clusters of small businesses through Labour's new Local Economic Assistance Fund.
* encourage innovation by accelerating the depreciation regime for new capital investment in technology and introducing a more sympathetic tax treatment of research and development expenditure.
COMPETITION AND THE OPEN ECONOMY.
New Zealand businesses cannot compete successfully in the globalised economy if they are hampered and restricted by lack of competition and excessive costs at home.
Labour will.
* strengthen the Commerce Act to help prevent anti-competitive, anti-consumer behaviour in New Zealand.
* cut compliance costs for small businesses.
Labour will cut compliance costs by.
* reviewing key legislation.
* requiring departments to audit compliance costs before proposing new policies and legislation.
* setting up a review group with representatives from small businesses to overhaul the entire range of compliance costs placed on business.
* introducing a simplified tax code for small businesses which meet a shortlist of clear criteria.
TRADE.
Labour supports an open, dynamic and internationally competitive economy
and recognises the need for export-led growth.
Labour will.
* aggressively promote the reduction in tariff/non-tariff barriers imposed by our trading partners.
* freeze remaining tariffs at year 2000 levels for at least five years, or until key trading partners match those levels.
* consult affected industries
and help them prepare for the future tariff-reduced environment.
Labour will increase funding for Trade New Zealand and increase its capacity to facilitate export growth by.
* backing up our exporters with export credit and guarantee schemes in partnership with the private sector.
* providing better access to information and lower user charges for exporters.
* ensuring more strategic representation overseas.
* encouraging greater diversification of export industries.
* focusing its domestic operations exclusively on export-ready (or nearly export-ready) enterprises
"Vibrant rural communities, thriving land-based industries, and a healthy rural environment are profoundly interdependent".
Hon Jim Sutton, Rural Affairs Spokesperson.
RURAL.
Under Labour, New Zealand will change to a primary strategy of adding value, instead of merely reducing costs.
We will be pro-active in assisting rural industries and communities to adapt changing circumstances.
Producer Boards.
Labour will work to enhance New Zealand's competitiveness in the global market.
We will rebuild the effective partnership with producer boards which have a vital role in maintaining and enhancing trade access.
Labour will continue to support democratic, transparent and accountable statutory boards who have the support of their producers and levy payers and are fair to minority groups.
Biosecurity.
Safety from Pests and Diseases Labour will.
* upgrade border biosecurity.
* require mandatory decontamination and inspection of used vehicle and machinery imports before they leave for New Zealand.
* continue the government contribution to the funding of border control services.
* develop a national biosecurity policy for the eradication and sustained control of existing and potential pests and diseases.
Stewardship of the Land.
Labour will introduce a new scheme along the lines of the axed FARM Partnership to combine the efforts of landholders, and local and central government to effectively deal with resource conservation challenges beyond the resources of any one party.
Risks & Opportunities.
Labour will assist rural communities to manage the inevitable and ongoing change in what people use the land for, and where and how they work and live.
Labour is committed to ensuring the maintenance of strong public health and education services in rural communities.
We will encourage growth in added value processing of our primary products and Labour's Local Economic Assistance Fund will be able to support technical and financial feasibility studies.
We will also support and extend regional initiatives like Topoclimate and Crops for Southland, which identify diverse new agricultural and horticultural opportunities.
Government departments will be encouraged to decentralise their operations to create job opportunities in the regions.
The Role of Organic Agriculture.
Labour will promote environment-friendly techniques, including integrated pest management, biological controls and organic production, through support for marketing, labelling, research and education initiatives.
Forestry.
Labour will support research and investment to build expertise in diverse forestry techniques
and stop logging of all crown managed forests.
Wine Industry.
Labour will support the food regulations necessary to ensure New Zealand wines are true to label in respect of grape varieties and regions of origin.
This will remove the current disadvantage we face in overseas markets
and cut the costs to individual producers.
INFRASTRUCTURE.
The development and maintenance of a strong infrastructure is essential if a high level of sustainable growth is to occur.
Labour will.
* urgently audit New Zealand's infrastructure needs beginning with a review of New Zealand's transport infrastructure needs.
* develop an integrated energy efficient transport infrastructure.
* boost funding for the land transport system
and give a higher priority to public transport.
* seek joint venture agreements with local government for sewerage and water quality schemes.
*Central government assistance will be based on the seriousness of the need and the local community's ability to pay.
* consider introducing utilities legislation to ensure security of supply, quality of supply, and fair and reasonable prices for supply.
* review local government legislation to ensure that it does not promote privatisation of utilities.
* keep roading management with bodies that are accountable to local communities.
FISCAL STRATEGY.
Labour will.
* broaden the objectives of fiscal policy to include sustainable economic growth,
full employment,
and social equity.
* require four-year targets to be set for these new objectives.
Revenue.
Labour supports a progressive, simple, and fair direct taxation system augmented by broadly based consumption taxes, particularly GST.
Labour's fair tax policy.
* individuals earning under $60,000 will not pay a single extra cent in personal income tax.
* individuals earning over $60,000 will pay a modest 6 cents in the dollar extra only on income above $60,000.
See the table below.
Individual Annual Income (not combined household). Effect of Labour Tax Policy per week.
$20,000. pay no more.
$40,000. pay no more.
$60,000. pay no more.
$61,000. pay an extra $1.15.
$65,000. pay an extra $5.77.
There will be no other increases in personal tax rates, company tax rates, or GST.
FBT will be increased to match the new top tax rate but Labour will discuss with stakeholders ways to offset this increase
and make FBT both fairer and more representative of the true costs incurred.
No significant changes arising from Labour's planned comprehensive review of the tax system will be made without a mandate from the following general election.
Labour will improve IRD's services by.
* reestablishing face to face personal customer service.
* considering providing clinics in outlying areas.
* giving the Commissioner greater discretionary powers in administering the compliance and penalties regime.
* helping taxpayers who have difficulty understanding and/or meeting their obligations.
* resourcing a tax specialist in the Ombudsman's office with a specific brief to act as a watchdog on the IRD.
* carefully considering the recommendations of the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee's review of the IRD.
Savings and Investment.
To ensure an increase of the level of savings within New Zealand we must, as a first step, provide security and stability in regard to the future of New Zealand Superannuation.
Labour's policy on superannuation will achieve this goal.
People will then be able to plan with greater certainty as far as their own savings are concerned.
Labour will also.
* run a strong fiscal position over the next twenty years or more
to assist in saving for future payments of New Zealand Superannuation.
* include increasing savings as a key term of reference for Labour's review of the taxation system.
* enter into discussion with the savings industry and other stakeholders as to the best non-distortionary means of improving private savings.
* reduce compliance costs for private savings, including employment based schemes.
* improve the environment for investment in the sharemarket by ensuring that investors have confidence that the rules governing the sharemarket are fair.
State Assets.
Labour will not engage in a programme of privatisation of state assets.
Labour supports the State-Owned Enterprises model because SOEs are efficient, profitable, and owned by the people of New Zealand.
MONETARY POLICY.
Price stability will contribute to Labour's aims of growth, full employment, and a fair society.
Consistent with the Reserve Bank Act, Labour will.
* maintain the target range for price movements at 0 to 3 per cent a year.
* amend the Policy Targets Agreement to ensure that the Bank pays appropriate attention to the need to minimise adverse impacts on the real economy, including excessive appreciation of the New Zealand dollar.
* undertake a full review of the operation of monetary policy.
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS.
Labour will replace the Employment Contracts Act with a new law which.
* is fair to employees and employers
and encourages co-operation in the workplace.
* promotes collective bargaining.
* ensures union membership is voluntary.
* keeps provision for individual contracts.
* requires "good faith bargaining".
Both unions and employers will have a legal duty to conduct their relationship in good faith.
* keep the Employment Court and Tribunal and personal grievance rights and procedures.
* keep secondary strikes illegal.
Labour will also protect the basic rights of all employees through a strong minimum code of wages and conditions, including fair holidays.
Labour will legislate for 6 weeks paid parental leave paid for by the government.
This provision will be increased to 12 weeks as economic conditions allow.
Labour will also ensure there are appropriate equal opportunities and pay equity provisions in effect.
ACC.
Labour will restore a public comprehensive accident compensation scheme.
Features will include.
* injury prevention. The experience rating system will be replaced with a reduction in employer levies linked to a reduction in workplace hazards.
* rehabilitation. For every one dollar spent on rehabilitation, five dollars is saved on compensation.
* compensation. Earning related compensation will continue.
More realistic assessments will be implemented for people with fluctuating incomes and in cases of potential loss of earnings so that no one will be paid less than an Invalid's Benefit.
* extended coverage. Labour will explicitly recognise occupational diseases,
reinstate cover for stress,
and reintroduce lump-sum compensation.
Key points of Labour's Health policy.
"It is time to save our public health system. Not just for ourselves - but for our children and their children. Our nurses, doctors, and other health professionals can only do so much. We need a new government committed to providing leadership and a fresh direction in health.
Under my leadership Labour in government will deliver public health services we can all be proud of. We're going to put the heart back into the health system. We're going to put people before profit and cut waiting times for surgery."
New Zealanders must have access to health services based on need, not on ability to pay.
And communities will again elect their representatives to district health boards.
Labour will develop a New Zealand Health Strategy with clear health goals.
Our top priorities are to.
* improve the health of New Zealanders.
* cut waiting times for elective surgery.
* put in place a co-ordinated New Zealand Mental Health Strategy to fill the gaps in services which presently exist.
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Labour will.
* tackle the causes of ill health. poverty,
poor housing,
unemployment,
low levels of education,
and unhealthy environments.
* ring-fence funding for public health
and set clear health goals.
Labour's Health Caucus.
Cut Waiting Times for Surgery
Labour will.
* increase funding for elective surgery.
* establish maximum waiting times for treatment to provide certainty about when people will get the surgery they need.
Mental Health Strategy.
Labour will.
* ring-fence funding for mental health services.
* require providers to work together regionally.
* involve stakeholders in the planning and delivery of services
and involve family, whanau, and caregivers in decision making.
* implement the Mental Health Commission's Blueprint for Mental Health Services in New Zealand
and require that there are adequate housing and employment strategies for people with mental health disabilities.
Child and Youth Services.
Labour will.
* fund Plunket Line for a 24 hour, 7 day a week, telephone help and information service.
* maintain access to free doctors' visits for children under six years of age.
* keep free basic dental health services for children up to school leaving age.
* implement a Youth Health Strategy to ensure that mainstream health services become responsive to the needs of young people and that specific youth primary health care services are developed.
Priorities include reducing youth suicide, unwanted pregnancies, and drug and alcohol abuse.
Meeting the Health Needs of Maori Labour will.
* support hapu-based health services aimed at improving overall well-being.
* address in a holistic way the key issues for rangatahi Maori.
* provide better mental health services to Maori.
Meeting Women's Health Needs.
Labour will.
* keep the national cervical screening programme.
* complete a review of that programme.
* extend the national breast screening programme to women with specific risk factors.
* keep maternity services free.
Meeting Older Persons' Health Needs
Labour will.
* subsidise the cost of influenza vaccination.
* support programmes to combat elder abuse.
* ensure caregivers have access to respite care and day care services.
Labour's 10 Point Plan for Rural Health.
This plan will ensure equity of access to services.
Key features include.
* a rural health premium to keep quality health services in rural areas.
* making sure district health boards have transport and accommodation policies for patients and their families.
* a rural general practice support scheme.
Meeting Specific Health Needs, Labour will.
* support a nationwide sexual health service.
* ensure sexual health services are close to the community
and free to access.
* review the HIV/AIDS strategy and funding priorities.
* fund education and support programmes for HIV/AIDS at risk groups.
* fund community based interventions to combat drug abuse.
* fund training for GPs in diagnosing and treating mental health disorders and/or substance abuse.
* continue separate funding and a stand alone council for health research.
Cut Back the Health Bureaucracy
Labour will.
* scrap the Health Funding Authority.
* transfer the health audit function of CCMAU (Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit) from Treasury to the Ministry of Health.
* keep crown entities like PHARMAC independent
but make them accountable to the government.
"Decision making will be an open and publicly accountable process".
Hon Annette King, Health Spokesperson.
Education and Training
Labour will.
* establish a central fund to assist public hospitals meet the recruitment costs of obtaining sufficient staff.
This will help address the immediate shortages of trained staff.
* establish a Health Workforce Advisory Committee with stakeholder representation to advise on workforce needs and building capacity.
Labour Will Have a Health System Run for People, Not Profit.
We will.
* bring back accountability.
The Ministry of Health will audit district health boards to ensure they are delivering effective and efficient health services.
* restore community participation.
District health boards will have a majority of elected members and be required to consult with their communities.
* ensure co-operation, not competition, in the provision of health services.
* provide certainty of funding.
Key points of Labour's Education policy.
"One of the key aims of my government will be to ensure quality education for all New Zealand children. The quality of education must not be dependent on the size of the family wallet. Public investment in tertiary education and research is one of the most powerful tools available to promote the kind of social and economic development New Zealand needs to face the challenges of the 21st century. Tertiary education and training are fundamental to New Zealand's future success. My commitment is to cut the cost to students and their families, starting with a fairer loans scheme."
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.
Quality early childhood education makes all the difference to the sort of start in life a child gets.
Labour will.
* guarantee all children access to quality early childhood education.
* lift the overall quality of education for all children.
* close the gaps in participation of different ethnic groups.
* address the barriers to learning caused by poverty, substandard housing, and poor health.
* ensure services are accountable to and involve parents and families.
* provide incentives for smaller group sizes
and better staff qualifications.
* require teacher registration
and ongoing professional development.
* require police and other character checks on other staff employed to ensure the safety of children.
* ensure adequate funding including equity funding for centres in rural areas.
* provide funding to extend a Books in Homes programme to the early childhood sector.
SCHOOL.
Labour will.
* work to close the huge gaps in opportunity which have opened up between children in our different communities.
* guarantee every child's right to attend their local school.
* end bulk funding
and allocate the funding released from that to all our schools on a fair basis.
* keep parents informed about progress.
All schools will be required to have a clear system of reporting to parents on progress of pupils in literacy and numeracy at least twice a year.
* trial initiatives such as homework centres to boost low achievement.
* improve the support available to students with special needs.
* investigate ways to address the needs of gifted children.
* upgrade school facilities and technology.
* establish a parent advocacy service.
* establish a central database of all school age children, to ensure that no student simply drops out of the system.
"Every child and every school will win under our policies which focus on improving quality and standards" Trevor Mallard, Education Spokesperson.
* stop bullying through promoting conflict resolution, peer mediation, and anti-violence programmes in all schools.
* improve participation and achievement rates of Maori.
* increase the overall number of fluent Maori speakers,
and ensure that the quality of the language being taught is of a high standard.
* build the capacity for Maori immersion education, within both the kaupapa Maori structure and the state system.
* address issues specific to rural schools.
* provide incentives for teachers to teach at rural and 'hard to staff' schools.
* improve the training and professional development of teachers.
* ensure teachers are trained in the use of information technology.
* work in partnership with business to provide interactive education.
* address teacher workload issues through a staffing working party.
Labour's Education and Science Caucus.
TERTIARY EDUCATION.
Labour will cut the cost to students of tertiary education,
starting with a fairer loans scheme.
Labour's fairer loans scheme will have.
* no interest on loans for full time and other low income students while they study.
* easier repayment terms for borrowers after they leave their course.
Those earning less than $25,000 will have all their repayments credited against the principal amount they owe,
and those earning over $30,000 will have at least half their repayments applied to the principal.
Labour will also.
* allow students to borrow up to $1,000 for course related costs.
* undertake a thorough review of the loans system.
This will include the economic and social impact of high student debt levels.
* provide access for sixteen and seventeen year olds to student allowances.
* provide financial assistance to Student Job Search or other organisations to ensure that work is available over summer vacation periods for students who do not qualify for income support.
* explore ways of improving quality
while reducing the costs of quality assurance.
* allow students to decide whether they want universal or voluntary student association membership.
Support for Research.
Labour will.
* increase research funding.
* encourage business investment in research, particularly by small and medium sized firms through the establishment of a small business research fund.
The fund would provide matching finance for approved projects.
* work with employers to extend the Graduate Research in Industry Fund (GRIF) to ensure more opportunities for specific research projects related to industry.
Funding Tertiary Institutions.
Labour will.
* increase EFTS funding with the aim of stabilising and then reducing fees.
* institute a long-term funding system to give tertiary institutions greater financial certainty.
* provide incentive funding for institutions to attract additional students into courses and areas where shortages of graduates have been identified.
* not tax or "charge" the capital of tertiary institutions.
* address the outstanding capital needs of tertiary institutions.
ADULT LEARNING AND COMMUNITY LEARNING.
Labour will.
* increase funding for adult education and community learning.
* extend local involvement in planning and delivery of education services.
INDUSTRY TRAINING.
Labour will.
* develop a comprehensive strategy for training and employment, linked to Labour's industry development policies to promote growth and jobs.
* ensure that young people leave school with options in education, training, or employment.
No young person will leave school to go on the dole.
* build a modern apprenticeship system.
* build on existing examples of co-operative education to establish a pilot "Co-operative Education Programme" (CEP) which will see students able to gain relevant workplace experience under the guidance of an approved mentor.
Key points of Labour's policies on Security.
"Labour wants New Zealanders to achieve their potential. Our policies will ensure real opportunities for all. Instead of a welfare state designed for old risks, old industries, and old family structures, we need a system which can help people negotiate unpredictable change. While it is the responsibility of the state to ensure that people have the tools for economic and social participation, it is the responsibility of people, families, and communities to make use of these tools to improve their lives."
SUPERANNUATION.
Labour's policy is to.
* restore the floor of the married rate of New Zealand Superannuation to its previous level of 65 per cent of the net, average, ordinary time wage.
The single rate will be adjusted upwards in line with that.
* ensure by law that part of existing tax is put into a New Zealand Superannuation Fund.
* protect that fund by entrenching it in legislation.
That means 75 per cent of Parliament would have to agree before any change could be made.
* guarantee by law that the money in that fund can only be used for superannuation payments.
* ensure that the fund is managed free from government interference and run on a sound commercial basis.
* ensure that the surcharge is not imposed again.
HOUSING.
Good housing is fundamental to our health and well being.
Charging market rates to all tenants has made many households very poor.
Labour will.
* restore income related rents for state housing so that low income state tenants pay no more than 25 per cent of their income in rent.
* continue to help low income families renting in the private sector through the accommodation supplement.
* establish Special Housing Action Zones in areas with particularly serious housing needs where the land is predominantly multiply owned to increase the supply of housing.
* support the provision of quality affordable community housing, including emergency housing and housing for youth at risk.
* ensure comprehensive plans for the housing needs of people with disabilities (including mental illness/disabled) are in place.
* make subsidised lending facilities available for the financing of community housing projects.
* investigate reintroducing specific local government funding programmes for housing, especially for the provision of pensioner housing or innovative community housing projects.
Encouraging Home Ownership.
Labour will.
* investigate ways of bridging the deposit gap.
Many New Zealand families got into their first home by capitalising the family benefit entitlement.
Labour will look at whether a similar deposit gap scheme could be implemented in the future.
* further develop the Low Deposit Rural Lending Scheme so that more of the families who go through the programme are able to purchase a house.
* support self build and sweat equity schemes.
* support the voluntary sector and housing associations who are engaged in the development and promotion of not-for-profit housing initiatives including self-build and rent-to-buy schemes which aim to provide quality housing for low income households.
Help for Superannuitants and those on War or Veterans Pensions.
Labour will.
* reinstate the Advance for Major Home Repairs programme
and investigate the introduction of a Home Equity Conversion Scheme so that superannuitants and those on War or Veterans pensions with no other source of income, can have access to low interest loans, or can re-mortgage their homes, to cover house maintenance or the purchase of essential household appliances.
CREATING OPPORTUNITIES.
Labour's aim is to ensure that people have the opportunity to earn income over their lifetime sufficient to meet their needs.
Labour will develop the income support system to meet the needs of job seekers better by.
* identifying individual needs through new programmes like Active and Future Directions which will ensure quality case management especially for young job seekers.
* ensuring no young person leaves school to go on the dole.
* removing the barriers to employment.
* re-establishing a public service ethic within WINZ
and improving the range of information available through WINZ.
Availability for Work.
Labour will stop the work capacity assessment pilot (an expensive failure to date).
Labour will also re-establish a sickness benefit as a non-work tested payment.
Investing in Families.
Labour will ensure every child gets the best start in life.
We will.
* extend early intervention programmes to ensure that families with babies get support in their own home,
and that a key worker is able to continue to visit those families in their homes and link them with other services.
* ensure adequate funding for the Department of Child, Youth and Family Services.
* expand the social workers in schools pilot
and ensure it is co-ordinated with already existing school counselling programmes.
* expand wraparound programmes which co-ordinate services to young people and their families.
* ensure that foster parents receive on-going social work support
and review the level of assistance provided to them.
Relationships and Parenting.
Labour will implement a nationwide strategy designed to strengthen and support relationships, parenting, and positive fatherhood.
A comprehensive programme will be developed, building upon the achievements of family service agencies, and recognising the important assistance that government can provide to individuals and organisations dedicated to preventative educational work.
Promoting Nonviolence.
Labour will actively promote stopping violence courses
and non violent forms of discipline in homes and schools.
A Proposal to Develop an Agreement between Government and Voluntary Social Service Organisations.
The voluntary sector is an essential component of society and an independent and diverse voluntary and community sector is fundamental to the wellbeing of society.
Labour proposes to develop an agreement between government and voluntary social service organisations to facilitate and guide their relationship.
"Labour's proposal for an Agreement with voluntary social service groups will provide a framework for government and the community to work together to build strong thriving communities"
Steve Maharey, Social Welfare Spokesperson.
Citizen's Service for New Zealand.
Labour will introduce an exciting new opportunity for young people to begin their working life by making a direct contribution to their community through a programme called Citizen's Service for New Zealand (CSNZ).
The CSNZ programme will be voluntary and focus on 16 to 25 year olds and on learning life skills.
Key points of Labour's Justice policy.
"Labour's crime policy targets burglary and youth crime because they are stepping stones to more serious offending and adult crime. I am determined to do what we can to break the cycle of crime and to build better fences at the top of the cliff rather than focus on ambulances at the bottom."
Labour's plan will combat crime through.
* effective early intervention.
* giving police the tools they need to do their job
and surveillance equipment to continue the crack down on organised crime.
* focusing police efforts on meeting crime reduction targets.
* involving communities in setting local police priorities.
* closing down the market for stolen goods.
Victims.
Labour will.
* provide legal recognition for victims' rights, including the right to be heard and to be informed.
* ensure victims do not suffer again through unfair costs arising from their victimisation by restoring ACC and counselling assistance.
* improving Court support for victims.
* making reparation more effective, including making reparation orders lifetime debts, until paid in full.
Crime Prevention.
Labour will.
* help children get off the path to a life of crime through early intervention.
We will expand the Family Start programme for at risk families and Project Early for specialist teachers to work with families on behavioural problems that emerge at school.
* stop young offenders becoming career criminals.
We will ensure every school enforces an adequate truancy policy
and build on successful community-based responses to youth at risk including the wraparound service.
Labour will also pilot positive male role model mentoring programmes.
* ensure secure custody for the hard-core of serious young repeat offenders
and establish secure facilities for them.
Bail Reform.
Labour will.
* make hard core offenders who have been in jail for serious crimes and have a record of breaching bail show why they should get bail.
* make the need to protect the public the paramount consideration for serious charges.
"Getting the hard core of repeat offenders off the streets is the key to making big inroads into offending".
Hon Phil Goff, Justice Spokesperson.
Sentencing and Prison Reform.
Labour will.
* promote alternative sentences for offenders based on restorative justice.
* use the time spent in prison on rehabilitation and tackling the causes of offending.
* implement policies designed to have most prisoners in work for at least six hours a day.
The work experience, habits, and skills will enhance job prospects on release.
* crack down on crime in prisons by monitoring prisoners' telephone calls
and breaking the power of gangs in prison.
Firearms Law.
Labour will implement the key recommendations of the Thorp Report to reduce the availability of firearms to criminals and improve firearms safety.
Law Reform.
Labour will.
* cut delays in Court hearing times
and improve access to justice.
* establish an independent judicial commission to keep judges accountable.
* cut the costs of conveyancing by allowing non-lawyer competition and allowing solicitor property centres to compete in the real estate business.
Key points of Labour's Green policies.
"Labour's green agenda is central to our vision. We want to ensure that New Zealand's clean, green image actually lives up to the rhetoric about it. The world's indigenous forests are under threat. I am determined that this generation of New Zealanders should pass onto its children and to their children the indigenous forest heritage we retain in public hands."
Resource Management Act.
Labour will.
* address the issues of cost, delay, and unevenness of implementation of the Act.
* investigate streamlining processes and ensure adequate mediation services.
* make a capped legal aid fund available for applicants and community and environmental groups for Environment Court hearings.
Sustaining the Urban Environment.
Labour will work in partnership with local government to enhance the quality of urban environments.
Waste.
Labour will.
* address the current lack of emphasis on the role of waste reduction or minimisation schemes.
* require that by 2010 :
- all waste management be on a full cost recovery basis
and all existing landfills are upgraded or closed
- the volume of the waste stream is significantly reduced.
* provide help for small communities whose current sewerage arrangements pose significant health risks.
Sustainable Land Management.
Labour will promote sustainable land management, integrated pest management, safe agrichemical use, biological controls and organic production, through support for education, research, marketing, and labelling initiatives.
Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Control
Labour will.
* set up an inquiry into the impact of climate change and ozone depletion.
* substantially increase public education programmes.
* invest in and promote public transport.
* address energy inefficiency.
Nuclear Non-Proliferation.
Labour remains committed to a policy of no nuclear weapons, nuclear powered ships or nuclear power stations in New Zealand territory, including its waters and air space.
Labour will.
* work to extend the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone.
* promote universal ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
and actively work for a treaty to completely eliminate nuclear weapons.
Conservation.
Labour will.
* protect the kiwi and other threatened species by giving high funding priority to rescue programmes and habitat protection.
* stop native timber logging on Crown land of significant conservation value.
* ensure public access to wilderness by maintaining a network of back country tracks and huts,
while continuing to service high-use areas.
* protect the Queen's Chain
and improve public access to our waterways and coastline.
* advocate the protection of Antarctica as a world park.
* consider establishing an Oceans Commission to ensure a more holistic approach to marine management.
* create more marine reserves to cover ten per cent of the coastline by 2010.
* strengthen the Department of Conservation,
directing funding increases at.
- pest control.
- marine management and advocacy.
- habitat and threatened species protection.
"Labour will rebuild New Zealand's reputation as a world leader on environmental issues".
Pete Hodgson, Green Group Chair.
* ensure greater vigilance at our borders against exotic pests.
* promote more eco-tourism opportunities.
Genetically Modified Foods and Organisms.
Labour will.
* legally require labelling of any GM food, whether "substantially equivalent" or not, and any food derived from GMOs.
* support New Zealand manufacturers wanting to market with a GM free label.
* require representation of consumer interests on the Environmental Risk Management Authority Board.
* establish a Royal Commission on GM issues.
* impose a moratorium on commercial planting of GM crops until the Royal Commission has reported.
Key points of Labour's Arts & Culture policy.
"I strongly believe that in a world which is globalising fast, arts and cultural policy and expression are more important than ever."
Labour will support our creative people by.
* strongly supporting our professional performing arts.
* providing access to capital for development, technology grants and other assistance to small and medium sized enterprises in the music, publishing, film and television industries.
I am determined to create an environment which nurtures much stronger music, publishing, film and television industries through assistance with financing investment, export development and promotion".
Helen Clark, Labour Leader.
* introducing format-specific quotas for local content on radio and free-to-air television.
The New Zealand music quota will be set initially at 10 per cent rising to 20 per cent.
* protecting copyright and prohibiting parallel importing of CDs, videos, films, books and software for two years after the release of new material.
* involving Tradenz to ensure the development of marketing opportunities for artists.
* establishing the New Zealand Music Commission to encourage the development of the music industry.
* establishing an Artists Fellowship Fund providing grants to established artists.
* establishing an Arts Allowance to assist artists become established.
* introducing ArtWorks to provide initial salary subsidies for community based employment enterprises in the arts.
* introducing a Live Wire initiative aimed at new arts businesses run by young people.
Labour will strengthen the National Library to ensure it maintains and develops New Zealand collections and collections on our international heritage.
Labour will strengthen the constitutional importance of the National Archives.
Radio.
Labour will.
* work with the Board of Radio New Zealand to ensure high quality public broadcasting.
* not commercialize either the National or Concert Programme.
* not demand a dividend from Radio New Zealand.
* work with the board of Radio New Zealand to ensure strong regional and provincial news coverage.
* strengthen existing iwi radio stations
and assist ethnic broadcasting by ensuring spectrum space is available at nil or low cost for non-profit community broadcasters.
* reserve an FM frequency to give us the chance to explore, with current youth radio providers, any gaps.
Television.
Labour will retain ownership of both TVNZ channels
to ensure quality broadcasting is available to all ages and sections of our population.
Labour will establish a Charter for TVNZ to guarantee programme quality and diversity and a news service which is comprehensive, independent, impartial, and balanced.
Working with the Board of TVNZ, Labour will reduce television advertising
beginning with the advertising around children's programmes.
As part of a commitment to the Maori language, Labour will work with Maori to establish a television channel based on the needs of whanau, hapu, iwi and Maori and align it with the long term goal of a sustainable long term, high quality, Maori broadcasting service.
Labour will also support the promotion of high quality Maori language and culture programmes on mainstream television.
Text of Jim Andertons's speech at the launch of the Alliance Party campaign in Auckland, New Zealand, on 27 October 1999. This text was provided by the  Alliance Research Unit. Friends and colleagues,
This is the first of 41  days.
The beginning of the first week of six to election  day.
This is the first day of an historic election campaign.
A campaign which will see the Alliance and our people-centred  policies in a new government.
We'll get there with strength  of numbers to get on with the job of rebuilding our country.
We'll  restore it to its once proud place as one of the leaders of  the world's nations.
In social equality.
In progressive economic  development.
In quality of life for all our citizens.
This  afternoon you have been listening to the strongest team in  Parliament.
Sandra Lee, deputy leader of the Alliance, who  has been at my side in parliament  for six years.
Valiant,  dependable...and ready to show this country what she can do  on the Treasury benches.
Matt Robson, who has won the respect  of friends and opponents for his cool advocacy of human rights  and democracy.
John Wright, whose commonsense and compassion  as leader of the Democrats has brought that political movement  - started in the '50s - closer to government than it has ever  been.
Phillida Bunkle, who is about to do to Richard Prebble  in Wellington Central - one way or another - what Sandra Lee  did to him in Auckland Central.
Richard Prebble said he would  save rail.
When Phillida Bunkle says she will save the public  hospital system - she really means it.
Laila Harré has waged  one of the most successful campaigns ever by a first-term MP  in her battle for paid parental leave.
Everyone who gets a  golden handshake must lie awake at night at the thought of  Grant Gillon.
Liz Gordon, is the only education spokesperson  for any party who has stood up for a free, high quality public  education system.
You've also seen some of the strongest candidates  any party has on its list: People like Willie Jackson and Kevin  Campbell who are here in Auckland.
This is a talented and inspirational team.
We  are on our way to government.
Helen Clark has said that the  Alliance will only have as much influence as the strength of  our party vote gives us in parliament and in coalition with  Labour.
That's OK with me because that is a challenge to the  Alliance and to the people of New Zealand.
It's a challenge  to give the Alliance the strongest possible party vote - because  no one else will deliver full employment,
free education
and  health care,
better and cheaper housing,
and better incomes  for superannuitants, beneficiaries and low income earners.
On  Friday night I watched from the stands at Ericsson Stadium  as the kiwis downed Australia in the rugby league tri-series  - just!
Outside here, a few miles away on the sparkling waters  of the Waitemata harbour, New Zealand sailors are preparing  to defend the America's Cup.
The might of world yachting is  here to compete.
And all of them acknowledge that the New Zealanders  are the ones to beat.
Across the other side of the world,  our All Blacks are surging towards supremacy at the rugby world  cup.
And most of them are South Islanders!!
In eleven weeks  the first sunrise of the new millenium will shine on New Zealand  before it shines anywhere in the world.
This is a great time  to be a New Zealander.
The hallmark of the country our forebears  built was equality.
That birthright has been turned on its  head.
Our time has come to regain the social, economic and  political destiny New Zealanders have as our heritage.
New  Zealanders want change.
The economic experiment is over.
New  Zealanders want change because the economic experiment of the  last fifteen years has failed by its own terms.
They said  we would have permanent economic growth.
They failed.
The average  income of each New Zealander has steadily fallen as a percentage  of the average income in other developed countries. /  For three  out of six quarters since Mrs Shipley became prime minister,  the economy has actually shrunk!
They said that we had to  cut, slash, deregulate and privatise because our overseas debt  was so serious.
In 1984, little Olivia owed $5000 overseas.
Now she is 17 and owes $28,000...and she hasn't even got a  student loan yet.
When the Muldoon government was thrown out,  we owed the equivalent of 145% of our export earnings overseas.
Now it's 350% and going up every week.
Our current account  deficit is the worst in the developed world.
I am appalled  that the debt crisis facing New Zealand is not looming larger  in this election.
It is so serious that I predict, no matter  who forms the next government, our credit rating will be down-graded  after the election.
Interest rates will rise.
The National  Party is claiming interest rates are low.
Yet we have one of  the highest real interest rates in the developed world.
Developed  countries with lower interest rates on government bonds than  New Zealand include Japan, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Britain,  the US, Hong Kong and Australia.
They said there was no alternative  if we wanted to reduce unemployment.
Now, 210,000 New Zealanders  are jobless.
When the National Party says it is trying to create  jobs, consider this: The Treasury forecasts that if National  stays in office we will have the same level of unemployment  for the next fifty years.
They said that there would be fewer  New Zealanders on welfare benefits.
They have doubled the numbers  on welfare benefits since 1984.
The only way to get numbers  on welfare benefits down is to invest in new, high-quality  jobs.
They said their health reforms would fix the hospital  system and shorten waiting lists.
190,000 New Zealanders are  now waiting for treatment or assessment in public hospitals.
Regional areas of New Zealand are losing services.
Hospitals,  schools, banks, post offices, petrol stations.
New Zealand  cannot afford another three years of this.
You cannot take  the risk of another three years of cuts.
If New Zealand wakes  up on November 28 and finds they have done it again and put  National, Act and Winston Peters back into government this  is what it will mean:
Rising student fees and student debt.
Rising overseas debt.
Rising interest rates.
Rising hospital  waiting lists.
Cuts to superannuation.
More job losses.
More  services disappearing from our towns and cities.
You cannot  afford another three years of this.
You cannot take the risk  of another three years of National, Act and New Zealand First.
Their  policies have had fifteen years.
They haven't delivered.
Their  time is up.
The Alliance is the only party that has consistently  argued that there is another way.
For fifteen years National,  Labour, Act and NZ First have all told New Zealanders, 'There  is no alternative'.
Only the Alliance has consistently offered  that real alternative.
Our role in government will be to  advocate for a new direction.
The more strength the Alliance  has in a new government, the more our presence will reflect  New Zealanders' desire for change.
The other parties are struggling  with the idea of social welfare.
The Alliance is committed  to the idea of social security.
Social security means security  in jobs, health care, education, housing, retirement.
If you  have security in your life, in your job, your home, your future,  you don't need welfare.
Social security means better opportunities  for New Zealanders.
Our young people should have the opportunity  to work in high-quality, high-skill jobs.
Too many young  New Zealanders are getting a headstone for their 21st birthday.
We have the highest rate of youth suicide in the world.
We  are building more prisons to lock up more of our young.
The  best way to reduce reduce the tragedies of youth suicide and  prevalence of crime is to reduce unemployment.
New Zealanders  know that.
The Alliance is the only party committed to full  employment.
The Alliance will invest in job-rich new industries.
We'll create better opportunities for our young and reshape  our economy with dynamic high-technology industries of the  future, especially in our struggling regions.
Firms like Tait  Electronics or CWF Hamilton, each employing hundreds of people
and exporting hundreds of millions of dollars a year of state  of the art manufactured products.
I want to be Minister of  Economic Development and Employment and take responsibility  for creating thriving new industries through partnership between  government and the private sector.
80,000 more New Zealanders  will have jobs than under National's economic policies.
Young  workers who need the opportunity to develop their skills in  the workplace will have an apprenticeship scheme.
No one under twenty will be on the dole.
The Alliance will ensure that every  young person has the opportunity to train or receive education.
Our young are going to be preparing for a better life, not  biding their time until something comes along - usually an  unemployment benefit.
We'll invest in jobs instead of welfare.
A working population provides revenue for the government instead  of costing it money in benefits.
We'll have the resources we  need to build a better education system.
31,000 more New Zealanders  will have the advantages and opportunities of a tertiary education  because we are going to remove the barriers.
That is how many  people are being denied the chance to of a higher education  because of fees, the debt burden and the absence of allowances.
The  Alliance will remove tertiary fees
and get rid of interest  charges on all student loans.
And we'll provide a universal  allowance for study at the same level as the other parties  pay young people to languish on the dole.
Many of our best  and brightest have left this country to escape their student debts.
They will begin to come home.
They will help to build  a stronger New Zealand.
New Zealand once invested more than  virtually any other country in our primary and secondary education  systems.
Now we are 96th in the world.
If we want to give  everyone in this country the chance to aspire to be anything  they want, we must invest in education,
and we must invest  in jobs.
The Alliance is not just talking about more jobs.
We're talking about better jobs.
The Alliance is going to modernise  New Zealand's workplaces.
An extra week of minimum annual  holidays.
Twelve weeks paid parental leave.
Pay equity.
An  increase of 50 cents an hour in the minimum wage.
Ordinary  working New Zealanders are going to be better off.
Health  care, housing and security in retirement are fundamental concerns  of any family or individual.
It's time New Zealand had a government  that aspired to making them better.
Better health care.
No one will miss out on medical care because they can't afford  it.
The Alliance will make visits to the doctor and medical  prescriptions free.
You'll get treatment when you need it.
We're going to bring public hospital waiting lists down.
The  Alliance will invest in the public hospital system instead  of spending $112 million a year on the Health Funding Authority  and $200 million on private hospitals.
The Alliance will build  new state houses
and introduce income-related rents.
Young  families will have a better opportunity to buy their first  home, because we'll provide financial assistance for first  home buyers.
Superannuitants will get an extra $20 a week.
We will save the NZ Super scheme.
Beneficiaries have had  virtually nothing from two rounds of tax cuts.
They need relief.
The Alliance will boost the incomes of all beneficiaries by  $20 a week.
Communities need basic services, like banks. /   They've
been disappearing because our financial system has been swallowed  up almost entirely by foreign owners.
We will use the branch  network of NZ Post to open a kiwi bank .
'Our Bank' means lower  interest rates, lower bank fees and less bank branch closures.
The  Alliance will stop selling New Zealand's strategic assets.
$126 billion of New Zealand is now foreign owned and the foreign  owners are taking profits out of the country at the rate of  $21 million a day.
The Alliance will protect your health and  the environment from the risks of genetic engineering.
Only  the Alliance has consistently voted in parliament for labelling  of all genetically engineered foods,
and for a moratorium on  field trials and the commercial release of genetically engineered  crops while an inquiry is held.
The Alliance has the best Green  member of parliament - Phillida Bunkle.
The Alliance is the  only party with a serious prospect of being represented in  a new government that has an unequivocal stance on genetic  engineering.
If you want to be sure that there is a strong  voice against genetic engineering in the new government, you  have to give your party vote to the Alliance.
We are in an  MMP environment where parties share power.
I know we cannot  deliver everything.
But the more support we get with your  party vote, the more strength we will have to deliver for you
on new jobs,
free health care,
removing the student debt burden,
paid parental leave,
an extra weeks annual holidays, /   a genetic  engineering  moratorium.
No one who earns less than $60,000  a year will pay more income tax under the Alliance.
95% of  all income earners will not pay more tax.
Australia has a  Liberal Party government.
And when it introduces GST there,  the top tax rate will be 47 cents in the dollar on incomes  over $60,000 a year.
That is a much higher tax rate at a significantl y lower threshold than the Alliance is advocating.
Yet Australia's  economic performance is far out-stripping New Zealand's.
It  is growing faster, it has less debt, a similar rate of unemployment,  lower interest rates and inflation of 1.1%.
National and Act  cannot say they won't increase taxes on those earning under  $60,000.
Because if there is a National-Act govenrment they  won't call their new user charges tax, but they amount to the  same thing.
And they will apply to you.
National and Act will  make you pay more for health care.
You can't take the risk  that an Act-National government will force you to buy health  insurance to pay for your health care.
National and Act will  increase tertiary fees.
You can't take the risk that more young  New Zealanders will miss out on a higher education because  they couldn't afford it.
You can't take the risk that more  of our best and brightest will leave this country to escape  their student debt burden.
National and Act will sell more  of your assets
and let foreign owners take over more of our  country.
Last year, the Treasury spent $61.5 million of your  money on consultants.
That's over half its total spending for  the year.
$47 million of that went to consultants advising  on asset sales.
Our assets.
Like Contact Energy and Auckland  Airport.
National and Act have had their chance.
So has Winston  Peters.
When Winston Peters was Treasurer of this country  for two years he approved the sale of 166,800 hectares of land  and $11.7 billion of New Zealand assets to foreign owners.
New  Zealanders cannot take the risk of Winston Peters again.
I'm  going to read you a quote from the Dominion of the second of  September this year.
'New Zealand First leader Winston Peters  denied yesterday saying his party was more likely to form a  coalition with Labour than National, then admitted saying it  but denied meaning it.'
New Zealand First is a joke.
The  choice at this election is between a new government of Alliance  and Labour, or the same old, tired, failed policies of National  and Act.
The first act of an Alliance-Labour government will  be a new electoral law requiring any MP who leaves their party  during the term of parliament to resign from parliament.
No  ifs, no buts, no maybes.
Just the law.
The time has come to  restore some integrity to the political process.
Politicians  have never been more unpopular.
It's not surprising that the  public is becoming exasperated.
There is only one realistic  way that we can restore the public's confidence in our democratic  institutions.
It is to elect a government that truly governs  in the interests of ordinary New Zealanders.
It is almost  a quarter of a century since there was a government and political  leadership that cared about and had an indentity with ordinary  New Zealanders.
The government of Norm Kirk and Bill Rowling.
The Alliance is ready and willing to pick up that heritage  and restore that legacy.
It's been said that I've been tough  on Alliance MPs in parliament.
And I probably have.
And there's  a good reason.
If it's hard for MPs even opposition in parliament,  how much harder is it for those we represent in the real world  outside?
I have a message for our dedicated and talented candidates  who are part of the team I hope to lead into government.
I  will demand the highest standards and I will expect you to  rise to the challenge of political leadership and representation.
I  can promise you that if you and I meet that challenge you will  be remembered with gratitude and affection by a New Zealand  people starved of leadership, vision and integrity.
The Alliance  has a clear vision of the sort of New Zealand we want this  country to be.
It is a vision first and foremost of a sovereign  nation.
New Zealanders setting our own agendas and making our  own decisions with our own interests in mind.
It's a New Zealand  in which no one is excluded from the rights of citizenship.
Decent housing.
A full education.
Medical care when it is needed.
Security in retirement.
It will be a democratic New Zealand,  in real ways in everyone's daily lives.
Decisions will be made  at the local level by the whole community in the interests  of all New Zealanders.
The people who represent you at the  local level will be elected by you, not appointed by remote  Ministers in Wellington.
The New Zealand we stand for is  one in which all New Zealanders know who we are, and are proud  of being that.
In which we express the unique things about  being a New Zealander.
Where we are comfortable inside our  own skin and we can laugh at ourselves if we want to.
The New  Zealand of Murray Ball's Footrot Flats and Fred Dagg.
And also  the New Zealand of Norman Kirk, of Ed Hillary, of Colonel William  Malone.
Of the peacemakers Te Whiti and Wiremu Tamehana.
The  New Zealand we envisage is a New Zealand where we can live  harmoniously in partnership with one another.
We've made significant  progress in realising the promise of the Treaty of Waitangi.
But however far we've come, there's a long way to go before  we arrive at settlements we can all live with.
It's important  we should get it right.
New Zealanders of this generation  are ancestors of our future generations.
Our achievements  will determine the shape of our economy, our society and our  nation for the next hundred years and beyond.
It's time we  began to shape it the right way.
November 27 1999, the last  election of the millenium seems to me to be a good time to  start.
Let's get started on change.
Let's get started on  putting more money in the pockets of ordinary New Zealanders.
Let's  win for our young people.
For the opportunities and advantages  that more jobs and free access to education will give them.
Let's  win for the families of today
and the generations of the future.
This is our time.
Let's go and win our country back
ACT POLICY.
Welcome to ACT's policy directory. The links below will take you to ACT's current policy discussion papers. These papers are under continuous review - ACT is always on the lookout for new ideas consistent with our principles and objectives that will deliver to New Zealand the best government possible. Your ideas and suggestions are welcome. Email act.research@parliament.govt.nz
Our Principles
That individuals are the rightful owners of their own lives and therefore have inherent freedoms and responsibilities.
That the proper purpose of government is to protect such freedoms and not to assume such responsibilities.
Our Policy Objectives:
A prosperous, well-educated, healthy, and open society
in which individuals are free to achieve their full potential.
A growing,
dynamic,
and open economy,
in which individual choice is paramount.
Social policy that promotes and rewards hard work, enterprise, thrift, and personal responsibility.
A standard of living, and quality of life, that is the envy of the world.
Economy.
Under ACT, greater economic freedom, honest and stable government and lower taxes will transform New Zealand into a high income, low unemployment country.
Helping Businesses Create Jobs Wednesday 17th Nov 1999 Employment policy statement.
ACT: Getting the Economy Back on Track Sunday 14th Nov 1999 Economy policy statement.
A Fair Tax System for Jobs and Growth Wednesday 3rd Nov 1999 Taxation policy statement.
Helping Businesses Create Jobs.
ACT understands that it is the private sector, not the Government, which creates jobs.
Employment laws must help, not hinder, so businesses can grow and hire more staff.
Currently our businesses are weighed down with compliance costs and constrained by industrial relations laws that deter many employers from taking on new staff.
This impacts especially heavily on small and medium sized businesses that are the country's major employers.
ACT will remove the unnecessary government imposed barriers that prevent businesses from expanding and creating jobs.
ACT's goals:
* New Zealand to have the lowest unemployment rate in the OECD.
* To improve opportunities for work by removing government imposed barriers to employment such as those imposed by the RMA, OSH, the Privacy Act and the Employment Court.
* To make it as easy as possible for businesses to hire the staff they need.
* To cut the red tape, bureaucracy and compliance costs that are costing the country jobs.
ACT believes:
* That in order to create jobs government imposed barriers must be removed.
* Lower taxes enable business to create more jobs and hire more staff.
* There must be competition and choice in accident insurance.
* To improve industrial relations the ECA must be strengthened,
not surrendered to trade unions.
* Greater freedom and flexibility in the workplace is one of the keys to creating more jobs.
ACT will:
* Encourage employment through the introduction of a six-month probationary period to enable employers to take on new staff without the threat of punitive and expensive litigation.
* Change the outdated Holidays Act to remove the current ambiguities and make it work for both employers and employees.
* Tackle the problems with the Employment Court, OSH and the Privacy Act.
* Reduce the tax and compliance cost burden on businesses.
* Reform the RMA.
* Retain and strengthen the Employment Contracts Act.
ACT: Getting the Economy Back on Track.
In the mid-1990s New Zealanders were looking forward to a bright future, but by 1999 our overall economic position had significantly deteriorated.
What went wrong?
Some factors, like the drought and the Asian crisis, were out of our control.
Others were self-inflicted: the government's lack of direction and economic vision, and its decision to put government spending before tax cuts.
The upshot is that prosperity in New Zealand continues to be held back by extraordinary waste in government
and far too much regulation.
Labour and the Alliance are promising even more taxation and regulation!
This will cost people jobs and the country growth and cause more skilled young New Zealanders to emigrate.
New Zealanders deserve better.
ACT's goals:
* New Zealand to have the highest growth, and lowest unemployment, in the OECD,
and to have the highest living standards in the Asia-Pacific region.
* To foster wealth creation by reducing taxes and eliminating stifling regulations.
ACT believes:
* Prosperity comes from an open economy,
low spending and taxes,
minimum regulation,
and honest and stable government.
* Our tax system, Government red tape and bureaucracy are destroying far too many jobs and businesses.
ACT will:
* Implement a five-year staged programme of tax reductions so that working New Zealanders can keep more of their hard-earned money.
* Through those tax reductions, give New Zealanders the security and prosperity they are seeking this election,
80,000 new jobs,
balanced books while maintaining Government spending at present levels.
* Reduce waste in government
and focus government on delivering essential services.
* Remove the red tape and employment law restrictions that are killing jobs.
* Reinvigorate property rights in land by boosting rights to compensation
and restore common sense in safety, environmental, heritage and historic places regulation.
* Review local authority legislation with a view to forcing local authorities to focus more on core activities
and to end their excesses in relation to the RMA
and business rating differentials.
* Tackle road reform to address problems of congestion and investment and local government ineptitude.
* Stop government departments from imposing taxes on business in the guise of user charges.
A Fair Tax System for Jobs and Growth.
ACT is the only party saying that taxes and government spending are already too high.
Lower taxes will boost economic growth and help to create new jobs.
ACT believes that New Zealanders can make better decisions about how to spend their money than the government.
That's why we want to return power to working New Zealanders by lowering taxes and enabling them to keep more of what they earn.
ACT's goals:
* To make New Zealand the most pro-business, pro-jobs country in the developed world.
* To initiate a five year programme of tax cuts.
* A top rate of company and personal income tax of no more than 20%.
ACT believes:
* Government spending and taxes are too high.
* To lower the average tax burden we have to reduce government spending.
* Government spending is now so high that the tax system has to be much more complex and grasping than is desirable.
* A flat income tax would be fairer, more efficient and much simpler for businesses and individual taxpayers.
ACT will:
* Move to a flatter tax rate structure.
* Undertake a thorough review of the IRD to ensure it operates more effectively
and is fair to taxpayers.
* Review the entire tax system with the aim of making it simpler and easier to comply with.
Education.
ACT will transform education and provide genuine choice for parents by allowing them to take their child's share of government funding and use it on a school of their choice, whether state-owned or privately-owned.
Choice for parents; success for students. Thursday 28th Oct 1999. Education policy statement.
Policies for Your Whole Life. Thursday 7th Oct 1999. Tertiary education policy statement
Choice for parents; success for students.
Education is the key to advancement at all levels in society.
The government education system, however, is seriously under-performing.
Government monopoly has caused too many young New Zealanders to leave school ill-equipped to develop their full potential.
The personal and social consequences are immense.
ACT will put the focus on students, where it belongs.
School choice can change incentives, empower parents, enable talented teachers to be rewarded and give students a greater opportunity to succeed.
ACT's goals:
* Every child to arrive at school ready to learn.
* Every child to have access to competent schooling.
* Every child to learn to read, write, and do maths.
New Zealand to be in the top five countries in the world in reading, mathematics, and science.
* Students and parents empowered through real choice.
ACT believes:
* Parents can make better decisions about their children's future than the government.
The education system is failing because parents have been disempowered by government ownership, regulation, and funding.
* The problem is largely with the system, not with the teachers.
* Government should ensure access to quality schools.
Effective choice, not blanket government ownership, is essential.
Schools must be freer to reward merit and excellence in teaching.
Successful boards or schools must be able to take over poorly-performing boards or schools, subject to proper processes.
ACT will:
* Ensure regular monitoring of each child's performance through standards and assessment.
* Enable parents to take their child's share of government funding and use it on a school of their choice, whether it be state or privately-owned.
* Give schools greater ability to run their own affairs.
Move to bulk fund all schools.
* Review the school curriculum to ensure it emphasises excellence in the core subjects.
* Take an integrated approach to education and welfare.
Policies for Your Whole Life.
ACT's tertiary education policy is driven by goals to achieve an internationally competitive workforce with world class qualifications;
to encourage and reward innovation;
to reduce waste and bureaucracy;
and to improve choice for students.
ACT is the only party committed to a tertiary education policy that puts students first.
* ACT strongly supports choice and excellence in tertiary education.
The sector is so important it is vital that it is efficient,
standards are high
and that taxpayers money is well spent.
* ACT will ensure that a quality tertiary education is accessible to everyone.
* The cost of borrowing to attend tertiary institutions can be reduced.
The present interest rate on student loans is one third higher than it should be because students are paying for borrowers who default.
This cost should be borne by the government.
* ACT will withdraw the government from the risky business of providing student loans.
ACT believes that the government's role should be to ensure that students are not excluded from tertiary education because of their financial circumstances.
Lower, flatter taxes will leave much more money in people's pockets, making it easier and faster to repay student loans.
* ACT will fund research separately from tuition.
Removing the cost of research from tuition fees will reduce course costs dramatically.
All publicly funded research should be funded entirely by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.
* Students will receive an entitlement to state funding
that can be taken to an approved tertiary institution of their choice.
That entitlement will follow students to whatever course they choose, including trades courses taught in high schools,
wherever or however they are taught
providing those courses meet quality standards.
* Subsidies for tertiary education should be funded transparently through the Equivalent Full-time Tertiary Student (EFTS) system, supplemented by scholarships.
ACT strongly supports the right of students to choose their own courses.
ACT's policy, which funds the student rather than the institution, gives students this choice.
* Abolish all legislation that forces students to join student associations.
ACT supports freedom of association.
* ACT is opposed to quotas.
Students should be selected for courses based on merit not on racial origin.
* Our other policies will also assist tertiary students: more job opportunities, higher incomes through faster economic growth, and lower tax.
Environment.
Environmental Stewardship. Tuesday 9th Nov 1999 Environment and Conservation policy statement.
Discussion Paper: Local Government & RMA. Tuesday 1st Jun 1999.
ACT will reduce rates and local government bureaucracy by eliminating an entire tier of local government
and by improving the Resource Management Act.
Environmental Stewardship.
New Zealanders can feel justly proud of our natural environment.
Some progress has been made in recent years but significant environmental problems remain.
Environmental issues are causing unnecessary strife because of poorly-designed legislation
and the government's command and control approach is bureaucratic, costly, uncertain and anti-development.
People's right to property is not being respected.
While many of the problems raise undeniable difficulties, government is all too often the problem rather than the solution.
ACT's goal:
To promote the sound and sustainable management of an environment of which all New Zealanders are justifiably proud.
ACT believes:
* Free and prosperous societies with light-handed environmental regulations give the best environmental protection.
* Sound economic policies, clear private property rights and efficient pricing mechanisms allow the most efficient use of scarce natural resources.
* It is unfair to make individual landowners bear the costs involved in protecting areas of environmental significance as at present.
The costs of pursuing public good outcomes should be borne by all taxpayers.
* The interpretation of the Resource Management Act often offers little environmental benefit at great cost to investment and job creation.
* ACT recognises the environmental commitment made by thousands of New Zealanders through many voluntary organisations.
Groups such as Fish and Game Councils have the strongest motives to make the right decisions on sustainable resource use, successfully managing the resource at minimum cost to the taxpayer.
ACT will:
* Implement sound economic policies - so we can afford to protect our environment.
* Reform the Resource Management Act so it is focused on the sustainable management of the natural environment and is not a tool for bureaucratic meddling.
* Ensure the costs of protecting the environment fall fairly on all New Zealanders, not just a few landowners.
* Focus government's role in providing public goods such as pest control and the policing and enforcement of the law.
Discussion Paper: Local Government & RMA.
Local government, through its activities and regulatory operations, has a significant impact on the national economy.
Local body rates have been rising well in excess of inflation,
while the Resource Management Act is proving unwieldy and costly to implement.
Compliance with this Act has become a bureaucratic nightmare including a lack of technical competence within Council staff and a tendency to rely on prescriptive controls rather than clear outcomes.
Problems have often been exacerbated by:
* A lack of technical competence within Council staff.
* A tendency to rely on prescriptive regulatory controls rather than clearly specifying the desired objective.
ACT’s Vision for Local Government.
ACT believes:
* That commercial activities are best performed by the private sector.
* That environmental regulations need to be more permissive ensuring greater clarity and certainty.
ACT’s goals are:
* To see a reduction in the rates burden on households and businesses.
* To lower the costs of complying with the Resource Management Act and other regulatory regimes.
* To remove one tier of local government.
* To update the funding base of local government.
Government for the People.
ACT will require local government to progressively shed its commercial activities thereby eliminating the need to separate the regulatory and commercial functions between local and Regional Councils.
In addition the ownership and operation of other activities and services should pass to the private sector.
The prevailing two-tiered structure will be reviewed in favour of integrated local bodies that incorporate the environmental responsibilities of both regional and local councils.
This will also contribute to the simplification of the Resource Management Act.
ACT will reform the RMA by:
* Introducing contestable resource consent processing.
* Limit appeal rights to points of law.
* Narrow the scope and sharpen the focus of the Act by removing references to social and economic aspects that are not directly related to the sustainable management of the natural and physical environment.
* Ensure that compensation is payable where private property is appropriated for public good purposes.
* Clarify section 32, which is specifically intended to require Councils to consider alternatives to the imposition of regulatory controls.
ACT’s initiatives will substantially reduce the burden on ratepayers, while increasing the ability of local government to plan effectively for the needs of our communities.
Feedback.
We welcome feedback on any issues discussed in this document.
Please direct feedback to the environment spokesman, Ken Shirley, the local government spokesman, Owen Jennings, or the ACT Research Unit.
Foreign Affairs & Defence
Our foreign affairs and defence policy has not yet been converted into HTML.
In the meantime, feel free to contact our spokesman, and chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Select Committee, Derek Quigley at act@parliament.govt.nz.
Governance & Constitution.
Decades of big government have encouraged people to look to government to solve problems that they can and should solve themselves.
ACT believes that individuals can make better choices for themselves and their families than any politician.
A free society requires open and accountable government respective the inherent freedoms and responsibilities of individuals and communities.
Reduce the Rates Burden Monday 1st Nov 1999 Local government policy statement.
Fair, full and final Sunday 3rd Oct 1999 Treaty of Waitangi policy statement.
Reduce the Rates Burden.
Local government has a significant impact on the national economy.
Despite being asset rich, local body rates have been rising well in excess of inflation.
Local government has suffered enduring problems, such as a reluctance to divest assets or stick to their core functions.
These problems are made worse by tendencies to rely on regulatory controls and to discount the interests of ratepayers.
ACT says local government must concentrate on core functions that produce general public benefits that need to be funded through rates.
ACT's goals:
* Local government to focus on core activities.
* Reduce the rates burden on households and businesses.
* Promote the contracting out of council services.
* Lower the costs of complying with the Resource Management Act and other regulatory regimes.
* Remove a tier of local government.
ACT believes:
Common-sense policies will substantially reduce the burden on ratepayers,
while increasing the ability of local government to plan effectively for the needs of our communities
ACT will:
* Require local government to progressively shed its commercial activities, thereby eliminating the need to separate the regulatory and commercial functions between local and regional councils.
* Ensure that services are supplied on a more commercial basis
and promote the delivery of commercial activities by the private sector.
* Make certain councils are much more focused on their core functions
and make sure councils divest non-core assets and return the proceeds to ratepayers.
* Review land-based rates as a revenue source.
* Prevent regulations that undermine property rights without compensation.
Fair, full and final.
ACT says legitimate Treaty of Waitangi claims must be resolved.
To enable us to move forward as a nation we must put the grievances of the past behind us.
To do that it is essential that a timetable for the fair, full, and final settlement of all legitimate claims is established.
A clearly defined process for the settlement of Treaty claims and the application of the principle of one law for all New Zealanders will enable our country to meet future challenges with confidence.
ACT policy:
* Fair, full and final settlement of all legitimate treaty claims.
ACT proposes a law to set statutory time limits for lodging and settling Treaty claims:
* 31 December 2000: final date for lodging claims with the Waitangi Tribunal.
* 2005: the Waitangi Tribunal to have completed hearing and reporting on all claims.
* 2006: we achieve one law for all New Zealanders.
* 2010: deadline for the fair, full and final settlement of all legitimate Treaty claims between Maori and the Crown.
* Waitangi Tribunal to be resourced to allow all claims to be heard and reported on by 2005.
* Appoint to the Waitangi Tribunal people known for their ability to rigorously apply the rules of evidence.
* Amend the Treaty of Waitangi Act so as to redirect the Tribunal and the judges to the clear statements of the first and third Treaty articles.
* Waitangi Tribunal to be abolished once it has completed its work on claims.
* Repeal all laws that discriminate for or against any New Zealander on the basis of race, colour, ethnicity, or national origin.
* Abolish the Maori seats to end state-sponsored racial discrimination.
Health.
ACT will provide much greater choice and security to New Zealanders and their families by allowing them to take their share of government health funding and use it on a health plan of their choice.
ACC: A Monstrous Failure Monday 8th Nov 1999 ACC policy statement.
Giving the Power Back to Patients Tuesday 2nd Nov 1999 Health policy statement.
ACC: A Monstrous Failure.
New Zealand's accident compensation scheme of the last 25 years has been a monstrous failure.
ACC costs exploded from 0.8% of GDP in 1984 to 1.8% of GDP today while our safety and healthcare has worsened.
ACC is inflexible and wasteful.
Too often the result is that those in genuine need miss out.
ACT was the driving force behind the introduction of choice in workplace insurance - without ACT, National wouldn't have done it.
ACT will provide greater security to New Zealanders by allowing everyone to choose their own accident insurance cover.
ACT's goals:
* To reduce accidents and have safer workplaces.
* To allow full choice and competition in accident insurance.
* To minimise the burden on the community of financing accident insurance.
* To ensure a safety net is in place for hardship cases.
ACT believes:
* Governments should not own insurance companies; doing so undermines competition, puts taxpayers at risk and makes customers vulnerable to changes in political opinion about what the state should provide.
* The role of Government should be limited to watch-dog
and provider of a safety net for those that need it.
* It is more important that everyone has the security of accident insurance than who provides it.
* Only customer choice can ensure that premiums give value for money.
The reductions in premiums for most companies after the employers' account was opened up to competition proves this.
* There should continue to be a general safety net for hardship cases.
ACT will:
* Provide greater security to New Zealanders by allowing everyone to choose their own accident insurance cover.
* Restore choice to accident insurance.
Only ACT says that everyone should have the same right to choose their insurer as employers now have.
* Maintain a safety net for those who need it.
* Remove the monopoly on existing schemes as soon as possible.
* End government ownership of accident insurers and managers, after a short transitional period.
* Tender the management of the 'tail' of existing claims, so as to reduce taxpayer risk and get people back to work faster.
* Fund the 'tail' of existing claims from general taxation.
* Ensure that commitments to those who are already injured are honoured.
Giving the Power Back to Patients.
It's an issue of great concern to New Zealanders.
We're not sure that the health system will meet our needs when we or our loved ones fall ill.
Only through the purchase of 'top up' private health insurance can New Zealanders obtain a degree of confidence about their access to care.
ACT shares the concerns of many New Zealanders about our low rates of immunisation, poor child health, and failures to meet standards in public hospitals, despite the government spending around 7 per cent of GDP.
When governments take our money in taxes and spend it on unsatisfactory public health systems they make it harder for us to afford private health plans, and make us more dependent on the system they have created.
ACT will restore confidence in health by empowering patients with greater choice in health care.
ACT's goals:
* More emphasis on prevention, self-responsibility, and early primary care.
* Enforceable contracts that define what services New Zealanders are entitled to.
* Empowering (potential) patients by providing them with greater choice.
* Improving our public health record in the community, especially in communicable diseases and children at risk.
* Retain a public health system for those who are not covered by private arrangements.
ACT believes:
* Our public system fails to reward prevention.
Current pricing arrangements create perverse incentives.
* Tax cuts would make access to enforceable private contracts more affordable.
* Choice would force local hospitals to be more responsive to patients' needs.
* Government-run hospitals are too responsive to the needs of bureaucrats, professional unions and politicians and too unresponsive to patients.
ACT will:
* Cut taxes so taxpayers can fund private health insurance premiums out of their own pockets.
* Review how best to allow New Zealanders to withdraw their share of funding from the state system and apply it to private arrangements.
* Encourage private health care services - for choice to be real, private insurers and providers must have access to major hospital facilities.
* Review health regulations, including occupational licensing, in order to allow providers to better meet patients' needs.
* Oblige governments to provide greater certainty to New Zealanders as to what the public health system is committed to provide in an enforceable contract.
* Focus state action more on public good issues like preventative health care,
a welfare system that preserves families,
and an education system that promotes self-reliance.
Justice.
ACT is committed to returning the justice system to its proper purpose of protecting people and their property,
and ensuring that crime doesn't pay, work does.
A Fairer Justice System Monday 18th Oct 1999 Justice policy statement.
Crime, and particularly violent offending, is of great concern to New Zealanders.
We no longer feel safe in our homes or on the streets.
The balance of the justice system appears to be in favour of criminals; victims are forgotten and taxpayers foot the bill.
ACT understands that crime is a complex issue.
Over 90% of prison inmates have been on an unemployment benefit, or some other benefit, when they went to prison.
We must improve economic opportunities and address incentives within the welfare system if crime is to be reduced.
ACT is prepared to get tough with criminals: We put into law mandatory 13 minimum sentences for home invasion where a murder is committed.
Only ACT proposes to target the causes of criminal behaviour as part of an integrated approach in tackling crime so that it does not pay: work does.
ACT's goals are:
* To return the justice system to its proper purpose of protecting people and their property.
* To reduce crime so everyone can feel much safer on the streets and in their own homes
ACT believes:
* The government's failure to address the causes of crime has made our streets and homes unsafe for us all.
* We need an integrated approach to crime.
Common sense education, social welfare, and economic policies can improve opportunities for everyone so that crime does not pay, work does.
* The Crown must appeal when judges pass lenient sentences.
ACT will:
* Ensure prisoners serve at least 80% of their sentences;
the Prebble bill is the only legislation to keep criminals in prison.
* Toughen sentencing, bail and parole conditions.
* Ensure better compensation and support for victims of crime.
* Cap the amount spent on legal aid
and tighten its administration.
* Extend prison employment schemes on proper business lines to help rehabilitate inmates.
* Support an overhaul of the court system to guarantee fairer access to justice for all.
Social Welfare.
ACT will break the cycle of dependency
and provide all able-bodied welfare beneficiaries with a pathway to work, independence, and self-respect.
Welfare: A Hand-up, Not a Hand-out Wednesday 10th Nov 1999 Welfare policy statement.
A Hand-up Into Real Jobs Thursday 14th Oct 1999 Welfare to work policy statement.
Welfare: A Hand-up, Not a Hand-out
The welfare system has seriously weakened many families and made thousands of people dependent on the state.
There are now families who have been dependent on welfare for three and four generations.
Experience has shown that more welfare expenditure is simply not the answer.
After pouring billions into the welfare system we have ended up with almost a quarter of all children in New Zealand growing up without the role model of a parent who works.
ACT believes we must get to the heart of the problems and break the cycle of dependency.
We must rebuild a society based on hard work, thrift and personal responsibility.
We must create a truly compassionate welfare system that helps people regain independence,
strengthening families
and communities.
ACT is the only Party that recognises welfare policy cannot be viewed in isolation.
A strong and growing economy creates jobs and opportunities for New Zealanders who need them.
ACT's goals:
* To build a society where everyone has the chance to participate and succeed.
* To modernise the welfare state so it provides a hand up, not a hand out.
Work for those who can work,
security for those who can't.
* To ensure a strong, growing economy to lift the standard of living of all New Zealand families
ACT believes:
* Those that the state has made dependant, the state must help become independent.
* We must rebuild a stronger, safer New Zealand based on the values of hard work, thrift and personal responsibility by breaking the cycle of dependency.
* Government must ensure that those on welfare are helped and supported into work.
* Those who can work, should work.
Those who can't work should be properly cared for.
* Every New Zealander must have the same opportunity to succeed.
ACT will:
* Create a modern welfare system that has work and independence as the goal.
* Remove the barriers to work facing those on benefits.
* Ensure that welfare assistance is personalised to meet the needs of individuals.
* Create partnerships with communities and organisations to provide assistance to those in need.
* Ensure that there is a strong safety net to support those who are genuinely unable to look after themselves.
* Ensure that parents take financial responsibility for their children.
* Review the Child Support Act to make it fairer on both parents.
* Make it easier for businesses to create jobs and hire more staff.
A Hand-up Into Real Jobs.
New Zealanders are hard workers and employment is central to our society.
It underpins stable families and strong communities.
Unemployment saps potential and its human cost is too high; in the long term unemployment can be a factor in dependency, family breakdown and crime.
ACT says New Zealand's unemployment rate is unnecessarily high.
We understand that the majority of jobs in New Zealand are created by small and medium-sized businesses.
To reduce unemployment we need policies that enable these businesses to create jobs.
ACT aims to remove barriers to work and help people get off benefits and into the real jobs they need.
A hand up, not a hand out.
ACT's goals are:
* Through a fully-funded Welfare to Work scheme that involves community-based providers, together with ACT's proposals to create new jobs, to lower the number of registered unemployed by a third within three years.
* To have the lowest unemployment rate in the OECD.
ACT believes:
* Those who can work should work - welfare should be a springboard back to work.
* Government policy must assist those on welfare to overcome any barriers to work.
* High taxation and government regulation cost jobs.
ACT will:
* Break the cycle of dependency.
* Adapt for New Zealand the best initiatives from hand-up welfare programmes in other countries such as the US and Britain.
* Ensure that assistance is tailored to meet the needs of individuals and move from the "one-size-fits-all" welfare state.
* Support community-based welfare programmes.
* Make it easier for businesses to hire more staff.
* Cut taxes,
government red tape
and bureaucracy.
Other.
Miscellaneous policy papers.
Getting Government Off Rural NZ's Back Tuesday 16th Nov 1999 Rural policy statement.
Getting Government Off Rural NZ's Back
Rural New Zealand is struggling with falling commodity prices and rising costs on the farm and in the processing industry.
Many districts are fighting to retain essential services.
Red tape and bureaucracy is strangling the productive sector.
Rural families feel they have been taken for granted by the main political parties for too long.
The whole industry needs a new vision and an injection of enthusiasm and commitment from government.
ACT recognises and supports those who produce the nation's wealth
and shares the down-to-earth principles of rewarding hard work, enterprise and thrift.
ACT's goals:
* To restore the profitability of rural New Zealand and to strengthen the viability of rural communities and businesses by pursuing policies which support economic growth and minimise waste and unnecessary expense.
* To improve the economic climate for rural businesses by reducing compliance costs,
red tape and bureaucracy
and improving the quality of state expenditure.
* To lower the costs of complying with the Resource Management Act and other regulatory regimes.
ACT believes:
* People within rural communities can make better decisions about their lives than politicians and bureaucrats.
* We must complete the move to free trade because our future is as a trading nation.
* The Resource Management Act is proving unwieldy and costly to implement.
Compliance with the RMA has become a bureaucratic nightmare and the process is too costly and uncertain.
* In its pursuit of the "knowledge economy" government should not forget that the rural sector plays a significant role in our economy.
* Governments should protect property rights, not destroy them.
ACT will:
* Reform the Resource Management Act and review the regulations that Federated Farmers estimate cost each farmer thousands of dollars a year.
* Introduce a Regulatory Responsibility Act, to address the issue of compensation when property rights are eroded by regulations.
* Provide farmers with choice by eliminating the monopoly status of the producer boards.
* Reduce the rates burden on rural residents by making certain that councils are much more focused on their core functions.
How would you write the next chapter of the New Zealand Story?
Opportunity, Fairness, Responsibility, Community.
Rt Hon Jenny Shipley. Prime Minister. Leader of the National Party.
National will spend only what the country can afford.
Everyone who runs a household budget knows the sense behind responsible spending, but it’s a basic rule that governments have sometimes ignored.
That’s why New Zealanders spent the best part of the 1990s repaying the Government’s debts.
When governments spend more than they earn, it can only result in higher taxes or higher borrowing.
That’s why we are committed to repaying debt as a basic goal of government.
We are not prepared to make extravagant spending promises.
We hope you will respect us for it.
National will continue to manage the economy well,
and keep the Government’s finances under control.
National knows how to put more money in your pocket.
If we spend only what the country can afford, then we can achieve the next goal of delivering real improvements in income for New Zealanders.
Better incomes come directly through lower taxes.
We’ve cut taxes twice, and another round of reductions is scheduled for next year.
Better incomes also come indirectly through interest rates.
Balanced books mean the Government doesn’t have to borrow.
That keeps interest rates down.
Lower interest rates make a real difference.
They help families keep their costs under control.
They help businesses create jobs.
And it’s not just theory.
Ask anyone who paid 22% mortgage rates when the Government got out of control in the late 1980s.
It could all happen again.
National’s careful management will lead to more jobs,
lower taxes and less debt
— while also increasing social spending.
National believes in freedom and choice.
We are giving New Zealanders real choices:
choices about whether they join a union or not.
choices about how they run their local school.
if they need help with housing, choices about where they live.
choices about how they buy ACC cover.
choices about how workers and employers make their arrangements.
choices about whether to keep MMP or adopt a different system for electing their government.
National will keep increasing your freedom to choose.
National understands the kiwi spirit.
If we do all this, we create the right conditions for New Zealanders to flourish.
What they need, in addition to low taxes, low interest rates, and the ability to make their own choices, is a government that backs them — a government that salutes success and achievement.
Right across the board, from farmers to fashion designers, New Zealanders can compete with their counterparts anywhere in the world.
But if the environment is not right, or if they know that tall poppies aren’t wanted, then talented New Zealanders can go and succeed in Australia or anywhere else in the world.
National is unashamedly proud of this country’s achievers.
We will help them choose to stay in New Zealand.
Our plan for growth and opportunity.
If we want our children to choose to stay and build their futures in New Zealand, we must strive for prosperity.
We need to bake a bigger cake,
and make sure that all New Zealanders share in it.
In the next 10 years what’s in our heads will matter as much as what’s in our paddocks.
Opportunity and better incomes will come from smarter people using better ideas.
Education.
We are improving education across the board, from the basics at primary school, through to world-class universities:
We will make sure all nine-year-olds can read, write and do maths.
We will make sure parents know how their children and their schools are getting on.
We will let schools respond to local needs, not force them to follow the dictates of the teacher unions.
We’re investing $1 billion over the next three years in better facilities in our schools.
We’re helping universities and polytechs work closely with business and researchers to create the knowledge for the modern economy.
We want our universities to be among the very best in the Asia-Pacific region.
We won’t compromise.
National will do what’s right for New Zealand’s children, even when it’s controversial.
Creating success.
National supports achievers wherever they are.
New entrepreneurs.
Business owners expanding their investments.
Young people getting their first jobs.
Stable families paying off the mortgage and getting the kids to school each day.
National has a comprehensive plan to create growth and jobs:
The economy will grow an average of 3% a year and create more than 100,000 new jobs by 2002 - if we stay on track.
We are reducing taxes for everyone who earns more than $9500 a year,
we’ll cut taxes again when we can afford it,
and we’re keeping interest rates low.
We’re making sure New Zealanders can buy the world’s best goods and services at the world’s best prices.
National is helping businesses to innovate,
and to turn innovation into jobs.
We’re cutting costs and reducing red tape,
and re-thinking how the tax system affects small businesses.
National is helping farmers make sure their Producer Boards are adding the most they can to the country as a whole, and to farmers’ pockets.
National is changing how we invest in roads so they don’t obstruct growth.
We’re letting workers and employees decide their futures together, without unwanted interference.
Every individual’s success is New Zealand’s success.
Everyone deserves the reward they earn from their own work.
We won’t compromise. National will do what’s right for our children and their future, even when it’s controversial.
Our plan to support New Zealand’s families.
Strong families are the key to a healthy society.
We have helped working families with tax cuts.
About 50,000 working families now pay no tax at all.
But we must do more.
Too many families are stuck in the middle: they don’t have big incomes, and they don’t qualify for targetted social spending.
National says they deserve tax relief now.
By next year, a person on $35,000 who was paying 33c in the dollar two years ago will pay only 20c in the dollar.
We will spend an extra dollar on social services for every dollar that goes on tax cuts.
Tax relief will be the result of a growing economy, not of sacrificing more and better social services.
National will continue to respect and support the families who are striving to improve things for themselves and their country.
Healthy families and a healthy nation.
The period of major change in the health sector is over.
We are now turning improved structures into more and better services:
The Hospital Services plan ensures that services will continue across New Zealand’s communities, and “Roadside to Bedside” makes sure emergency services are available everywhere.
National believes in integrated health care – health professionals working together on behalf of patients
– and decisions based on real health needs, not on politics or cheap vote winning.
National is making a big commitment to new hospitals, health clinics and the use of new technology.
All children under six can visit the family doctor for free,
and other discounts are available for people on low incomes.
We’ll continue to improve the booking system, which is making sure the sickest people get treated first.
We’ll help improve the health of Mäori and Pacific Island people.
We’re putting a strong emphasis on early intervention and health promotion.
National believes in the public health system.
We’re committed to further modernising and strengthening it.
National will spend an extra dollar on social services for every dollar that goes on tax cuts. Tax relief will be the result of a growing economy, not of sacrificing more and better social services.
Helping disadvantaged families.
New Zealand simply can’t leave people behind.
There’s no choice about that, because it’s not the New Zealand way.
National has created successful programmes that intervene early to break the cycle of disadvantage.
These are simple, common sense policies that empower families - and they work:
Family Start helps parents make sure their kids get a great start, and stop social problems before they start.
Strengthening Families ensures families get the help they need in a coordinated and sensible way.
We’re working to coordinate health, welfare and education services to meet the specific needs of each family.
And we’re helping individuals as well, making sure beneficiaries have case managers who look after their needs in an integrated way.
That includes the expectation that unemployed beneficiaries should work in the community.
Social programmes that foster independence will be at the heart of National’s social policy.
We will help families and individuals move forward with confidence.
Secure communities.
There’s no point in a prosperous economy if people feel unsafe in their homes and communities.
The crime rate is currently the lowest in eight years, and there are more police on the streets than ever before.
But people don’t feel secure enough yet.
National is:
increasing the length of sentences.
making the police more accountable.
giving victims more say.
improving crime prevention.
intervening early to stop the next generation of crime.
National will help build strong communities
through constructive social policy
and strong enforcement.
Our plan for New Zealand’s place in the world.
New Zealand is earning unprecedented credibility and influence in world affairs.
National stands up for what is right, and we back that with resources.
We’ll maintain balanced defence forces that can work with our allies,
while maintaining our nuclear-free status.
We’ll build on our success in forging new relationships and trade groupings to help our exporters be even more successful.
National backed Mike Moore to become leader of the World Trade Organisation,
and we’re working hard to support Don McKinnon in his bid to become head of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
New Zealand earned respect for encouraging APEC leaders to tackle the human tragedy in East Timor,
and we backed our words with troops.
National will continue to give New Zealand influence beyond its size.
New Zealand is earning unprecedented credibility and influence in world affairs. National will continue to give New Zealand influence beyond its size.
Our plan to keep New Zealand unique
National is committed to fostering our flourishing national identity,
and is protecting the things that make us special as New Zealanders.
We’re promoting a New Zealand music industry to match our film, advertising and multimedia industries.
We’ll also support the visual arts and publishing industries.
National is promoting excellence in all our endeavours: culture, sport, learning and enterprise.
All of these are part of who we are as New Zealanders.
We’re nurturing the natural environment that makes us unique
- but without locking it away, or destroying jobs and opportunity.
National is working with artists and entrepreneurs throughout the arts, and will continue to support New Zealand’s cultural development more than any previous Government.
We are committed to sustainable prosperity.
That means halting the decline in the indigenous biological diversity of New Zealand,
developing environmental indicators for all our important resources and places,
protecting the oceans,
and controlling environmental harm
while doing the least damage to the economy.
National understands New Zealand’s uniqueness.
We’ll protect it and promote it.
Our plan to keep New Zealand unique The best plan. The best team. In touch with your values. Vote National with your party vote
A vision for New Zealand
We believe people flourish and prosper when they have control over their own lives,
and that individuals - not governments - know best how to lead their lives and spend their own money.
ACT recognises that governments have core responsibilities to their citizens.
These include assisting those in genuine need,
creating an economic environment that promotes enterprise and innovation,
always ensuring people can live in a safe
and free social environment.
These are responsibilities that successive governments have failed to provide.
For example, today:
• Four fulltime workers support each fulltime benefit.
• Over 78% of all released prisoners are reconvicted within 3 years.
• New Zealand has one of the highest rates of violent crime in the English-speaking world.
• There are 110,000 sole parents on the DPB,
16,000 women say they cannot or will not name the father of their child.
• Overall, the government takes 40% of everything this nation produces.
This is more than most other countries in the OECD.
New Zealand can and should do better, and New Zealander’s deserve better from government.
People should be safe in their homes,
they should have better education
and health services,
there should be a more compassionate welfare system for those needing assistance,
and everyone should have a better standard of living.
ACT says we need to rebuild strong defence alliances,
and ACT says people must be protected from criminals.
It’s time to get tough on serious crime.
ACT will make sure that punishment fits the crime
and that there is truth in sentencing.
Justice must mean justice.
Successive governments have failed to provide the security people deserve.
Not only will ACT get tough on crime but it will tackle the causes of crime.
ACT believes strongly in taking greater care of the truly vulnerable in our society – children, the frail elderly, the sick, the mentally ill and the disabled – all those who cannot take care of themselves.
Despite good intentions, more than 50 years of open-ended welfare by successive government have failed to reduce dependency – but have entrenched it.
ACT believes in welfare that is a hand up, not a hand out.
Healthcare and education need to be improved but New Zealanders will not have better healthcare and education without a stronger economy.
ACT's tax policies will deliver at least 4% annual growth by implementing a five-year staged programme of tax reductions
and reducing business compliance costs.
ACTs policies are based on values, core kiwi value, on the belief that New Zealanders can make better decisions on how to invest, save and spend their money than any government.
The government’s true role is to provide for the security of the nation
with adequate defence and security of the individual through the rule of law
and the protection of liberty and property.
ACT believes that it is the values of the nation, not its politics that is the key.
Features of attached policy papers
The key details of ACT’s policies are:
• Cutting the top rate of personal and company tax to 28% and cutting the bottom rate to 18%.
That means lower tax than Australia
and a tax cut for every worker.
Such a tax cut can be achieved without cutting spending on health and education.
• Making New Zealand safe again by getting tough on criminals by Truth-in-Sentencing and a Zero Tolerance for Crime Approach.
• Tackling problems that breed crime - poor education,
unemployment
and family dysfunction.
• A strong, generous safety net for those in genuine need.
• Workfare schemes for the unemployed, requiring 40-hour a week work activity.
• Encouraging the private provision of healthcare facilities and services.
• A bonfire of regulations – cutting compliance costs and obstacles to growth with a radical overhaul of tax, employment laws, ACC and RMA.
• Access for all children to top quality schooling that enables them to learn to read, write and do mathematics.
• Equality of opportunity and the abolition of all racially based laws.
“One Law for all”.
• Settle genuine Treaty of Waitangi claims swiftly
and fairly
and close down the grievance industry.
• Rebuild the ANZUS alliance.
• Attract the ablest and most productive immigrants.
ACT believes government policy should assist and enable its citizens to achieve their potential.
It is not the government’s role to do for others, what others can best do for themselves.
Structure
The policy statements are presented by subject, as an executive summary of key points followed by a discussion of key issues.
Accident Compensation
Executive summary
New Zealand’s accident compensation scheme has been a monstrous failure for three decades.
Endless tinkering has failed to overcome the fundamental problems of statutory monopoly and lack of incentive to provide value for money.
ACC is inefficient, inflexible, wasteful, and compounds the problems confronting our health sector.
Fraud is an ongoing problem
and too often those in genuine need miss out.
ACC's massive losses last year of $313 million arose in part because its actuaries do not share its optimism about its ability to manage its future caseload.
Nor should they.
In the absence of competition its priorities are political.
ACT believes:
• Only choice and competition can ensure that premiums reflect value for money and allow more innovative products to emerge.
• Governments should not force New Zealanders to buy 'one-size fits all' accident insurance against their will.
People should be free to buy cover against losses from accidents and sickness
and to buy lump sum protection
if private insurers choose to offer such policies.
• Governments should not impose monopoly.
Only choice and competition can ensure that premiums reflect value for money and allow more innovative products to emerge.
• Governments should not own insurance companies.
ACC prevents competition, puts taxpayers at risk and exposes its customers to political risks.
• The wholesale abolition of the right to sue was a mistake.
The 'back door' liability regimes that continue to emerge in its absence are also not a solution.
• The role of government should be limited to watchdog
and provider of a safety net.
ACT's goals:
• To allow full choice and competition in accident insurance.
• To review liability regimes - issues of the right to sue, penalties under health and safety legislation and non-pecuniary damages.
• To ensure a safety net is in place for hardship cases (from accident or sickness).
ACT will:
• Allow everyone to choose his or her own accident insurance cover.
• Remove the monopoly on existing schemes as soon as possible
and fully restore choice.
• Seek to ensure that any transitional arrangements do not undermine the above objectives.
• Tender the management of the “tail” of existing claims so as to reduce taxpayer risk and get people back to work faster.
Fund the “tail” of existing claims from general taxation.
• Review the issue of a return of the right to sue,
taking into account the need to honour private agreements
and to prevent excessive litigation.
• Ensure the commitments to those who are already injured are honoured.
• Maintain a safety net for hardship cases.
Discussion
ACC is inefficient, inflexible and wasteful.
It compounds the problems confronting our health sector.
Fraud is an ongoing problem
and too often those in genuine need miss out.
ACT was a driving force behind the successful introduction of choice in workplace accident insurance in 1999 and we deplore the re-nationalisation of this business.
ACC's massive losses in 2001 of $313 million arose in part because its actuaries do not share its optimism about its ability to manage its future caseload.
Nor should they.
In the absence of competition its priorities are political.
Arts & Culture
Executive summary
The state is deeply involved in he cultural life of this country.
ACT wants and expects that to continue.
We all have an interest in how our culture is reflected and expressed by central and local government.
Much of it is so deep yet so obvious that we do not recognise it.
Ceremonial Military Bands, Official Welcomes, rates relief for churches, the size and shape of our public spaces, the architecture of our public buildings, grace in the engineering of bridges, dams and monuments all express the value we give to the arts.
Public theatres, funding of broadcasting, television and films all support the performing arts.
Funding teaching and studying in every town in New Zealand of music, graphics and design and other arts all involve government in our culture.
So ACT sees no question of eliminating the state from the arts.
We decide on the role and the importance of the arts every time we decide how much we can afford in making a school hospital, or bridge beautiful as well as functional.
But ACT is also realistic.
The countries that enjoy the richest array of arts and culture are the wealthiest countries.
The priority we can give to form and beauty and theatre will depend on how wealthy we are.
And our prosperity will depend on how much of our productivity is siphoned off to fight crime or to pay able-bodied people to do nothing.
ACT will build a society offering a huge range of patrons and sources of funding for the arts.
In the longer run both artists and a vibrant culture will thrive best in a diverse economy with multiple, competing patrons.
The state wants to appear as the primary funder.
This, combined with rule and criteria for financial support, has politically channelled artistic endeavours in certain directions, limiting the potential for exploring broader creative and artistic oppurtunities.
A dependency culture is being created among our people who should be most independent.
Artistic endeavours in New Zealand mist meet the criteria for what State funding agencies deem worthy of support.
This misses the point.
Artistic endeavour is very individual, and must cater for and appeal to a diverse audience.
ACT believes:
• Art is individual, powerful and persuasive.
We must strive to maximize it independence.
The state should minimize the risks of picking which artistic endeavours are worthy of taxpayer support.
State dominance is patronising of artists,
and is detrimental to the overall health and vibrancy of the arts sector.
• The most vibrant cultures are ones in which as many people as possible are as free as possible to define and choose what is meaningful to them.
State dominance threatens this.
ACT will:
• Lower taxes to encourage private sponsorship of artistic endeavours.
• Vigorously defend rights of free speech and expression against politically correct censorship.
• Reduce other regulations and red tape restricting the freedom of artists along with other entrepreneurs.
• Minimize government interference and politicisation of art grants processes.
• Celebrate individual and commercial sponsorship in the arts sector.
• Scrap the special dole-for-artists scheme.
Crime & Justice
Executive summary
New Zealand is now crime ridden.
Under Labour violent crime has risen by over 10%.
No one is safe from callous violence.
We are suffering from a failed 30-year experiment of being nice to criminals, hoping they will be nice back to us.
Rehabilitation by early release from jail has failed.
Seventy-three percent of prisoners re-offend within two years of being released from jail.
Last election, 92% of New Zealanders voted for tougher penalties and more concern for victims.
Labour’s Sentencing and Parole Reform Act does the opposite.
It reduces the certainty of punishment, while telling the Parole Board to ignore the judges’ sentences.
Victims rights have been ignored.
ACT believes:
• Freedom and personal responsibility have to go together.
• ACT will bring back accountability to the justice system.
• The government has ignored the call by 92 percent of voters for tougher penalties
and more concern for the victims.
• The police and the justice system are being undermined by red tape, bad laws, inadequate penalties and lack of support at the highest political level.
• The big rise in crime in New Zealand is largely caused by 30 years of offender based justice, that says that if you treat criminals nicely, they will behave nicely in the future.
Crime must not be permitted to pay - there must be a near certainty of being caught and convicted,
the penalty must fit the crime
and punishments must be enforced.
• New Zealanders should take notice when almost half of apprehended offenders are under 21 years ago.
• The 97 percent reoffending rate for young criminals released from prison is an indictment of our youth justice system.
• The young from low socio-economic groups are the most adversely affected by current flaws in welfare, labour market, housing, education and health policies.
• It is essential that our young adults be in jobs, not on welfare.
• The state is also failing to care for the mentally ill - putting them, their families and the general public at risk.
ACT's goals:
• Rebuild the rule of law by making all neighbourhoods much safer for law-abiding citizens.
• Make it more certain that criminals will be speedily caught, convicted and punished through sentences which are appropriate to the crime and also protect society.
• Re-establish the principle of personal responsibility.
Criminals are responsible for their crimes.
ACT’s proposals:
• Ensure law enforcement is adequately resourced to do the job asked of it
and is focused on protecting against crimes to person and property.
• Require the police to raise community standards by adopting a 'zero-tolerance' approach towards policing minor infringements – such as graffiti, vandalism, and shoplifting.
The aim is to stop young offenders from graduating to more serious crimes.
It is not to punish them unduly.
• Put preventing crimes against people and their property at the top of police priorities
while reducing obstacles that impede the police.
For example, ACT will:
Match perjury and witness intimidation with the penalty that the perpetrator is trying to avoid.
Pare back the defence of entrapment so that only offenders truly pressured into crime can use it.
Allow courts to add to the sentences of criminals who abuse legal aid and unmeritorious technical defences and appeals.
• Pursue absolute truth in sentencing for criminals.
For example, ACT will:
o Abolish early release and parole.
o Reward good behaviour in prison by a reduced post-release surveillance period.
o Require cumulative sentencing for multiple unrelated crimes.
o Allow the Courts to resentence criminals who significantly breach their release conditions.
• Ensure that punishment is punishment.
For example, ACT will:
o Ensure that fines are paid
and that prisons are healthy, safe and foster work skills
- but are otherwise stark.
o Restore the power of the Court to choose punishments that fit the crime,
including specifying the type of prison and the nature of community sentences.
o Ensure there is as much prison space as needed, including new youth prisons so young inmates can be kept from the influence of habitual criminals.
o Make home detention 'home and work' detention.
o Make life imprisonment mean life for 1st degree homicides
and impose a high mid-point on the sentencing range for 2nd degree homicide.
• Shake up our failing youth justice system.
For example, ACT will:
o End pointless 'family group conferencing'.
o Treat young people as responsible for their choices
and ensure that youth justice processes reach decisions that can be, and are, enforced.
o End name suppression except where it protects victims from further harm
and end the suppression of records of youth crime.
• Help Police catch criminals by automatic DNA profiling of all prisoners and persons with imprisonable convictions.
• Refocus Police resources- less wasting time on petty errors, traffic fines, and victimless offences.
• Proper degrees of murder law with life imprisonment and minimum sentences for 1st and 2nd degree murder.
Discussion
New Zealanders have a right to security in person and property.
The state fails in one of its most fundamental duties to its citizens if these liberties are not secured through effective policing and an effective system of justice.
Law-abiding people need to know that the police can and will respond promptly and effectively in an emergency and when a crime against person and property has occurred.
The state must ensure that criminals face a high probability that their offending will be detected, a conviction obtained, and that the penalty will be appropriate and enforced.
The police must be adequately funded.
They and the courts should not be obstructed by novel obstacles that give criminals more rights than their victims.
The courts and the justice system must provide a prompt and fair trial
and enforce effective penalties.
Criminals should not have more rights than their victims.
Those fined should be made to pay their fines;
those imprisoned should be made to serve out their terms.
Criminals should not be compensated by the state when they do not compensate their victims.
Failures by the state in any of these respects reward crime;
they also most harm the weakest and least well off.
Too many children are growing up in unstable households where benefits are the only source of income.
Study after study shows children in benefit led households do more poorly across a range of social indicators.
Today, 300,000 children are being raised in benefit led households, 185,000 of whom are in Domestic Purposes Benefit households.
No well-off, compassionate New Zealander can feel anything but shame for a state that does not adequately protect its most vulnerable citizens.
One hundred years ago the crime rate was low in New Zealand compared with other societies.
Most prosecutions were for offences against the public order, such as drunkenness.
Today close to six convictions out of 10 are for crimes against persons or property.
Sadly, the United Nations sponsored 1996 International Crime Survey put New Zealand at the top end of the industrialised countries in finding that almost three-out-of-10 of the New Zealanders surveyed had been victims of such crimes in 1991.
Defence
Executive summary
New Zealand has embarked on a dangerous, isolationist strategy that severely limits our ability to defend our country, and trade routes.
We lack the capacity to share in the necessary collective defence of our region.
ACT believes a government's first and most important task is to defend the nation - its people and their property.
The Labour Government has abrogated its most primary responsibility.
It is trying to quietly introduce neutrality.
New Zealand does not have the resources to act in an isolationist manner.
Collective defence is the only logical option.
New Zealand spends around $1 billion a year on defence.
Labour plans to reduce this over ten years.
Annual defence costs are less than one month’s welfare payments.
ACT believes:
• Greater co-operation and integration with our allies is needed.
• A long-term defence strategy is needed,
together with political consensus.
• The defence of the nation is a primary government responsibility.
• Regional instability and global tensions mean that threats can arise at any time.
• The Labour/Alliance government has abrogated this responsibility.
• The only viable strategy for New Zealand is a collective one involving Australian and the United States.
Governments fail New Zealanders if they fail to contribute our share to this common cause.
• New Zealand must develop and maintain a credible, well trained and equipped Defence Force able to work with allies in a warlike environment and to play a credible role in international peace-making and peace-keeping operations.
ACT's goals:
• Restore practical co-operation, pride and morale in our forces taking our place in the western world as a responsible international citizen.
• Rebuild ANZUS.
The United States is the only serious friendly military power in the Pacific.
ACT’s proposals:
• Ensure the proper funding of our defence forces over the long term,
avoiding block obsolescence
and focusing on integration within the forces and with our allies.
• Continue to upgrade the army but with a greater emphasis on providing for the needs of defence not peacekeeping
and, if possible, a re-negotiated contract with a lesser number of LAV III vehicles.
• Rebuild an air force strike capability.
At least 16 aircraft are needed for New Zealand to meet its obligations.
Our surveillance aircraft need submarine detection capability
and a replacement policy for the rotary wing and the C-130 Hercules is needed.
• Ensure a blue water naval capacity,
giving particular consideration to the purchase of multi-purpose vessels compatible with recent Australian acquisitions.
Such vessels will meet the diverse requirements of transporting troops and equipment in shallow waters, Antarctic, blue water and tropical conditions, together with long range and high speed needs.
• Invest in intelligence gathering in concert with our allies ensuring we have the capability to deal with modern warfare, including terrorism.
• Give a high priority to rebuilding the ANZUS Alliance.
Discussion
Collective, integrated defence is the only logical option for a small country like New Zealand.
However, New Zealand has embarked on a dangerous, isolationist strategy that severely limits our ability to defend our country and trade routes, or take part in our regional responsibilities and to share in the necessary collective defence of our region.
ACT does not believe that peace is inevitable or our security assured.
It is grossly irresponsible for the current prime minister to call the environment 'incredibly benign'.
Preserving peace requires commitment, time, resources, mutual support, and good fortune.
Nuclear-free zones do not protect New Zealand against threats or force from larger bullies or tyrants.
ACT believes a government's first and most important task is to defend the nation - its people and their property.
The Labour/Alliance coalition has abrogated its most primary responsibility.
It is trying to quietly introduce neutrality and cut us off from our allies.
New Zealand does not have the resources to act in an isolationist manner.
Our foreign policies should be aligned with our economic and military needs.
The discussion paper on foreign affairs and trade demonstrates that they are currently seriously misaligned.
We live in an unstable region.
The Pacific Islands, Indonesia, China, and the Indian sub-continent have all experienced aggression or instability that affects us.
We must prepare for the worst and work for the best.
New Zealand needs to rebuild the ANZUS relationship as a top priority.
Collective defence with Australia alone is not viable - the Australians have said that they cannot discharge their responsibilities without a close relationship with the United States.
New Zealand needs close ties with allied nations in the pursuit of peace, the stamping out of any military menace and threat to democracy and stability.
Greater cooperation and integration with our allies is needed.
Currently New Zealand spends approximately $1 billion a year on defence, net of GST and a capital charge.
This is about one tenth of social security and welfare spending.
Defence is being neglected
and welfare dependency is ruining people's lives.
The Labour/Alliance coalition intends to reduce defence spending over the next 10 years.
ACT is saying that its priorities are badly wrong.
The Economy
Executive summary
Good economic growth means higher wages.
Low growth means lower wages.
Low growth and inflation mean cuts in people’s wages.
This is what Labour has delivered.
To achieve higher incomes, low unemployment, and secure jobs, New Zealand must have growth of at least 4 percent per annum.
In the mid-1990s New Zealanders were looking forward to a bright future, but by 2001 our overall economic position had significantly deteriorated.
While other nations, such as Ireland, have replaced economic decline with growth of 8% per annum, New Zealand is middling along at 2.5% despite the best trading conditions in years.
What went wrong?
The Labour Government increased taxes,
bought votes with unaffordable promises,
strengthened union powers through the ERA,
and re-nationalised ACC.
Economic mismanagement by successive governments has made New Zealand a less attractive place for investment.
ACT believes:
• Businesses and working people are the basis of our wealth and services, and both must be able to grow and prosper, in an international economy.
• Wage and salary growth comes from economic growth.
Prosperity comes from an open economy,
low spending and taxes,
minimum regulation,
and honest and stable government.
• Liberty and prosperity depend on having quality institutions that secure economic freedom
- open, competitive markets,
low taxes,
the rule of law,
security and freedom of contract.
• Welfarism,
high taxes
and stifling regulations are the enemies of liberty and prosperity.
• Misguided government spending, taxes, red tape and bureaucracy are destroying jobs and businesses.
• Government is failing in its responsibilities to provide key public goods because it is spending on the wrong activities.
ACT's goals:
• Allow New Zealanders to create jobs and generate prosperity in a stable policy environment.
• To provide and sustain open, competitive markets.
• To ensure governments conform to the rule of law
and provide key public goods.
• To restore full employment.
• To maintain the institutions that are securing low inflation and fiscal stability.
ACT’s proposals:
• Immediately boost working New Zealander’s incomes through a general tax reduction.
This will lift the gap between welfare and work.
• Tighten up on welfare, by requiring all working age beneficiaries who can work, to work or train for 40 hours a week.
We can’t achieve 4% plus growth with 400,000 working age adults on benefits.
• Progressively reduce government spending to below 30 percent of gross domestic product.
• Implement a five-year programme to reduce income tax rates, company and personal, to a flat tax rate of 18 percent.
• Conduct a zero-base review of the regulations that are causing the greatest problems with a view to greatly increasing the role of the common law in regulating interactions between individuals.
• Tighten processes for vetting future regulations, along the lines of a Regulatory Responsibility Act.
• Consider the need for the state to own businesses,
thereby, enabling the resources tied up in these to be given back as tax cuts,
or better resourcing of key areas such as police
and education.
• Put in place a process for eliminating the red tape and employment restrictions that are killing jobs and undermining freedom and the rule of law.
• Reinvigorate property rights in land by boosting access to compensation.
• Refocus local government on core public good activities.
• Complete the move to free trade.
Our future is as a trading nation.
Discussion
New Zealanders are constantly being told that:
• The New Zealand economy performed badly in the 1990s.
• The reforms under Roger Douglas and Ruth Richardson as ministers of finance failed.
• Governments can engineer fast economic growth painlessly through 'smarter' spending and a bigger role for government.
These assertions are all false.
According to data published by the Organisation of Economic Development (OECD), in the decade to 2000, New Zealand's rate of economic growth averaged 3.0 percent per annum.
This beat the 2.6 percent per annum rate for the 40-country average for the members of the Organisation of Economic Development (OECD).
In contrast, in the decade to 1984 New Zealand's rate of economic growth averaged only 1.5 percent per annum on Statistics New Zealand data.
This was barely over half the 2.9 percent per annum rate for the OECD average.
There is also reason to believe it would have been better but for the advent of big spending governments after 1996 under MMP.
The economic performance following the 1991 Budget until 1996 was truly remarkable.
It featured:
• The longest and strongest economic expansion in New Zealand in 20 years.
Real gross domestic product per capita grew at an average annual rate of four per cent per annum in the five years to 1996.
• The fourth biggest five-year increase to 1996 (at 20 percent) in real domestic product in the OECD (behind Luxembourg, Ireland and Korea).
• The biggest five-year lift in employment in the OECD region (at 18 percent), Mexico being in second place with only 12 percent.
• By far the biggest reduction in the unemployment rate in the OECD.
• Sustained low inflation and fiscal surpluses for the first time in the living memory of most New Zealanders.
Economic growth occurs when governments see to the provision of essential public goods
and allow citizens wide scope to conduct their private affairs in peace and security,
free from corruption,
graft,
high taxes
and heavy regulations.
Sustained prosperity requires limited government, not big government.
Few if any countries have sustained very fast rates of economic growth with big government.
When Japan and the "Asian Tigers" had high rates of economic growth, they all had low taxes and small government.
From 1996 National and New Zealand First promised extraordinarily high growth rates, to be achieved by big increases in government spending and 'steady-as-you-go' policies.
They failed woefully to achieve their growth targets and never looked embarrassed about the charade.
The current government is even worse.
It is delivering higher taxes
and extra layers of intrusive regulation
- while promising to achieve 3 percent unemployment and put New Zealand on a path to getting back to the top half of the OECD.
This is all to be achieved without any major changes in economic policy.
All parliamentary parties other than ACT promise ever-higher growth yet deliver only more taxes and more regulation.
Meanwhile New Zealanders are seeing other countries, such as the United States, Australia and Ireland, move ahead again.
New Zealanders deserve better.
ACT offers the only clear-cut alternative to ongoing economic decline and increasing voter disillusionment under National or Labour.
Education – school & pre-school
Executive summary
Education is the key to advancement at all levels in society.
The government education system, however, is seriously under-performing.
Government monopoly has caused too many young New Zealanders to leave school ill-equipped to develop their full potential.
The personal and social consequences are immense.
The education system is failing because parents have been disempowered by government ownership, regulation, and funding.
Under Labour, the number of 16 year olds not attending schools has rocketed to nearly a quarter.
More teachers than ever have left New Zealand.
High youth unemployment and delinquency are breeding youth crime.
ACT believes:
• Parents can make better decisions about their children’s future than the government.
• The problem is with the system, not the teachers.
• Government’s role is to ensure access to quality schools.
Effective choice, rather than government stranglehold, is essential.
Students and parents are empowered through real choice.
• Every child should arrive at school ready to learn,
and to have access to competent schooling.
• Schools that fail their pupils should not be tolerated.
• Competition,
choice
and high measurable standards
can deliver the diversity and across-the-board excellence that is required to serve the diverse needs in our community.
• Parental choice should determine the level of funding of all schools if they are to improve.
• Many more schools could be run by churches, teachers, parents, professional educators or other organisations
under a system where schools are dependent on parental support
and are free to respond to parental expectations.
• Government regulation of education must be reduced to permit greater flexibility
and choice.
Beyond its core components, schools must be freer to tailor the curriculum, to pupil and parental needs.
• Schools must be able to reward merit and excellence in teaching.
A system based on centralised across-the-board wage negotiations holds good schools back.
• New Zealanders could be in the top five countries in the world in reading, writing, mathematics and science.
ACT's goals:
• Empower parents through choice, competition and higher measurable standards.
• Every child to have access to quality schooling.
• Every child to learn to read, write and do maths.
ACT’s proposals:
• Ensure regular monitoring of each child’s performance through standards and assessment.
• Introduce flexible funding.
Parents will be able to take their child's share of government funding and use it on a school of their choice, private or public.
• Provide schools with a greater ability to run their own affairs.
Boards will be better placed to respond to the needs of their communities.
• Make schools and teachers accountable for results, in part through external examinations.
• Introduce nationwide testing for basic skills uptake at primary school level.
• Allow successful schools to expand facilities and staff at the same or other locations so that more children can share in their success.
• Free schools and teachers to innovate and achieve.
• Confine any national school curricula to a few core subjects
and focus it on learning,
not political correctness.
• Abolish zoning to give all parents the right to send their children to the school of their choice.
• Allow successful boards or private providers to take over the management and operation of poorly performing schools.
• Encourage schools to voluntarily opt out of bureaucratic control and instead be run by parents, teachers or professional educators.
• Recognise the role for quality properly tested home education.
• Ensure secondary students can acquire internationally comparable qualifications for entry into tertiary education.
• Keep external exams as a mandatory part of the secondary schooling system.
Discussion
Our school system has to cater for a wide range of educational needs and abilities.
We also believe that education in New Zealand has enormous potential as a growth industry that caters for adult learners
and an international demand for its services.
There is mixed evidence as to how well our schools are performing for the average pupil.
The mean score for New Zealand 15-year olds in 2000 put New Zealand amongst the six best performing of 32 countries for reading, mathematical and scientific literacy according to the OECD's Programme of International Assessment.
On the other hand, New Zealand's nine-year olds did worse than any other Englishspeaking country in the 1998 replication of the Third International Maths and Science Study.
Other international benchmarks indicate that our schools are failing our less able pupils.
• An international survey of adult literacy in 1996 found that two in every five New Zealanders do not have the literacy skills necessary to cope with everyday life, let alone the demands of the workplace.
• One in five students - over 10,000 - leave school each year with no qualifications.
For Maori students the rate is one in three.
• Seventy percent of students in the poorest decile secondary schools get a 'D' for school certificate; 9% get an 'A' or 'B'.
The quality of these qualifications is another concern.
• Over a third of six-year olds in the poorest decile primary schools need reading recovery programmes
In ACT's view this situation is disgraceful.
It represents a crisis in our children's education.
Our centrally controlled state system is failing too many children.
The problems come despite increased spending.
Real government spending per pupil has risen by 50 percent since 1972.
Nor is the problem due to class size.
Research strongly indicates that it is the quality of the school and the teachers that makes the difference.
There is compelling evidence that nongovernment schools do better than can be explained by differences in student backgrounds or financial resources.
ACT has every sympathy for the plight of the able teacher and principal struggling with obstructive regulatory burdens and central state-controlled systems of remuneration.
Governments have stifled competition and shifted power from parents to bureaucrats, teacher unions, and educational 'experts'.
These groups have debased the curriculum, undermined the check of external exams and overseen regulations that protect incompetent teachers.
New Zealand’s education system needs parental choice,
greater private sector involvement,
and high measurable standards.
The current system most penalises the least well off.
To place their child in a private school, parents must pay twice – once through the tax system and once through school fees.
This is difficult even for the middle class.
Education – tertiary
Executive summary
Highly skilled young people have much to offer New Zealand,
but require greater freedom to achieve their potential
and better incentives to remain in New Zealand after graduation.
The amount owed through student loans has doubled under the present Government to over $5 billion, largely because students can now borrow interest-free.
ACT’s plan for lower taxes and a rising standard of living will allow parents to save for their children’s tertiary education needs, which will provide a long-term solution to the problem of student borrowing.
ACT believes:
• All students should have equal access to tertiary education regardless of race,
and should be given equal support by the Government whether they choose to study at a private or public institution.
• Students should contribute towards the cost of their education,
but should not be over burdened by debt, that may take many years to repay.
• Secondary school students should be encouraged to excel by modernising bursary awards and scholarships.
• Membership of student unions should be voluntary.
• Student choice, through access to a diversity of providers, leads to quality, service, innovation and excellence in tertiary education.
• Tertiary education should be accessible to everyone through scholarships,
a student loans scheme
and targeted allowances.
• Students should have equal access to tertiary education regardless of race
and should be given equal support by the Government whether they choose to study at a private or public institution.
• Funding to tertiary institutions should be even-handed
and colour blind.
ACT's goals:
• Empower students by encouraging greater competition among domestic institutions, fostering the development of new and wider ranges of courses.
• Free domestic institutions from excessive bureaucracy so that they can respond much more effectively to individual student needs.
• Change the student loans scheme to ease the future burden on graduating students, encouraging them to remain in New Zealand.
ACT’s proposals:
• Allow graduating students to repay their student loans more easily through tax cuts.
• Review the present student allowance scheme.
There is on going evidence that the scheme is full of anomalies and is being abused by some claimants.
ACT intends spending the same sum of money ($450 million)
and providing assistance to students in most need of financial support.
• Consider concessionary rates of interest on student loans for graduates who stay and work in New Zealand to enable them to pay off the principle of their debt more quickly.
• Allow equal opportunity to apply for courses by abolishing racial quotas
and allowing students to take their funding to any quality-approved course they choose.
• Modernise school bursary and scholarship payments creating greater incentive to achieve and excel.
• Fund research carried out by tertiary institutions separately from tuition to tangibly reward quality providers through direct competition for students.
• Encourage innovation in tertiary education
through greater private sector involvement.
• Ensure tertiary achievement standard systems are benchmarked internationally for cost,
quality
and competitive processes.
• Review the constraints on governance structures of state-controlled institutions in order to allow them to better achieve unified, competent boards with a coherent strategy.
• Ensure that governments do not discourage institutions from seeking greater funding of scholarships through private benefactors for meritorious or needy students.
• Allow students freedom of association by abolishing all legislation that requires individual students to join student unions.
Discussion
For New Zealand to be a prosperous, innovative and dynamic country a high quality education system is vital.
By giving our young people high levels of skill we underpin the country’s ability to generate jobs and prosperity.
However our current system limits the freedom of our young to choose training which best suits their individual needs.
Additionally, there are currently too few incentives in our system to keep skilled young people in New Zealand after graduation.
The student loan scheme has become a burden.
The present Government’s policy of allowing students to borrow interest-free while they study has actually encouraged students to take out larger loans.
The total amount owed through student loans has doubled under this Government to more than $5 billion.
The key flaw with the current student loan is how graduating students are expected to deal with their debts once they enter the workforce.
New Zealand’s high rates of taxation inhibit the graduating students ability to repay their loans.
Many, not unnaturally opt to deal with the situation by simply moving overseas.
The result is that top skills are lost, perhaps temporarily, but increasingly permanently.
None of the other political parties have come up with a long-term solution to the student loan problem.
A vibrant tertiary education sector, as well producing the direct benefit of increased skills can also boost the economy by increasing the numbers of fee-paying overseas students who would be encouraged to continue their education here.
ACT envisages seeing New Zealanders being able to obtain tuition from local providers with close links to the world's most highly ranked academic institutions.
Quality standards would be set internationally and New Zealand graduates would be assured of access to top-ranked overseas institutions for further education on merit.
Employers could also be a lot more confident about quality standards.
We have a long way to go to get to such a point.
Currently our top university is only ranked 19th in the relatively low-ranking Asia-Pacific region.
We must do much better if we are to educate and retain more of our top young minds and attract dynamic, knowledge-based industries.
Employment
Executive summary
In New Zealand there are 170,000 registered unemployed, 55,000 have been unemployed for more than two years.
Unemployment has huge personal and economic costs.
They are denied the dignity of work and the sense of purpose work delivers.
ACT believes it is the right of all citizens to be gainfully employed,
and believes government has a duty to ensure that this is so.
Paying people to do nothing is sending the wrong message to society, and condemns the individual to state dependency.
ACT believes:
• Involuntary unemployment caused by regulations designed to benefit those with jobs at the expense of those without jobs is highly unfair to the least skilled.
• High taxation and greater regulation reduce wages and employment.
• The Employment Relations Act 2001 is destroying jobs.
• The longer the Benefit dependency, the harder it is for people to obtain work, and see themselves as employable.
• Unemployment is a significant economic waste through lost production and the costs of raising taxes to fund welfare.
• New Zealand can get unemployment down to around 2-3 percent.
• Achieving full employment requires a full range of policies aimed at allowing markets to work, as does achieving economic growth.
• Lower taxes help people to shift from welfare to work.
• Getting people into the jobs is far better than keeping them on welfare.
• A job, not welfare, is the only way to escape poverty.
Welfare should be time-limited for the ablebodied, not a life-style choice.
• The specialist Employment Court has been a failure, general courts are capable of handling all legal issues that arise from employment.
ACT's goals:
• Restore freedom of association in the private sector.
The public sector should be forbidden to discriminate,
except on merit.
• Restore freedom of contact in both public and private sectors.
• Lower taxes and reform welfare to help people to shift from welfare to work.
• Help employers create more jobs by reducing tax and regulatory barriers.
ACT’s proposals:
• Foster prosperity generally by reducing taxes,
crippling regulations
and welfare dependency.
• Repeal the Employment Relations Act 2001.
• Abolish all specialist employment authorities, tribunals and courts.
• Restore the common law freedom of contract between employers and employees.
• Restore common law freedoms of association and of speech in hiring labour and in communicating with staff.
• Review other regulations affecting employment with a view to replacing regulation by common law remedies.
• Impose a real work test, and a 40-hour work or training week on eligibility for the unemployment benefit and those on the DPB with children aged six or over.
Discussion
The freedom to offer your labour as you see fit is an important right .
In New Zealand there are 170,000 New Zealanders registered unemployed, with 55,000 of them unemployed over two years.
Unemployment has a huge personal and economic cost and it is not acceptable to force people onto welfare and state dependency by limiting their rights of individuals and businesses to negotiate their labour.
This denies thousands of New Zealanders the dignity of work, and the opportunity to advance and integrate with civil society.
Freedom of contract is a fundamental liberty.
To deny adults freedom of contract in the name of 'protecting them' from exploitation demeans and patronises all workers and all employers.
Bad labour and product market regulations don't just impair liberty; they actually reduce employment and increase unemployment.
A recent study by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development found that the proportion of those of working age in employment in New Zealand would have been 2.
5 percentage points lower if our product markets had been as regulated as the OECD average.
No country did better on this measure; next best was the United Kingdom.
It is no accident that the rate of unemployment in the United States and the United Kingdom has been lower than in Europe for almost a decade.
Both countries have relatively free labour markets.
The rise in employment and the big fall in unemployment in New Zealand following the passing of the Employment Contracts Act 1991 confounded its critics and even surprised many of its supporters.
On a standardised basis, New Zealand's rate of unemployment fell from 10.3 percent to 6.1 percent between 1992 and 1996 while the Australian rate fell from 10.5 percent to 8.2 percent.
Research gives the Employment Contracts Act some of the credit for this performance.
However, by 2000, New Zealand's rate was 6.0 percent while the Australian rate had dropped to 6.3 percent.
These rates are fifty percent higher than the 4.0 percent standardised rate in the United States.
Everyone agrees that New Zealand's unemployment rate is far too high, but Labour is only paying lip service to its goal of getting the rate of unemployment down to 3 percent of the labour force.
While there was much that was good about the Employment Contract Act, it had two major flaws - it preserved the Employment Court (rather than allowing the general courts to deal with the cases)
and it denied workers and employers full freedom of contract – most egregiously in respect of its unjustified dismissal impositions.
Prior to the ECA the non-unionised private sector enjoyed freedom of contract in relation to dismissals.
This system worked well.
The failure to abolish the Employment Court and related structures resulted in judicial activism.
This led to large redundancy payments that outraged public opinion.
It has also resulted in many bogus claims and unconscionable personal grievance cases.
The Employment Relations Act 2001 and the subsequent hikes in the minimum wage rate are a slap in the face for the unemployed.
The Act is an affront to human dignity and liberty
and an impediment to employment.
It denied freedom of contract
in order to hand power to union officials.
There was no evidence that employers were exploiting workers or that workers were unable or incompetent to contract freely for the sale of their labour.
The costs of employing workers will rise further if the proposals to regulate for stress proceed.
Ultimately the burdens of such regulations fall on workers by depressing wage rates.
The Act created privileges for union officials to the detriment of freedom of contract between employees and employers.
Environment & Conservation
Executive summary
Most of us are too busy working to do much directly to benefit the environment.
Sure we put out the recycling, but we leave the really big stuff for the Government.
The government is letting us down.
Policies and resources are increasingly going into ‘fashionable’ areas.
The global warming industry gravy train is a good example.
The flipside is that pest control and saving our endangered species take a back seat.
It’s the same story - lots of reports, lots of talk, but not much gets done.
The Resource Management Act has loaded immense costs on ordinary New Zealanders, without doing much to benefit the environment.
If just half the cost of the RMA was instead applied to actually protecting the environment, the improvements would be dramatic.
ACT believes:
• Ensuring the survival of our valued species will require competent management,
large investment
and individual commitment.
• We can’t save the environment by going back to old technology
and a closed economy.
• All New Zealanders must share responsibility for environmental quality.
• Prosperity is the key to achieving a cleaner and less risky environment.
• There are real environmental concerns in New Zealand,
but governments are neglecting them.
• The institutions of private property and common law remedies adequately protect against most environmental nuisances.
• Legislation has failed to confine itself to areas in which serious problems of a high transaction cost nature warrant overriding common law remedies.
• Policy and legislation should be concerned to improve the environment for the benefit of human welfare, not to protect 'the environment' from humans.
Governments are not above voters, they must act in the best interests of voters at large.
• Legislation too often attempts to dictate outcomes rather than to help the parties overcome the impediments to mutually beneficial exchanges.
• All too often competitors and zealots can use legislation to impede valid developments without having to take responsibility for the costs of their actions.
• The failure of government to protect legitimate rights to property is fundamentally unconstitutional.
Property owners should not be required to contribute disproportionately to a perceived public good.
ACT's goals:
• Restrict government action to cases where it would be more costly to rely on private remedies and arrangements because of problems of information, co-ordination or monopoly.
• Improve the security of property rights by establishing a prima facie right of compensation for regulatory takings.
• Increase private ownership of private goods, such as the supply of reticulated water.
• Make greater use of the price mechanism in order to conserve scarce resources
and better signal willingness to pay.
• Address the environmental problems associated with DOC land.
ACT’s proposals:
• Restore security in property rights.
• Provide, in principle, a right to compensation when common law rights are taken in the public interest.
• Fund that compensation, as far as is practicable, from those who wanted those rights to be taken and would have funded the taking voluntarily if transaction costs had not been prohibitively high.
• Ensure that people who want to dictate how others can use their own property bear the costs of imposing their preferences,
and require local government to better assess benefits and costs.
• Use business sector initiative, efficiency and incentives to
improve urban fresh and waste water systems,
the management of tourist-driven activities
and the conservation estate.
• Focus government funding on the provision of public goods such as those that relate to the control of free-ranging pests and the policing and enforcement of the law.
• Review the Resource Management Act on a first principle basis.
• Oppose ratification of the Kyoto Protocol given the evident unwillingness of the world’s major emitters to take real action and in the absence of serious disadvantages to New Zealand from delay.
• Environmental costs should be borne by those causing them (the polluter-pays concept).
• Government has a duty to ensure that a full range of New Zealand's natural heritage is protected in perpetuity, and must provide a supportive legal framework.
• Establishment of a Conservation Foundation to set priorities and allocate funds.
• DOC’s advocacy role must be removed to enable them to focus on management.
• ACT will review all Conservation/Environment associated legislation to reflect these principles:
o acceptance of property rights, including tradeability and portability of property rights.
o the concept of 'net conservation benefit'.
o Environmental legislation to be effects-based, which implies substantial changes the RMA.
(ACT has a separate RMA Policy that details these changes).
Discussion
We should value our environment.
Clean water, fresh air, efficient disposal of waste and the preservation of important natural and historical features are all important for the quality of life.
A key cause of excess environmental exploitation and a failure to preserve valuable environmental assets is the absence of clear, enforceable private property rights.
Often governments are the cause of the problem.
Sometimes they pass laws that exempt them from being sued for imposing common law harms on the community.
Avoidable impairments to private property rights also impair prosperity,
in the absence of which it is difficult to afford a cleaner environment and to preserve assets.
Significant environmental problems in New Zealand include:
• Local problems with urban water quality, waste water treatment and disposal, and pipeline maintenance.
• The pollution of some streams and lakes as a result of run-off from farms.
• The threat to native species and farming posed by uncontrolled pests (such as possum, rabbits).
• The control of hazardous substances, such as pesticides, and of waste products.
Global warming could benefit or harm New Zealanders depending on its magnitude.
Either way, the Kyoto Protocol is not the answer.
In March 2002, The Wall Street Journal Europe stated that it is a monstrosity that could cost trillions of dollars “to achieve a goal that will probably not avert a threat that no one is sure the world faces”.
On current trends, the United States, India and Canada will account for around 75 per cent of global emissions within 10 years.
What they do does count.
Contentious conservation issues include the preservation of native bush and historic sites, national park management, preservation priorities, and funding.
The government owns vast tracts of New Zealand land, yet governments have been incapable of setting clear priorities or funding the management of the conservation estate.
Governments often fail to price resources correctly.
For example, under-priced water encourages waste, and air pollution can result from under-priced, congested, roads.
Too many local governments are bad owners of water systems
and inefficient decision-makers.
The general public is constantly told that without environmental regulation there would be no law, only unconstrained environmental exploitation.
However, the common law provides remedies for most environmental nuisances.
Non point source air pollution is a notable exception.
Much government environmental regulation is unsound.
Researchers report that very little federal environmental regulation in the United States produces net benefits.
Governments too often use relatively unimportant environmental issues to reduce liberty.
Current regulatory policies in respect of energy efficiency, biodiversity, genetic modification and the Kyoto Protocol rely for their appeal on scare-mongering rather than competent analysis.
Too much legislation is fundamentally predatory and anti-development.
The hostility to private property rights is particularly evident in the resistance to compensation for regulatory takings.
ACT agrees with those who see the Resource Management Act 1991 as a major inhibitor of economic development.
Firearms & Hunting
Executive summary
Outdoor recreation, hunting and shooting sports are part of New Zealand’s heritage.
Firearms:
• ACT will keep New Zealand’s current firearms law, and will:
o Impose tougher penalties for carrying firearms in crimes of coercion or violence,
and o Abolish 10 yearly licence renewal,
but charge the cost of checking and updating licence data to licence holders who have not kept it current.
• ACT will not allow U.N. treaties to force changes to New Zealand’s firearms laws.
Hunting:
• ACT respects the values and skills developed and practiced by hunting, and other uses of the outdoors.
• ACT is committed to protecting endangered species
and excluding game animals from reserves where that is important for conservation.
• ACT will not allow deer, thar and chamois to retain pest status elsewhere.
Outdoors:
• ACT will not tolerate unlawful blocking of access to public land including the Queen’s chain,
or allow distinction or privileges in access based on race.
• ACT will reform all laws that unfairly target landowners with liability for visitors
or override our right to choose risky pastimes provided we don’t put others at risk.
• ACT will confine 1080 use as follows:
o Hand or ground laying must be used where feasible.
o Prohibitions on bait types, sizes and strengths greater than necessary for the legitimate target species.
o Repellents for non-target valuable species must be used in baits as soon as they are effective and available at a reasonable cost.
A vote for ACT is a vote for New Zealand’s current firearms laws,
and toughening up on the misuse of firearms,
and for preservation of hunting, shooting and outdoor recreation.
Foreign Affairs & Trade
Executive summary
ACT says that New Zealand must maintain a credible foreign affairs and defence posture if we are to demonstrate that we are a useful (if small) player in helping to maintain security and stability in our part of the world.
Our continued prosperity depends on the prosperity of our trading partners so we have a vested interest in working with our friends and allies to develop and strengthen regional and global peace and stability.
ACT believes:
• New Zealanders should be able to stand proud internationally
as a freedom-loving and supporting people
that pulls its weight in supporting the development of open, liberal, stable democratic societies
and the preservation of peace.
• New Zealand should have an extensive range of healthy diplomatic relationships linking it to the international community
and particularly nourish those with whom we have the strongest common interests in relation to trade and defence.
• New Zealand should always advocate free trade and open financial markets internationally,
and practice what it preaches.
• New Zealand should resist processes that would see international treaties have a binding effect on New Zealand without due scrutiny by Parliament.
• With their stand on the Kyoto Protocol and defence relationships the government is aligning us with international interests that do not have New Zealand's interests at heart.
It is pure folly for New Zealand governments to affront our nearest and most powerful neighbours unnecessarily.
ACT's goal:
• To realign foreign policy to reflect New Zealand's economic and strategic defence needs.
ACT’s proposals:
• Ensure that foreign policy puts more weight on improving relationships with our traditional allies
and our most important trading partners in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Review New Zealand's foreign aid programme in order to better foster the economic, political, social and security development of Pacific Island countries,
while accepting our special responsibilities in the Pacific.
• Resist the use of foreign treaties to impose illiberal policies on New Zealanders that have not be properly tested for their conformity with rigorous constitutional, regulatory and parliamentary scrutiny.
• Achieve free trade for New Zealand,
seek to negotiate a free trade agreement with the United States,
and support the WTO's endeavours in respect of free trade.
• Seek to rebuild diplomatic and political relationships with Australia and the United States.
Discussion
As an exporting nation New Zealand's prosperity depends on being able to export and import freely.
As a small country we depend on collective security arrangements for national defence.
It follows that the prime focus of foreign affairs and trade policies must be to protect New Zealand's economic interests
and to preserve the relationships that are crucial to national defence.
Our economic security depends on getting our external and domestic policy settings right.
It means taking in the whole picture - so that our international interests are advanced through a range of soundly based foreign affairs, trade and security principles.
Free trade is important for New Zealand simply because protectionist policies effectively tax some domestic industries in order to favour others.
But New Zealand's commitment to free trade as a matter of domestic policy is also important for our credibility in the international arena.
We advocate free trade in part because we want other countries to reduce import barriers so that we can export to them more freely.
ACT supports the rule of international law,
a global trading system that pressures all countries, large and small, to conform to open-trading rules,
and an effective United Nations.
We support New Zealand's commitment to international peacekeeping and peace-making operations - as demonstrated in such farflung locations as the Balkans, the Gulf, Bougainville, and East Timor.
ACT has grave reservations about New Zealand's foreign aid programme.
A government minister recently had the honesty to point out that in at least one country it was being used to bolster a corrupt regime.
ACT does not preach the virtues of liberty in New Zealand and support aid programmes that assist rulers to suppress liberties in poorer neighbouring countries.
In planning to ratify the Kyoto Protocol rather than align ourselves with Australia and the United States and in publicly attacking the integrity of the Japanese government over whaling, the Labour/Alliance government is distancing us internationally from valued allies and trade partners.
It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the rush to ratify Kyoto reflects ministerial egos and the desire to grandstand at international forums rather than any sober analysis of New Zealanders' environmental, economic and diplomatic interests.
Government Expenditure
Executive summary
Government, in all its forms, spends about 40 percent of gross domestic product.
That is more than $33,000 for each household and more than $23,000 for each member of the labour force.
Government is also a major landlord and employer.
It therefore plays a dominant role in New Zealand life.
Hardworking, ordinary New Zealand families make big sacrifices to pay the taxes that fund government spending.
Yet wasteful and misguided spending is harming the economy and society.
ACT believes:
• New Zealanders can spend their own money on needed private goods and services better than governments.
• Choice and user empowerment will improve outcomes in health and education.
• Government spending should be focused on core government activities, including the provision of public goods that are a state responsibility - such as public order and safety, defence, essential public services, infrastructure and administration.
• The welfare state should be focused on alleviating poverty.
ACT's goals:
• Focus government expenditure on activities that support liberty and economic freedom – the true engine of growth.
• Reduce the ratio of government spending to gross domestic product at least to levels achieved by more successful countries – such as Australia, Ireland, Singapore and the United States.
• Sharply reduce welfare dependency (see separate discussion paper).
• Focus spending on improving core activities
- such as law and order,
roads,
and defence.
ACT proposals:
• Hold the growth in government spending below the growth in gross domestic product.
• Reduce spending and dependency through welfare and labour market reform.
• ACT’s welfare and market reforms will result in reduced dependency which in turn will result in reduced social welfare spending.
• Reduce middle class churning in health, education and superannuation.
• Consider the need for the state to own businesses,
thereby, enabling the resources tied up in these to be given back as tax cuts,
or better resourcing of key areas such as police
and education.
• Cut waste in core activities,
and downsize local government.
• Improve outcomes in core activities,
including roads.
• Abolish the Cullen Superannuation scheme that this year costs $1. 8 billion,
to be invested mainly overseas
and will add not one job to the New Zealand Economy.
Treasury states the scheme does not make superannuation more affordable.
• Stop poor quality spending such as Jim Anderton’s picking winners in business,
social spending such as “Closing the Gaps”
and politically correct spending, for example, Maori Television.
Discussion
Economic research finds that when government spending is as high as it is in New Zealand it reduces potential living standards
by limiting economic growth.
Research also indicates that the big increase in public spending that has occurred in many wealthy countries since the 1960s has failed to improve other indicators of human welfare such as life expectancy or infant mortality.
No country has sustained per capita economic growth of 4 percent per annum
with spending at 40 percent of gross domestic product.
One expert has estimated that each dollar of excessive spending funded from taxes is costing New Zealanders $1.50.
The extra fifty cents results from the ways in which taxes and spending programmes distort behaviour.
Reducing government spending from 40 percent of GDP to 30 percent would add 0.5 percentage points per annum to economic growth, a five percent increase spread over a decade.
On this basis, middle class churning (taxing those on middle incomes and above in order to pay for things that they could have paid for themselves anyway) alone could be costing New Zealanders around 5 percent of gross domestic product a year.
(An estimated 46 percent of government social spending benefits the top 60 percent of taxpayers.)
Health
Executive summary
Since 1970 Government spending on health has trebled in real terms driven by technological advances, ever-increasing demand for more services, and an ageing population.
Relative to other countries the performance of our health sector is falling, with the World Health Organisation ranking New Zealand 41st (behind Columbia, Chile and Cuba).
The main problems are uncertainty, wastage, lack of choice and political interference.
ACC grossly distorts the health system with the injured receiving more favourable treatment than those incapacitated through illness.
Currently, only through the purchase of “top-up” private health insurance can New Zealanders obtain a degree of confidence about their access to care.
ACT believes:
• We must put aside the politically correct dogma opposing private health providers.
We should utilise both public and private health services
to deliver the best possible outcomes for New Zealanders.
• Waiting lists are not tolerable.
No patient should wait beyond the recommended safe time for treatment.
Where the public hospital cannot deliver service within an acceptable time we should use the private sector; e.g., the recommended maximum time for radiotherapy following breast cancer is four weeks and yet some women have been untreated after 15 weeks.
• There must be greater emphasis on prevention,
self-responsibility
and early primary care.
• New Zealanders should be free to choose their own health service providers
with their own money in a competitive environment.
• New Zealanders should accept responsibility for their own lifestyle choices that influence health.
• New Zealanders should be able to enjoy high quality and timely health and medical services.
• Funding should facilitate competition from the private sector on a level playing field basis.
• State funding should not displace private funding from users' own resources and private insurance.
• The artificial barrier between primary and secondary health care should be removed, allowing for more innovative and comprehensive health care options.
• The state should focus on public health issues
and supporting those who cannot make adequate private arrangements.
• With proper price signals, scarcity and queues will be a thing of the past.
A climate of healthy competition should exist between the private and (reduced) public provision of those services, irrespective of the funding source.
ACT's goals:
• Fully empower patients, not politicians, bureaucrats or professional unions.
• Put much greater emphasis on prevention,
self-responsibility
and early primary care.
• Focus public policy on public health and quality assurance issues.
• Ensure New Zealanders can achieve the security of contracts that define the services to which they are entitled.
• Continue public support for those who are unable to make adequate private arrangements.
• See an efficient, world class health system emerge - allowing waiting lists to be eliminated
except for those dependent on public support where rationing for non-urgent services will always occur.
• Restore confidence in the nation's health system.
ACT’s proposals:
• Cut taxes so that taxpayers fund their own comprehensive health insurance and other private arrangements directly out of their own pockets.
• Encourage non-government provision of health care facilities and services.
• Review health regulations including occupational licensing, in order to allow providers to respond more flexibly to patients' requirements and hire qualified overseas expertise.
• Move to acceptance of qualified overseas drug evaluations, rather than repeat testing in New Zealand.
• Oblige government to clearly define the role of the public health system it is committed to provide, preferably in the form of an enforceable contract.
• Focus state action on addressing health-related public good issues including quality assurance.
• Free professionals from undue constraints imposed by bureaucrats and professional unions.
• ACT will promote the private system to reduce waiting lists.
• Increase spending on real health services (medical and nursing staff)
by reducing spending on health Administration and bureaucracy.
• Significant increase in focus on preventative health care measures.
• Review mental health policies to reverse problems caused by the closure of psychiatric hospitals.
• Stop race-based health spending.
ACT is not opposed to Maori community based health initiatives,
providing such schemes don’t discriminate and are available to non-Maori.
• Health shouldn’t be considered in isolation.
A strong economy will lead to thriving health services and will address shortages of healthcare workers – doctors, nurses, career radiotherapists and other health professionals.
• No cuts to health spending.
Discussion
The failure of the health system to deliver health services needed by New Zealanders has been admitted by Government.
The long waiting lists, unceasing headlines of crises in mental health, loss of specialists, and nurse strikes are simply symptomatic of a centrally controlled state system that in the words of the Minister of Health, cannot be expected to deliver health services to the standard of Australia, the United States, or even the United Kingdom.
The combination of a poorly run health system, and poor economic growth, has resulted in government being unable to meet the health expectations of the public.
Our public system fails to reward prevention or to penalise behaviour that puts health at risk.
If it did, many might prefer to lose weight, stop smoking, immunise their children or make an early visit to a GP rather than wait until they require costly hospital care or drugs.
A health system that used pricing signals would create the right incentives and encourage more responsible behaviour for both providers and consumers of health services.
We do not score highly for health attainment compared to other developed countries.
In 2000 the OECD ranked New Zealand at 41st.
As with education we cannot blame bad outcomes on a failure to increase spending.
From 1992 to 1999 real per capita spending on health rose at 2.4 percent per annum for public spending and 3.8 percent pa for private spending.
Our core problems arise in the nationalised sections of the industry and in the distortions caused by dominant health funding and regulation.
It is in the public hospitals and the funding of pharmaceuticals and obstetric care that problems of uncertainty, wastage, lack of choice, rationing by queue and political interference are most evident.
The difficulties here and in accident compensation spill over into other sectors.
For example, ACC distorts the health system by ensuring that the injured receive more favourable treatment than those incapacitated through illness.
As patients of the state health system we find that power has been taken from us and handed to politicians, bureaucrats and professional unions.
Professional staff are usually doing their best,
but are frustrated by shortages and red tape.
State monopoly cuts down choice and freedom and suppresses the price mechanisms that would otherwise signal need and scarcity.
In contrast, the primary health care sector, where general practitioners and other private health professionals operate more like private businesses, is the source of much less dissatisfaction.
Government moves to remove user charges in this sector promise to produce soviet-style queues in doctors' surgeries in due course.
Currently, New Zealanders can obtain a degree of confidence about their access to care only through the purchase of 'top-up' private health insurance.
Those with health insurance mostly receive prompt quality treatment at private hospitals while those without it languish on public hospital waiting lists.
Again the burden of an unsatisfactory public system is likely to fall most heavily on the lowest socio-economic groups.
Housing
Executive summary
The last census showed that there are some 315,000 rental housing units in New Zealand.
Of these 230,000 are owned privately, 70,000 are owned by the state and 15,000 by local authorities.
Labour has moved away from providing fair assistance to all low-income tenants through the accommodation supplement to a system, which discriminates in favour of the minority of tenants who choose the state housing system.
This policy effectively penalises all other low-income tenants.
As a result, we have seen the predicted growth of waiting lists for subsidised state housing.
People in real housing need are now facing longer waits, as there is no incentive for others to move out of a state house once circumstances improve.
Further, the Government has failed to address a major cause of almost 40,000 applications to the Tenancy Tribunal – the state agency which deals with disputes landlords and tenants cannot sort out between themselves – by landlords against their tenants a year.
These complaints fall into two basic categories – failure to pay the rent and recompense for damage to property.
ACT believes:
• The state should have a limited role in providing rental housing,
but should play a role in the provision of special housing such as community housing, housing for the disabled, emergency housing and the like.
• Where appropriate State housing tenants should be encouraged into home ownership
but should not have financial privileges over other tenants.
ACT’s Proposals:
• Provide financial assistance for housing to all tenants who need it through the accommodation supplement.
• Reduce the state’s capital investment in housing.
• In order to significantly reduce the number of disputes going to the Tenancy Tribunal amend the Residential Tenancies Act to introduce an obligation on the Ministry of Social Development to provide officers of the court with the address of a beneficiary who is a former tenant for the purpose of serving a court order for rent arrears or for compensation for property damage.
• Ensure that charges for metered wastewater are the responsibility of the tenant.
• Enable beneficiaries who are tenants to have their rent deducted at source, if they so choose.
• Encourage home ownership of state houses through rent-to-buy programmes.
Immigration
Executive summary
Immigration policies affect what sort of society we want to create for our grandchildren.
They are not something to be turned off and on like a tap for short-term political gain.
Migration is a good barometer of New Zealand's attractiveness.
When the economy is struggling more people leave and fewer arrive.
Large swings between net inflow and net outflow can have repercussions, in housing markets, and for local infrastructure and planning.
Immigration can expose weaknesses in our occupational licensing arrangements, employment laws, schools, housing, and welfare systems.
It is disappointing to see so many skilled immigrants working as taxi-drivers in our major cities, unable to get jobs that would use their skills.
Under Labour, 140,500 New Zealand nationals have left New Zealand permanently.
With arrivals of 57,000, there has been a net loss of 83,000 New Zealand nationals.
ACT believes:
• Policies that promote the prosperity of New Zealanders at large, and attract New Zealanders to return home, will best achieve a stable net migration inflow.
• New Zealand cannot afford the politics of envy.
Labour's tax increases for workers give New Zealanders another reason for emigrating, while making us less attractive to skilled immigrants.
• It is preferable for immigration to result in immigrants working and productively contributing to New Zealand society, rather than have immigrants languishing on welfare.
• We should be aiming for net inflows of New Zealanders of around 30,00 to 40,000 persons per year.
• We should be aiming to attract the ablest and most productive people
(while making allowances for refugees,
and family reunion cases).
• It is essential to reduce employment law barriers,
including addressing issues of anti-competitive occupational licensing arrangements.
• The education system should be able to respond more freely to any language problems arising from immigration.
• Immigrants should not have easy access to welfare.
• There should be no special government privileges for immigrants - these are a recipe for multicultural strife.
• Immigration consultants should not be licensed.
ACT's goal:
• To attract able and productive immigrants
and retain able and productive New Zealanders.
ACT’s proposals:
• Cut tax rates.
• Cap the tax burden of the highest-earning individuals to attract talented entrepreneurs, and others with valuable international connections,
and retain New Zealanders who would otherwise leave.
• Adopt other immigrant welcoming policies within an overall annual quota set at a level that the country can absorb.
• Aim to attract the ablest and most productive people
(while making allowances for refugees,
family reunion cases
and New Zealand's special responsibilities relating to some Pacific Island countries).
• Reduced employment law barriers,
including addressing issues of anti-competitive occupational licensing arrangements.
• Easy access to welfare for immigrants will be curbed,
and there will be no special government privileges for immigrants - we need Immigration with Integration.
• Investigate trying a settlement fee system for part of the annual intake.
• Investigate changing the rules to allow those with work permits to extend their stay and under certain circumstances be eligible to apply for residency.
• Increased responsiveness in the education system to language problems arising from immigration.
Discussion
The degree to which a country allows people to freely enter and leave is a measure of its attitude to liberty.
Immigrants bring new hopes, new ideas, skills and entrepreneurial attitudes.
They challenge our ways of doing things.
They provide links with markets.
They bring cultural enrichment and diversity.
Migration enriches our lives in both directions.
The "OE" is part of New Zealand folklore.
Under Labour, we have seen 178,000 persons leave permanently in gross terms, and of these, 140,000 were New Zealand nationals.
In the same time, we have seen 191,000 persons arrive permanently, but of whom only 57,000 were New Zealanders returning .
Far from taking jobs from locals, immigration actually increases jobs.
Commonly around 50-70,000 people arrive each year on a permanent or long-term basis.
During the last decade the average total net inflow on a long-term basis was around 8,000 a year.
The benefit we derive from immigration depends on how well we deal with the problems of language, culture and absorption that can arise.
Immigration has exposed weaknesses in our occupational licensing arrangements, employment laws, schools, housing and welfare systems.
It is not acceptable to see so many skilled immigrants working as taxi-drivers in our major cities, unable to get jobs that would use their skills.
New Zealand adapted remarkably well to the higher inflows in the early 1990s, particularly the new encounters with Asian immigrants.
The anti-immigration political opportunism that appealed to a small minority was disgraceful and did enormous damage to New Zealand's reputation in the region.
Immigration policies affect what sort of society we want to create for our grandchildren.
They are not something to be turned off and on like a tap for short-term political gain.
Migration is a good barometer of New Zealand's attractiveness.
When the economy is struggling more people leave and fewer arrive.
We lost 155,000 people on a long-term basis during the six difficult years from 1976 to 1981 that followed the first OPEC oil shock.
That is approaching the population of Wellington city.
In the next decade we lost another 122,000, a bit more than the population of Dunedin.
In contrast, during the years of economic recovery from 1993 to 1996 we gained 87,000 more than we lost.
During this period, permanent and long-term arrivals averaged 69,000 a year.
Unfortunately, New Zealand lost competitiveness and become less attractive during the period of the first MMP government.
There have been net outflows on a long-term basis for three of the last five calendar years.
Such outflows reduce national confidence, put pressure on remaining taxpayers and call into question the value of subsidies for higher education.
Local Government
Executive summary
Local government, through its activities and regulatory operations, has a significant impact on the national economy.
Local body rates have been rising well in excess of inflation.
The Resource Management Act is proving unwieldy and costly to implement.
Compliance with this Act has become a bureaucratic nightmare.
Councils tend to rely on prescriptive controls rather than clearly specifying the desired objective, which can be achieved by a variety of methods.
Giving local bodies the power of general competence is a recipe for increased rates and reduced services.
Residents can expect to see the basic services increasingly ignored by their council, as they spend on more exciting things.
ACT believes:
• Too many local bodies are hostile to development,
biased against business
and easily captured by narrow interest groups.
• Giving them the power of general competence will exacerbate their propensity to spend and regulate unwisely.
• Local government must be made to focus on core activities - such as regulation and flood control that produce general public benefits that must be rate funded.
• Commercial activities and commercial risks are best left to the private sector.
• The rates burden on households and businesses is currently too high and must be reduced.
Likewise, the costs of complying with the Resource Management Act and other regulatory regimes.
ACT's goals:
• Reduce the rates burden on households and businesses.
• Promote the contracting out of many council services.
• Lower the costs of complying with the Resource Management Act and other regulatory regimes.
ACT’s proposals:
• To undertake a review of local government functions so that the powers of local government are clearly defined and constrained – getting local government back to basics.
• A reduction to people’s rates burden through constraints on the spending powers of councils.
• ACT would investigate placing greater restrictions on councils ability to impose harsh or unfair levels of rates on people.
• Would investigate incentives for greater co-operation between local authorities, in an effort to remove costly duplication of functions.
Greater collaboration and joint approaches to activities would yield significant savings for the country’s ratepayers.
• To require local government to progressively shed its commercial activities thereby eliminating the need to separate the regulatory and commercial functions of local authorities.
• The prevailing two-tiered structure will be reviewed in favour of integrated local bodies that incorporate the environmental responsibilities of both regional and local councils.
This will also contribute to a more effective implementation of the Resource Management Act.
• Promote the option that roads and piped water are supplied on a fully commercial basis.
• Require councils to focus much more on their core functions.
• Ensure there is much greater scrutiny of regulations that undermine property rights without compensation.
ACT's initiatives will substantially reduce the burden on ratepayers,
while increasing the ability of local government to focus on activities than cannot be done better by others.
Discussion
Local government, through its activities and regulatory operations, has a significant impact on the national economy and the life of every New Zealander.
Local government can lack focus.
It can neglect the efficient performance of its core responsibilities while assuming others that are better handled by central government or private initiatives.
Rates have increased at twice the rate of inflation in the last decade, yet local governments are asset rich; in 2001 they collectively owned $47 billion in assets, but only owed $4 billion.
Enduring problems with local government include grandiose expenditure projects,
a predatory approach to businesses in setting rating differentials,
a reluctance to divest assets
or to properly define and focus on their core businesses of water quality, sewage disposal, town and regional planning bureaucracies and (increasingly in Auckland and Wellington) congested roads.
Councils are too often permitted to exercise dictatorial powers without been required to count the cost.
Problems have often been exacerbated by:
• A lack of technical competence within councils.
• A tendency to rely on prescriptive regulatory controls, based on unclear objectives.
• A tendency to disregard the interests of ratepayers when spending their money.
• Conflicting roles and responsibilities.
ACT is strongly opposed to the proposal to give local bodies the power of general competence because of these systemic weaknesses.
Local bodies are not privy to information about incomes, and the provision of social services (e.g. housing) will further reduce the coherence of central government welfare.
Red Tape and Regulation
Executive summary
Governments have increasingly smothered productive individuals and businesses with red tape and bureaucracy.
They cost us millions of dollars each year,
and a disproportionate burden falls on the selfemployed and small to medium sized businesses.
These businesses supply most of our jobs, yet are weighted down with frustrating regulations.
Far too much legislation is ill conceived.
Contributing factors include naivety,
interest group pressures,
undue haste,
bad processes,
and inadequate protections for liberty, including minority rights.
Labour doesn’t understand business.
Regulatory excesses are undermining freedom, personal responsibility and prosperity.
The recent Ministerial Panel on Business Compliance Costs identified many regulations that were holding businesses back, including tax, employment, RMA, ACC and health & safety regulations.
However, the Government has done nothing to ease the problems.
ACT believes:
• In personal responsibility
and freedom.
• Elimination of unnecessary regulation
and red tape
will free New Zealanders to create jobs and wealth.
Defects in legislation need to be eliminated at source.
Remedies aimed at alleviating its symptoms are likely to be ineffectual.
• A focus on business compliance costs is too narrow.
It should be on the overall costs and benefits to New Zealanders generally.
• Far too much legislation is ill conceived.
Contributing factors include interest group pressures,
undue haste,
bad processes,
and inadequate protections for liberty and citizen rights.
• Regulatory excesses are undermining our liberty
and prosperity.
• Regulations that displace the common law should attract particularly close scrutiny.
• Regulations that fail to allow adults to opt out of their provisions by mutual consent are also suspect.
• Defects in legislation need to be eliminated at source.
Tinkering only leads to more problems and cynicism.
ACT's goals:
• Increase the role for the common law in regulating interactions between individuals.
• Eliminate unnecessary regulation
and red tape,
and free New Zealanders to create jobs and wealth.
• Make it harder for governments to pass bad regulations in future.
• Simplify remaining regulations where possible, making compliance less costly.
ACT’s proposals:
• Review all regulations
in order to eliminate burdensome elements that fail a rigorous regulatory assessment.
• Introduce a Regulatory Responsibility Act that would that make it harder to impose regulations in future in the absence of a well substantiated need.
• Require the issue of compensation to be formally addressed whenever a regulation is proposed that would impair property rights.
• Give priority to radically reducing the burden of regulation in respect of employment, economic development and taxation.
Discussion
New Zealand benefited greatly from the elimination of import licensing and wage, price, foreign exchange and interest rate controls in the 1980s and 1990s.
Unfortunately, governments have since smothered productive people with red tape and bureaucracy.
These cost businesses and the economy millions of dollars each year.
Small businesses supply most of our jobs, yet they are weighted down with regulations and associated compliance costs and risks.
Moreover, despite their efforts, the volume of regulation is so large and so impenetrable that businesses will seldom be able to fully comply with it.
They have to fly blind.
This puts them at risk of being ruined at any time by a regulator who chooses to pick on them.
The recent ministerial panel on business compliance costs identified many regulations that were holding businesses back.
These included tax, employment, RMA, ACC and health and safety regulations.
Even so, a focus on business compliance costs is too narrow.
It should be on the overall costs and benefits to New Zealanders generally.
This would show even greater net costs to society as a whole.
Experience and research indicates that most regulations would fail to pass a cost-benefit test.
Much regulation embodies fuzzy terms that no one can be sure what they have to do in order to comply - such as the concepts of "intrinsic value", "good faith bargaining", "sustainable management" and compliance with unwritten "treaty principles".
Such laws are bad law.
Legislators often seem unaware that the common law even exists when they displace it with inferior parliamentary law.
Regulations seldom allow people to opt out of their provisions by mutual agreement.
In contrast, the common law generally provides wide freedom of contract.
This difference arises because all too often regulators aim to impose outcomes on people regardless of their preferences or the cost to human welfare.
In contrast, the common law is concerned to provide rules that people can modify where mutually convenient in order to pursue outcomes of their own choosing.
Resource Management Act
Executive summary
The Resource Management Act is the greatest inhibitor of economic development in this country.
Every Government report on red tape and compliance costs has identified the RMA as a major problem, incurring costs far in excess of any environmental benefit.
It is stifling opportunities and costing jobs.
It’s been over a decade, and the problems are not going away.
They are getting worse.
It is time to admit the Act has failed.
ACT believes:
• The flaws in the RMA are so fundamental that no amount of tinkering can solve them.
Centrally planned development is not a sustainable activity.
• A much greater role for common law actions and remedies must be restored.
• The RMA illustrates most of the legislative failings that are listed in ACT's discussion papers on the environment and conservation, and regulation.
• There should be no presumption that over-riding 'umbrella' legislation is desirable.
The best solutions to problems in the common law relating to non-point source pollution, for example, might be found only on a case-by-case basis.
• The RMA should not be considered in isolation.
It is 'merely' a manifestation of a general approach.
ACT's goals:
• To focus environmental legislation on specific cases in which it can clearly achieve superior outcomes to common law processes.
• To alleviate its excesses, while it remains in place, by seeking opportunities to move back to common law disciplines in terms of standing, definition of harm, and awarding of costs and remedies.
• To provide for compensation for the removal of common law property rights.
ACT’s proposals:
• Review the RMA on a first-principle basis,
removing all the generalised central planning and command and control elements.
• Restore a much greater role for common law actions and remedies.
• In the interim, seek opportunities to:
o Restrict its scope to areas where the common law could be deficient.
o Refocus it on achieving a balance of benefits and costs rather than on particular outcomes.
o Remove the extremism embodied in the presumption that there are absolute environmental and conservation values.
Benefits, as valued by persons, must be balanced against costs.
o Move to restore common law disciplines that relate to standing, definition of harm, remedies for injunctive relief and awarding of costs.
o Increase the liability to pay compensation for regulatory takings.
o Strengthen the requirement in section 32 to consider alternatives to regulatory controls
and to assess costs and benefits in relation to regulatory takings.
o Strengthen the need to address the issue of compensation where private property is taken or regulated for public good purposes.
• To alleviate its excesses, while it remains in place, by seeking opportunities to move back to common law disciplines in terms of standing, definition of harm, and awarding of costs and remedies.
• To provide for compensation for the removal of common law property rights.
• Private property rights must be recognised and never appropriated without compensation.
• Refocus it on achieving a balance of benefits and costs rather than on particular outcomes.
• Costs should be awarded against individuals and groups who make spurious objections.
Discussion
A case study in bad regulation.
ACT agrees with those who say the Resource Management Act 1991 is one of the greatest obstacles to economic development in the country.
It also has many bad environmental aspects.
It is no coincidence that it is also a great attack on the sanctity of property rights and therefore individual liberty.
The RMA over-rides common law mechanisms, processes and procedures for resolving conflicts as if they do not exist.
In so doing it evades proper economic and constitutional considerations.
Compliance with this Act has become a bureaucratic nightmare.
The lives and businesses of decent and productive citizens have been damaged emotionally and financially.
The costs of complying with the RMA have been a major concern to the business and farming community for many years.
Its flaws stem from its fundamental purpose.
The RMA uses the fuzzy concept of sustainable management to exercise arbitrary power over landowners and developers.
The word for this is tyranny.
The RMA allows property owners to be intimidated, held up, and even bankrupted by bureaucrats, competitors and opportunistic objectors.
By politicising issues it can threaten to tear communities apart.
The heated resistance by objectors to the payment of compensation for regulatory takings illustrates the fundamentally predatory nature of the forces unleashed.
A fundamental problem is that the legislation is not directed at overcoming identified deficiencies in the common law in respect of environmental problems.
To the degree that it turns assets into liabilities as far as property owners are concerned it creates incentives that work against preservation and conservation.
Rural Issues
Executive summary
Under Labour, farmers face-worsening compliance costs that threaten the country’s competitive advantage and make adding value difficult.
Despite a low dollar, high prices, and generally good growing conditions the Labour Government’s actions have prevented rural businesses obtaining the full benefit.
Rural NZ produces 44% of the nation's exports, employs 100,000 people and represents 6% of our total GDP, yet access to quality social and commercial services and security are a problem in many rural communities.
ACT believes:
• We must improve the business climate so new investment, jobs and increased profitability can be shared by all the community.
A higher growth rate is achievable with better economic management.
• Rural New Zealand can continue to be the lynch pin of the economy well into the future, with deregulation, lower tax rates, less government, smarter investment, and focused research.
• Profitable rural businesses are the best safeguard for a strong rural infrastructure and acceptable level of social services.
ACT’s proposals:
• Reduce compliance costs in key areas affecting farming, particularly the Resource Management Act.
Reform of local bodies to remove a layer of government
and restrict to providing public services.
• Work towards a low flat tax, simplifying the current system and rewarding those who work hard, invest wisely and save for their future.
ACT would reduce costs by removing ACC’s monopoly.
• More effort from both the state and private sectors in freeing trade internationally.
• Roading, telecommunications and electricity are vital services for rural people.
ACT favours having a strong network
operated by competing private sector providers.
ACT would fund roading through fuel taxes, road user charges and tolls rather than land based rates.
• Policies on health, education and welfare which benefit rural families through the better use of private and public provision and having less New Zealanders relying on welfare payments.
• ACT is the strongest party on law and order, backing the public's unanimous call for tougher sentencing and reducing crime.
ACT will make our homes, farms and streets safer.
Superannuation
Executive summary
New Zealand’s spending on superannuation is twice that of Australia’s.
Our scheme is less well targeted and more generous.
Over 50 years the cost will rise to 10% of GDP - the same as the first Labour Government’s total spending on everything!
Too many political parties make irresponsible promises to buy votes.
They see the future as someone else's problem and believe they can make promises on behalf of politicians 40 years from now.
Labour’s superannuation scheme does just this.
It is smoke and mirrors.
It doesn’t change the fact that we have the most costly superannuation regime in the world, nor improve our chances of funding it.
It will be paid for by the hard work and sweat of this generation of workers who will be in for a nasty surprise when they come to retire.
ACT believes:
• There should be a welfare safety net for young and old alike who are unable to work.
• When governments promise a generous universal pension they undermine thrift and prosperity.
Instead they breed dependency, conflict and distrust.
• Economic growth is the most important factor in ensuring generous superannuation payments.
• New Zealand's current arrangements are not sustainable long term.
Adjustments should be made progressively to eligibility rules and pension levels
without disadvantaging those too old to adjust.
• People anticipate and plan for their retirement as they do for other calls on their savings.
• There should be a welfare safety net for working age and older people who cannot work.
• When governments promise a generous universal pension they undermine thrift, self-reliance and prosperity; instead they breed dependency, sectional selfishness, conflict and distrust.
• New Zealand's arrangements are basically consistent with the safety net concept, but they are overly lavish and inadequately targeted.
• Other eligibility criterion, such as citizenship, should be reviewed.
• Economic growth is the most important policy for achieving security in retirement.
Tomorrow's workers will not accept our voting ourselves a comfortable state pension at their expense.
ACT's goals:
• To progressively convert the scheme to a safety net.
• To protect from hardship those who have retired or are about to retire.
ACT’s proposals:
• Allow individuals to generate economic growth and promote prosperity.
• Reduce income taxes and promote full employment to facilitate retirement savings.
• Pursue a 'no surprises' policy on superannuation.
There has never been a reasoned public debate about the proper role of the state, the conditions of eligibility and the relationship between the level of the benefit for invalids and for the elderly.
• The long-term solution to superannuation is funded super.
Everyone with their own account
in the superannuation scheme of their choice.
ACT as a party of choice and freedom and recognises that the state should not compel those who have made adequate arrangements to save twice.
• There has been too much party politics on super, causing great or unnecessary worry.
ACT would seek a genuine multi-party accord and the parties are not as far apart as they pretend.
• All parties agree the present retired – who are on fixed incomes should be ring fenced.
• All parties agree that those who cannot provide for themselves – the invalids, those with no income, should have an adequate state pension.
• All parties agree that demographic change will impact on superannuation.
• ACT says we should attempt to agree on as much as possible.
Discussion
Retirement is a predictable expense.
In a liberal society, adults would take responsibility for providing for their own retirement.
Lower tax burdens and greater prosperity would make it easier for them to do so.
The state could provide a safety net as a last resort for the minority who would otherwise be in poverty.
Too many political parties are making irresponsible promises about superannuation in order to buy votes.
They see the future financing of those promises as someone else's problem.
However, broken promises reduce confidence in our political system,
undermine our democracy,
and unsettle the aged.
The New Zealand government is spending around 6 percent of gross domestic product on cash benefits for the aged compared to around 3 percent in Australia.
New Zealand's scheme is less well targeted and more generous.
In 1995, a New Zealander aged 55 on an average or modestly below-average income might expect a gross retirement benefit that replaced around 61 percent of gross existing earnings.
This is up from 32 percent in 1961.
For Australia the comparable figures are 41 percent and 19 percent respectively.
With unchanged benefits, costs are expected to mount rapidly as the population ages.
Since every tax dollar spent is estimated to cost the community $1.50, this implies growing economic waste.
Concerns about intergenerational equity and the emigration of our youth would increase.
Unless there are dramatic changes to our living standards and savings habits there is a strong possibility that there age of eligibility for pensions would need to rise,
but in a manner that protects those close to retirement giving everyone time to adjust.
Pensions (and benefits) would need to be indexed to the consumers price index rather than to wages, as befits a safety net, with periodic (10-year) reviews
and pensions would need to be progressively aligned to the invalids benefit, with due allowance for age related costs.
In light of this a clear and precise transition path from where we are today to a situation where 95% of people are able to provide for themselves, while protecting the elderly, must become a priority.
Finally, the real way to make retirement affordable is to grow the economy at 4% plus sustainably.
A rich country can afford to be more generous.
Taxation
Executive summary
Taxation continues to place a huge burden on working New Zealanders.
Tax penalises people for working hard, and discourages investment and employment opportunities.
Overtaxing by successive governments has robbed New Zealanders of decades of economic growth.
Our living standards would be much higher if successive governments had lived within their means (like we have to do as households).
Government now takes 40% of everything we produce.
No country in the world has managed to deliver sustained improvement to the standard of living of its citizens while taking this much from them.
ACT believes;
• New Zealanders can make better decisions about how to spend their money than the government.
• Government spending and taxes are too high.
• The tax system has become much more complex and grasping than is desirable as a result.
• To lower the average tax burden, we have to reduce government spending.
• Lower tax rates are essential for future prosperity in New Zealand.
• High tax rates contribute to the exodus of our most skilled youth and major firms.
• A lower, flatter income tax would be fairer, more efficient and much simpler for businesses and individual taxpayers.
• The corporate tax rate should be the same as the top income tax rate.
• There should be no corporate welfare through the tax system.
• The revenue from an 18 percent flat tax would suffice, in conjunction with revenue from GST, to adequately fund the provision of necessary government activities.
ACT's goals:
• To make New Zealand the most pro-business, pro-jobs country in the developed world.
• Immediately reduce the top corporate and personal tax rate to 28% or lower.
• Initiate a five-year programme of tax cuts with the long-term aim of a flat tax rate of no more than 18%.
ACT’s proposals:
• Move to a two-tier tax system initially,
ensuring that those on low incomes are not made worse off.
ACT will cut taxes for every full time worker.
• Initiate a five-year programme of tax cuts.
ACT favours a staged programme of tax cuts towards a goal of 18%, leaving more money in people’s pockets.
• First stage is to move to a flatter tax rate structure, in line with the Government’s McLeod Review Team’s recommendations, with a top rate of 28%, a bottom rate of 18% and company tax of 28%.
There will be a limit on total tax to be paid of $1 million per individual.
This will attract investment and entrepreneurs to New Zealand.
• Implement the key recommendations of the McLeod report.
• Review the international tax regime in order to reduce the cost of capital to New Zealand borrowers and to encourage New Zealanders to participate in the global economy.
• Cap the total amount of income tax any individual must pay at $1 million a year in order to encourage high-net-worth immigration and successful New Zealanders to stay in New Zealand or return.
• Eliminate less efficient taxes as the fiscal position permits.
These include selective excise taxes, and the payroll tax to fund the ACC tail.
Some user charges are likely to fall into this category.
• Undertake a thorough review of the IRD to ensure it operates more effectively and is fair to taxpayers.
Discussion
Lower taxes for everyone.
The key purpose of a tax system is to provide enough revenue to fund government spending.
This revenue should be raised at the least cost to the economy.
This requires distorting the incentives and decisions of producers, consumers, and workers as little as possible.
Consequently, low rate, broad-based taxes more desirable than high rate, narrowly based taxes.
ACT is the only party saying that spending and taxes are already too high.
Lower taxes have been shown to boost economic growth and help create new jobs.
They also improve liberty and civil society.
One of ACT's biggest regrets is that we have not been able to persuade parliament to reduce the overall tax burden.
It takes a reduction in government spending to do this.
Instead, spending has been rising by more than a billion dollars a year, or 1 percent of gross domestic product.
ACT believes that New Zealanders can spend their own money better than the government can.
That is why we want to see working New Zealanders keeping more of what they earn.
With government spending at close to 40 percent of gross domestic product the underlying tax burden in New Zealand is considerably higher than in Australia.
The lift in the personal income tax rate to 39 percent makes us even less competitive.
The company tax rate of 33 percent is higher than the company tax rate in Australia of 30 percent.
New Zealand should have the lowest tax rates in the Pacific region if we are serious about growth and attracting investment.
New Zealand is the only OECD country to increase income tax rates in the past two years.
The rest of the developed world has realised that lower taxes are needed for prosperity, growth and jobs.
Taxation per capita during the 1990s has been around one third higher than in the mid-1970s, inflationadjusted.
Public account taxation alone is running at 40 percent of national disposable income.
The government is taking over $24,000 a year or $450 a week for the average household.
The average for householders that are net taxpayers will be much higher.
Governments waste much of this money.
They don't just waste it on ill-managed computer upgrades, compensation for criminals, or buildings.
They waste it on things people would never spend their own money on if they had the choice – poor schools, poor hospitals and disastrous welfare programmes.
Wasteful spending squanders more than just the money spent.
Research indicates that it costs the community $1.50 for each additional dollar spent out of taxation.
The additional 50 cents arises because of the costs of complying with the tax code and because of the unintended and undesired ways in which taxes and spending programmes alter behaviour.
Some estimates put the costs much higher.
Taxes are far more onerous than is desirable
The full record of IRD rulings is said to be equivalent in length to 350 bibles.
Experts agree that small businesses are least able to cope with the complexities.
Many lives are destroyed emotionally and financially as a result of an overly penal tax system.
Yet we look to small businesses to provide most of the jobs in the country.
ACT is also concerned that the tax system is too predatory towards highly skilled and wealthy individuals.
The top 33 percent of taxpayers now pay over 77 percent of the income tax collected.
Broad-based taxes limit the arbitrary boundaries between activities that lead to distortions as people seek to exploit them.
Broad-based taxes allow lower marginal and average tax rates for the activities that are taxed.
This also helps reduce distortions.
The McLeod Review and lower, flatter taxes
The recent McLeod Review of the tax system argued for a lower and flatter tax structure.
ACT agrees with this thrust.
Ultimately it favours a single rate of tax.
This would mean that most taxpayers would pay an amount that was proportional to their income.
Tax preferences work against low broad-based taxes.
As a rule ACT does not favour tax credits and tax rebates for this reason.
A low flat tax rate with a rebate for those with low earnings is a progressive tax in that higher income earners face a higher average tax burden per dollar of tax.
The Review found that changes in the income distribution are best pursued through government spending on social welfare, health and education - and not from escalating taxes.
The present system is unfair, complex and driving too many of our most talented people overseas.
The Review found that a $2 billion cut in government spending would enable the personal and company tax rates to be lowered to 28 percent - below Australia's tax rates.
It also recommended reforms of the international tax regime.
This discourages New Zealand firms and individuals from expanding offshore, pushes up the cost of capital in New Zealand and drives many of our top business people overseas.
The Review proposed a cap of $1 million on the amount of tax any individual can pay in a year.
The McLeod Report states that the measure will be revenue positive and will encourage investment in New Zealand.
Transport
Executive summary
Roading transport taxes for other purposes is an entrenched habit of successive Governments,
which has reached new records under Labour.
Road users are entitled to value for money from the road network, and they are not getting value for the taxes they pay.
Increasingly, Government is responding to negative road statistics with greater regulation and enforcement, to the point where the majority of responsible drivers are being punished to control a small irresponsible few.
There is concern with the use of speed cameras for revenue purposes rather as a road safety tool.
ACT believes:
• That petrol taxes and road charges should be used for improving transport, not for other spending.
• That flexible funding options with the use of private and public toll roads, and alternative funding forms, are required
to meet New Zealand’s roading needs.
• There must be an end to the long delays in alleviating critical bottlenecks with projects whose benefits manifestly exceed the cost.
• The primary role of government should be to ensure that the road system is efficient whether publicly or privately provided.
This encompasses safety and environmental aspects.
• Road users are entitled to value for money from the road network.
They rightly resent discriminatory taxes.
They should be served, not fleeced.
However, they should pay for the system, through charges which are closely related to user costs.
• Roading projects that meet true commercial (including cost benefit) criteria under an economic pricing policy should be funded.
• Road users will only get value for money when road operators are obliged to be responsive to their needs.
This requires more commercially oriented structures.
• Users can best signal their needs when modern flexible pricing systems are employed.
• No major reform of the roads is tenable without road user support.
ACT's goals:
• To see greater commercial decision making and private sector involvement in roads, particularly in easing congestion.
• To see the introduction of sophisticated, user-friendly pricing systems that allow road users to signal their value-for-money preferences.
• To see a road construction programme in place which reflects the country's true economic (price signalled) needs.
• To better protect road user interests.
• To address RMA issues related to road improvement approvals and their cost.
ACT’s proposals:
• Encourage the introduction of economic pricing for road usage, including removing existing government-related impediments to the introduction of congestion charges,
while commensurately lowering fuel taxes.
• Encourage private sector investment in road construction, both through direct ownership and through partnerships with central and local government.
• Progress along the path offered in Better Transport Better Roads for making road providers more responsive to road users' requirements by putting them on a more commercial basis.
• Protect road user interests by encouraging competition between routes and by long-term contracts.
Road users rightly do not trust monopolies, government-owned or otherwise.
• While accommodating valid environmental concerns, curtail public enemy number one when it comes to any road or other development project in New Zealand – the Resource Management Act 1991 (see ACT's policy discussion document paper on the RMA for details).
• Make road safety a road operator responsibility.
• Regulatory measures will focus on safety instead of revenue raising.
• Move to reduce, and eventually eliminate, the exploitation of petrol taxes for general revenue use.
Discussion
An efficient roading infrastructure which can safely handle current and future traffic volumes is essential
for growth,
rising living standards,
and our external competitiveness.
The costs to the country and individuals of an inadequate infrastructure and the resulting congestion, pollution, and travel time delay are immense.
Plainly, motorists are not getting value for money from their roads.
Some less-used roads are absurdly over-built while others are totally inadequate.
With our current 'planned economy' approach to roads, this is unlikely to improve much if at all.
Investment decisions will continue to be driven by political and arbitrary cost benefit calculations, rather than through informed commercial (price responsive) decisions.
New Zealand needs a change in approach.
Other countries are well ahead of New Zealand in introducing utility approaches to roading and sophisticated, user-friendly pricing technologies.
New Zealand needs to follow suit
in ways that gain motorists' acceptance by giving them genuine value for money.
Aside from addressing truly urgent road construction needs,
this will mean introducing economic pricing to the user (including peak and off peak pricing)
while commensurately reducing fuel taxes.
It will also mean putting the management of roads on a commercial basis,
including involving the private sector.
The 1996- 99 Government's paper Better Transport: Better Roads pointed in this direction,
but a failure of leadership since then has seen New Zealand slip further behind.
Anti-motorist interests are impeding rational development at the local government level.
The rational approach where congestion is a problem is to bring in congestion pricing,
or add to capacity, or both.
Treaty off Waitangi
Executive summary
Two things threaten race relations in New Zealand.
One is Maori underachievement.
The other is the backlash that an escalating grievance industry could all too easily provoke.
No amount of money can undo past wrongs or solve the problem of underachievement.
Unfortunately, mismanagement of the Treaty of Waitangi settlements process has created a grievance industry that sustains a gravy train for well-paid lawyers and consultants.
It can never be satisfied and worsens race relations.
It has not helped, and will not help, most Maori.
Payments depend entirely on the goodwill of citizens alive today who are entirely innocent of any wrongdoing.
This goodwill is being increasingly abused by the grievance industry and alienating ordinary New Zealanders.
ACT believes:
• Claims should be promptly settled where land was unlawfully taken, or improperly compensated and we can identify the descendants of those who were wronged.
• Solutions to the problem of Maori underachievement must be found partly within Maoridom.
• New Zealand's future is as a nation where we all see ourselves first and foremost as New Zealanders,
while taking pride in our individual cultural heritage and the diversity of our fellow citizens.
• ACT's policies offer the best hope for all under-achieving groups, including Maori.
• Our core policies of the rule of law,
freedom to offer one's own labour as one sees fit,
individual empowerment in education and health,
competition and private enterprise based on individual liberty, are the route to the advancement of Maori just as they are for non-Maori.
• Everyone, Maori and non-Maori alike, should be equal before the law.
All laws should apply equally to all New Zealanders regardless of race.
The Treaty itself guarantees Maori and non-Maori the same rights and privileges as New Zealand citizens.
• The law must be enforced even-handedly.
No person or group should be able to defeat the law by intimidation.
• The biggest problem with the law is that there is far too much bad parliamentary law.
We need to rescind a lot of those laws.
Fewer laws mean greater opportunities for Maori and non-Maori.
• New Zealand must set a cut-off date for legal proceedings - all civilised societies observe this.
• New Zealand will only achieve final settlement if the process is based on the following principles:
o Past injustices must be recognised and, where possible and appropriate, properly compensated.
o Grievances must be addressed as soon as possible and not left to fester.
o In order to put the grievances behind us, settlements must be full and final, recognising that it is impossible to find a remedy for all wrongs, and undesirable to replace past wrongs by new ones.
o Settlement terms must ensure that compensation is paid to the descendants of those whose property was wrongly taken.
o No Treaty settlement shall entrench any group defined by race or qualified by racial inheritance with power to govern other New Zealanders, or to govern any public land.
o No Treaty settlement shall override statutes designed to protect the rights of New Zealanders generally.
ACT's goals:
• To achieve prosperity
for all
under the rule of law.
• To see all Treaty grievances settled early this century.
• To achieve a democratic system for both central and local government
where representation is based on a single electoral roll,
and one set of laws for all New Zealanders.
ACT’s proposals:
• Set a final date for lodging historical claims: 31 December 2003.
• Ensure that all cases before the Waitangi Tribunal are heard and determined by 2008.
• Appoint to the Waitangi Tribunal people known for their ability to apply the rules of evidence rigorously to get at what truth can be discovered at this distance, and to reject the rest.
• Amend the Treaty of Waitangi Act so as to redirect the Tribunal and the judges to the clear statements of the first and third Treaty articles by which the Crown received "absolutely… forever the complete government of [New Zealand]"
and in which the Crown undertook to “protect all the ordinary people of New Zealand and [to] give them the same rights and duties of citizenship … ".
• Repeal all laws that permit or require any central or local government agency to discriminate against, or to favour, any New Zealander or class of New Zealanders on the basis of race, colour, ethnicity or national origin
and restore common law freedoms of speech and association.
• Abolish the Maori seats.
The Royal Commission on the Electoral System considered that this should be done on the adoption of MMP.
• Aim to achieve one law for all New Zealanders by 2009.
• Set a final date for lodging historical claims: 31 December 2003, and ensure that all cases before the Waitangi Tribunal are heard and determined by 2008.
Discussion
In a liberal society, people of all ethnic origins should be able to live harmoniously together
and enjoy the benefits of diverse cultures.
A liberal society caters for diversity by maximising the degree to which individuals can pursue goals of their own choosing,
subject to the rule of law.
This tolerance for different choices and lifestyles promotes social cohesion.
In our race relations, New Zealanders have much to be proud about, but also cause for alarm.
The problems New Zealanders face today in respect of Treaty issues undoubtedly stem in good part from past majoritarian abuses at the expense of Maori.
No parliamentary party is keener than ACT to see property rights respected in New Zealand and for the rule of law to prevail.
Claims should be properly settled where land was unlawfully taken or improperly compensated, and where we can identify the descendants of those who were wronged.
The sense of fair play of most New Zealanders demands no less.
However, it also needs to be recognised that no amount of money can undo past wrongs and that payments depend entirely on the goodwill of citizens alive today who are entirely innocent of wrongdoing in the distant past.
Maori will be at risk in the future if the rule of law is this time set aside in their favour.
The future of tolerant race relations in New Zealand depends on the observance of the rule of law.
ACT is alert to the dangers that the grievance industry poses for the rule of law and harmonious race relations.
For New Zealanders to be able to move ahead harmoniously a solution must be found that allows Maori to focus on meeting future challenges.
This will not happen if extremists turn every settlement into a platform for a further claim.
It is for these reasons that ACT is determined to put a time limit on the claims process.
ACT does not believe for one moment that Treaty settlements, no matter how generous, will make any material difference to Maori underachievement.
ACT's policies will do more than any other party's policies to help Maori escape the poverty trap
that is created by welfare dependency,
anti-job labour market legislation
and a failed education system.
Maori have as much to gain from voting ACT as any other group in the community, if not more.
However, sound policies can only set the climate for better Maori achievement.
It is largely up to Maori themselves to take advantage of the opportunities ACT's policies would create.
Ultimately, it is only stronger families
and individual commitment to education, jobs, hard work and thrift that can solve the problem of underachievement for Maori or non-Maori.
Another risk to harmonious race relations in New Zealand comes from the threat to the rule of law posed by claims relating to partnership and sovereignty.
The government of New Zealand is not a partnership between one racial group and the rest.
It is inconceivable that New Zealand can have harmonious race relations built upon principles of divided representation or privilege based on race.
A system of contending laws or governments deprives individual actions of an agreed legal basis for resolving disputes.
Welfare & Family
Executive summary
When created, welfare was designed to provide temporary support for people who were able-bodied but without an income.
It focussed on returning them to the workforce promptly.
Today the concept of the right to live off a benefit outweighs the obligation to get a job.
As a result, despite favourable economic conditions, the number of working age beneficiaries dependant on the state has increased to 400,000.
One child in three now lives in a benefit dependent household.
Of particular concern are those families that have been on welfare for generations.
Research identifies that such parents and children fare badly in education, health and crime statistics.
The government’s soft approach to welfare is making the problem worse.
By seriously weakening work incentives, softening fraud recovery, and increasing benefit payments, the requirement to move from welfare to work has been dangerously undermined.
ACT believes:
• New Zealand cannot succeed with a third of all adults being supported by the state.
Nor can we get ahead with high taxes and increasing compliance costs stifling jobs and growth.
• The state should provide a welfare safety net for those who are genuinely unable to support themselves and have no available alternative.
• True compassion demands welfare provides a hand up to work, independence and a better future
- State assistance should be temporary.
• Civil society based on the values of hard work, thrift and personal responsibility must be rebuilt by breaking the cycle of dependency.
• Public policy priorities should protect the interests of children by recognising that in general, children raised on welfare fail to do as well in all areas of life than those raised by parents who work,
and that children denied the support of both their mother and their father are at an increased risk of poor outcomes.
• The welfare state should not make people dependent on it,
induce them to bring children into the world irresponsibly
or live at the expense of others.
• Welfare must not put children at risk by undermining the two-parent family.
• The big reductions in the welfare rolls in the United States provide grounds for optimism that welfarism can be reduced with widespread benefits;
Critical factors are economic growth
and full employment.
ACT's goals:
• To put personal responsibility, self-reliance and work above welfare dependency.
• To reduce the barriers to economic growth
and restore full employment.
• To eliminate long-term dependency for working age beneficiaries who can work.
• To dramatically reduce the numbers of working age New Zealanders on welfare, in particular on the unemployment, domestic purposes and sickness benefits.
• To ensure that welfare policies minimise harm to the two-parent family.
ACT’s proposals;
• Advocate continued state support for those with chronic conditions who are genuinely incapable of supporting themselves.
• For the able-bodied, introduce 5-year lifetime limits for reliance on welfare in respect of unemployment and domestic purposes benefits,
with a shorter limit on the time of any continuous spell,
coupled with intensive case management and last resort job placement.
• Welfare beneficiaries who are able to do so, should be required to work full time or undertake a 40- hour week of work activity designed to help them gain the habits, skills and disciplines of the workforce,
with assistance provided for childcare, transport, relocation and any other barriers to work.
• Require regular interviews with case managers for those on the sickness benefit for more than six months.
• Further limit eligibility for the domestic purposes benefit by requiring a mother to name the father of her child (while providing discretion for special cases).
• Introduce shared parenting in the event of family breakdown in order that the children retain the frequent and on-going support of their mother and father, their grandparents and wider family as well.
Review the Child Support Act to require that parents meet their financial obligations to their children in a fairer way.
• Seek to increase the role played by community-support agencies,
without undermining their independence.
• Hold an inquiry into ways of strengthening the family unit.
• Retain base benefit levels,
but comprehensively review abatement rates and supplementary assistance to ensure that people on welfare do not end up better off than people in full time work.
• Introduce strategies leading to full employment,
including the lowering of taxes
and the reduction of compliance costs on small business.
Discussion
The welfare state was intended as temporary assistance to alleviate poverty.
It was not intended to make people dependent on the state, reward irresponsible or dysfunctional behaviour, or contribute to the breakdown of the two-parent family.
Yet 65 years of experience of the welfare state indicts it on all counts: It is clearly associated with a rise in the cycle of dependency
and the breakdown of the family:
• There are 400,000 working age adults supported by a benefit with several hundred having been on benefits since the 1970s.
Many thousands of New Zealanders are trapped on poverty level incomes.
One child in every three is living in a benefit-dependent household.
• In 1970, there were 28 full time workers for each full time benefit paid; today there are four full time workers for every benefit.
If Superannuitants are included, there are three full time workers for every two adults dependant on the state.
• In 1996 an estimated 23 percent of children under 18 lived in homes without fathers.
• A growing number of sole parents receiving the Domestic Purposes Benefit – presently 16,000, or one in seven – will not or cannot name the father of their child.
When created, welfare for the able-bodied was designed to provide temporary help pending a prompt return to the workforce.
Today the concept of the right to live off a benefit outweighs the obligation to get a job.
Yet families that have been on welfare for generations fare badly in education, health and crime statistics.
The link between welfare and the breakdown - or failure to form at all - of the two-parent family is troubling.
Systems that reward irresponsible or dysfunctional behaviour or lack of commitment to children or a partner generate more of the same.
Many solo parents are hard working and make great efforts for their children.
Even so, children not brought up by both biological parents are, taken overall, more at risk.
On average, they experience greater mortality and morbidity.
They are more likely as adults to experience mental health problems, poverty and relationship breakdowns.
While many sole parents will successfully protect their children from the risk, these statistics indicate a clear general tendency towards unsatisfactory outcomes.
Research indicates that the adverse outcomes arising from incomplete family structures are too wide to be explained by differences in income.
However, members of middle- and higher-income families may fare better if they break up than lower-income families; they be less aware of the serious risks for children in the bottom socio-economic groups.
As a society we should be advocating the long established formula for avoiding poverty: finish school, get and keep a job, avoid teenage pregnancy and if you get married, stay married.
At the individual level it has much to commend it.
The difficulty is to stop the state from rewarding irresponsible behaviour without causing hardship.
THE HARD FACTS
LETS ADDRESS THE FRIGHTENING REALITIES FACING NEW ZEALAND FAMILIES.
There is currently no agency assessing how government policies impact on families.
We have, however, three Cabinet Ministers and Undersecretaries with responsibility for horse racing and railway lines.
We collect nearly $55 billion dollars in revenue every year and allow the Commissioner for Children just over $1 million per year.
In the last 25 years, over 240 children have been battered to death
Around 25% of children are likely to experience some kind of mental health problem before the age of 21 years.
The number of children in households receiving their major income from a benefit is 321,000 - approximately a third of all children.
Since 1970 the rate of marriage has decreased 60% while the number of divorces has doubled.
New Zealand has the third highest teenage pregnancy rate in the OECD
By 2010, if present trends continue, half of all European and nearly three quarters of Maori infants under 12 months will be in fatherless families.
There has been a 195% increase in child assaults since 1990 and 40% of criminal offenders are in the 14 - 18 age bracket.
This coming year we will spend a little under two and a half times more on welfare than we will spend on education.
We now have 409,000 New Zealanders receiving all their income from welfare, supported by only 1.8 million taxpayers.
Since 1960 government spending on welfare per head of population (in today's dollar terms) has increased by more than 500%
New Zealand has one of the worst teacher-to-pupil ratios in the OECD.
EDUCATION IS A FAMILY ISSUE
PROBLEM
New Zealand schools are dealing with social, health and learning problems in children, which should have been identified and addressed before they were five years old.
34% of all teaching graduates left the profession within two years.
Teachers’ pay scales and support structures are an ongoing problem.
Applications for teacher training are seriously declining (4 applicants for one place in 1994, 1 applicant for 1 place in 2000).
This year the Government allowed an extra $35 million a year for the next ten years to be spent on DOC huts and walking tracks.
Early childhood education will receive an extra $15 million per year over the next four.
We now have a country where spending on social welfare is nearly two and a half times more than what we spend on education.
How did we get to this stage?
SOLUTION
We believe that quality education is the key to a fair, strong and prosperous society.
Our aim is to have the best education system in the World - again.
Quality education leads to full participation in community life.
Early investment in high quality education will save billions of dollars later.
We must:
Guarantee all pre-school children over the age of three years the right to access up to 15 hours per week of early childhood education.
Increase resources for Parents as First teachers
Require all schools to implement character education in their curriculum.
Ensure all graduate teachers are supervised and supported.
Ensure teachers are adequately rewarded and supported
while ensuring that parents are assured that their children are receiving quality education with teachers being both effective and accountable.
Apply universal student allowances for students over 20 years.
Increase funding to ensure early identification of children with special needs and disabilities and target with systematic, intensive and high quality interventions.
HEALTH IS A FAMILY ISSUE
PROBLEM
A lack of support for an increasing number of families is producing violent results as rates of child abuse in New Zealand continue to rise.
In the last 25 years over 240 children in New Zealand have been battered to death.
Public hospital waiting lists, for what is deemed by our health services as “non-urgent” surgery such as hip replacements, continue to rise.
Services, especially in the primary sector, are desperately short in many rural and provincial areas of New Zealand.
Cannabis has destroyed the lives of huge numbers of our youth, especially in areas of social and economic deprivation
and yet we have a potential Government coalition partner calling for its decriminalisation.
Mental health strategies over the last decade have failed.
Mental health has become the “poor relation”" in terms of funding.
Continual structural changes in health service delivery has done nothing to improve the overall health of our nation and has, instead, created a climate of scepticism and frustration among health professionals.
SOLUTION
Increase funding for community-based providers such as Plunket
Increase support for mothers, before birth and after birth, including home visits
Establish family health clinics within family service centres Totally oppose the legalisation of cannabis
Totally oppose the legalisation of cannabis
Require government departments to take a more coordinated approach to child abuse
Allow the private health sector to bid for carrying out standard procedures that currently clog the public hospital waiting lists.
Develop a sensible set of incentives to attract quality health professionals back to the rural and provincial regions
Have the Mental Health Commission create a long-term strategic plan that recognises the real cost and effect of mental health
and then ensure it's implementation is fully funded.
Establish health clinics in schools where medical and counselling professionals will provide specialist services and support young people in need.
Promote immunisation through home visits, community welfare organisations and school-based programmes.
LAW AND ORDER IS A FAMILY ISSUE
PROBLEM
Dysfunctional families and poorly educated children contribute to criminal activity
∎ There has been a 195% increase of child assaults since 1990 and
40% of criminal offenders are in the 14 - 18 age bracket.
∎ 65% of youth offenders are not living with their father.
∎ 97% of teenage youth will re-offend within five years
∎ 70% of all those on parole will re-offend within 3 years
∎ There are 24,000 reported crimes of a sexual nature every year in
New Zealand.
∎ 1,400 violent offenders will be eligible for parole in the next 3 years.
At the present rate of reoffending, 1,100 of them will be back in
prison within 3 years.
SOLUTION
Increase funding for early intervention and diversionary programmes for youth at risk
Increase funding for interventions aimed at preventing the causes of
criminal activity such as promotions of programmes like Parents as
First Teachers and increased funding for Plunket
Promote family mediation services
Strongly oppose the legalisation of cannabis
Ensure offenders and their families take responsibility for their offending through restorative justice programmes.
Ensure, in the cases of heinous murders, that life means life.
Toughen up the law in regard to parole where it becomes a privilege
to be granted, not an automatic right simply based on time served.
SOCIAL WELFARE IS A FAMILY ISSUE
PROBLEM
Children from welfare dependent families are more likely to have poor health, difficulties with learning, dysfunctional social relationships and criminal convictions.
The number of children in households receiving their major income from a benefit has more than doubled since 1985.
There are over 321,000 children living in welfare dependent households.
This is approximately one third of all children in New Zealand.
There is no key government strategy to adopt a specific policy for investing in the community and voluntary sector.
We have a Commissioner for Children, Ministers of Youth, Veterans Affairs and the Americas Cup but no Commissioner or Minister for the Family
In 1975 we had 17,000 people on the DPB.
We now have over 110,000.
Direct costs, at present are $1.4 billion and are expected to rise to $1.6 billion within three years.
Domestic violence is almost always due to a failed relationship.
SOLUTION
Utilise the enormous amounts of research that shows clearly that at–risk children can be identified virtually at birth.
That is where we should start with our assistance.
Establish stronger links with the community and voluntary sector so they so they can work with welfare recipients to become self–sufficient.
Introduce a more streamlined approach for the funding of the voluntary sector
Increase personal tax rebates for charitable donations from $630 to $5000.
Establish a Commission for the Family
to include a family support agency,
coordinate government agencies for development of family policy
and support a national centre for research into the family.
Establish family service centres in communities where parenting and family support needs are greatest, with emphasis on local solutions for local problems.
Fund youth clinics in schools to give information and a device where required on healthy, lifestyle, financial support and other personal issues to assist them in achieving their goals and reaching their full potential as successful healthy adults.
THE ECONOMY IS A FAMILY ISSUE
PROBLEM
Economic conditions play a major role in determining outcomes for New Zealand families.
Research shows that children raised in low socio-economic conditions are disadvantaged in terms of survival, mental and physical development, educational achievement, and future employment prospects.
There is currently no recognition of the value of the intact family in New Zealand.
The disintegration of families inevitably leads to lower income earnings for at least one partner with more reliance on the State to provide income and a corresponding decrease in overall possible taxation revenue.
There is no recognition of the value of income splitting for families
or the positive recognition of a home carer.
Economic growth is only ever seen in the context of an economic policy.
Economic growth affects us all
and the benefit to the family of strong sound economic policy is barely considered in policy.
Every time we have a change of government we seem to have to change our employment and ACC laws for no other reason outside political ideology.
This inevitably creates a period of instability which has an effect on employment intentions of businesses.
SOLUTION
We want a taxation system that takes into account the costs of raising a family.
We need an economic direction that reduces impediments to business performance,
promotes an export friendly economy
and encourages innovation
and deals fairly to both employers and employees.
Introduce income splitting for families
Introduce a home carers rebate for parents at home caring for children under the age of five
Increase tax rebates for child care costs
Further lower tax rebates as economic conditions allow
Ensure the Inland Revenue Department guarantees all families receive their tax rebates
and family support entitlements.
Encourage sustainable economic growth
with comparatively flat tax structures,
streamlines compliance and penalties regimes,
improved links between research and commercial application
and increase the amount of private sector R & D to 1.5% of GDP by 2010.
Work toward a consensus across party lines that recognises the needs of stable, sound employment law
and emphasises the need for this stability sought by employers and employees alike.
Implement a stable population and immigration policy with the objective of contributing 0.5% to economic growth.
FOCUS ON THE FAMILY. OUR PEOPLE.
INTRODUCING SOME OF THE PEOPLE BEHIND UNITED FUTURE NEW ZEALAND.
Peter Dunne,
MP Ohariu Belmont
One of Parliament's most respected MP's, Peter’s intelligent calm common-sense is a much sought-after quality in Parliament. He is married to Jennifer and they have two teenage sons.
Ian (Inky) Tulloch,
President, United Future New Zealand Married to Annette with four daughters, this Southlander is managing director of a large transport company. A well known figure in motor racing circles, Inky's heart is set on seeing a better future for New Zealand families.
Kelly Chal,
Candidate for Maukau East
Kelly, a careers counsellor with Career Services, is married to James with four children. Kelly’s background in employment and ACC is driven by her desire to see all people reach their full potential.
You can check out the candidate in your electorate and our party list on out web site: www.unitedfuture.org.nz
Anthony Watson,
Deputy Leader, United Future New Zealand
Anthony’s work with the Rock Church coupled
with his enthusiasm and drive have benefited
thousands of at-risk younger New Zealanders.
An avid sportsman, he lives in Wellington
with his wife Teresa and their four children.
Dr Aditya Kashyap,
Vice President, United Future New Zealand,
Candidate for Epsom
Indian-born Aditya is currently a GP in a large
suburban practice. He has extensive surgical
experience and the vision to return our
health system to one of the World's best.
He is married to Puja with two daughters.
Marc Alexander,
Candidate for Ilam
French trained Restaurateur and popular
Christchurch TV chef, Marc is the well
known spokesperson on justice issues.
Author of papers on criminal justice reform,
Marc is married to Angelika with one child.
Thank you for taking the time to read this Booklet.
We are the only party that van seriously claim to be representing the best interests oft the New Zealand Family
and the only party that can keep the economy-destroying, pro-cannabis Greens from driving New Zealand towards some weird, stone-age nightmare by holding the balance of power.
True Balance – and a refreshing amount of common sense – is what New Zealand needs right now.
And that is exactly what United Future wil bring to government as a coalition partner.
If you like what you have read and would like to help please fill out the form below and join us now.
Ambitions for New Zealand.
Progressive Coalitions ambitions for New Zealand:
Full employment.
Free education
and health care.
Support for families,
leaving no one behind.
Strong, safe communities.
Investment in New Zealand.
In this booklet we present eight cornerstone commitments for a coalition with the Labour Party in the next term of parliament.
For every Progressive Coalition MP elected with your support, we will achieve at least one or two of our cornerstone commitments in a new Clark-Anderton Government.
Jim Anderton’s Progressive Coalition will:
Form a coalition with Labour.
Support only policies that move in the direction of our ambitions for New Zealand.
Continue to work constructively in coalition.
Continue to work in partnership with communities and industry.
We will be a check on Labour at the Cabinet table.
We won’t make reckless demands or hold the country to ransom.
Jobs and prosperity.
Working in partnership with communities and with industry.
Investing in innovation.
Our successes so far:
104,000 new jobs in two years.
The lowest level of unemployment since 1987.
Low interest rates.
Established Ministry of Economic Development
and Industry New Zealand.
Partnership with regions and industry.
Investment in world-class kiwi innovation.
Progressive coalition ambitions: full employment.
We are working in partnership with regions and with industry.
We are investing in job-rich, high-skill, high-value export industries.
Our ambition is full employment
and an exciting future for every region.
Cornerstone Commitment:
Everyone under 20 in jobs, education or training by 2005.
The Progressive Coalition will extend pilot programmes already running to track school leavers.
We’ll work closely with industry to find work for those who don’t go on to further education.
And we’ll provide training for those who need skills to find a real job.
Progressive steps we will push to achieve our ambition of full employment:
Increase Modern Apprenticeships from 3000 to 6000.
Ensure 100,000 people are in skills training by 2005 (Up from 68,000 now).
One major regional initiative in each region in each term of Government.
Increase minimum annual leave to four weeks for all workers.
Progress for Business.
A one-stop-shop for industry assistance.
Promoting innovation in job-rich, high-value industry.
No one left behind – Supporting families.
The economy is growing stronger.
The Progressive Coalition’s ambition is to bring everyone into the winner’s circle.
Successes so far:
Increased base rate of superannuation by over $40 a week
and introduced a secure superannuation fund.
Income-related rents for state houses.
Increased the minimum wage.
Introduced paid parental leave.
Cornerstone Commitment:
Winter energy cost rebate for beneficiaries, superannuitants and low-income earners.
A rebate of about $15 a month for superannuitants, beneficiaries and low income workers will reduce winter power bills by about a quarter.
Supporting families.
Cornerstone Commitment:
We will hold a Commission of Inquiry into balancing work and family.
The biggest challenge facing working families is the competing demands of work and family.
We’ll put the issues on the table for discussion.
Issues like childcare and after school care.
Hours of work, trading hours and holidays.
Pay equity,
employment opportunities
and family taxation issues.
Cornerstone Commitment:
Inflation adjustment for family support.
Fewer kids are living in poverty because the Clark-Anderton Government introduced income-related rents for state houses.
But there is more to do.
Increasing family support is the best step we can take immediately to reduce the number of children living in poverty.
Towards free health and education.
Progressive Coalition ambition: Free, high quality health care for all New Zealanders.
Successes of the Clark-Anderton Government so far:
Increased health spending by $3 billion over four years.
Reduced waiting times for elective surgery.
Cornerstone commitment:
Free GP visits for school kids and superannuitants.
Next year we will achieve free GP visits for all school children followed by superannuitants – but only if the Progressive Coalition is in Government with Labour.
Progressive steps we will push to achieve our ambition of free health:
No hospitals down-graded.
Removing asset and income testing for geriatric care.
Improving quality and availability of mental health care.
Commitment on GE:
No release of GE until the technology is proven safe, except for approved medical use.
We support contained research.
Progressive Coalition ambition: Free education from pre-school to tertiary.
Successes of the Clark-Anderton Government so far:
The cost of tertiary education cut by freezing fees and reducing the cost of repaying loans.
Boosted funding for early childhood and adult literacy programmes.
350 more teachers
and 220 more classrooms.
Unfair bulk-funding regime has been repealed.
Cornerstone commitment:
We will keep fees frozen
and progressively remove fees for first year tertiary students.
Progressive steps we will push to achieve our ambition of free education.
Negotiate teacher pay and workloads comparable to other developed countries.
Pilot very small classes of up to 15 children for the first four years of school.
Broadband internet connections for every school by the end of 2003.
Increase student allowances
and investigate giving students the opportunity to pay off debt by working in priority sectors and regions.
Strong safe communities / Investing in New Zealand.
If you want to stop crime, early intervention works best, costs less.
Cornerstone commitment:
We will introduce new programmes where necessary
and better co-ordinate existing early intervention strategies:
Provide better support for high-risk new families
and reduce the number of high-risk births to teen parents already caught up in the social welfare and justice system.
Deal with kids in trouble at primary school by extending Project Early
and develop ‘one-stop-shops’ in secondary schools so that kids can be dealt with at school.
Cornerstone commitment:
We are anti-drugs.
We will implement:
Implement special penalties for supplying drugs to children.
Strengthen drug rehabilitation programmes in prisons.
Launch a ‘drug-free’ publicity campaign
and work with principals to get drugs out of schools.
Trial alternative legal sanctions for people caught in possession of certain drugs if they identify a supplier and enter drug rehabilitation.
Investing in New Zealand.
Success so far:
We’ve ended the fire sale of our assets
and bought back Air New Zealand.
Kiwibank established with nearly 300 branches by the end of this year, lower fees and lower interest rates.
Cornerstone commitment:
We will save the Kiwi dollar – no currency union with Australia.
Progressive steps we will push to achieve our ambition for New Zealand.
No sales of strategic assets.
We won’t sign trade or investment deals unless they are in our national interest,
protect jobs
and the environment,
and contribute new technology.
Investing as much of the Super Fund in New Zealand as is reasonable.
Extending Kiwibank services to small business.
BACKGROUND
New Zealand First was formed on 18 July 1993 as a party to represent the views of all New Zealanders concerned about the economic and social direction of New Zealand,
the sale of public assets to foreign control,
and the decline in employment
and social services.
New Zealand First fielded 83 candidates in the 1993 election, and in 1996 17 MPs were elected.
The Party continues to represent tens of thousands of New Zealanders wanting progressive policies and commonsense decision-making in the best interests of all New Zealanders.
OUR VISION
To put New Zealand and New Zealanders first through enlightened economic and social polices,
by placing control of New Zealand’s resources in the hands of New Zealanders
and by restoring faith in the democratic process.
FIFTEEN FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES FOR SOUND GOVERNMENT
New Zealand First was formed with the following fifteen fundamental principles:
- Put New Zealand and New Zealanders First
- Open Accountable Government With Less Government
Parliament will be reduced to 80 members
and the numbers of consultancies and Government advisors will be cut by over 50%.
Only on a vote of confidence in a Government (in which New Zealand First is a member) will New Zealand First’s Members of Parliament be required to vote with the party.
On all other issues not covered by party policy, an MP’s first duty is to the electorate
and the nation.
- Economic Policy
Economic policy will comprise a strategy for export-led economic development to add value to our resources,
relying on independent business expertise with Government support to encourage economic success.
- Employment
The employment of New Zealanders is our first planning priority.
High unemployment is not acceptable.
We regard such human and economic waste as a blight on this country’s productivity.
- Education
Money spent on education will be treated as an investment, not as expenditure.
Educational advancement is both in the national and in the individual interest.
Educational investment is critical for economic and social recovery.
-Health
Health will cease to be a balance sheet item.
Health will be a critical investment in New Zealand’s human resource.
Our policies will rebuild New Zealand’s public health service.
- Immigration
Whilst this country, with such a small population, will continue to require an infusion of overseas skills and expertise, immigration will cease to be used as an excuse for our failure to train, skill, and employ our own people.
- The Welfare State
The Welfare State must be an umbrella to meet genuine and deserving need.
Government has a duty to properly determine those needs and respond to them.
That said, social welfare must no longer neglect assisting recipients to become independent of the State.
- Taxation
Our long-term objective is New Zealanders paying less tax.
We intend to simplify and enforce the tax laws so that they apply equally to all taxpayers.
Incentives for increased research and development and export growth are the priorities.
- Environment
Wise Governments view the preservation and enhancement of the environment as sound economics.
All environmental policies will be proactive with a view to creating employment and sustainable wealth whilst improving one of our few competitive advantages.
- Foreign Policy
Our foreign policy objective will be good government at home
and being a reliable neighbour in our region.
New Zealand foreign aid will focus on the region in which we live.
New Zealanders’ desire for a non-nuclear future will be respected.
- New Zealand Resources
Strategic state asset sales will cease.
If considered appropriate and only where absolutely necessary, management by private contracts under public ownership will replace the policy of state asset sales.
- Honest Government
An independent anti-corruption commission will be established to enable New Zealanders to have the confidence that their institutions are working properly.
- Electoral Reform
Electoral reform will be determined by the electors.
The Government’s duty will be to ensure the fair representation of all views
and the holding of appropriate referenda.
- Towards a Better Democracy
All policies not contained in the party manifesto, where no national emergency clearly exists, will first be referred to the electorate for a mandate.
PLANNING FOR AN ENHANCED FUTURE
New Zealand First believes that New Zealanders are entitled to a political system they can feel confident about, and politicians they can rely on to represent them.
There should be an end to the aimless restructuring of government services,
a removal of unnecessary rules and regulations based on misguided political correctness,
and a return to a public service ethic within the bureaucracy.
Spending will be directed to the provision of high quality education
and health
professionals and to improving free access to enhanced public education
and health services.
New Zealand First will continue to fight to protect our social fabric and traditional family values.
New Zealand needs a clear strategy to boost export growth and employment.
New Zealand First will implement a plan to treble exports in real terms, by 2020.
The principal aim of a Government should be full employment.
Any person capable of work should be given the opportunity to do so and not relegated to welfare dependency.
Our citizens should be able to look forward to the certainty of a dignified retirement based on a fund that can be invested in our economy and infrastructure.
During the next three years we will focus on these three things:
1. FIXING OUR IMMIGRATION POLICY:
New Zealand First will end ad hoc policy-making on immigration
and will oppose using immigration as an excuse for our failure to train, skill, and employ our own people.
We will not tolerate New Zealand being a haven for queue-jumping asylum seekers.
Only immigrants who can contribute to rapid export growth, our research and development, and or our educational capacity will be accepted.
Immigrants will be required to accept New Zealand culture and values.
2. FIXING THE TREATY INDUSTRY:
While we are many peoples with different customs, languages, religions and cultures, we are all New Zealanders first.
During the next parliamentary term, New Zealand First will focus on pursuing policies that promote social cohesion
and economic advancement.
We will put an end to the Treaty of Waitangi grievance industry
and cease its senseless calls to insert Treaty ‘principles’ into legislation.
3. FIXING THE LAWLESSNESS AND VIOLENCE IN OUR SOCIETY:
It is time to mount a war against lawlessness by providing adequate police resources and powers,
implementing realistic sentencing,
instilling discipline in our young people through appropriate training,
taking a very tough line on youth and repeat offenders,
and aggressively targeting ‘entry level’ crime.
Those who have the most to lose from political and democratic reform continue to occupy the positions of power.
The introduction of a new electoral system (MMP) has not created any real institutional and attitudinal change.
Political domination is still the basis of power seeking by the old parties.
Vested interests have worked to cripple the MMP process.
There has been little change in political behaviour
and the review of MMP was a sham.
Politicians have been consistently discredited by dishonoured promises.
deliberate campaigns of policy deception.
party political goals taking precedence over public goals.
the process of political appointments,
and ministerial meddling.
There have been unauthorised and inexplicable payouts to bureaucrats and political appointees.
The attainment and retention of power and financial gain have superseded the concept of an impartial public service.
The move to MMP was not the end of political reform - it was the start.
New Zealand First aims to make Parliament itself a more responsive and accountable institution,
and to give greater power back to the community.
To achieve this aim, New Zealand First advocates:
1 A reduction in the size of Parliament
New Zealand First adheres to the position established in its 15 founding principles i. e. , the number of MPs will be reduced to 80.
2 Greater contestability of policy advice
Experience has shown that all parties in government must have access to contestable policy advice
with social impact analysis to accompany cost/benefit analysis in government decision-making processes.
3 Code of ministerial responsibility
A clearly defined new professional code of ministerial responsibility is required to govern the standards of our ministers, including a clear job description,
limitations to ministerial powers,
a clear chain of responsibility,
and a clear outline of the circumstances under which a minister would be required to relinquish their warrant.
4 A Cabinet of ministers based upon talent
A New Zealand First-led administration would promote to Cabinet MPs with particular talents and not necessarily according to party affiliations.
5 Greater use of public referenda
New Zealand First wants to form a practical partnership with the New Zealand people by the judicious use of direct public referenda where:
• there is neutrality and impartiality in the question.
• there is fair dissemination of all of the facts on both sides of the argument.
• there is certainty in the poll (i.e., the question can be clearly understood).
• there is appropriate time for debate to be conducted.
• the referendum’s objective is capable of being met within the country’s fiscal constraints.
6 Strengthened Select Committee process
New Zealand First accepts the value of a second tier of responsibility that is currently manifested in “associate” ministers and the role of “parliamentary under secretary”.
To this tier should be added Select Committee chairpeople the status of whom needs enhancing to achieve greater co-operation and communication with ministers and improved scrutiny of policy and legislation.
Currently there is enormous waste in spending on policy advice.
New Zealand First will conduct an independent enquiry into this spending.
The Committee will be assisted by experts and will be charged with establishing the criteria by which policy advice units should be judged.
All policy advice units in the Government will be investigated.
A further enquiry into each Government departments’ public relations/communications unit will be conducted.
Their links with outside agencies will also be investigated for potential conflicts of interest.
The State Sector Act 1988 will be rewritten.
7 Strengthened electoral legislation
New Zealand First will ensure that political parties are publicly accountable for their finances to remove conflicts of interest.
8 Reform of the Parliamentary petition process
New Zealand First will ensure that all petitions over a certain number of minimum adult signatures (5,000 signatures per constituency and/or 50,000 nationally) must be appropriately researched and receive both departmental and parliamentary responses.
2002 POLICY - TOWARDS 2020
New Zealand First is providing a clear outline of the party’s key plans.
This is an ongoing process.
Further policies will be added as they are released.
ACC
INTRODUCTION
The original intention of the 1972 Accident Corporation Compensation Act was that ACC should carry forward the common law indemnity principle and reimburse injured people in full for their losses (less 20% of their earnings) and costs.
The Woodhouse Commission based its recommendations on five key principles:
• Community responsibility.
• Comprehensive entitlement.
• Complete rehabilitation.
• Real compensation.
and
• Administrative efficiency.
However, since that time there have been significant changes to the Act and to employment structures and conditions.
The Act now requires people on work place compensation, when assessed, to be fit only for a job which is judged as suitable and in which they can work for 35 hours or more per week and then compensation is terminated completely.
There is no requirement for the earnings in this new job to be in any way similar to the earnings of the former occupation.
In addition, injured people are often compelled to meet a substantial proportion of medical treatment, rehabilitation costs, travelling costs and some other charges associated with injury and/ or disability.
Employers also have concerns about the ACC structure believing it to be too costly with only limited incentives for achieving a good safety record.
In return for embracing the Woodhouse scheme the right to sue for negligence or loss of earnings was waived by employees.
There has been a trend in areas towards more casual employment, short term contracts, and the like.
The advent of the Employment Relations Act has not significantly altered this.
Many people are still employed on such a basis and have little or no job security.
Such employment is often regarded as a “stepping stone” whilst they search for a more secure job.
PLANS
New Zealand First will:
• appoint an Accident Compensation Ombudsman with similar powers and responsibilities to those of the Health and Disability Commissioner
as well as a requirement to work closely with OSH to develop an educative approach to safer workplaces.
• allow employers to purchase ‘set rate’ accident cover for lower paid part-time and casual workers.
• provide for full coverage and compensation for the victims of medical mishap, medical error, or medical misadventure without requiring them to prove that an accident occurred as a result of medical failure.
• reduce and in some cases eliminate part payments for medical treatment (cover in a ‘no fault/ blame scheme should be comprehensive).
• amend legislation to provide cover for ‘loss of potential earnings’ for those injured whilst involved in temporary or casual work whilst (for example) studying for a future career.
• provide incentives, by way of reduced premiums, for employers with good safety records.
• maintain lump sum compensation
and provide for a regular review of the level.
• remove the entitlement to compensation for anyone injured whilst committing a crime.
and, • conduct an ongoing review of the efficacy and fairness of the current system and in the interests of improved delivery of entitlements, cost effectiveness, and performance consider the best means of providing this cover.
BROADCASTING AND COMMUNICATIONS
INTRODUCTION
Free and open communication is the foundation of the democratic state.
While the role of Government should largely be confined to essential regulatory matters, there are issues relating to community standards, access, impartiality, and diversity that necessitate intervention.
PLANS
New Zealand First will:
• combine TVNZ and RNZ under one state-owned enterprise known as New Zealand Broadcasting (NZB), modelled on similar public broadcasting systems overseas, and with clear aims that include the promotion of our nation’s uniqueness, and the coverage of significant national events.
• continue and develop the re-establishment of TV One along the lines of a public service channel with limited advertising, and a concentration on quality programming.
• lower dividend requirements (establishing digital capacity,
reductions in peak time commercials,
maintenance of transmission capacity
and encouraging quality programmes).
• run TV2 on a commercial basis to help fund TV One and Radio New Zealand, and return dividends to the taxpayer.
• require TV One and Radio New Zealand to establish a common complementary news service that enhances coverage.
• ensure that all future appointments to the NZB board are made on the basis of experience, expertise, and appropriate representation from industry and consumers, and not political patronage.
• broaden the scope of the Concert FM network to make it more accessible to a wider range of New Zealanders,
and to promote our nation’s uniqueness by broadcasting a wide range of indigenous music as well as the best loved of the classics.
It should cater for all age groups.
• improve Radio New Zealand’s international services.
• maintain NZ on Air funding at the level previously raised by the Broadcasting fee.
• immediately introduce a fair process of allocating digital channels and radio spectrum bands.
• ensure that Government decisions on Maori broadcasting meet the requirements of equity
and sound business practice,
and that clear accountabilities are established.
• continue to work with the industry and the public to achieve and maintain a voluntary quota system to increase the New Zealand content of radio and television broadcasting.
• open public debate on raising broadcasting standards especially in relation to violence and obscenities.
and, • review the regulations relating to the use and allocation of funds for the broadcasting of election programmes.
New Zealand First will remove political representatives from the Electoral Commission.
Communications
• use the regulatory powers (as recommended by Treasury) to ensure fairness in the telecommunications sector and to allow for fair competition in the market.
• provide a long term solution for the total portability of telephone numbers.
• conduct an analysis of the current telecommunications regime and evaluate the effects of deregulation,
investigate and overcome barriers to competition,
and address interconnection issues.
• require full financial disclosure for Telecom’s monopoly and contestable business.
and, • ensure that social objectives in telecommunications are safeguarded: in the interests of both business and consumers.
We will investigate Kiwi Share, its valuation, its application to internet services, and consider its replacement and its application to Telecom’s competitors.
CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENT
INTRODUCTION
“Wise Governments view the preservation and enhancement of the environment as sound economics.
All environmental policies will be proactive with a view to creating employment and sustainable wealth
whilst improving one of our few competitive advantages.
” [New Zealand First Founding Principle] Striking a balance between economic progress and appropriate environmental and conservation goals can only be achieved through a partnership between government, industry, and community groups.
While our environment is envied internationally as clean, green, and attractive, the image hides a number of serious environmental problems, which need to be addressed.
The conservation of our country’s natural and cultural heritage has international significance, and is a New Zealand First priority.
PLANS
New Zealand First will:
• enhance and protect the rights of all New Zealanders to access their environment and cultural heritage sites
and facilitate the opportunity for high quality outdoor recreational experiences by New Zealanders.
• clarify and amend legislation protecting heritage sites, buildings, and objects, including improved documentation of important Maori sites.
The protection of our historic heritage is vital.
• promote the development of a strong eco-tourism industry.
• evaluate and consult on policy development on energy and climate change, sustainable land management, and the conservation of indigenous biodiversity.
• provide conservation authorities with the necessary resources and legislative framework to ensure that the role of protecting the conservation estate is not at odds with the commercial ventures which utilise that estate.
• develop further co-management plans and structures to increase conservation gains on a wider scale.
• develop a community wage programme to include beautification and maintenance of waterways, beaches, parks, and other conservation estates, and to assist with pest and weed control.
• commit additional funding for opossum and other plant and animal pest control and management programmes
including the development of alternatives to 1080 initially with a regional pilot programme where the costs of 1080 drops in that region will be transferred to the alternative pilot programme.
• ensure effective deterrents to poaching and trafficking of protected species
and support ‘threatened species recovery programmes’
and the habitat protection and restoration.
• make available the resources, funding, and technology needed to combat any biological threats crossing our borders including developing protocols for decontamination of imported vehicles at the point of loading, machinery, and containers, and for ship ballast water and hull fouling.
• develop plans and procedures to handle waste water in rural areas.
• urgently advance work on the development of rubbish disposal alternatives.
• support the Forest Heritage Fund, QEII Trust, Landcare, and Nga Whenua Rahui
and explore other means of encouraging the voluntary protection of natural and historical resources in private ownership.
• ensure public access to the Queen’s Chain.
• rationalise pastoral leases to promote ecologically sustainable land use, with special attention to ‘protected natural areas’.
• support consultative debate on the issue of extractive industries, their roles in local economies, and their effects on conservation lands.
In principle, New Zealand First believes that mining should not take place on conservation land.
• amend fisheries legislation to include public participation when setting catch limits, environmental controls, and management strategies
whilst retaining government control of management research and enforcement.
• ensure the representation of recreational fishers on the Fishing Industry Board.
• introduce tougher penalties, improve education, and other measures to better protect the coastal marine environment.
• review the development of the Oceans Policy.
• support the Resource Management Act review process with a view to expediting procedures,
reducing compliance costs,
and facilitating the application of the Act in a manner which supports sustainable economic growth
whilst protecting public participation
and environmental assessment provisions.
• only proceed to ratify the Kyoto protocol (aimed at reducing certain greenhouse gas emissions) at a pace with our major trading partners and once a coherent plan has been formulated to allow the appropriate targets to be reached.
• maintain the most stringent risk management processes emanating from the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 and its amendments by ensuring that the Environmental Risk Management Authority is sufficiently resourced to carry out its functions with the greatest rigour.
• amend the Companies Act to require statutory disclosure of environmental impacts by companies in annual reports
and amend the Public Finance Act and Local Government Act also requiring reporting of environmental impact.
• continue the phasing out of organochlorides and facilitate the development of safe alternatives by 2010.
• facilitate the provision of improved standards for key aspects of water and air quality.
• where appropriate provide funding to develop and promote organic farming options.
• support topocultural programmes with a view to the provision of a database and advisory service on alternative land use proposals and diversification.
• provide financial support for the development of water harvesting schemes that have met feasibility, viability, and environmental requirements.
• support a policy of “proceed with extreme caution” on genetic engineering.
That is, the safety of New Zealanders and the protection of our environment are paramount and the risks of developments in this technology need to be appropriately assessed.
There are as many risks to the health and well being of New Zealanders in ignoring this issue as there are in proceeding hastily.
• legislate for clear labelling of all genetically modified food (GMF) products.
• continue the rationalisation of the administration of food safety via the Food Administration Authority.
• seek to minimise the environmental costs of generating electricity.
There will be no privatisation of Meridian, Genesis, and Mighty River Power, or Transpower.
and, • continue to advocate against the exploitation of Antarctica,
for the cessation of all whaling,
and for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
CONSUMER AFFAIRS
PLANS
New Zealand First will:
• expand the watchdog role of Consumer Affairs in product safety (especially in the area of imported goods)
and ensure that there are adequate powers to enforce the withdrawal of unsafe products from sale.
• improve support of consumer education, budgetary and citizens advisory, and retirement planning services.
• ensure that Energy Efficiency measures are encompassed by the wider energy policies of Government.
• conduct an enquiry into the electricity industry to overcome consumer problems.
• regularly investigate the fees structures applying in the banking and finance sector and publicise the outcomes.
• provide the resources to protect New Zealanders from monopoly pricing and anti-competitive behaviour in communications, energy, and other key industries,
and regulate where necessary.
and,
• promote a ‘Buy New Zealand First’ campaign aimed at reducing imports.
DEFENCE POLICY
INTRODUCTION
Our first responsibility to our people is to protect them, our borders and our sovereignty by playing an active and responsible part in the maintenance of International law, freedom, stability and peace.
New Zealand First will achieve this through Trade, Diplomacy, Economic and Technical Aid,
continuing support for the United Nations,
and in Peace Keeping and Peace Making Operations.
New Zealand is a maritime nation with considerable maritime protection responsibilities and a role to play in the South Pacific and South East Asia in times of civil emergency or war.
New Zealand First is committed to building and maintaining a professional and effective Defence Force appropriate to our size that is self-sufficient,
and capable of operating with maximum efficiency
and effectiveness.
While New Zealand has not generally used combat Navy and Air Force units these elements, along with Special Force Troops, have become the mainstays of successful peacekeeping operations.
Such deployments are easier to support and more effective.
Many of the problems that have plagued our Defence Force in recent times have resulted from the competing needs of different services.
More can be done to achieve greater cohesiveness and efficiency to maximise the application of funds.
We will continue to honour, maintain and build upon existing Defence agreements
and particularly the Closer Defence Relationships with Australia as the corner stone of our bi-lateral security arrangements.
New Zealand First recognises the new threats posed by International Terrorism and rogue nations.
We also remain committed to New Zealand’s anti-nuclear policy
and are equally opposed to the possession and use of, chemical and biological weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
The most valuable asset in our Defence Forces is our personnel.
Accordingly we must protect their conditions of service.
We recognise both the unique situation faced by Defence Force families and the inability of service personnel to advocate on their own behalf for improvements or adjustments to their levels of remuneration.
Our Defence Forces need security in planning which will be enhanced if there is cross party consensus.
New Zealand First also values the positive part that our Defence Forces have played in teaching and guiding young New Zealanders through the Limited Service Volunteer Scheme which enables those young Kiwis to go on to lead productive lives as valued members of the community.
We also place great value on the service given by our veterans and accept that the nation has a special obligation to them, particularly if they have suffered as a result of their service.
PLANS
New Zealand First will:
• actively pursue peace and stability through Diplomacy, Economic and Technical Aid, Trade and the use of International Forums and associations including the United Nations.
• contribute to global security through the provision of Defence Force elements as and when appropriate.
• make greater use of our Defence Forces including Regular and Territorial/Reserve elements both in New Zealand and in the South Pacific region in civil assistance and civil aid programmes.
• honour, maintain and build upon existing Defence agreements including the Five Power Defence Agreement and the Closer Defence Relationships with Australia.
We will seek to strengthen relationships with the United States, Britain, France and all South Pacific Island nations with the aim of extending opportunities for military training at all levels.
• expand the Limited Service Volunteer scheme in order to provide training for youth at risk aimed at building confidence, self esteem, responsibility, and self-discipline.
• ensure the early procurement of essential modern equipment for our Defence Force to avoid obsolescence and to enhance a high level of interoperability with our closest allies.
• establish an Armed Forces Pay Review Board (AFPRB) within the State Services Commission (SSC), which will be tasked to report annually to the Minister on pay and conditions.
The aim will be to move the issue from the office of the Chief of Defence Force (CDF) into the Executive, so leaving CDF free to advocate for the forces and to command them.
By this means we will rebuild the social contract necessary between officers and their personnel and we will put the responsibility for remuneration of our Defence Force personnel with the Executive who are accountable to the electorate, on whose behalf the armed forces serve.
• maintain New Zealand’s commitment to its Nuclear Free Policy.
• work towards funding our Defence Forces at a level of 2% of GDP.
and, • continue to structure policy as closely as possible around the recommendations that we supported, in the Defence Beyond 2000.
Defence Force Structure and Capability
• create a new maritime focused Defence force along the lines of the British Royal Marines and the US Marine Corps that concentrates our Defence Force elements.
• ensure that this Marine Force has fully integrated combat elements including an Air Combat Capability capable of providing close air support
and is capable of deploying across sea gaps
and landing ashore in the absence of port facilities.
• maximise efficiencies by streamlining command, control, training, administration and support.
• concentrate Officer training into a single Officer Training facility in order to socialise the core culture of the new organisation into an integrated whole.
This will eliminate interservice competition and the likelihood of dysfunctionalism at senior levels.
• refocus the Infantry Battalions into three Marine Battalions (2 regular and one territorial) capable of deployment by air, land or sea, by foot or by vehicle
with their primary area of operations being the South Pacific and South East Asia but with that ability to operate with Coalition Forces anywhere.
• expand the size of the New Zealand Special Air Service
and have them work more closely with British, Australian Defence Forces and US in order to improve their experience base and unit/ force interoperability.
• review the current Light Armoured Vehicle III and Light Operational Vehicle buys with a view to ensuring we have the right vehicles for this new Marine focus.
Veterans Affairs
• consult closely with the Defence Force, the Royal New Zealand Returned Services Association (RNZRSA) and other veterans associations to ensure that our veterans are properly recognised for their special contribution to New Zealand’s security
and that their pensions maintain relativity plus an additional amount of 10% in recognition of their sacrifice.
• conduct a full and thorough Commission of Inquiry into the plight of Vietnam Veterans and their children who have been affected by Agent Orange with the aim of taking positive action for those in need of medical assistance.
• take positive action to assist the veterans of the nuclear testing at Christmas Island and their families in their legal action to achieve compensation for the negative effects on their health.
• work with the RNZRSA towards providing selected veterans of World War II, the Korean War, Malaya and Vietnam with a sustainable health care package.
and, • consult with the public on the concept of constructing a National Memorial Park incorporating memorials and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, to provide a place of beauty, and of peace and tranquillity in recognition of their sacrifices.
ECONOMIC STATEMENT
New Zealand’s economic performance has been poor since the mid 1980s.
We have seen a focus on the reduction of inflation and, for the most part, a mean-minded approach to social spending.
Success with inflation has come at a huge price.
New Zealand’s real GDP growth rate (2001) was 1.8%.
Average GDP volume growth (from 1985 - 2001) was 2.0%.
This compares unfavourably with the OECD average of 2.7%.
Predicted growth of around 3%, while being described as ‘robust’ by the present government continues to lag behind predicted growth in other OECD countries and is far below both our potential and our requirements.
New Zealand is now placed at the lower end of ‘developed’ countries, and our position has been deteriorating.
Real and lasting national prosperity will only come via economic growth.
New Zealand First recognises that our lifeblood has always been trade.
Export-led economic growth is the key to our future development.
Clearly we have under-performed.
Certainly this is our problem.
There are a number of major factors in this poor performance:
• an emphasis on the interests of the financial sector at the expense of the productive sector and exporting.
• over valued exchange rate coupled with high interest rates.
• the aforementioned focus on inflation.
and
• programmes of privatisation.
The combined effect of these and other factors has seen the development of an economy skewed towards the financial sector and overseas borrowing, without providing a capacity to service rapidly increasing overseas debt.
New Zealand’s net foreign debt of over 59% of GDP is higher than that of our trading partners.
A worsening balance of payments deficit is again approaching $4 billion.
In order to improve our current account we must of course maximise our tourism opportunities
as well as improve our export performance
and promote import substitution.
There needs to be a fundamental change.
The plain fact is that New Zealand does not have a big enough savings base.
Remedying this situation is the key to our future.
New Zealand First has a plan that sets targets towards providing a sound economic base by the year 2020.
It is a plan based on honest reporting of progress towards that goal.
It is a plan that includes all sections of our society.
Compared with our trading partners, New Zealand is relatively poor.
Our per capita GDP is now only 57% of that of the United States.
Where once New Zealand’s average net wage was 77% of that of the USA (1974), it is now less than 50% (2001).
Of greater concern is the distribution of income and wealth.
There is a growing chasm between the haves and have-nots.
Our employment growth has averaged less than 1% pa since 1985.
The average over the same period has been 1.9% in Australia and 2.9% in Ireland.
An unemployment rate of over 5% is improved but still unacceptable.
Creating employment opportunities through economic growth, up-skilling our workforce, and strategic immigration are vital.
New Zealand First’s economic policy prescription is based on the promotion of sustainable exported economic growth.
Employment growth for an increasingly well-educated and healthy populace,
and fairer participation in our economy for all New Zealanders remain our policy planning priorities.
The budgets presented by Treasurer Winston Peters in 1997 and 1998 took major steps towards providing the conditions for economic and social progress.
Increased quality Government spending helped overcome the recessionary effects of the international economic downturn from Asia.
Monetary policy set the scene for the improved results enjoyed by our rural and other export sectors.
As the terms of trade deteriorate the time is right to pursue policies which deliver to all New Zealanders the benefits they have been promised as a result of a decade and a half of reform.
Election year offers of small tax cuts will not deliver these benefits, neither will ‘more of the same’.
Responsible business leaders are now recognising that pure market forces have failed to deliver either economic gains or social justice.
Adjustments to the economic environment need not be wholesale but do need to be well directed.
Achieving economic growth of 6% by 2006/2007 is a realistic goal, with stronger world economic growth and a sharper export focus.
New Zealand First will aim to treble exports, in real terms, by 2020
and will set export goals to reach that target.
ECONOMIC PLAN
INTRODUCTION
A New Zealand First administration will promote economic policies with an export focus:
Monetary Policy
The more flexible monetary policy prescription promoted by New Zealand First in 1996 contributed to a substantial lowering of both exchange and interest rates.
New Zealand First will:
• promote a balanced and flexible monetary policy of low exchange and interest rates conducive to real export and employment growth.
• amend the Reserve Bank Act and make export, growth, and employment objectives part of the policy targets agreement between the new government and the Governor of the Reserve Bank.
Trade Policy
I: Exports
The export focus of New Zealand First’s plans provide the base from which a re-orientation towards high technology and further processing industries will lead the way to an export performance that builds on the best of the present
and provides growth for the future.
New Zealand First will:
• aim to treble exports, in real terms, by 2020
and will set goals to reach that target commencing with a major Campaign for Exports in 2003:
• promote a balanced and flexible monetary policy of low exchange and interest rates that are conducive to real export growth
(export and employment objectives will be made part of the policy targets agreement between the new government and the Governor of Reserve Bank).
• focus on New Zealand’s trading performance.
• expand development banking and venture capital opportunities.
• develop, in conjunction with the export sector, an export credit guarantee scheme
that works.
• announce tax abatement and concession policies to ensure that viable exporting opportunities and innovation are not lost (20% tax rate on ‘new export’ net income).
• ensure that New Zealand’s Trade Development Board maintains and expands our present markets
whilst developing emerging markets,
and on the promotion of industries where we have a clear comparative advantage.
• further promote innovation by tax incentivised research and development comparative to other first world nations,
and in ensuring that technology transfer occurs within both the public and the private sectors.
• increase the international competitiveness of New Zealand business by reducing red-tape and compliance costs
and working towards lower corporate taxation.
• conduct a full scale independent inquiry into all Government red tape and compliance costs requiring that their existence be justified,
and further requiring that the Committee of Inquiry report to the Government within one year of the next election.
II: Imports
New Zealand First will:
• give priority to New Zealand industries and communities in setting any programme on tariffs.
Future tariff removal will be consistent with the policies and progress of our trading partners.
We aim to win the export and employment stakes,
not some artificial tariff removal race.
III: Import Substitution
New Zealand First will:
• encourage businesses to engage in import substitution.
• place a “buy New Zealand first” purchasing requirement on taxpayer and ratepayer owned businesses and State Owned Enterprises.
Employment Policy
New Zealand First will encourage long term commitments by all parties to employment contracts, and so provide stability and certainty within industry.
The key is to create the conditions that will encourage job creation in a growing economy.
New Zealand First will:
• establish an Industrial Relations Advisory Group.
• amend industrial laws to ensure that casualisation employment practices are fair and just to all parties.
• review the practice of short term employment contracts.
• conduct an inquiry into waterfront employment structures and operational practices.
• allocate sufficient resources to enable the Labour Department to give greater emphasis to education (small employers/new entrants to workforce) and OSH inspections.
and, • review the Holidays Act to ensure fairness and flexibility.
Business Development
New Zealand First will:
• progressively reduce business compliance costs.
• ensure accident compensation is made fairer,
more efficient,
and more cost effective.
• place greater emphasis on developing partnerships between the private sector and central and local government.
This includes encouraging regional development, and Research and Development.
• apply incentives to business activities which add value, create employment, provide export growth (or import substitution), and/or contribute to regional development.
• reduce tax compliance costs by monitoring, evaluating, and amending measures introduced during our time in government.
Priorities remain: streamlining taxation analysis and the preparation of returns.
and making the tax system as neutral and equitable as possible.
• remain opposed to any increase in general taxation
and for the goal of increased competiveness via reduced corporate taxation.
• introduce an accelerated depreciation regime for specified industries and selected approved investments so as to assist business development.
• support Skill NZ in enhancing the relationship between employers and ITOs in the development of programmes which up-skill labour to meet employer’s needs.
• improve transportation.
• further develop export guarantees to encourage export growth.
• facilitate technology transfer to ensure that developments can be readily transferred between sectors.
and, • expand venture capital funding to encourage innovation and export and/or employment growth.
Immigration
New Zealand First’s immigration policy has one clear aim: that immigration is in New Zealand’s interests.
To that end, New Zealand First will:
• drastically reduce the inflow of migrants.
• review ‘family reunification’ policies which have rapidly become an open door for large numbers of unqualified migrants.
• introduce a probationary period for new immigrants.
All new immigrants will need to keep an unblemished record for three years before becoming eligible for citizenship