Create over 3000 new Whānau Ora navigator positions as follows:
500 hapū and iwi-led navigators
120 navigators with specialist skills in family violence
500 Pasefika church and communities-led TaTupu navigators
1000 employment-led navigators
1000 housing-led navigators
Invest in the establishment of the TaTupu - Outcomes Framework for Pacific families.
The TaTupu approach is a cultural, social and economic transformational change kaupapa-led by Pacific Island communities
ORANGA TAMARIKI
Children's Wellbeing
The Māori Party will: Increasing the numbers of kaiwhakawhānaungatanga (whānau researchers ) from 20 nationally to 150 in Oranga Tamariki
Requiring Oranga Tamariki to engage in strategic partnerships with iwi and Māori organisations
as a primary mechanism to improve outcomes for vulnerable Māori children, young people and their whānau
Requiring Oranga Tamariki to invest in Whānau Ora to assist whānau to develop a stronger understanding on their own strengths
and how they can better access social services to support better outcomes for vulnerable children
Implementing the Waikato Tainui-led model Mokopuna Ora in more areas
Creating 12 pilots based around the 1000 Days Trust model, an early intervention model which consists of a week-long residential services supported by a 1000 Days follow up service for whānau.
The intended outcome for 1000 days is to proactively support whānau parenting, to establish healthy and positive relationships with their children, and to be backed with the tools to change the trajectory for whānau who may otherwise be placed at risk.
POVERTY AND THE RISING COST OF LIVING
We commit to eliminating poverty, disparity and inequality.
The Māori Party will: Set a target to eliminate poverty in Aotearoa by 2025.
Increase the focus on the role of the Ministerial Committee on Poverty with a renewed work programme to address the drivers of poverty for tamariki and their whānau
Implement a new agreed all of Government Equity Accord that will address government department accountabilities and performance.
These will be evaluated through a cross party agreed performance framework that includes specific targets related to department legislated activities, including specific monitoring spend on Māori/Pacific Health and Social outcomes with benchmarking and publicly published performance data
Establish a Māori/Pasifika Health Commissioning Unit to identify health needs, identify evidence based interventions and approaches, and then prioritise funding to any organisation that can deliver the best contribution to outcomes.
This Unit will measure, monitor and report on the funding and the outcomes
Establish a new role of senior independent Equity Advisor for Outcomesunder the Equity Accord, who is responsible to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and Minister of Māori Development that will be established to directly advise on progress on the Equity Accord and provide oversight on the Māori/Pasifika Health Commissioning Unit
Make a 'cost of living' adjustment to all benefits
Introduce a living wage for all workers
HEALTH
The Māori Party will:  Government investment
Secure the status of rongoa and other natural health products
Establish a new Māori/Pacific Social Investment Fund managed by the Māori Pasifika Health Commissioning Unit, funded through a mix of Government direct investment,
reprioritisation of poor existing expenditure within MOH,
and the potential establishment of a Social Investment Bank (as established in the UK); as well as the Social Impact Investor market and Philanthropy Funds
Expand investment in Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies
and working alongside the newly established Social Investment Agency to identify and invest in the development of new industry intermediary entities (potentially established iwi groups, scaled Māori NGO/Private sector entities) that evidence their ability to work with target cohorts of population, coordinate service/intervention design, procure services, and measure outcomes
Direct Pharmac to explicitly seek to address the disparity in health outcomes for Māori and Pasifika when funding decisions are made
Ensure Māori and Pasifika are actively positioned to take advantage of industry advances in health and social sector technologies, through the Equity Accord not just as end users - but as developers also.
This includes all emergent technologies that directly impact on positive outcomes for Māori and Pacific communities - new treatment modalities, information/digital health technologies, new licensing arrangements for new pharmaceuticals and treatments including medical marijuana, smoking cessation technologies, biotechnology advances including genetics and technologies specific to DNA, and other emergent social technologies.
Community services
Free GP visits and dental care (including after hours and weekends) for those under 18 years
Remove the $5 prescription charge for low income whānau and fully subsidise all prescriptions for over 65 year olds and under 18 year olds
Free prescription glasses and hearing aids for low income whānau in need
Free annual medical and dental visit for over 55 year olds
Increase in the number of mobile health clinics in rural communities
Resurrect the Drinking Water Supply Fund, and delegate Te Puni Kōkiri to support 63 rural, isolated Māori communities to gain access to a drinkable water supply
Increase in Kaupapa Māori: services and drug and alcohol residential treatment centres and community-based programmes
mental health residential centres and community-based programmes
community-led birthing centres, antenatal, maternity and postnatal care services and programmes
hospice facilities, homecare services and programmes to support terminally ill patients and their whānau.
Explore the rollout of iMOKO nationwide
Screen for gout and uric acid tests when assessing for other conditions such as diabetes and heart disease amongst Māori and Pacific communities.
Specialist services
Drug, Alcohol, Addiction
Invest in whānau-focused alcohol and drug addiction, recovery and restoration programmes and services including in prisons
Establish a moratorium on new liquor outlets and gaming machines in the community
Sexual violence
Provide more funding for specialist services, treatment and support for those affected by sexual violence and abuse
Provide more funding to frontline services such as Women's Refuge to address the increasing demand for family violence services
Disability
Increase support for Enabling Good Lives
so whānau have more choice, greater control and flexibility over support and funding in their everyday lives
Rheumatic fever
Expand a door-knocking campaign to educate aiga Pacific on the causes of rheumatic fever and other skin diseases
Increase the investment in the prevention of rheumatic fever such as insulating low income homes, ensuring Housing New Zealand homes have a bach or extra rooms to address over-crowding
Subsidise power bills by 50% for households whose members have rheumatic fever
Suicide
Resource whānau to be equipped to work together and develop their own solutions to suicide in both prevention, post-vention and health promotion approaches (Waka Hourua Māori and Pasifika suicide prevention)
Resource and implement the Turamarama Declaration.
Expand Oranga Rangatahi - the Rangatahi Suicide Prevention Strategy
Lower the threshold to access appropriate support for individuals experiencing distress
Regulatory
Healthy kai
Remove GST off fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and milk
Introduce labels on drinks and processed foods that have the number of teaspoons of sugar they contain, clearly marked in large print
Tobacco
Build on our smokefree by Aotearoa 2025 reforms.
Introduce legislation prohibiting smoking in cars while children are passengers by the end of 2019
Reduce the supply and import of tobacco products commensurate with the decrease in demand for those tobacco products
Limit a number of licenced vendors who sell tobacco products and limit supply to them of low tar only tobacco products by 2020
Create a new licencing programme for vendors who sell tobacco products, based on the current liquor licencing rules
Heavily subsidise e-cigarettes and other vaping products
Increase the minimum purchase age from 18 to 21 over the next five years
P and other harmful substances
Review the effectiveness of support services, education strategies, rehabilitation and communication strategies related to methamphetamine
Develop a national strategy that is whānau-centred and community-led to get beneath the drivers of P and address the wider determinants of health disparities
Increase the resources appropriated for P prevention, rehabilitation and education
Obliterate all synthetic cannabis and other psychoactive substances from our communities
Increase the numbers of respite care beds for p addicts in kaupapa-led A and D facilities
ORANGA RANGATAHI
Young Peoples Wellbeing
Expand Taiohi Ararau (Passport to Life) to every rangatahi aged 17 to 20 years to ensure every rangatahi leaves college with a driver's licence, a bank account, an IRD number and a curriculum vitae
Free public transport for students at all levels
Expand the Rangatahi Suicide Prevention Strategy
Improve access to vocational training and pathways in rural and isolated Māori communities
Expand reciprocal Working Holiday Schemes to support greater rangatahi participation in overseas work holiday exchanges,
and broaden appeal to international youth wanting to experience Māori culture
Introduce international scholarships for rangatahi to travel overseas to attend indigenous youth, educational and cultural conferences
Partner with iwi and local communities to provide better connections to identity, culture and language for rangatahi.
Establish 2,000 Pacific youth scholarships and 300 Pacific youth internships per year
At High School
Remove fees on NCEA exams so all students are able to receive their qualifications regardless of the whānau financial position
Establish driver licence classes at secondary schools
and provide access to identity documents through expanding the Taiohi Ararau (Passport to Life) programme
Target investments in Waka Ama, Kapahaka clubs, community, regional and national rangatahi leadership hui
Appoint mental health youth workers in schools
School leavers & NEET
Introduce a 6 month 'earn as you learn' job experience scheme for unemployed youth
Establish tuakana/teina role modelling programmes to encourage and incentivise rangatahi to make sound career planning decisions
Create more pre-degree pathways for Māori and Pacific students who have not achieved entrance requirements to undertake tertiary education
At Tertiary
Introduce First in Whānau scholarships to target the 'First in Whānau to engage in a Bachelor level qualification' programme.
Increase the number of Teach NZ scholarships for Māori teachers and te reo Māori teachers
Write off the living cost component of all student loans and explore the viability of writing off the total student loan for those who work in a job equivalent to their qualification in Aotearoa for a period of five years
Reinstate student allowance for Post-Graduate students
Introduce a universal student allowance and make a 'cost of living' adjustment
Reduce the repayment levels on a student loan starting at 4% ($40,000), 6% ($50,000) and 8% (for $60,000 and over).
Remove the 8EFTS cap for medical students
Investigate and implement new whānau-centred, student-led approaches to ensure rangatahi are well equipped to undertake and successfully complete tertiary study at all levels
Rangatahi Entrepreneurs
Implement the recommendations from the Turongo Māhina-a-rangi Leaders by Design Summit 2017
Set up community-based Māori Innovation and Entrepreneurship hubs
Support and harness the inner 'tutu' of every rangatahi to realise their entrepreneurial potential through re-purposing Matariki X as a three-day workshop offered throughout Aotearoa
Provide low interest business start-up loans for rangatahi entrepreneurs
ORANGA KAUMĀTUA
Elders Wellbeing
Kaumātua (elders) are a taonga (treasure) across all cultures.
As such, we all have an obligation to ensure they are nurtured, loved and respected through their retirement.
We embrace the knowledge, values and customs that they hand down for future generations.
Our elders are our window to the past, our connection to our present, and our backbone for the future.
The Māori Party wants to ensure that all our kaumātua have access to the services they need to enable them to live comfortably and securely in their retirement.
The Māori Party will:Legislation and government investment
Establish a new ministerial portfolio to ensure greater government accountability for retirement policy
and greater investment in aged care for the benefit of all kaumātua
Amend existing retirement policy to enable all eligible retirees to take their superannuation at the full rate, earlier than the current eligibility age of 65 years
Review and reset the eligibility criteria for accessing superannuation for Māori and Pacific and consider lowering the age to 63 until life expectancy outcomes for Māori and Pacific are the same as for non-Māori and non-Pacific
Introduce legislation that supports better regulations of aged care facilities
Reinvest in the aged care sector to ensure the sector is able to provide greater care of Kaumātua living in rest homes or aged care facilities
Develop government enabled co-investment options with whānau, hapū, iwi or community housing providers and private equity firms to support the building of fully serviced, high quality retirement communities
Wellbeing & Cost of Living
Expand services for Gold card holders by introducing free healthcare through Whānau Ora services
Free annual health and free annual dental check for all people aged over 60 years
Fully subsidised prescriptions for everyone over 60 years of age
Free bi-annual eyesight checks for everyone over 60 years of age
Introduce subsidies for renewable energy solutions for goldcard holders through our Iwi Energy policy
Work with local government to provide rate payment assistance for retired homeowners who are unable to pay their rates arrears due to the rising costs of living
Increase financial support to enable whānau to care for kaumatua so they can remain with their whānau (if they choose to) and better support kaumātua who are struggling with the rising living costs
Advocate for financial support for kaumātua who provide cultural or religious support to organisations or agencies on a voluntary basis
Free public transport for those aged over 60 years
Increase navigators for Whānau Ora and other support workers connecting and engaging with our elderly, to provide a safe support network to prevent elder abuse
Establish specialised Māori-led elderly residential care facilities, medical and support services
Grandparents as carers
Increase support from the Oranga Tamariki Agency for grandparents raising their grandchildren to ensure that grandparents are well resourced to raise their grandchildren - to get the right support, at the right time
Establish a programme that allows young people to be mentored and taught life skills, budgeting, driving lessons, DIY and home craft skills by kaumātua willing to offer their knowledge, time and support.
Fund and support grandparents who have taken on fulltime responsibility to care for their grandchildren outside of the care and protection system
EDUCATION
The Māori Party wants mainstream classrooms to speak the language of our tupuna;
to include Māori ways of knowing in the curriculum,
and to hold our tupuna up as role models of academic excellence.
We agree with Māori parents who want their children to learn in schools that teach them that their ancestors were great philosophers, scientists, mathematicians, entrepreneurs and researchers (Macfarlane, Webber, McRae & Cookson-Cox, 2014).
The Māori Party wants all tamariki to stand tall in the knowledge that they have a rich and distinct heritage of scholarly endeavours.
Distinct tribal knowledge and role models matter as they serve as a solid foundation for the transformational learning, innovation, and intellectual and social development of our tamariki.
Not only are these ingredients a remedy to the continuing failures of the western education system, but they act as a positive approach to dealing with low academic efficacy, low self-esteem and poor school engagement.
To effect educational transformation and reform, the Māori Party will support schools, kura, kōhanga reo and tertiary education providers in conjunction with hapū and iwi in each region to make conscious, courageous and unapologetic decisions to carve out time and space to affirm tribal knowledge and history - legitimising its dignity, identity and integrity.
The Māori Party will: Early Childhood
Provide free early childhood education for all preschoolers
Work with kōhanga reo to develop a regime to increase the numbers of tamariki attending kōhanga
Increase funding for kōhanga reo, puna reo and kura kaupapa Māori
Build the pipeline of language learning (Māori medium) through kōhanga reo, language immersion primary schools, intermediate and secondary schools to ensure tamariki who pathway through this system are fluent speakers of te reo at the end of their secondary schooling years
Primary and Intermediate
Reduce class sizes in primary schools
Provide free afterschool care and holiday programmes for all primary school- aged children
Introduce financial literacy classes and savings programme in all primary and intermediate schools
Introduce counsellors for youth mental health in all high schools
Provide free public transport for all school aged and tertiary students
Improve the rates of literacy and numeracy amongst Māori and Pacific school aged children
so that they are comparable with that of their non-Māori counterparts
Continue to support kura hourua charter schools
TE REO MĀORI
We have a vision for a proud, bilingual Aotearoa that supports Māori culture, language and Māori identity to flourish. The Māori Party will:
Bilingualise towns and cities, starting with bi-lingual signage in Rotorua, Ōtaki and Wairoa
Establish Reo Housing Development pilots in partnership between whānau, hapū, iwi, councils and government to create communities of reo-speaking papakāinga
Establish a dedicated Centre of Excellence for research, development and teacher training for reo Māori
Make te reo Māori, Māori history and culture core curriculum subjects in all schools up to year 10
Work with the Ministry for Education and Teacher Training providers to develop a strategy to implement te reo Māori, history and culture in all schools a part of the core curriculum to Year 10
Provide more funding for digital learning and digital learning programmes in te reo Māori
Increase overall funding for Māori medium education
Promote Māori medium as a viable pathway for student success and achievement
Create parity of funding between Kōhanga reo and ECE providers
Set up one year teaching courses for te reo Māori speakers
Increase the number of Teach NZ scholarships for Māori medium teachers who are teaching STEM subjects, te reo Māori and Māori history and culture
Write off student loans for teachers of te reo and Māori medium kaiako who have served more than five years teaching te reo or in the medium of te reo
Establish a fund to enable one person in every non-reo speaking whānau to study Te reo Māori full time for two years at an approved reo wānanga or institute.
The fund would pay for tuition and course related fees and provide an allowance similar to the 'Career Changer' scholarship - of up to $500 per week to study
Establish a $1m annual fund to support Kura Reo
Establish a $5m annual fund to support Māori Performing Arts to flourish and include provision for Matatini kapa haka performers to travel as a part of tourism and economic development delegations to promote Māori language and culture
Support a Te reo Māori Anake Village at Te Matatini, with provision for free entry to Matatini
Establish a $1m annual fund to support Ngā Manu Kōrero, a Primary School Reo Rua Spelling Bee Annual Competition, an annual Secondary National Quiz competition and a Māori Toastmasters competition.
TERTIARY EDUCATION
In tertiary education settings, students are discriminated against in that they are the only group in society who must borrow in order to cover their living costs while they study.
Many students are withdrawing from their studies due to the rising cost of living and other costs associated with full time study.
This means they are taking out loans for tertiary education they are unable to complete, and adding to their debt profile as a result of inadequate support to fulfil their potential.
Student allowances should be universal to recognise the upskilling and contribution that all students will make to the workforce on completion of their studies.
This will also reduce the debt a student will have when they enter the work force and make repaying the loan a more achievable goal, and potentially make the borrower take the loan more seriously and repay it sooner.
The Māori Party will:Address student loans and allowances schemes to minimise the burden of student debt and ensure students are financially able to complete their courses of study at all levels from undergraduate to doctorate
Introduce a range of amendments and regulations to better support student achievement, student representation, and cultivate an environment that supports lifelong learning
Amend the Education Act 1989 to reflect a definition of education that promotes and is consistent with the principle of lifelong learning
Establish a biennial tertiary summit for students, and relevant ministers (Education, Māori Affairs, Science and Innovation) to collaborate on student aspirations and achievements
Increase investment in student-led equity initiatives to grow representation of minority and marginalised tertiary students at local, regional, national and international levels
Repeal the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Act 2011 which undermines the student voice and find a more workable solution
Remove the cap on the number of allowable Wānanga,
and support them with stand-alone legislation which requires mana whenua and Māori stakeholders to be part of the review and monitoring processes.
Require all tertiary institutions to develop key performance indicators to ensure that training provided aligns with industry demand
Introduce measures that improve access to tertiary education and provide the support needed to boost Māori and Pasifika participation and qualification attainment
Develop a four year zero fee scholarship to target the 'First in Whānau to engage in a Bachelor level qualification' programme
Lift the cap on the number of students able to take level one to four programmes (foundational and trade training level programmes) in Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) and Private Training Establishments and Wānanga
Invest more in culturally responsive pastoral care initiatives that support students to achieve their tertiary education aspirations and to help them navigate the services they need including financial literacy, health and academic preparatory skills
Double the numbers of Māori and Pacific students successfully completing a Bachelor's degree in three years.
Reduce the attrition rates of Māori and Pacific students in bachelor's degrees by half by 2025.
Double the existing Māori and Pacific trade training and cadetships placements per annum for the next five years
Create more pre-degree pathways for Māori and Pacific students who haven't achieved entrance requirements to undertake tertiary education
Improve pastoral care initiatives to provide culturally responsive wrap around support to students for financial literacy; health and mental health support; basic study skills; academic writing and self-directed learning skills.
Partner with iwi and employers to provide more scholarship and internship opportunities for whānau and to provide better connections for students to their tribal identity, culture and language.
Establish tuakana/teina mentoring and coaching initiatives that encourages a seamless transition from secondary to tertiary education
Retain interest-free loans
Introduce a universal student allowance with cost of living adjustment to guarantee a livable income during study, for all tertiary students, including post-graduate students
Write off the living cost component of all student loans and explore the viability of writing off the total student loan for those who work in a job equivalent to their qualification in Aotearoa for a period of five years
Reduce the repayment levels on a student loan starting at 4% ($40,000), 6% ($50,000) and 8% (for $60,000 and over)
Remove the 8 year student loan cap for medical students
Increase the accommodation supplement by half for all tertiary students
Create an equitable funding regime for research conducted in wānanga
Ensure mātauranga Māori is one of the National Science Challenge priorities
EMPLOYMENT
The Māori Party will:Introduce a living wage for all workers
Make a 'cost of living' adjustment to all work related benefits
Provide research and development grants to support Māori businesses
Ensure local and central government procurement policies include employment and workforce development outcomes for Māori and Pacific Island whānau
Introduce a 12 month job experience scheme for unemployed youth and pay a Youth Allowance to cover costs arising from employment related activities
Establish 1,000 employment-focused navigators to connect Māori and Pacific Island jobseekers with employers and also provide pastoral care and support
Explore paid internships at taxpayer funded organisations for Māori and Pacific graduates to grow the next generation of Māori and Pacific leaders
Introduce a 6 month 'earn as you learn' job experience scheme for unemployed youth
Work with the recreation, hospitality and tourism industry to develop international work exchange programmes for rangatahi aged between15-25 years old.
Grow the number of businesses that hire apprentices by extending apprenticeships to emerging industries such as those in the STEM and digital sectors
Develop advanced apprenticeships schemes in the renewable energy, agriculture, forestry, construction, and engineering sectors for people wanting to upskill or retrain in another industry.
Introduce fee free Master of Business Administration (MBA) programmes for people who have the relevant work experience but no formal tertiary qualifications.
Work with the Health and Social Services sector, and the ICT, Electronics and Telecommunications sector to design and implement cadetships for technician roles.
Invest in community-led pastoral care and skills matching programmes to support people who are new to the workforce or returning to the workforce after a prolonged absence.
Free public transport for first year apprentices
WHARE ORANGA
Housing
Everyone has the right to an affordable, safe, warm and well insulated and well maintained home.
Everyone, no matter where they are in the country, no matter what their ethnicity, should live in a safe, warm, healthy affordable home.
The goal of home ownership is a pipe dream for some living in our more expensive cities such as Auckland.
In many areas of New Zealand, tenants are finding more and more of their income is being spent on rent and as those rents rise, so too does the pressure on them to keep a roof over their heads, especially as wage increases struggle to keep pace with rising housing costs.
The Māori Party will:Develop a National Housing Strategy
taking into account the specific rights and interests of Māori under Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Establish a Housing Sector Committee within the first 3 months of the next Parliament to co-design a 25 year government enabled housing strategy that builds on He Whare Āhuru He Oranga Tangata and addresses the entire housing spectrum
Homelessness
Adequate housing is a determinant of health and social outcomes.
Homelessness is a mark of failure for communities in providing basic security.1
The OHCR indicate that homelessness is a prima facie violation of Article 11(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which recognises the right of everyone to housing, adequate standard of living and continuous improvements of living conditions.
The Māori Party will:Require the government to meet its international obligations under Art 11(1) ICESCR and set a target to eliminate homelessness by 2021
End homelessness for everyone as a matter of urgent priority
Address the over representation of Māori and Pacific whānau in severe housing deprivation
and hold the Government to account to reduce the rates of homelessness and severe housing deprivation through the setting and monitoring of specific targets and measures.
Build 30,000 houses over 2018/19 and a further 30,000 houses over 2019-2022 comprised of a mixture of social housing and apartment housing developments in Auckland and 30,000 houses over three years in other areas of NZ where whānau experience severe housing deprivation
Invest in community and iwi-led projects to grow the number of social housing developments available for whānau in need
Prioritise a $1 billion Housing Fund for innovative housing products to more easily accommodate the specific needs of kaumātua, rangatahi and their whānau/families and extended whānau
Introduce New Community Housing Associations made up of community and mana whenua representatives to purchase and manage state housing stock from Government for social and affordable housing
Advocate for the Crown to make on account settlement to iwi whose claims are not yet settled to enable their participation in social / housing development opportunities
Enable marae, hapū and iwi to purchase at cost government housing stock to hold in trust for
Support communities to coordinate and expand on modern papakainga as urban solutions to land scarcity
Promote 'wood first' policy that achieves better quality housing options
1000 new Whānau Ora navigators with specialist housing knowledge to support whānau in to homes, and to retain them in those homes
Fast track the resourcing and funding of Marae and community organisations to provide immediate emergency housing for everyone in need
Review the stock valuation of state housing and explore the viability of transferring a proportion of the ownership and management of state housing to Māori housing providers, hapū and iwi
Support iwi-based and kaupapa Māori providers and consortia to participate in RfP processes through a non-competitive process that supports providers to become 'investment ready' and meet MSD contracting requirements
Support cultural practices of extended whānau living arrangements to accommodate whānau housing needs by establishing an independent design review panel for all HNZC, urban regeneration and kāinga whenua infrastructure grant and Māori housing fund applicants.
Renters Rights and Interests
Prioritise a review of the rental sector to ensure that whānau have access to suitable, habitable homes and tenure security at a fair price
Review the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 to restore equity to the Tenant and Landlord relationship and ensure whānau can enjoy greater housing security
Improve tenants' rights
Freeze rents on all social housing stock and review every five years
Introduce housing navigators to support homeless whānau and individuals to get into homes,
and support tenants and landlords with understanding their rights.
Enforce compulsory annual warrant of fitness for all rental homes and introduce Housing Inspectors to ensure compliance
Provide government subsidies for the installation of solar panels and efficient energy solutions, water tanks and sustainable heating solutions.
Explore rent caps to ensure fair prices and affordability of private rental properties
Require landlords to test for methamphetamine use if there is a reasonable suspicion that meth may have been cooked in the house before new tenants occupy it
Introduce a cap on rent increases for all state-owned social housing stock
and explore rent caps for private rentals
Impose an obligation on landlords to ensure tenants are not out of pocket when landlords give notice due to the proposed sale of their property
Require all Community Housing Providers and all Crown providers of state housing (such as HNZC) to provide for tenant involvement in governance, through boards to whom the CHP or HNZC must report regularly.
Funding for their operation and a budget for tenant-led initiatives will be a required operating cost for the Community Housing Provider or Housing New Zealand Corporation
Expanding the Kainga Ora approach with the introduction of a 'Well Housing' Initiative.
We will use data to identify whānau in substandard living arrangements and work with intermediaries to target and co-ordinate a range of assistance as part of an expanded Kainga Ora initiative
Reintroducing the Drinkable Water Supply fund to ensure every home is attached to a drinkable water supply
Provide increased government subsidies for the installation of solar panels and water tanks
Take urgent steps to tackle substandard housing and infrastructure in rural and urban areas
Simplify rent subsidies such as the Accommodation Supplement and Income Related Rent subsidies package to allow more whānau to capitalise on their family support tax credits, income related rent subsidy and/or accommodation supplement allowances as a deposit for a home
Explore subsidies and tax breaks for landlords who install heat pumps, insulation, DVS systems and wood pellet fires who tenant their homes with holders of community services cards to incentivise landlords to improve the state of their homes and to maintain the health of tenants
Create a new category of social housing within the private rental market where tenants with school-aged children and larger families are income-tested and their rents topped up by government with the amount tenants are unable to pay; so larger families and families with school-aged children are able to live with dignity and have access to homes more quickly.
Review the bond refund system and create fairer and more streamlined processes to get bonds released sooner
Improve regulations around the earlier release of bonds and create a Bond Release Checklist that clarifies the definition of ‘fair wear and tear' and ‘clean' so tenants are not left paying commercial cleaners with their bond when they leave a property
Home ownership
Plan better for the future, to ensure supply keeps pace with demand for homebuyers and tenants
Implement pathways to home ownership to support all whānau to achieve their housing aspirations
Work with the housing sector to build 60,000 houses in Auckland by 2022
Increase the number of qualified Māori across the whole construction sector
through initiatives such as trades training, and scholarships for Māori to develop their corporate skills in the construction industry
with the aim to reach a target of 400,000 new homes by 2045
Re-introduce the Māori Affairs low interest housing loans for Māori and Pacific families
and support an overall government approach to helping all low- income families to access low interest housing loans
Address the financial lending and legal barriers for papakāinga housing, shared ownership, and co-housing options by maintaining and extending the Kainga Whenua fund and introducing a Māori Housing Equity Fund
Enable whānau to capitalise on their family support allowance as a deposit for a home
Deliver financial literacy and budgeting support for successful low-interest housing loan applicants
Introduce options for 'Rent to buy' and 'equity financing' for first time home buyers
Subsidise private developers to include a percentage of affordable housing in their projects
Increase the numbers of homeowners
Extend the Home Ownership Pathways trials
Return to the capitalisation of the family benefit to target support where it matters most - for younger children and larger families
JUSTICE
The Māori Party will:Dismantle institutional racism within the Justice System as a matter of urgent priority
Place a moratorium on the building of new prisons
and expand the provision of Whare Oranga Ake and Māori Focus Units in existing prisons
Reduce the rate of Māori over-imprisonment by 30% by 2027
Reduce the prison muster by 25% by 2025
Provide racial bias training for all those who work in the criminal justice system
Establish an independent group to oversee Māori strategy in accordance with Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Implement, prioritise and expand restorative justice processes
through a kaupapa Māori lens
Support other culturally relevant approaches
to prison and crime rates that address violence in all its forms, reoffending and recidivism
and create a community-led fund for initiatives that focus on prevention of social harm
Review protocols around police use of pepper spray, guns and tasers
Legislative changes
Repeal legislation that disproportionately impacts Māori to reduce the targeted criminalisation of Māori and introduce restorative measures that ensure mana ōrite is upheld
Establish an Anti-Corruption Commission to absorb the investigative functions of state sector agencies
Disestablish the Independent Police Conduct Authority and transfer its functions to the Anti-Corruption Commission
Repealthe Bail Amendment Act 2013 to reduce the level of Māori imprisonment
Repealthe Sentencing and Parole Reform Act 2010 three strikes legislation
Repealthe Electoral (Disqualification of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Act to ensure every person in Aotearoa is able to exercise their democratic right to vote
Repeal the Three Strikes Legislation, Sentencing and Parole, and Victims Rights Acts
Remove criminal penalties for the possession and personal use of certain illicit drugs
Reviewsentencing laws to restrict prison to an option of last resort
Access to justice
Review funding of Community Law Centres to enable community legal services to be sustainable and to improve access to legal information, expertise and knowledge
Introduce Whānau Facilitators to ensure whānau are informed and able to discuss all their choices and the consequences (legal and non-legal) in the family court system
Require Whānau Facilitators work closely with iwi and hapū within the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies
Empower communities to reduce social harm and criminalisation
by introducing a suite of housing and hauora policies and initiatives
that support community-led, whānau-centred approaches
Adapt and expand specialist courts to align with evidence - mental health, homelessness, AODT
Increase funding and resources to support Marae-based youth court and restorative justice programmes,
including iwi panels in line with evaluation recommendations
Advance community-led restorative justice approaches to crime
Re-direct investment to community justice approaches to criminal justice
Support sustainable funding of Community Law Centres to improve access to legal information, expertise and knowledge and extend these services to a further six regions
Expand iwi panels, Kooti Rangatahi, Kooti Whāna, Matariki Courts across NZ
and increase the numbers of specialist courts including the AOD Courts, following an evaluation of the current trials underway in the Drug and Alcohol Treatment courts in Auckland
Establish Kooti Māori that encourages kaupapa-based approaches to dealing with whenua and whānau
Develop a community-centred approach to criminal justice and introduce a strategy to reinvest putea in community and criminal justice initiatives and approaches
Introduce therapeutic-based treatment and courts that invest in long-term reintegration and rehabilitation post-release
Provide more funding and resources to support Marae-based youth court and restorative justice programmes
Whare Oranga Ake
Extend Whare Oranga Ake to every prison service
to support long term reintegration and rehabilitation post-release
Create a community-led fund for initiatives that focus on preventing social harm
Initiate a Computers in Cells policy to support inmates to achieve literacy and numeracy goals
Initiate a review of the entire justice system and align it to tikanga Māori with a focus on removing institutional bias
Develop a Māori Pathway for Women Prisoners that are culturally responsive to assist in addressing the disproportionate number of Māori women in prison
Reinvest in Te Reo and Tikanga programmes in all prisons and programmes to support prisoners reintegrating back into the community
Support iwi-led, kaupapa focused existing prisons to reduce recidivism amongst offenders
Invest in more adequate social and community housing for offenders with links to access to appropriate community mental health services and support
Provide community-led alternatives to secure youth residences
Provide funding to run te reo Māori and tikanga programmes in all prisons
and programmes to support prisoners reintegrating back into the community
Expand the Passports to Life initiative to all paroled offenders and prisoners on probation to support them to get a driver's licence, identification, bank account or curriculum vitae.
Family violence
Increase funding for abuse survivors to immediately access specialist services, treatment and support
Provide lifelong, free access to therapeutic-based support for victims and their families
Establish 120 new navigator positions under this kaupapa to extend Tu Pono: Te Mana Kaha o Te Whānau the Whānau Ora Facilitator approach that enables whānau to eliminate violence from within their lives
Educate children and young people about what child abuse and domestic violence is and how to protect themselves
Address the urgent need for a greater investment by government in whānau restoration programmes that address sexual violence and 'whole of whānau' initiatives to ensure the active participation and engagement of all whānau members.
Increase facilities and resources for families to help those at risk free themselves from sexual violence
Invest in frontline services such as Women's Refuges throughout Aotearoa to enable them to address the huge numbers of police callouts, to restore safety and wellbeing
while still maintaining zero tolerance for violence
Enable sustainable funding for specialist services to continue to provide information, first response and long-term support and treatment for those affected by sexual violence
Advocate for a much greater commitment from ACC into responding to the deep impacts of sexual and domestic violence.
Introduce a direct resourcing pathway that expands E Tū Whānau and the Pasifika Proud campaigns
Extend the reach and access of Facilitators in the Family Court to support whānau navigating their way through the Family Court system
Continue to support the Achieving Intergenerational Change strategy introduced by former Co-Leader, Dame Tariana Turia.
TIRITI O WAITANGI
TREATY OF WAITANGI
The Government has an obligation to honour and protect the rights of Māori guaranteed under Te Tiriti o Waitangi
The Māori Party will: Entrench Te Tiriti o Waitangi in all legislation
Empower the Waitangi Tribunal to make binding recommendations
Implement a suite of overlapping policies and law changes that recognise the status of Māori as tangata whenua and uphold the rights guaranteed to Māori in Te Tiriti
Give Māori voters the right to change from the General Electoral Roll to the Māori Roll at any time
Set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry in to institutionalised racism
Set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry in to the abuse of state wards
Support Bilingual Towns and Cities (starting with Wairoa, Rotorua and Ōtaki)
Support Kōhanga reo to achieve equity of funding
Progress the Crown's WAI 262 response
Implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Progress the Crown's response to the Kōhanga reo claim
Establish the role of a Treaty of Waitangi Commissioner as an Officer of Parliament
LEGISLATIVE REFORM
The Māori Party, in consultation with whānau, hapū, iwi, and hapori Māori will progress the following legislative reform:
NRAIT and Mawhera Leases
Taranaki Annuity
Rua Kenana Statutory Pardon
Māori Arts and Crafts Institute legislation
Parihaka (legislation for settlement)
Entrench the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in all legislation
Place a moratorium on new liquor outlets and gaming machines in the community
Protect property rights and fisheries settlements in the Kermadecs Ocean Sanctuary Bill
Support the introduction of a bill to impose a sugary drinks tax
Support the Smokefree target of 2025 with the introduction of legislation prohibiting smoking in cars while children are passengers
Repeal s360D(1)(d) and reinstate appeals in the Resource Legislation Amendment Act 2017
Repeal the Children and Young Persons and their Families (Oranga Tamariki) Act 2017
Repeal local government laws regarding the Māori wards referendum threshold and legislate for Māori representation on local wards
Amend the Electoral Act to: ensure persons of Māori descent are automatically enrolled on to the Māori roll;
every three years have an 'opt-off' option
reduce the boundaries of the current Māori electorates; and
entrench the Māori electorate seats
Introduce the Te Rā o Parihaka Bill to replace Guy Fawkes Day with a new public holiday to commemorate the Parihaka movement
Introduce a Warrant of Fitness on all rental properties, and subject landlords to a star rating system for affordable/warm/safe and dry housing
Repeal the Public Works Act to exempt Māori land and land for Treaty settlements from compulsory or voluntary acquisition
Amend the Urban Development Authorities Bill which currently provides that Urban Development Authorities (UDAs) ensure mana whenua are represented on all UDAs.
Ensure rongoā protection status in the Natural Health Products Bill
Amend the Immigration Act to include tikanga Māori in its application and incorporate a pledge to uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the Oath of Citizenship.
Amend the Residential Tenancies Act to impose an obligation on the landlord to test for methamphetamine use before a new tenant occupies the property if there is a reasonable suspicion that the property has had methamphetamine cooked in it
Review the Health and Disability Act to determine the ongoing value of DHBs as both provider and funder
Repeal the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Act 2011 which undermines the student voice and find a more workable solution
Review of the Crown's structure and process for addressing Marine and Coastal Act (MACA) applications to identify and address any unnecessary delays and ensure justice is not delayed for Māori who have made applications under the MACA.
Repeal the Bail Amendment Act
Update the Treaty of Waitangi Exception Clause in existing and future Free Trade Agreements with Māori legal experts, drafted in both English and Te reo Māori, with the Māori text given precedence in the event of any disputes.
MĀORI ELECTORATE SEATS
Retain the Māori Electoral seats as our birthright, and make a provision that only Māori will decide when or if we no longer need them
Amend the Māori electoral option to enable Māori voters the right to change from the General Electoral Roll to the Māori Roll at any time
Legislate for Māori seats in Local Government without the need for a referendum and on District Health Boards as of right
WATER
Set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry in to water rights and interests
Stop the export of water by foreign owned companies
Legislate to protect freshwater and give it the status of taonga
Introduce a levy on water used for commercial purposes
Enhance Te Mana o Te Wai funding to support community projects such as planting riparian buffers and establish wetlands
Establish Regional Water Authorities based on a co-governance model re: management, clean up, allocation and development rights, of water
Ensure Te Mana o Te Wai is the overarching objective for freshwater management
Impose a moratorium on the sale of water (this includes all water used/sold for commercial use including water exports by foreign companies) so that issues around water, namely quality, management and ownership, can be addressed
Make the freshwater standard 'drinkable'
Set up annual Te Mana o te Wai funding to support community projects such as planting riparian buffers and establishing wetlands
Prioritise action to counter the effects of pollution caused by nitrogen and phosphorus that are leaching into our waterways
Support the establishment of regional water authorities based on a co-governance model re: management, clean-up and allocation and development rights, of water
Support funding for the capturing of rainfall and better clean water storage systems particularly in rural areas
IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEES
We support immigration policy that fosters greater cohesiveness within and between the many cultures that have come to call Aotearoa home.
Our desire is for every new immigrant and refugee to be welcomed to Aotearoa with a pōwhiri and over time, to have a basic understanding of te reo and Māori culture.
We also support immigration policy that recognises and respects the status of Māori as tangata whenua of Aotearoa and the rights guaranteed under Te Tiriti ō Waitangi
and acknowledges the mana and mātauranga that people immigrating to Aotearoa bring with them.
Over the generations, our ancestors travelled through South East Asia and across the Pacific before discovering Aotearoa over 1,000 years ago.
We built intimate connections with this land and lived according to the law (lore) of tikanga Māori.
Our connection to this land was established through our tupuna, bound through generations of whakapapa, and is intimately entwined in our notions of tangata whenua.
The Māori Party is committed to ensuring that as the Tiriti (Treaty) partner, Māori are re-empowered to exercise equal rangatiratanga alongside the Crown.
Our ancestors welcomed the first wave of immigrants to this country.
As tangata whenua we embrace our obligations to actively participate in decision making and to share our history and culture with whānau from any continent choosing to settle here in Aotearoa.
We maintain that manaakitanga must be extended to all peoples coming to Aotearoa,
and we will balance this against kaitiakitanga which informs whether we are in a position to meet our obligations.
The Māori Party recognises that facilitating the movement of people between countries is part and parcel of the reality of our world today.
Our values system means we can be responsive in how we as a country approach immigration.
We should not be reducing people to numbers or exclusion on the basis of populist opinion.
We encourage foreign students to study in New Zealand as this is an export industry that does not put pressure on our natural resources.
The Māori Party will: Legislative measures
Amend legislation to ensure our framework supports the settlement and integration of newly arrived immigrants and refugees
Amend the Immigration Act 2009 to recognise the status of tangata whenua and our tikanga
Amend the Citizenship Act 1977 to incorporate upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the Oath of Citizenship
Eliminate immigration policies that discriminate on the grounds of race, religion or culture
Appoint two jointly responsible Immigration Ombudsmen (a tangata whenua representative and a tau iwi representative) and grant them powers to hear and investigate complaints and to resolve immigration issues on referral from Licensed Immigration Advisors following review of an unfavourable decision by Immigration Officers
Introduce a Te Tiriti o Waitangi programme as a prerequisite to gaining citizenship, meeting language and settlement requirements
Incentivise investment
Introduce new visa categories so we can be responsive to humanitarian needs and incentivise greater investment in our domestic infrastructure and regional economies
Introduce a Social Returns Visa under the Investment Category to incentivise investment in social housing & infrastructure
Reintroduce the parent category and the family reunion category to ensure whānau are not disconnected by borders
Prioritise the introduction of a climate change refugee category
Establish a partial amnesty for persons whose stay in Aotearoa New Zealand has become unlawful
Cultural exchange
Protect the reputation of Aotearoa New Zealand as a premium International Education provider
Reinvest in international education to ensure the needs of our international students are met, and our reputation as a premium education provider is protected
Introduce a compulsory Te Tiriti o Waitangi educational programme for all international students studying in Aotearoa to grow their cultural understanding of tangata whenua and enrich their study abroad experience
Expand working holiday schemes to support greater rangatahi participation in overseas work holiday exchanges,
and broaden appeal to international youth wanting to experience Māori culture
Support and invest in reciprocal cultural and knowledge exchange initiatives with our international communities to raise awareness of Māori as tangata whenua
and opportunities for all New Zealanders to learn about the values and knowledge international whānau bring to Aotearoa
Regional growth and skills recognition
Establish an Expert Advisory Group to Government to evaluate 'Economic Hotspots' and identify opportunities that will stimulate provincial economies.
This will provide alternatives for people wanting to move to Aotearoa, but who are attracted with the incentives that are offered to settle/invest in the smaller economic centres.
Support paid regional community internships programme for skilled migrants, refugees, and international students graduating from a New Zealand tertiary institution to support the regions to grow
Promote and incentivise settlement in the regions to support regional growth and reduce pressure on infrastructure in Auckland
Provide incentivised pathways to temporary visas, residence visas and citizenship
all aimed at supporting regional growth
and the kaitiaki and manaaki role of Māori in Aotearoa
Introduce a Regional Cadetships programme to enable new immigrants or refugees to work in a job relevant to their existing qualifications while undertaking accredited training or study to have those skills, qualifications and experience recognised here in Aotearoa
Support and settlement
Implement greater support for refugees and new immigrants experiencing hardship
Increase the refugee quota and prioritise refugee whānau for the Regional Cadetships programme
Implement an ethnically diverse Whānau Ora navigator unit to help new whānau to access the services they need to begin their new lives in a new country to enhance their whānau wellbeing
Introduce a hardship pension that exempts eligible Pasifika Peoples aged 65+ who gain citizenship from the standard 5-year waiting period
TREATY SETTLEMENTS
We will continue to support all Treaty settlement legislation that implements agreements reached between the Crown and iwi/hapū.
The Māori Party will: Support the protection of Treaty settlement land and whenua Māori from compulsory acquisition under the Public Works Act.
Press for the Public Works Act to be amended to prohibit the compulsory acquisition of whenua Māori and any other land returned to an iwi or hapū as cultural redress in a Treaty settlement.
Support the review of Marine & Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 process and government structures
Support funding for Treaty settlement education
Press for funding to be provided to the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture and Heritage to help develop local-based curriculum for students in relation to Treaty claims and settlements.
The Māori Party trusts iwi Māori to make their own minds up about whether a Treaty settlement proposal their representatives have negotiated contains suitable redress.
We support the return in Treaty settlements of cultural icons such as maunga.
Historical settlements such as the Tamaki Makaurau maunga settlement, Ngāi Tahu claims settlement, Te Urewera settlement and Te Awa Tupua settlement all recognise the deep significance to Māori of their sacred and special places.
These settlements have not alienated the rest of New Zealand from public places but have enhanced them.
The Māori Party will continue to support the transfer, co-governance and special recognition of wāhi tapu, wāhi taonga and wāhi whakahirahira through historical Treaty settlements.
The Māori Party supports the need for more House time to advance Treaty settlement legislation.
A number of Treaty settlement Bills have languished in the House waiting for debating time.
There are also several deeds of settlement that have been signed but for which settlement legislation is yet to be introduced.
Justice delayed is justice denied.
Treaty settlement legislation should be recognised as having special constitutional significance and afforded priority time in the House.
The Māori Party will press for all settlement Bills to be introduced within three months of signing and enacted within twelve months of introduction.
The Māori Party will promote a more flexible approach to unlock and complete Treaty settlements that have been slowed down due to failure to agree financial redress.
Several Treaty settlement negotiations for small to medium iwi have stalled or taken longer than normal to negotiate because of dispute over financial redress.
The cost of delay for these iwi and for the Crown and the local communities is far greater than the fiscal costs to the Crown of meeting the iwi expectations.
There is also little or no real cost in terms of changes in the relativity between settled and unsettled iwi.
The Māori Party supports a more flexible approach by the Crown to help close the quantum gap between iwi financial redress expectations and Crown quantum forecasts.
The Māori Party supports a more flexible approach to on-account Treaty settlements.
There are significant opportunities to participate in the development of land for housing at present for settled iwi with financial resources and an asset base.
Iwi provide a particular cultural and social outlook that is much needed in the housing sector.
However there are also iwi whose claims have not been settled who are unable to participate in these opportunities.
The Māori Party will press for the Crown to make on account settlement to iwi whose claims are not yet settled to enable their participation in these opportunities.
The Māori Party supports the ability to lock in land values for commercial redress in places of high inflation.
In some parts of the country high land inflation has eroded the value of Treaty settlement redress between the agreement on quantum and the transfer of the assets.
Some valuations that have been agreed have subsequently expired for reasons not of iwi making, and revaluation has consequently meant some assets could not be bought or have cost more to acquire.
The Māori Party will ensure that the value of settlement land will be locked in and will not be re-opened if there is a delay that cannot be attributed to the iwi.
The Māori Party will continue to protect the integrity of Treaty settlements that have been completed - eg fisheries settlement vis a vis Kermadecs Ocean Sanctuary Bill, Te Kawerau ā Maki etc.
There has been a large number of Treaty settlement completed in the last few terms of Parliament and it is critical that these are honoured by the Crown in the letter and the spirit.
The Māori Party will press strongly for any potential breaches to be identified, acknowledged and remedied immediately in the letter and spirit.
The Māori Party will advocate for greater acceleration in the identification of Crown land by LINZ.
The Crown database of Crown owned land is still woefully inadequate.
The Māori Party will press for the current review of the accuracy and accessibility of Crown land databases to be accelerated.
KĀWANATANGA
ENVIRONMENT
The Māori Party will: /Campaign for the reduction of all forms of waste
Ban plastic bags and incentivise the provision of more sustainable alternatives
Provide free reusable cups for hot drinks and incentivise the use of reusable cups through subsidising hot drinks
Restore the health and wellbeing of our rivers, lakes and waterways
Support a levy on all tourists entering Aotearoa to improve infrastructure
and impacts on the environment.
Support research and development of a natural alternative to 1080
Introduce tax breaks for renewable energy research and projects
Repeal section 360D of the Resource Legislation Amendment Act
Promote the transition from net setting and trawling (which would be out to the 100m depth contour) to more selective sustainable methods
thereby enhancing biodiversity within the marine area and preventing the extinction of marine species such as the Maui and Hector's dolphins and the eyelash seaweed
Review the Quota Management System and current New Zealand fisheries management to address issues of fish dumping, the non-reporting of bycatch and illegal fishing practices
Support the rebuilding of depleted fish stocks for inshore fisheries and the closure of sensitive inshore fisheries areas to destructive commercial harvesting methods to protect and enhance the environment and save juvenile fish.
Enhance biodiversity within the marine area and prevent the extinction of the Maui dolphin and other marine life
CLIMATE CHANGE SOLUTIONS
The Māori Party will: Prioritise solutions that address the effects of Climate Change working across the political spectrum to tackle climate change
Enact emissions targets into law and support the setting of carbon budgets that would act as stepping stones towards the targets
Support the establishment of an independent Climate Commission to advise on setting carbon budgets and to report on meeting those budgets
Set up government subsidies for electric vehicles for community groups
Establish whānau friendly cities
encouraging young people to have a voice in the design and planning of their cities
starting with green spaces in urban centres
Create more kura taiao and enviro-school models of curriculum
Support a proposal that will see the planting of 100,000 hectares of new forests over the next 10 years
RENEWABLE ENERGY
The Māori Party will: Introduce tax breaks for renewable energy research and projects
Provide incentives for the business and industry sector to change from coal generated power to solar energy
Introduce a government subsidised solar energy installation plan for all homes in Aotearoa
Promote innovative ways to support the development of alternative fuel from raw materials
Develop a trial with the Māori Centre of Research Excellence and the Government to test the viability of a locally focused alternative fuels project
Develop grants to fund mentors to support whānau to develop alternative energy sources
Champion solar panels for government agencies, hospitals, schools and marae.
Subsidise solar heating and expansion of energy hubs for rural communities
Close all coal fired power plants by 2025
Provide solar power and energy storage (home battery) solutions to low income families and remote communities
Provide solar power and energy storage solutions to Marae, schools, hospitals, government departments, sports clubs and community centres
Introduce a government subsidised solar energy installation plan for 200,00 homes over a one year period
Enable families, community organisations and businesses to sell their unused solar energy to a government trading platform
Ensure mana whenua are consulted on all oil and mineral exploration permits
SME GROWTH AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The Māori Party will: Expand the refresh of He Kai Kei Aku Ringa - the Māori Economic Development Strategy
to ensure as many whānau flourish as possible.
SME growth and Māori Business
Establish Tangata Whenua Supply (TWS) is a new initiative to encourage government departments, private organisations and corporate agencies to use suppliers from indigenous-owned businesses.
Based on a relationship with Supply Nation (Aboriginal owned) in Australia, TWS is about promoting supplier diversity, achieving both measurable social impacts, and increasing sustainability, flexibility, innovation and value.
Establish a new procurement policy that imposes a target for the proportion and value of government contracts that need to be awarded to Māori owned businesses and minimum participation requirements in contracts valued at or above a minimum dollar threshold.
Introduce incentives to promote joint ventures between iwi, industry and businesses
Increase funding for the Whenua Māori Fund to support whānau to explore how they can use their land
Increase the availability of low interest business start-up loans
Set up community-based Māori innovation and entrepreneurship hubs
Regional development
Invest in regional, national and international economic growth and development will create jobs, training and business opportunities.
IWI RAIL: Transfer NZ rail assets to Iwi
to develop a national railway network
IWI INVEST & BANK: Set up a consortium of iwi, Māori land trusts and corporations to invest in major economic development opportunities.
Set up a Māori bank to administer housing, land development and business start-up loan
IWI TOURISM: Invest further in supporting Māori tourism business opportunities.
IWI POWER: Lead a government subsidised solar energy installation scheme for all low income families and rurally isolated communities
Reinvest minerals royalties back in to the regions, with a percentage of royalties paid to a regional body
that has compulsory representation of mana whenua.
Appoint regional ambassadors for every region in the country to work with communities, mana whenua, ministers and central and local government to advocate for the region, act as a conduit between the Crown and the region and help solve problems and facilitate regional initiatives.
Regional Ambassadors will be akin to existing Chief Crown Negotiators: people of standing and experience who are able to work with a range of different audiences.
They will be independent of government departments and will report directly to the Minister.
MARAE ORA
Wellbeing of Our Marae
The Māori Party will: Increase funding for Marae development programmes and building renovation projects
Create incentives to invest in marae accessibility so that all people with disabilities and their whānau have more choices, controls and flexibility over their everyday lives.
RANGATIRATANGA
WHENUA
The Māori Party will:Stop the sale of freehold land to non-resident purchasers
and introduce a leasehold only policy
TE AO WHĀNUI
International Trade and Relations
Whānaungatanga is the key to strengthening the place of Aotearoa New Zealand in the international community and forging enduring political, cultural and economic relationships.
We support tangata whenua to grow relationships with our international trading partners. The Māori Party will:
Ensure NZTE has Māori representation in all their national and international offices
Establish a Māori Trade Expert desk in NZ Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) that protects the integrity of the Māori Inc. brand
Support the development and use of Indigenous Free-Trade Agreements
Legislate for the nomination of Māori Trade Ambassadors by Māori, for appointment by the Minister for Māori Development to honour He Whakaputanga me Te Tiriti, recognise our status as tangata whenua and reflect the indigenous foundation upon which Aotearoa New Zealand is build.
Appoint seven Māori Trade Ambassadors in the first three years.
The countries we will prioritise are:Republic of China (includes Hong Kong and Taiwan): NZ's largest trading partner, our indigenous connections in Taiwan, and opportunities around the refresh of the NZ-China FTA,
with the inclusion of greater provision for Indigenous Free Trade Agreement
Japan (to service Korea also): Ainu-Māori connection, interest from Japan to grow the cultural pillar of the NZ-Japan relationship, and to support the growing interest in Māori businesses in this market.
Malaysia (to service the ASEAN region): Austronesian linguistic linkages, strong alumni relationships, diplomatic linkages to be harnessed
United Arab Emirates: with the upcoming World Expo in 2020, a Māori Trade Ambassador in Dubai will be instrumental in forging relationships in the lead up to this event and showcasing our culture to the world.
With the many Māori living in the UAE, and shared values with the Bedouin
Canada (to service US also): Potential to strengthen indigenous-to-indigenous linkages, share policy and learn from one another's' experiences.
There is also commercial interest from Māori in Canada.
Australia: Many Māori live in Australia, and it is important that they have access to a Māori Trade Ambassador to strengthen among other things the indigenous-to-indigenous links
India: There has been a lot of interest in further trade relationships between Māori and India,
and as an emerging economic power with a massive population, a Māori Trade Ambassador is required to harness the existing relationship
and strengthen opportunities for Māori
Establish a Te Ao Whānui (International Trade) office
and appointing an independent board of Directors to work in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT)
and support appointed Māori Trade Ambassadors on all matters related to New Zealand's international trade and diplomatic relations.
The Minister for Māori Development will be responsible for the appointment of six Te Ao Whānui Directors to the board,
made up of three wāhine and three tāne from a diversity of backgrounds.
Implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Activate a comprehensive Māori Engagement Strategy designed in consultation with whānau, hapū, iwi and hapori Māori to identify the agreed check in points, urgency protocols and a consensus model for recording agreement and dissent.
Develop a kaupapa Māori International Agreement Evaluation framework against which Te Ao Whānui Directors will assess the opportunities, benefits, challenges, issues and disadvantages of proposed international agreements.
Require Māori representation at international trade agreement negotiation rounds alongside MFAT officials.
Update the Treaty of Waitangi Exception Clause in New Zealand's International Trade Agreements with Māori legal experts, drafted in both English and Te reo Māori, with the Māori text given precedence in the event of any disputes
PASEFIKA
The Māori Party embraces the whakapapa bonds that unite Maori with all other peoples throughout Te Moana Nui-a-Kiwa.
He kākano i ruia mai i Rangiātea - we are seeds sown in the ancient home of Rangiātea.
Together, Māori and Pacific peoples will advance our political, institutional and legislative aspirations on behalf of all our peoples.
Our aspirations centre around fanau and families.
Together with One Pacific, the Māori Party will:
Invest in the establishment of the TaTupu - a cultural, social and economic transformational change kaupapa led by Pacific churches and communities.
Establish 500 new TaTupu navigator positions.
Build a viable Pacific Cultural Centre in Auckland
as an employment and economic development centre
so Pacific social, cultural and economic efforts can be brought together, harnessed and strengthened.
Introduce a one-off amnesty for Pacific overstayers.
Introduce a climate change refugee category.
Reinstate the parent category and family reunification visas.
Support the portability of national superannuation for Pacific retirees.
Reintroduce low interest housing loans for Pacific families.
Establish 500 Pacific scholarships for Pacific youth and second chance education for Pacific adult, so those who have not been to university or undertaken formal studies, can do so.
Establish 150 paid Pacific youth and adult internships per year as part of a capacity and capability building for Pacific workforce.
Double the numbers of trades training and cadetships placements per year for the next five years for Pacific and Māori.
Establish a Pacific Sporting Agency
Restructure and better resource the Ministry for Pacific Peoples
Increase the numbers of life-saving weight reduction surgeries to 1,000 per year
Healthy nature.
We should all be able to enjoy Aotearoa’s precious nature - to hear the dawn chorus in our forests, and see wildlife thrive in our oceans and rivers.
Previous governments have failed to protect our rivers and oceans against pollution,
or invest enough in nature.
The Green Party knows we must protect and respect Papatuanuku.
A healthy environment is the basis of our wellbeing and an economy that delivers for people and planet.
In Government, we’ve achieved so much for nature.
Now we want to go further and faster to protect our forests, rivers and oceans for future generations.
Animal welfare
Animals are worthy of care and respect, but current rules allow animal abuse and exploitation.
Aotearoa could easily have a world-leading animal welfare system, but many animals are mistreated and subject to cruelty.
The Green Party has championed animal welfare for decades, as the leading voice in Parliament on issues like factory farming, greyhound racing, and cage-free hens and eggs.
Meanwhile, other parties have backed down on promises to ban rodeos and cruel production practices like farrowing crates.
The Green Party will strengthen Aotearoa’s animal welfare standards.
We will outlaw harmful activities such as factory farming and rodeo, protect companion animals from abuse and exploitation, and ensure animals in agriculture live happy and comfortable lives.
We will:Ban or phase-out harmful activities including live export of animals, use of animals in rodeo, greyhound racing, factory farming, farrowing crates, and the “backyard breeding” of companion animals under inhumane conditions.
Support farmers to ensure animals are provided with appropriate shade, shelter, and comfortable resting areas.
Create dedicated champions for animals by establishing a Minister for Animal Welfare and a Parliamentary Commissioner for Animal Welfare,
and boost funding for animal welfare programmes.
Review the operation of the Animal Welfare Act and increase funding for compliance monitoring and enforcement, to achieve better coordination between the Act and other Codes of Welfare.
Oppose animal testing except in very limited circumstances.
Ensure the accuracy of “free range”, “cruelty free” and other animal welfare product labelling.
Clean water
From the maunga to moana, water is a taonga which must be protected, but too many rivers, lakes, and wetlands have been polluted over the years, and river flows have fallen below healthy levels.
At the same time, climate change disrupts rainfall patterns, putting rivers at risk from both drought and flooding.
Change is happening.
The Government has introduced the strongest ever water reforms.
For the first time, rules for water will prioritise ecosystem baselines
and Maori cultural values.
These changes mean water quality will improve overtime, restoring our lakes, rivers and wetlands so people can swim safely, and freshwater species can thrive.
Now that we’re making progress towards restoring rivers and streams, we need to fix the approach to water allocation and conservation.
This means using water fairly and efficiently, within natural limits.
We will:Create a fair system for water allocation, with commercial users like water bottling companies paying a resource rental fee,
and allocation phased down to sustainable levels.
Iwi and hapu will be involved in designing a framework that recognises te mana o te wai Maori interests,
prioritises ecological integrity,
and protects food production.
Uphold the kaitiaki, proprietary, and customary rights of iwi and hapu over water.
Improve urban water quality and supply by
funding green infrastructure,
supporting home water storage,
and requiring new buildings to include greywater recycling.
Support farmers to reduce run-off and the need for irrigation.
This will include on-farm water storage and distribution, to improve resilience to floods and droughts.
Rehabilitate and protect wetlands, recognising this is an important part of climate change adaptation.
Ensure regional councils have sufficient resources to properly implement Freshwater Farm Plans and the National Environmental Standard on Freshwater.
Oppose large-scale irrigation projects that encourage intensive farming.
Keep drinking water, stormwater, and sewerage infrastructure under public control.
Ensure nitrogen limits are based on the best science.
Conservation
Everyone should be able to enjoy the dawn chorus in Aotearoa’s forests and have rivers safe for fishing, swimming, and gathering kai.
But previous governments slashed conservation funding, causing hundreds of DOC rangers to lose their jobs, while allowing rivers to be degraded by intensive agriculture and urban pollution.
In Government, the Green Party has secured the largest investment in conservation ever.
This funding will better protect kiwi, kakapo, takahe, and other wildlife from the predator crisis.
We’ve added 64,000 hectares to Kahurangi National Park - the largest ever addition to a national park in Aotearoa.
We are responding to the job losses COVID-19 has created by investing $1. 3 billion to create thousands of jobs for nature over the next four years, including 6,000 jobs in conservation.
There is still much to do to protect and enhance nature.
The Green Party will support more people into jobs
protecting forests, rivers, and wetlands.
We can secure a future where Aotearoa’s wildlife is able to thrive the way nature intended.
We will:Protect kauri from kauri dieback by investing in a National Pest Management Strategy.
Create sustainable employment through the Government’s Jobs for Nature programme,
and support conservation volunteer groups nationwide.
Enhance Predator Free 2050 by increasing funding for research, innovation, and landscape predator control;
and by establishing more protected and pest-free islands and sanctuaries, including in our towns and cities.
Invest in restoring wetlands, riverbanks, and estuaries to protect communities against rising seas and floods.
Increase funding support for iwi and hapu, landholders, and community organisations to restore the health of forests and waterways, through programmes including the Community Conservation and Partnership Fund, Matauranga Kura Taio, Nga Whenua Rahui, Nature Heritage and QEII Trust Funds.
Improve implementation of te Tiriti by Te Papa Atawhai, including reviewing key conservation policy and legislation.
Resource the active implementation of Treaty settlements and co-management/co-governance of public conservation land.
End new mining on and under conservation land,
except for pounamu and some small-scale river-based gold mining.
Eradicate pigs, cats and mice from Makauhuka/Auckland Islands
in partnership with Ngai Tahu.
Oceans
Oceans are the lifeblood of our planet.
Home to a vast array of species and delicate ecosystems, and a source of kai and recreation.
Our marine environments must be protected for future generations.
In Government, we’ve doubled the size of the protected area for Maui and Hector’s dolphins
and banned new offshore oil and gas drilling.
Our oceans and marine life are still being harmed by overfishing, sediment, and nutrient and plastic pollution.
Proposals for seabed mining threaten the marine habitats and ecological health of our oceans.
The political influence of the fishing industry means overfishing and destructive fishing methods - such as bottom trawling, dredging, and set netting - continue, severely impacting fish stocks, seabirds, and dolphins.
The Green Party is not in the pocket of big fishing companies.
We are committed to ensuring the survival and restoration of marine environments for future generations.
The Green Party will prioritise the health and sustainability of fisheries by protecting areas rich in ocean life and biodiversity.
Restoration of our marine environments will be a major focus of government policy.
We will ensure te Tiriti o Waitangi is honoured, affirming iwi and hapu kaitiaki rights over the marine environment,
and recognising the marine environment is home to many taonga.
We will:Protect and prioritise recreational and customary fishing over commercial fishing.
Ban set netting and phase out the most destructive forms of commercial fishing, such as bottom trawling, dredging, and other bottom impact methods.
Ban seabed mining and seismic surveying for minerals.
Seek to finalise negotiations on the Global Ocean Treaty,
and reform and replace relevant legislation in Aotearoa to enable a network of Marine Protected Areas
that recognises te Tiriti o Waitangi rights and responsibilities.
Accelerate the roll-out of monitoring cameras on commercial fishing boats.
Restore shellfish beds in areas such as the Hauraki Gulf.
Investigate the development of proposals for integrated marine ecosystem management for all activities.
This will include commercial fishing, within a kaitiakitanga framework, that ensures nga taonga o te moana are managed responsibly for current and future generations
with te Tiriti o Waitangi honoured.
Facilitate discussions to progress and create the Kermadec Rangitahua Ocean Sanctuary.
Reducing waste
There is no waste in nature; only cycles of resource use.
The Green Party wants our communities and economy to run on the same no-waste principle.
Overuse of fossil fuel- based plastic is contributing to climate change and plastic pollution.
The volume of rubbish going to landfill increasing by 49% in the last decade.
Our food production systems also send huge amounts of waste to landfill, where it emits greenhouse gases.
The Green Party supports products that reduce waste at every step of the production chain.
Protecting Papatuanuku, and creating jobs in the process, requires effective regulation, incentives, and innovation.
This term, the Green Party has done more to address waste than any other previous government.
We have banned single use plastic bags,
phased out micro-beads in cosmetics,
and expanded the waste levy on landfills.
We’re designing a container return scheme for beverage containers
and have implemented mandatory product stewardship schemes,
as well as improving Aotearoa’s kerbside recycling system.
We will continue to invest in waste reduction and community initiatives, encouraging the recovery, reuse, redistribution, recycling, and reallocation of materials.
Through careful planning and a clear vision, we will create a sustainable and circular economy.
HEALTHY NATURE
We will:Fix kerbside plastic recycling to be more consistent throughout Aotearoa,
and develop local recycling capability to process more recyclable materials on¬shore.
Phase out low-grade plastic products that can be easily replaced with reusable alternatives, especially plastic water bottles, cotton buds, and fruit stickers.
Commit to zero food waste and zero e-waste in our landfills,
and pass legislation creating clear waste management obligations for businesses and local authorities.
Develop a new Waste Strategy and review the Waste Minimisation Act and Litter Act to ensure we have the tools needed to put Aotearoa on a zero-waste pathway.
Amend the Consumer Guarantees Act to introduce a Right to Repair, requiring manufacturers to design products that can be fixed, not thrown away.
Improve clear labelling with common standards to ensure people can have confidence in products marked “compostable” and “recyclable”.
Continue to create more sector-wide product stewardship schemes for problem products like electronics,
and implement a container return scheme for beverage containers.
Reward innovation by increasing funding available through the Waste Minimisation Fund, creating a materials recovery, re-use, and repurposing sector
that supports good jobs in Aotearoa.
Tourism
Tourism is important to Aotearoa, but it’s been hit hard by COVID-19.
Our clean, green image and spectacular nature is what draws people to visit.
We need to live up to that image and protect those landscapes.
The tourism industry can be productive,
sustainable
and inclusive.
Encouraging local holidays in Aotearoa is more important than ever.
Now is the time for the Government to work with communities, iwi, hapu, and businesses to create jobs
that will prepare the tourism sector for a strong recovery.
Small councils cannot be expected to shoulder all the costs of infrastructure and facilities to support tourism.
In Government, the Green Party set up the International Visitor Levy to provide sustainable funding for tourism upgrades in the regions,
and to invest in protecting the natural wonders that draw people to Aotearoa.
With COVID-19, the focus needs to shift to domestic tourism,
to give everyone the opportunity to connect with nature, explore their own backyard,
and support local businesses through a challenging time.
The work we do now needs to ensure that when international tourists return to Aotearoa, we can live up to our 100% Pure New Zealand brand.
We will:Welcome back international tourists when appropriate,
but with very strong health controls at the border.
Encourage domestic tourism, to revitalise the sector
and reduce the climate impact of international air travel
Create jobs
upgrading walking tracks, huts, and other popular tourism infrastructure.
Invest in regional rail and safe cycling
so tourists can explore the country using low-carbon transport.
Limit visitor numbers at popular sites to protect them and the visitor experience,
and minimise the impacts of tourism on conservation land.
Work with councils to address waste issues - including plastic water bottles.
Encourage low impact recreation and ecotourism over high-carbon tourism.
Institute stronger controls on vehicle camping
and encourage visitors to use local accommodation providers.
Review the New Zealand-Aotearoa Tourism Strategy in light of COVID-19, and strengthen its commitment to sustainability
and protecting areas for local communities to enjoy.
Fairer communities.
We all deserve safe, warm, and affordable housing,
well- resourced public services,
and a strong social safety net.
We have more than enough to go around in Aotearoa,
but for too long those in power have made decisions that have kept incomes low,
and made it a real struggle for many families to get by.
The Green Party knows we need to rewrite the rules, so our country’s success is shared among all of us.
We have a bold new vision for a fairer Aotearoa which builds on our huge success in government, but goes further and faster to bring us all forward, together.
Children
The wellbeing of children and young people is best secured by ensuring their whanau and communities have what they need.
A prosperous and successful Aotearoa must be built around the needs of our tamariki.
Unfortunately, too many children are still missing out, especially in their crucial early years.
When these years are a time of stress for families, there are long-term consequences for our kids.
This Government has made a big difference to whanau by increasing Working for Families support,
extending Paid Parental Leave,
and introducing the Best Start Payment, so kids get a better start in life.
The Green Party prioritises the needs of whanau through all of our policies,
ensuring everything we do helps our youngest citizens.
We will:Work to see that all children are safe, and provide community support to address the root causes of child abuse and neglect.
Improve funding for early childhood education
and extend childcare subsidies.
Create school hubs with health and other services on-site.
Create safe walking and biking routes for every school, by supporting local authorities to implement active transport plans created by school communities.
Develop a Kids in Nature programme where schools get operational funding to enable students to learn in outdoor classrooms, build their outdoor recreation skills, and go kayaking, bush walking, and snorkelling.
Ensure every child lives in a warm, dry home through the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme and by improving the Building Code.
Ensure government agencies actively engage children and young people in decision making on issues that affect them.
Increase Best Start support payments from $60 to $100 a week and make them universal for all children under three years old.
Simplify Working for Families tax credits into a single “Family Support Credit” of $190 a week for the first child and $120 for each younger child.
Democracy, human rights, and te Tiriti o Waitangi
Aotearoa can have a flourishing democracy
with te Tiriti o Waitangi as its foundation.
We can be proud of our democracy compared to many other countries,
but secretive donations and unequal access by lobbyists creates an uneven playing field.
Human rights are not protected enough,
and we have not honoured tino rangatiratanga, as set out in Article Two of te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The Green Party has consistently pushed for civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights.
We are the only parliamentary party calling for major constitutional reform based on te Tiriti.
In Government, we’ve championed transparency, as the first party to publish records of who our Ministers have met with.
We’ve also established a fund for disabled candidates from all political parties to cover the disability-related costs of standing in a general election.
We need to act now to protect our democracy from special interests,
uphold human rights,
and expand the opportunities for people to participate meaningfully in our democracy at all levels.
We will:Uphold human rights by lowering the voting age to 16 and extending voting rights to all people in prison.
Initiates Crown response to the Matike Mai Aotearoa report, including the goal of constitutional transformation by 2040.
Establish a citizens’ assembly to put decisions on political donations and public funding of election campaigns in the hands of the public.
Entrench the Maori electoral seats so there is guaranteed Maori representation in Parliament,
and enable Maori voters to change from the General to the Maori roll, or vice versa, more regularly.
Make local elections fairer and more accessible by: expanding the Election Access Fund to disabled people who are running in local elections;
providing more accessible voting options than postal voting;
moving administration of local elections from private companies to the Electoral Commission;
and removing barriers to the establishment of Maori electoral wards.
Implement the recommendations of Waitangi Tribunal kaupapa inquiries that have reported back,
and ensure the Waitangi Tribunal is well-resourced to undertake current and future inquiries.
Strengthen accountability by reforming the Official Information Act
and providing greater transparency of political lobbying.
Update the Bill of Rights Act to include the right to privacy,
and the right to a sustainable environment that is protected for the benefit of present and future generations.
Disability
Everyone deserves to be able to fully participate in our society.
This means recognising the rights of disabled people
and making changes to end discrimination.
Nearly one in four people in Aotearoa lives with a disability, and many more of us have a whanau member or close friend who does.
Current laws, policies, and social norms mean there are many barriers in the way of disabled people being able to participate fully in society.
The Green Party is committed to an Aotearoa in which all people with impairments can access their full rights,
actively participate in their communities,
are valued for their abilities and gifts,
and lead rich and satisfying lives.
That means recognising the rights of disabled people
and making changes to create an inclusive society where everyone can live, work, and learn with dignity.
We will:Uphold the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in all policy areas.
Reform ACC into an Agency for Comprehensive Care, bringing all health and disability-related income support into a single system to end income support discrimination based on cause of disability.
Ensure publicly funded buses and trains are accessible.
Reform the Building Code so new houses and buildings are accessible by design, unless specifically exempted.
Uphold the right of all children to a quality and inclusive education at their local public school.
Support people with disabilities to advocate for themselves, and fund advocacy services.
Enable employers and employees to make adaptions and obtain equipment and support for people with impairments.
Extend the financial support available to disabled political candidates running for Parliament, to include local government candidates.
Ensure people with disabilities are protected from abuse, while ensuring appropriate pathways for disclosure, training to help identify and respond appropriately to signs of abuse, and guaranteed accessible services.
Reform the Human Rights Act to remove the exception which allows pay discrimination for disabled people.
Drug law reform
The Green Party supports evidence-based, compassionate drug law reform that reduces harm.
Drugs are a health, housing, employment, and education issue and criminalising people doesn’t solve any of those problems.
Both legal and illegal drugs can cause harm, especially if used to excess or at a young age.
Our social and legal response can either increase or decrease that harm.
We know prohibition fuels organised crime and causes far more damage than it prevents.
Many people in Aotearoa use drugs, but a lack of sensible regulation means people put their lives at risk by using substances of unknown potency from unknown sources.
At the same time, open advertising and sponsorship rules normalise and glorify Aotearoa’s unhealthy drinking culture,
and communities often don’t have enough say over alcohol sales in their area.
The Green Party supports a “yes” vote in the referendum to legalise and control cannabis, and has worked to ensure the proposed law is a world-class public health response.
In Government, we also passed important drug law reform, so people found using or possessing illegal drugs are supported into recovery rather than locked up.
The Green Party is focused on reducing drug harm.
We will:Support the legalisation and regulation of personal use of cannabis in ways that reduce harm to users, their families, and communities, as provided by the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill.
Legalise and regulate drug checking services, such as Know Your Stuff, that currently operate in a legal grey area at events,
and fund these services throughout the community.
Increase health and rehabilitation support for people who need it.
Expand programmes such as Te Ara Oranga, focused on decreasing demand for substances by improving peoples’ lives through housing, employment, and education.
Significantly reduce alcohol advertising and sponsorship of sporting and cultural events,
while introducing a replacement funding programme in line with the recommendations in the 2014 Ministerial Forum on Alcohol Advertising and Sponsorship.
Remove the ability of big alcohol and supermarket corporates to challenge Local Alcohol Policies.
Require health warning labels on all legal drugs, including alcohol.
Education
Every child deserves a high-quality, free, accessible public education that gives them the best possible start in life.
We want all children to reach their full potential, but unfortunately, not all learners get equal opportunities and recognition.
We know it’s not only the school system that affects a child’s education, but also housing, income, and health.
Aotearoa has an unequal education system, where there is a difference between the haves and the have-nots, achievers and non-achievers.
We must fix this inequality so every child is treated fairly and can thrive.
We’ve made a start by supporting the Government’s increased funding for school lunches, te reo in schools, the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme for high-needs children, English language teaching, and restorative justice approaches in schools.
Schools are the heart of communities and should be community hubs providing health services, internet access, cultural services, and adult education programmes to meet local needs.
With greater government and community support, everyone can reach their potential so they can fully participate in society.
Together we can make the necessary changes so that all children thrive.
We will:Empower schools as community hubs, providing health services, internet access, cultural services, early childhood education, and adult education.
Encourage clustering of Early Childhood Education (ECE) centres with nearby primary schools to support the transition to school.
Ensure all public schools are resourced to provide special education and learning support as needed.
Roll out Te Reo Maori as a core curriculum subject through to Year 10.
Increase funding for kura kaupapa, kohanga reo, and mainstream te reo immersion and bilingual classrooms, including funding for professional support of Maori medium teachers and teacher scholarships.
Improve child to teacher ratios.
Embed ecological sustainability and civics education in the curriculum.
Support schools and early childhood services to have policies, resources, and programmes to create an inclusive culture free of bullying, racism, and violence.
Increase early childhood funding
and prioritise pay equity for early childhood education teachers.
Work towards a sustainable funding framework for community-run early childcare centres (such as play centres, kindergartens, parent co-operatives, and kohanga reo).
Increase funding for outdoor environmental education - to get kids into nature
and employ displaced tourism workers.
Equality for women
All people, regardless of gender, should be respected for their innate human dignity.
Everyone should be able to enjoy their fundamental rights and freedoms without discrimination.
Our current economic and political system does not adequately recognise the needs and experiences of women and gender minorities, leading to entrenched disadvantage.
With the Green Party in Government, the past three years have seen significant improvements for gender equality.
We have overhauled pay equity legislation to make it fairer for women in work,
increased paid parental leave to six months,
reached settlements in key pay equity claims for teacher aides and social workers,
reformed outdated abortion laws,
and introduced family violence and sexual violence laws to improve safety for women.
Next Parliamentary term, the Green Party will continue to ensure Government policy responds to the needs of all women.
We will:Recognise unpaid care work and household labour by: creating a Universal Child Benefit for children under three;
replace Working for Families credits with an increased Family Support Credit;
and ensuring sole parents have enough income to support themselves and their children.
Honour te Tiriti o Waitangi as an essential aspect of equality for wahine Maori,
and support the leadership of wahine Maori within tino rangatiratanga.
We will prioritise initiatives recommended in the Mana Wahine inquiry.
Close the gender pay gap by achieving pay equity settlements in the public and government-funded community sectors.
Introduce pay transparency legislation and increase support for preparing claims.
Provide training and workforce re-entry programmes for sole parents of school-aged children.
Guarantee equal gender representation in Government appointments, while addressing other gaps including ethnicity and disability.
Ensure job creation and apprenticeship programmes have policies promoting inclusion, to reduce gendered job segregation.
Implement a fair funding model for midwives that prioritises high quality care,
and increase social support services during pregnancy and postnatally,
with a focus on marginalised communities’ healthcare needs.
Increase funding to Family Planning clinics to ensure contraception and abortion care is available everywhere.
Update abortion legislation to provide for safe zones.
Expand the provision of free period products in schools.
Freedom from violence
Everyone has the right to control their own lives
and be free from violence.
Children have a right to be safe.
But Aotearoa currently has high rates of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and child abuse.
This causes both immediate and long-term harm.
The Green Party in Government has secured paid leave for victims of domestic violence, helping people keep their jobs while leaving an abusive relationship.
Over three years, we committed over $440 million for frontline community services dealing with domestic and sexual violence.
We’re also building an integrated response to family and sexual violence by bringing together departments, agencies, Maori, and service providers working across and outside government.
This will help develop coordinated approaches that prioritise violence prevention, victim/survivor safety, whanau-centred responses, effective early intervention, and recovery.
We recognise that ending family and sexual violence will require challenging gender norms, colonisation, and other forms of discrimination within society and government.
In the next Government, we will extend support for community-led and kaupapa Maori early intervention approaches, and work to address the root causes of domestic and sexual violence - so all families are safe and supported.
We will:Implement the recommendations of the Ko Te Wa Whakawhiti report to improve Oranga Tamariki.
Establish enduring mechanisms for the Crown to work in partnership with Maori
and people impacted by violence,
and ensure specialist stakeholder and survivor voices inform responses to family violence and sexual violence.
Ensure all people and whanau are at the centre of responses,
and fund culturally specific responses.
Fund comprehensive prevention education and early intervention programmes.
Develop workforce capability plans so everyone knows their role identifying and responding to violence and has confidence to respond effectively.
Ensure national leadership enables community-led responses for people, and whanau,
while ensuring equity of outcomes
and evidence-based practice.
Give community providers secure, fully funded, long-term government contracts to respond to the needs of the people they are supporting for as long as necessary.
Fund family violence experts in courts, as recommended by the Family Violence Death Review Committee.
Continue to explore pathways for addressing sexual violence beyond the justice system
and reducing re- traumatisation within courts.
Review emergency housing for victims to ensure all needs are catered to.
Ensure emergency housing is available for men seeking to remove themselves from a situation in which they were at risk of harming others, or subject to a Police Safety Order.
Global affairs
Aotearoa can play a leading role creating a connected and compassionate world, where the global community works together to address issues including climate change, human rights, and public health by upholding the international rule of law, and promoting peace and shared responsibility.
The world is going through a period of instability, with the impacts of climate change, COVID-19, war, international inequality, mass displacement, pollution, and biodiversity loss among the challenges.
Lack of political resolve to combat these challenges leads to poor outcomes for people and planet.
The Green Party believes that Aotearoa must take an independent and principled position on global affairs,
by addressing current and historic global injustices,
strengthening international law,
and championing disarmament.
Aotearoa should lead the world providing international mediation and conflict resolution,
and be grounded in principles of environmental protection and restoration,
equity,
human rights,
shared responsibility,
and non-violence.
We will:Ensure Aotearoa’s defence forces promote peace,
justice,
and environmental protection (such as fisheries enforcement) throughout the Pacific and the world.
Ensure Defence procurement of new ships and planes is focused on what is needed for peacekeeping, disaster relief, and defence of natural resources.
Promote peaceful conflict resolution as a key contribution on the international stage,
and establish a Conflict Prevention Unit.
Oppose Aotearoa’s participation in the Five Eyes spy network.
Support Aotearoa to uphold and promote human rights internationally,
and continue to support the work of the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice.
Implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
and lead by example by honouring te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Promote and support the principle of self-determination of peoples everywhere, including in West Papua, Western Sahara, and Palestine.
Increase Official Development Assistance funding
and ensure we use recognised best practice for poverty reduction approaches.
Work with global partners to support the forgiveness of unjust Global South debt, and fair debt relief measures, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.
Support the integrity of the Antarctic Treaty system, to promote scientific research and peace.
Health
COVID-19 has shown us how much we rely on each other.
It has also shown us that strong health services are critical.
The key to this is quality healthcare provided by a publicly funded health system.
There should be no financial or other barriers to anyone accessing the healthcare services they need.
In Aotearoa, not everyone is able to get the treatment they need.
Our health and wellbeing is shaped by the environment we live in and the personal circumstances we experience.
Good personal health relies on the health of whole communities, housing standards, and access to good food.
In Government, we have made progress reducing some of the barriers to healthcare, including providing free or low- cost contraception to women.
With greater government support, everyone in Aotearoa will have access to healthcare when they need it, with no barriers.
We will:Increase resources for wellness and preventative health measures, to keep everyone as healthy as possible.
Increase public health funding to keep pace with need and the growing population.
Ensure everyone can access healthcare services, regardless of their ability to pay, at the earliest stage possible.
This includes working towards providing adequate funding for community-based care.
Incorporate matauranga Maori into the health system,
and fund provision of primary healthcare through Maori organisations, overseen by a new Maori health agency
that focuses on remote areas with significant health disparities.
Ensure all parents and caregivers have access to free, well-staffed and resourced helplines.
Uphold the independence and strength of PHARMAC.
Investigate a levy on sugary drinks to fund affordable dental care.
Support water-only policies in schools, hospitals, and sports clubs.
Restrict junk food advertising aimed at children.
Continue to implement measures to make Aotearoa smoke-free by 2025.
Ensure communities have influence over public health decisions that affect them.
Research and plan for the impacts of climate change on health and disease.
Housing
Everyone deserves a warm, dry, affordable home that supports their wellbeing and helps them to be part of a connected community.
Successive governments have allowed speculation to drive up prices,
and failed to build enough public housing, or support our community housing sector.
Owning a home has become unachievable for many families, and many people who rent are forced to settle for substandard, overpriced homes.
With the Green Party in Government there has been a reset to the approach to housing.
We have built more public houses than any Government since the 1970s,
provided wrap around support to end homelessness,
introduced comprehensive rental reforms,
and created a $400 million progressive homeownership scheme.
We need to scale up what works, so that everyone can have a decent place to call home.
We will:Build more solar powered and energy efficient state houses every year, enabling people to share clean electricity with their neighbours.
Develop public housing in ways that ensure no net loss of publicly owned land.
Expand progressive homeownership programmes like rent-to-own and shared equity, as well as non-profit community rental initiatives, in partnership with iwi, hapu and community housing providers.
Ensure our laws are fit for purpose for a thriving housing sector, by introducing professional standards for property managers and student accommodation.
Ensure regulatory frameworks support the development of innovative co-housing initiatives.
Facilitate finance for development of papakainga on Maori land,
and ensure relevant central and local government planning documents enable papakainga development.
Provide high quality emergency and transitional housing to help end homelessness, with a clear pathway into an affordable long-term home.
Immigration and refugees
The Green Party welcomes people who want to make Aotearoa their home.
The global refugee crisis continues to see millions of people displaced, and as a responsible member of the international community we should help more refugees find a home here.
We look forward to welcoming people into our communities who bring their experiences and perspectives, as well as much-needed skills.
For too many new migrants, decent housing and good jobs aren’t available, so we need to build more houses
and strengthen workplace protections.
With the Green Party’s support, the Government raised the refugee quota to 1,500 and increased support to reunify families.
The Green Party will make sure immigrants feel welcome, settled and supported with specific support programmes,
remove discriminatory profiling in the immigration system,
and raise our refugee quota.
We will:Progressively increase the refugee quota to 5,000.
Improve resourcing for community providers to enable successful outcomes for refugee and migrant communities, including those providing English language training, orientation information, te reo and kaupapa Maori education, and civics education.
Ensure our immigration legislation makes provisions for people displaced by climate change, based on need.
Increase workplace rights for temporary migrant workers to ensure equality with local workers.
Review government immigration processes to ensure policies are impartial regarding countries of origin, ethnicities, cultures, age, gender, and sexual orientation, and review the use of algorithms and risk profiling in immigration decisions.
Include funding support for asylum seekers during and after their claim process.
Provide better resources and review the barriers to refugee family reunification.
Ensure iwi and hapu have opportunities to contribute to immigration policy decisions, and welcome new migrants.
Justice
The Green Party shares the vision of Te Uepu Hapai i te Ora Safe and Effective Justice Advisory Group: “A justice system that treats all people with humanity, dignity, respect and compassion;
recognises the mana inherent in all people and communities;
and enables the restoration of that mana whenever it has been diminished. ”
In Government, we made it easier for victims of sexual and domestic violence to access justice without being re- traumatised,
and extended the Youth Court to include 17 year olds.
We opposed a new mega-prison being built at Waikeria.
The current justice system makes Aotearoa less safe by failing to ensure equal access to courts,
effective rehabilitation and reintegration strategies,
and restorative support for victims.
We have one of the highest rates of imprisonment in the world, fuelling a cycle of crime and despair which disproportionately harms Maori and people of colour, mental health sufferers, and low-income communities.
Our justice system needs transformative change.
We must move away from mass incarceration;
ensure we do not militarise the Police;
empower by-Maori, for-Maori criminal justice processes;
and support legal aid and community law centres.
Our justice system must respond to discrimination against marginalised groups,
address the underlying causes of offending,
and focus on rehabilitating offenders.
Fixing the justice system requires better housing, inclusive education, and mental health and addiction treatments.
We will:Oppose further arming of the Police and require regular de-escalation training.
Reform sentencing, bail and parole laws to enable the gradual replacement of most prisons with community- based rehabilitation.
Properly fund tikanga-based and restorative justice solutions to criminal cases, including Te Pae Oranga.
Transfer authority and resources to Maori communities to design and develop responses to the systemic causes of harm.
Properly fund social support to those who have caused and experienced harm,
extend legal aid,
better resource community law centres,
and make applications for protection and parenting orders free.
Expand well-performing specialist courts like the Rangatahi and Pasifika Courts for young people throughout Aotearoa, so justice doesn’t depend on where someone lives.
Expand the Youth Court to cover all young people up to the age of 18, regardless of offence,
ban detention of young people with adults in all circumstances
and review the use of remand in youth detention facilities.
Create an independent Victims Commissioner to give a formal voice to victims in the justice system
and ensure support services are resourced to provide specialised support for victims of intimate partner violence and sexual violence.
Kaupapa Maori
The Green Party wants an Aotearoa where the status of Maori as tangata whenua is recognised and respected,
and the harm of colonisation is acknowledged and put right.
We understand ecological and social justice includes justice for indigenous people,
and that Aotearoa is immeasurably enriched by tikanga Maori.
As a Parliamentary political party, we take seriously our responsibility to tangata whenua to reset the relationship with the Crown so tino rangatiratanga is honoured.
Our MPs are proud to stand with tangata whenua at Ihumatao,
and we will continue working to honour te Tiriti o Waitangi.
We will prioritise policies that promote iwi and hapu self- determination across all areas, with a particular focus on: kaitiakitanga rights, Maori economic development, water, housing, hauora Maori, justice, and education.
We will:Roll out te reo Maori as a core curriculum subject through to Year 10.
We will also increase funding for kura kaupapa, kohanga reo, and mainstream te reo immersion and bilingual classrooms, including funding for professional support of Maori medium teachers and teacher scholarships.
Require tertiary institutes to report on their responsiveness to the needs of Maori students.
Review the Reserves Act to embed kaitiakitanga and co-governance by iwi and hapu of reserve areas within their rohe.
Ensure economic and environmental policy recognises the needs of Maori and maximises opportunities for Maori-led sustainable economic development, with a focus on iwi and hapu-led green industries.
Facilitate finance for development of papakainga on Maori land,
and ensure relevant central and local government planning documents enable papakainga development.
Fund primary health care provision through Maori organisations,
overseen by a new Maori health agency,
with particular focus on remote areas with significant health disparities.
Support kaupapa Maori restorative justice and rehabilitation programmes, particularly through expanding the availability of Rangatahi Courts nationwide.
Oppose the use of the Public Works Act to acquire Maori land.
Recognise Matariki as a public holiday.
Mental health
Aotearoa can be a country where everybody feels they belong.
The Green Party has always recognised that our mental health is inextricably linked to communities,
our physical wellbeing
and sense of belonging,
the health of our environment,
and our relationships with each other.
Poverty, exclusion, racism, isolation, and trauma affect too many people and hamper their ability to live and reach their fullest potential.
In Government, we’ve increased access to free youth mental health services through the Piki programme for students.
We’ve also supported the Mental Health Commission to hold the Government and service providers accountable.
But too many of us find it difficult to identify when “feeling down” tips into something more enduring, and too many are not reaching out for help when they need it.
A lot of people simply don’t know who to turn to.
We need to confront the most damaging stigmas around mental health and addiction, and fight for what’s right even when it’s complicated.
Aotearoa can be a place where everybody is valued, respected, housed, and has access to fulfilling education and livelihoods.
The Green Party will prioritise mental health, recognising the public health factors that influence wellbeing, and ensuring barrier-free access to professional support when needed.
We will:Expand free counselling to everyone under 25, and work towards extending this to all adults.
Champion recognition of mental health as a community and country-wide responsibility, instead of placing the burden on people experiencing issues.
Fund inpatient and community mental health services at all levels to ensure everyone in Aotearoa can access help if they need it.
Improve post-natal mental health services so that no new parent needs to struggle.
Fund innovative initiatives that indicate high recovery rates with minimal medication.
Continue working through the Cross Parliamentary Mental Health and Addiction Wellbeing Group, to further destigmatise mental ill health
and ensure MPs are well educated to build consensus on the drivers of mental ill health and policy solutions.
Pasefika
Aotearoa is a Pacific country.
Our Government has a responsibility to support Pasefika communities in Aotearoa,
and to be a good neighbour to other nations in our region.
Too many people in our Pasefika communities are held back by Aotearoa’s economic, education, welfare, and health systems.
The Green Party acknowledges the hardships, inequities, and injustices faced by our Pasefika communities,
and knows that supporting all our young people to thrive means investing in them.
The Green Party will work alongside Pasefika communities to open up new opportunities
while improving incomes, housing, education, and health outcomes.
The Green Party understands the importance of strengthening public health services within Pasefika communities,
increasing educational support,
ending racial prejudices,
and reforming the justice system
so everyone can reach their potential.
We will:Ensure New Zealand’s Pasefika history is taught in schools,
by Pasefika people wherever possible.
Commit to climate action in Aotearoa to limit global warming to 1.5C so the effects of climate change on Pasefika countries are minimised, and people can stay in their homelands.
Ensure our immigration policy is welcoming to Pasefika people displaced by climate change.
Increase the capacity of the Ministry of Pacific Peoples to develop policy advice focused on long-term funding models and practices that enhance the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of Pasefika communities.
Support and strengthen the Pasefika Education Plan
and develop a national Pasefika Education Strategy to help grow and retain teachers with diverse Pasefika whakapapa.
Reform teacher registration practices which penalise Pasefika teachers who qualified in their home countries.
Develop funding so more Pasefika people can become healthcare workers;
and encourage Pasefika people to train in small business, art, IT, research and education.
Poverty action plan
Everyone deserves to live with dignity.
The Green Party knows this is possible with a fairer approach to income support and taxation.
Change is underway with Best Start payments to support children,
and increases to benefits
and the minimum wage.
But our current social safety net doesn’t do enough to get people through economic shocks or personal setbacks.
As we rebuild after COVID-19, we must go further and faster to deliver income support that enables all of us to live good lives.
Our Poverty Action Plan ensures everyone has what they need.
That means support for students
and people out of work,
extra help if you’re sick or disabled,
simple payments for families,
and a higher minimum wage.
We have more than enough to go around in Aotearoa.
But right now, unfair rules funnel money into the pockets of the wealthiest few, rather than distributing it among all of us.
Our plan rewrites the rules and makes sure those who have done extremely well under the current system pay their fair share.
During COVID-19 we saw our collective ability to work together to change the system in a way which benefits all of us.
Our Poverty Action Plan levels the playing field so everyone can live with dignity, put a roof over their head, and keep food on the table.
We will:Ensure a Guaranteed Minimum Income of $325 per week for students and people out of work, no matter what.
Introduce a Universal Child Benefit for each child under three of $100 per week.
Replace Working for Families tax credits with a Family Support Credit of $190 per week for the first child and $120 per week for each younger child.
Change abatement and relationship rules so people and their partners can earn more from paid work before their income support entitlements are reduced.
Provide additional support for sole parents through a $110 per week top-up.
Reform ACC to become the Agency for Comprehensive Care, creating equitable social support for everyone with a work-impairing health condition or disability, with a minimum payment of 80% of the full-time minimum wage.
Introduce a new tax of 1 percent on an individual’s net wealth above $1 million and 2 per cent on net wealth over $2 million.
This tax would only affect the wealthiest 6 per cent of New Zealanders.
Create two new top income tax brackets for a more progressive tax system that redistributes wealth.
Guarantee annual minimum wage increases,
with one minimum wage rate instead of the starting out rate.
Rainbow communities
Aotearoa is strongest when everyone can be themselves, free from discrimination.
The Green Party celebrates diversity and encourages understanding of all people - including diversity of gender, sex, and sexual orientation.
In Government, we’ve started to make changes such as ensuring the next Census contains questions about gender identity,
and secured funding to start clearing decades long waiting lists for gender affirming surgeries.
Rainbow communities deserve acceptance, and equal opportunities in law and in practice.
For too long, people have been marginalised through legislative barriers, discrimination, prejudice, and a lack of awareness and understanding.
FAIRER COMMUNITIES
We will:Create an Office for Rainbow Communities, tasked with developing and implementing a plan to improve LGBTQIA* rights, championing rainbow issues, and providing a point of government contact for rainbow communities.
Ban conversion therapy.
Take an active role internationally to promote human rights issues in relation to rainbow communities throughout the world.
Support initiatives to educate institutions, including Local and Central Government, about Rainbow issues.
We will implement the recommendations of the Human Rights Commission’s Prism Report relating to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics in Aotearoa:
Amend the Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics.
Pass the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Registration Bill so the process of changing gender markers on birth certificates is based on self-identification.
Address the healthcare needs of rainbow people by prioritising the needs of intersex, transgender, and non¬binary people,
giving them the respect they deserve.
Ensure schools are inclusive and safe,
and workplaces are free from discrimination.
Sustainable buildings and warm, dry homes
Everyone has the right to a warm, dry home.
Instead, housing in Aotearoa often makes us sick from damp and cold.
In Aotearoa, much of our housing stock just isn’t up to standard.
Cold, draughty houses with high heating costs can and should be a thing of the past.
The Green Party has been committed to warming up our homes for decades, working with both Labour and National governments to deliver subsidies for home insulation.
This term, with the Green Party in Government, we’ve introduced Healthy Home Standards for rental properties - requiring insulation and reliable heating.
We’ve made sure all new Kainga Ora public homes are energy efficient
and we’ve launched the Building for Climate Change programme to improve how we build while reducing carbon emissions.
It’s now time to go further and create a green building revolution, for the health of people and planet.
We will:Overhaul the Building Code so all new homes are built to high standards of warmth, dryness, and energy and water efficiency, working towards net zero energy new builds by 2030.
The new Code will require all new builds to use greywater recycling
and be accessible to people with disabilities.
Provide grants to insulate, heat, and ventilate older homes, targeted at those most in need.
Introduce mandatory energy efficiency ratings for all commercial and residential buildings, both new and existing.
Create a Rental Warrant of Fitness to complement the existing Healthy Home Standards, so all tenants can have confidence in the warmth of rental properties.
Kick-start Aotearoa’s sustainable building materials industry, with a particular focus on scaling up sustainable timber processing and prefabricated buildings.
Finance clean energy replacements of fossil fuel heating systems in commercial and industrial buildings.
Support green roofs and other “soft” infrastructure.
Ensure new government buildings are built to high environmental standards.
Reduce emissions from buildings through the Building for Climate Change programme.
Tertiary education and student support
A flourishing tertiary education sector is well-resourced, innovative, responsive, and accessible to students.
Its institutions reflect the diversity of Aotearoa
and champion matauranga Maori.
Aotearoa’s tertiary education institutions have been compromised by decades of corporate behaviour that has prioritised profit over education as a public good.
Successive governments have systematically devalued education and its critical contribution to the vibrancy and progress of our communities.
Those who teach and research at Aotearoa’s tertiary institutions are often not recognised for the work they do.
We all deserve the right to train, upskill, and become students.
The Green Party has fought hard this term for greater student support
and free mental health services.
We’ve triggered a Select Committee Inquiry into unfair and inconsistent practices by student accommodation providers.
We have championed universalising the student allowance
and reinstating postgraduate student allowances.
The Green Party’s vision is a strong tertiary education system that contributes to the social, cultural and environmental wellbeing of Aotearoa.
We will:Support all students not in paid employment with a Guaranteed Minimum Income of at least $325 a week.
Those in part-time employment will also receive support.
Reform the student accommodation sector to ensure students get a fair deal.
Reform student loans to make repayments more progressive and with a higher threshold before you have to pay (the less you earn after you graduate, the less you have to pay).
Investigate writing-off some student debt for graduates who live and work in Aotearoa after completing study.
Provide targeted funding for tertiary institutions to create an inclusive environment for students with disabilities, by supporting disability and learning support services, and improving staff to student ratios, library resources, and staff retention.
Ensure tertiary education providers prioritise space for study and community-building within their physical faculties.
Continue free apprenticeships.
Create a Clean Energy Training Plan to encourage people to train for jobs
upgrading Aotearoa’s economy with solar and other clean energy.
Clean economy.
Our country is at a crossroads.
The decisions we make now will determine what kind of planet we pass on to our grandchildren.
Governments have known about the climate crisis for decades but have failed to take meaningful action, putting our future at risk.
In the last three years in Government, we’ve done more for climate action than in the last three decades of governments combined.
The Green Party knows we need to act urgently and build on this progress, and we have a bold plan to support our communities and businesses into a more sustainable future.
If we make good choices now, we can ensure all of us, and our grandchildren thrive.
Agriculture and food production
Aotearoa can have a thriving and sustainable agricultural sector
that responds to the challenge of climate change
while protecting food security,
producing high value exports,
preserving and enhancing the natural environment,
and contributing to flourishing rural communities.
Intensive agriculture pollutes our waterways, degrades our land, warms our planet, and endangers biodiversity.
Decades of focus on quantity over quality has left many farmers in debt and at risk from market changes and economic shocks.
Our food production systems can change.
Sustainable food production is crucial to Aotearoa’s long-term prosperity.
The Green Party supports regenerative and organic farming practices.
These methods are natural, enhance land and water quality, and increase biodiversity.
They ultimately produce clean, green products which command higher prices in export markets.
Our vision is for an agricultural sector that sustainably feeds Aotearoa and the world;
protects and enhances the environment;
and contributes to the continued success and vibrancy of Aotearoa’s rural communities.
We will:Support regenerative agriculture in New Zealand, so farming practices improve the ecosystems they rely on.
Phase-out the most environmentally degrading agricultural inputs, such as synthetic fertilisers and harmful pesticides, and ban Palm Kernel Expeller (PKE) imports.
Support farmers to transition to organic agriculture,
provide support for up-scaled farm advisory services,
and fix the Organic Products Bill to give the organics sector a fair go.
Establish a sustainability accreditation scheme for agricultural products created in Aotearoa, to ensure consumers in Aotearoa and overseas can see their food has been sustainably produced.
Extend country-of-origin labelling to all food products.
Promote urban agriculture, food forests, and food growing in towns and cities.
Work with farmers to urgently develop a fair and science- based way to measure and price agricultural greenhouse gas emissions,
including recognising the value of on-farm tree planting.
Model environmentally sustainable farming with Pamu- Landcorp.
Protect productive food-growing land from urban sprawl.
Encourage government agencies to buy locally grown food and timber products.
Arts and culture
Artists and creatives should be valued
and the work they make should be accessible to everyone.
But the creative sector has been underfunded for years, and COVID-19 has left many artists without a paying audience.
Many artists and creatives, particularly those just starting out, end up compromising their work or giving up entirely.
This robs them of their passion, and denies all of us their contributions to Aotearoa’s social fabric.
The Green Party believes in sustainable public funding for the creative sector.
This means funding to back our artists and to support local venues that are critical for musicians and creatives trying to build an audience.
The Crown has a responsibility to foster and encourage the taonga of toi Maori.
We will work to establish sustainable support and community-led projects across Aotearoa that weave the contributions of our creatives into the cities, towns, and regions they love and reflect.
This requires collaboration across central and local government, community organisations, iwi, and hapu to create the best possible supportive environment for our music venues, galleries, and theatres.
With greater government support, Aotearoa will have a more vibrant creative sector that inspires and challenges us as a nation.
We will:Require public funding goes directly to artists themselves.
Work to ensure publicly funded creative projects pay a living wage.
Collaborate with local councils, community groups, and iwi to ensure there are enough venues for all forms of art,
and that these venues are accessible to everyone.
Ensure laws support creative workers on big projects to get a fair share of profits and decent working conditions, especially for international film and television projects.
Make donations to non-profit art and creative organisations tax-deductible, like charities are.
Support Aotearoa’s artists to tour overseas.
Support and fund more locally made content on television, radio and online.
Ensure funding of arts and culture organisations does not solely rely on gambling revenue,
and work with venues to secure revenue
that doesn’t rely solely on alcohol consumption.
Fund arts, culture, and creativity in schools, including supporting the Creatives in Schools programme.
Embed creativity in future Wellbeing Budgets and the Treasury’s Living Standards Framework, so it influences policy-making right across government.
Broadcasting and public media
The Green Party supports a thriving, vibrant media sector,
with a diversity of accessible and independent sources to entertain and inform New Zealanders,
and hold power to account.
The media sector is changing fast, under enormous financial pressure in an environment of diminishing public trust.
New thinking is needed.
COVID-19 has brought the issues the media faces into harsher light, with sudden job losses and uncertain futures.
Less journalism means more unchecked power for decision-makers, which is bad for everyone.
A strong media sector is crucial to a functioning democracy,
and public interest journalism is the core of a strong media sector.
The Green Party will work to enable new funding streams to support our journalists and storytellers.
This means innovation in the content produced and the platforms it appears on,
not just propping up unsustainable business models.
Aotearoa can ensure a diverse and resilient fourth estate.
One well equipped to hold power to account
and share our communities’ stories, promoting our shared identity and challenging us to be better.
We will:Establish a Public Interest Journalism Fund, making grants available for projects and journalists,
with criteria to ensure diversity of voice in media is considered as part of the grants process.
Implement a ‘digital services tax’ on digital advertising revenue, to disincentive sending revenue offshore
and provide a new stream of funding for local media.
Support NZ on Air to continue funding the production of local content.
Increase RNZ’s funding, including RNZ Concert, which could then employ journalists losing jobs in the private media sector.
Protect and further support student media, Maori media, and Pasefika media.
Clean energy
When all our energy comes from the sun, the wind, and the flow of rivers, there will be no need to burn coal or import oil.
But for decades, Governments have passed up clean energy opportunities and chosen to keep burning last century’s dirty fuels instead.
Many of our big factories still burn coal.
Aotearoa spends $7 billion every year importing oil.
These fossil fuels cause climate change, putting our grandkids’ futures at risk.
It’s time to make urgent changes, using clean technology alternatives.
In Government, the Green Party achieved a historic ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration.
We’ve put solar panels on school roofs, and started swapping old coal boilers in schools and hospitals for clean alternatives.
Since 1999, partnering with Labour and National-led Governments, we’ve insulated almost 400,000 homes,
reducing energy bills and making sure more people have a warm, dry place to live.
The Green Party will widely roll-out rooftop solar panels and electric vehicles chargers so everyone has easy access to clean energy.
We’ll also work with industries to switch from burning coal to clean alternatives.
By 2030, Aotearoa can generate 100% of the electricity we need from clean, renewable sources.
The work required to achieve that goal will create thousands of jobs.
We will:Bring forward the Government’s target for 100% renewable electricity from 2035 to 2030,
and re-instate the ban on building new fossil-fuel electricity generation.
Equip all suitable public housing with solar panels and batteries, saving people on their power bills and enabling them to share clean energy with their neighbours.
Make it 50% cheaper for everyone to upgrade to solar and batteries for their own homes, with government finance.
Create a community Clean Energy Fund to support communities, iwi, and hapu to build and share low-cost, clean energy.
Train thousands of people for clean energy careers with a Clean Energy Industry Training Plan, developed with the energy industry, training providers, and unions.
Ban new fossil-fuelled industrial heating systems and boilers in our first 100 days in Government,
end industrial coal use in Aotearoa by 2030,
and end industrial gas use by 2035.
Increase financial and advisory support for businesses to replace fossil fuels with clean energy alternatives.
Reform the Crown Minerals Act so it facilitates a just transition towards ending fossil fuel extraction,
and stop issuing permits for new onshore fossil fuel extraction.
Update planning rules to make it easier to build new wind farms.
Encourage time of use pricing options for major electricity retailers,
and encourage local generation and energy storage instead of building more poles and wires.
Climate change
The Green Party wants future generations to know we did everything we could to prevent the climate crisis.
Unfortunately, previous governments left polluters free to profit at the cost of our kids’ and grandkids’ futures.
The changing climate means communities throughout Aotearoa and around the world are facing more extreme weather events.
During the last three years in Government the Green Party has done more for the climate than all governments for the past 30 years combined.
We passed the Zero Carbon Act to set a legal framework to tackle the climate crisis,
invested record amounts in public transport and cycleways,
created new powers in the Resource Management Act to stop big polluting developments,
and required all default Kiwisaver funds to stop investing in fossil fuels.
We need to do more.
To reach our Paris Agreement commitment to stay within 1.5°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels, we must halve our carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.
This means Aotearoa must stop burning fossil fuels urgently.
A stable climate for future generations means homes heated by clean energy,
real transport choices to cut the need to drive,
and producing food that nourishes the environment, and people.
We will:Make electric cars more affordable
and invest in better cycle lanes, buses, and trains.
Roll out rooftop solar panels and electric car chargers so affordable clean energy is everywhere.
Replace industrial fossil fuel use with clean energy
and continue working towards 100% renewable electricity.
Let emissions prices rise to incentivise polluters to switch to clean alternatives, and recycle the revenue back to households and businesses.
Pull all government investments out of fossil fuel companies
and work towards ending fossil fuel subsidies.
Commit to a Just Transition approach, working with affected communities, businesses, and unions to create good, sustainable new jobs.
Work with local government, iwi, hapu and communities to increase resilience and plan for the changing climate, especially in coastal areas.
Push for Aotearoa to play a leading role internationally to reduce global emissions
and uphold the Paris Agreement.
Implement emissions budgets, following advice from the Climate Change Commission.
Green cities and towns
Cities and towns can be places where people and nature thrive, with affordable homes, low-emissions transport, clean rivers and beaches, and vibrant green spaces.
But successive governments have failed to plan for flourishing urban environments, leading to an overreliance on roads and carparks, poor quality buildings, and polluted waterways.
The Green Party in Government is making change for the better.
We are working to ensure new Crown developments will be low-emissions and prioritise active transport, including with Homestar 6 environmental ratings for new public houses.
And we are removing the minimum parking requirements rule that meant new developments had to prioritise building carparks instead of more affordable homes or green spaces.
Cities are already economic and social hubs.
With better planning they can also be places that enhance community resilience through our physical and natural environment.
We will:Support local councils to fund rainwater tanks, so communities are better prepared for droughts.
Restore urban waterways
and create walking and cycling paths alongside them,
creating jobs
and improving water quality.
This will include storm water improvements to prevent polluted run-off entering urban streams;
upgrading urban culverts to ensure safe passage of native aquatic species;
and working with councils to identify opportunities for “daylighting” piped streams.
Update the Ministry for the Environment’s Urban Design Protocol to provide guidance on urban design principles for high-density and mid-density housing types, for quality living environments and vibrant urban spaces;
retrofitting commercial buildings to provide quality, affordable inner-city housing;
and community-led brownfield redevelopment in existing urban and urban fringe areas.
Provide government guidance on co-designing mixed use developments and new public transport routes;
heritage protection,
including strong protections for wahi tapu;
and green water infrastructure, with a focus on “soft” infrastructure solutions such as rain gardens and green roofs.
Create strong regional spatial planning requirements to ensure urban fringe developments are on good public transport routes;
protect significant natural areas,
food production land;
water catchments;
and ensure urban development does not occur in areas with high natural hazard risk.
Restore dune lands, streams, wetlands, and bush near urban areas,
working with iwi and hapu,
local government, community organisations, and neighbourhood groups.
Support community clean energy networks, including shared solar panels.
International trade
Fair and sustainable trade is critical to the wellbeing of Aotearoa.
The Green Party supports trade that is fair,
protects human and workers’ rights,
is environmentally sustainable,
and honours te Tiriti o Waitangi.
But international trade rules are broken.
Recent trade agreements have protected the profits of foreign corporates by signing away Aotearoa’s right to regulate in our public best interest.
Agreements have neglected the environment,
allowed breaches of our privacy rights,
encouraged foreign investment that does not benefit Aotearoa,
and allowed other countries to use exploitative labour practices to undercut sustainable and fair competition.
While some political parties wavered, the Green Party is the only party in Parliament to remain steadfastly opposed to the TPPA because of the risks it presents to Aotearoa’s sovereignty.
In light of COVID-19, we have a unique opportunity to reduce Aotearoa’s reliance on imported goods while improving the quality of the trade we do conduct.
We want to see trade live up to its potential to enrich the lives of people across the world, alleviating inequality instead of creating and entrenching it.
We will:Continue to champion a new way of doing trade, including completing the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade, and Sustainability with world-leading environmental commitments, and seek to bring other countries into the agreement as quickly as possible.
Review Aotearoa’s existing trade agreements to remove the controversial Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions and government procurement limitations,
lower investment screening thresholds,
and strengthen environmental
and labour rights provisions.
Seek to align all trade agreements Aotearoa signs with the Paris Agreement’s climate change commitments.
Strengthen the democratic process around signing trade agreements, with the creation of a Parliamentary Committee for Treaties,
an independent Parliamentary Commissioner for Trade,
and ensuring any decision to sign an agreement requires a vote in Parliament.
Improve scrutiny of trade agreements, with the public release of final texts before signing and independent National Interest Analyses.
Support our Pasefika neighbours to increase the value of their exports.
Sustainable businesses
In the wake of COVID-19, we must empower small businesses in Aotearoa to flourish,
create new jobs,
and support their local communities.
The Green Party knows that supporting sustainable business is one of the best ways to renew our economy.
COVID-19 has shaken up “business as usual,” and highlighted existing issues like cash flow insecurity and the power imbalance in commercial tenancy arrangements.
We all need our local businesses to be resilient
and well equipped to protect the environment.
We want them to create less waste,
and employ more people than before.
The Green Party will ensure government investment is directed toward sustainable business initiatives.
We will:Revitalise ‘Buy Kiwi Made’ and increase country of origin labelling so it’s easier to support local businesses.
Commit government departments to buying more goods and services from Aotearoa businesses.
Support small owner-operator tenants to resolve issues with commercial landlords during and beyond the COVID-19 economic period.
Provide sustainable business leadership training programmes so local businesses grow and adapt to new modes of operation.
Review regulatory frameworks that distinguish between commercial businesses and non-profit organisations, to support social enterprises to thrive.
Encourage business-clustering so small businesses can share resources and expertise,
and encourage circular business relationships where the outputs of one business are the inputs to another.
Support more apprenticeships and training subsidies.
Sustainable jobs
A sustainable economy means good working conditions
and fair distribution of the benefits of our natural resources.
As we respond to the disruption caused by COVID-19 and continue the transition to a climate safe future, sustainable jobs are more crucial than ever before.
However, Aotearoa’s economy is still based on unsustainable extraction and exploitation - and it is vulnerable to economic shocks.
The Green Party believes job creation must prioritise restoring our environment,
caring for people,
and replacing emissions intensive industries with clean, renewable alternatives.
In Government, we have established Green Investment Finance Ltd to kick start climate safe job creation,
and we prioritised sustainable jobs in the COVID-19 economic response with a $1.3 billion Jobs For Nature investment to create thousands of environmental restoration jobs.
We will:Create thousands of jobs in green energy,
including putting solar panels on the roofs of all suitable state homes,
and working with businesses to replace fossil fuel equipment.
Support a skilled workforce by increasing funding for apprenticeships and training,
and ensuring secure income for students through our Guaranteed Minimum Income.
Identify areas where Aotearoa is overly reliant on imports for essential products and invest in domestic production to improve resilience
and create new local jobs.
Scale up MSD’s “Project in the Community” Programme, which provides wage assistance for fixed-term community projects that employ people not in paid work.
We will also expand this to medium-term projects with social or environmental benefits.
Continue to invest in regional development with a focus on sustainable building and infrastructure products,
regenerative agriculture and horticulture,
and iwi and hapu-led economic activity.
The high-tech economy
A strong manufacturing and technology sector will create jobs in low-emissions industries
and ensure we can sell Aotearoa’s skills to the world.
The digital revolution is an opportunity to create a more sustainable economy,
address social inequalities,
and connect communities.
Aotearoa’s economy relies too much on exporting large volumes of low-value raw commodities.
If the Government makes smart choices, Aotearoa can develop a green economy
with world class, modern manufacturing and technology sectors at its heart.
Reviving our local manufacturing sector will see more Kiwi-made products used in Aotearoa
and exported to the world.
Working and studying from home during the COVID-19 response has highlighted unequal access to technology across Aotearoa.
Digital divides must be addressed to bridge the gaps in economic and social outcomes.
We must increase people’s access to the internet,
and make digital spaces more accessible for all of our communities.
We will:Use government procurement to support local suppliers and open-source software, including hosting government data onshore, to deliver broader value to Aotearoa.
Encourage low-emissions industries with export potential, like software, gaming, and precision agriculture.
Set up a Digital Export Office at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise to support low-carbon ‘weightless exports’.
Boost science funding and simplify the grant process so innovators can do what they do best.
Support the local wood processing sector to add value to Kiwi timber, including by developing biofuels.
Support 3D printing-based manufacturing through a National Growth Strategy.
Give manufacturers, technology firms, and software developers a voice in trade negotiations.
Commit to open data so people can innovate,
while protecting individual privacy and data sovereignty,
including Maori data sovereignty.
Implement Internet NZ’s five-point plan for digital inclusion, including making internet connectivity and devices affordable for those on low incomes
and ensuring accessible digital skills training for working people and small businesses.
Ensure all government websites are accessible to people with disabilities,
and are available in te reo Maori and other languages.
Transport
Aotearoa has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to help solve climate change
while creating more vibrant, attractive places to live
that are accessible for everyone.
Successive governments have spent too much on expensive motorways and underinvested in low-carbon transport infrastructure.
This approach caused congestion, environmental harm, and has made it expensive and hard for people to get around.
The Green Party is the only political party that will stop building unnecessary motorways that create urban sprawl and confine people to polluting cars.
In Government, we’ve reprioritised low carbon options in transport planning.
In the recent New Zealand Upgrade Programme, we negotiated $1.6 billion for sustainable transport, cycling, and walking infrastructure.
We’ve secured funding for iconic projects like the SkyPath over the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Aotearoa is beginning to move to a cleaner, less-congested transport system, but we need to go further and faster.
We will:Connect our cities and provincial towns with fast, modern passenger rail.
Commit to a ten-year programme to upgrade intercity and regional rail, including fast, electric passenger and freight trains, connecting major towns and cities.
Make buses, ferries, and trains frequent and affordable,
and build new, rapid bus and train services in our major cities to avoid traffic and make it faster to get around.
Design people-friendly streets that are safer for walking and cycling, particularly around schools.
Expand electric vehicle charging stations across Aotearoa.
Introduce fuel efficiency standards for cars
and a clean car discount to make electric cars cheaper and reduce pollution.
Make our supply chains carbon neutral by moving more freight on rail and incentivising zero emission fuels for heavy vehicles, including hydrogen and biofuels.
Workplace rights
Good working conditions help support good lives, but for decades, working people in Aotearoa have not received their fair share of productivity gains.
At the same time, work has become more precarious, with short-term contracts instead of stable employment.
This makes it harder for people to care for themselves and their families.
The Green Party has supported the Government to end National’s roll-back of workplace rights, including restoring the right to a meal break and ending most 90-day trial periods.
We’ve guaranteed that core public sector employees will be paid at least the living wage.
But we need to go further and faster to ensure all workers get a fair deal, by improving collective workplace rights and employment protections in law,
while ensuring the state sector prioritises good employment standards.
We will:Progress Fair Pay Agreement legislation,
and prioritise the essential workers who supported our communities during COVID-19.
Guarantee annual minimum wage increases,
and abolish the “youth wage” starting out rate.
Move to default union membership so people automatically join a union when they start a new job, but can opt out.
Encourage worker representation on boards of publicly listed companies.
Restore the right to solidarity strikes and political strikes.
Introduce ten days of employer-funded sick leave, with unlimited top-ups through a reformed ACC.
Progressively shift to five weeks annual leave.
Improve redundancy processes
and provide a minimum of one month full pay for people made redundant.
Ensure employment laws enable flexible working arrangements including working from home or a four-day working week.
Increase the number of labour inspectors to ensure workplaces are meeting their obligations to their staff.
Review the Health and Safety Act and Worksafe’s capacity to ensure safe workplaces, including freedom from bullying, harassment, and sexual harassment.
Extend the living wage beyond the core public sector, including to contractors.
Remove barriers for hiring and promoting women and marginalised groups.
Develop specific employment and equity standards to be used when selecting contracts for government procurement.
A STRONG RECOVERY FOR ALL
These are uncertain times.
COVID-19 has cast a shadow across the world.
The global health and economic consequences will be with us for some time yet and New Zealand will not be immune.
But we are well placed to weather the storm and will emerge from it stronger.
Our success in fighting the virus, protecting lives and livelihoods, has put us in a better position than many other countries in the world.
We didn’t achieve these results by chance.
We went hard and early with a clear plan that we stuck to.
When issues arose, we moved to fix them as quickly as possible.
The response has worked.
Together we have set ourselves up for a strong recovery.
A recovery that keeps New Zealand safe
and drives our economy.
That will continue to be the top priority for Labour in Government.
Our task now is to make the most of that head start.
We are already rolling out our plan for economic recovery.
This manifesto details many of the initiatives and investments already underway.
To protect our health with strong, smart borders that are continuously improved.
A plan focussed on creating jobs
through investing in critical infrastructure like new hospitals, schools and community projects.
We are training apprentices for tomorrow’s jobs
and supporting New Zealanders into work.
Together over the past few years, New Zealand has cleared some high hurdles.
One day we will look back on this period and recognise that in a moment of uncertainty we built the foundations for New Zealand to emerge stronger.
This manifesto sets out our plan to achieve that.
New Zealand has always sought to make something good come from the challenges that come our way.
We’re in the middle of that project right now.
So let’s stick together and let’s keep moving.
LIVING LABOUR’S VALUES
Labour’s approach is based on our values as a party, and our values as a country.
Labour’s values are enduring values.
Our Party was formed in 1916 by working New Zealanders, determined that all people’s contribution to our nation should be respected and valued.
They strove then, as we do now, for a fair share for all,
support for the vulnerable,
and hope for a better tomorrow.
The values that still guide us include:
EQUALITY ORITETANGA
Our vision of a just society is founded on equality and fairness.
We believe in more than just equal opportunities—we believe in equity and equality of outcomes.
An equal society is built on inclusion,
respect for diversity,
and co-operation.
OPPORTUNITY WHAKARITANGA
All New Zealanders have the opportunity to realise their potential and make the most of their talents.
We want all New Zealanders to share in prosperity,
feel valued,
and have the capability to live full lives, participating in their communities.
SOLIDARITY KOTAHITANGA
Kotahitanga affirms our acceptance of mutual rights and obligations for the good of society as a whole.
Solidarity defines our commitment to a compassionate, inclusive, tolerant, and responsible society.
It gives us the means of finding our place in that society.
SUSTAINABILITY KAITIAKITANGA
We will ensure responsibility for sustainable use and restoration of our natural resources is shared by all,
and in doing so protect our environment for future New Zealanders.
We are driven, not only by what we have, but by whether our actions are going to leave our children’s and grandchildren’s generations with an even better country than we have today.
FREEDOM RANGITIRATANGA
Freedom is about both the right to fully participate in society
and to exercise choice about how we live our lives.
Labour recognises that people can only exercise true freedom when they can participate fully in a society that supports strong personal, social, and economic rights for everyone.
LABOUR’S RECOVERY PLAN
Labour’s top priority in Government will continue to be a COVID recovery plan for all New Zealanders.
Our strong health and economic response has put us in a position to bounce back better than many other countries.
Labour’s economic plan is already being rolled out.
Our plan is underpinned by a relentless focus on responsible management of government books to keep a lid on debt and invest in our recovery.
We will also continue to build on our approach to keep people safe and to protect lives and livelihoods.
We are rolling out a plan that:Supports people to retrain for tomorrow’s jobs.
Creates jobs
by rebuilding critical infrastructure.
Future-proofs our economy
by investing in plans to combat climate change, reduce waste, and support developing green energy.
Supports small businesses and entrepreneurs to adapt, recover and grow.
Grows exports
and builds a confident
and internationally connected nation.
1. INVESTING IN OUR PEOPLE
COVID-19 will ultimately mean big changes to the work that people do.
Our plan supports people into work
and helps them train or upskill for work.
It also helps build workforces for the jobs for tomorrow.
Labour will provide free access to all apprenticeships and to a range of trades training courses for the next two years, saving learners between $2,500 and $6,000 a year.
Labour will continue the successful Mana in Mahi and He Poutama Rangatahi programmes which are upskilling and getting people into work.
You can read more about our training policies here.
Labour will reinstate the Training Incentive Allowance for a wide range of higher-skill courses to support sole parents, disabled people and carers to improve their qualifications.
Labour will increase abatement thresholds to support people into work by enabling them to earn at least $160 a week before their benefit is reduced and continue to increase this rate year on year in line with minimum wage.
Labour will support up to an additional 40,000 people to get into work through the Flexi-wage programme that invests in job seekers who are disadvantaged in the labour market.
We’ll also increase the average subsidy from $3,500 to $7,500.
You can read more about these policies here.
2. JOBS, JOBS, JOBS
Our recovery will create jobs,
get New Zealanders back to work,
and ensure people who find themselves out of work, or are entering the labour market for the first time, can get the skills and knowledge they need.
We have set out an extensive programme of new infrastructure investment, which will provide certainty to the regions and employers, and result in significant economic benefits.
It invests in projects which are ready to go but also builds a long-term pipeline of investment to boost confidence and certainty.
Labour will continue to invest in road, rail, public transport and walking and cycling infrastructure to get our cities moving,
keep New Zealanders safe,
unlock housing,
and boost productivity.
Labour will continue to roll out our major investments in rebuilding hospitals around the country, including substantial investments in new hospital facilities in Dunedin, Christchurch, New Plymouth, Auckland, and Counties Manukau,
and investing in health infrastructure community clinics.
Labour will continue our programme to build new schools and classrooms for 100,000 students.
As well as building new schools and classrooms, we also want to better utilise the school buildings and facilities we have so we will continue to upgrade around 180 schools over the next 10 years.
Labour will continue our build of over 18,000 public and transitional homes,
our large-scale projects in places like Mt Roskill and Porirua,
and investing in the necessary infrastructure for new homes.
Labour will reform New Zealand’s drinking water and waste water system and upgrade water infrastructure
to create jobs across the country.
Labour will continue to roll out Jobs for Nature that invests in community projects to address long-term environmental issues like wilding pines and cleaning up our waterways.
Labour will build on our ‘Opportunities Grow Here’ campaign to attract New Zealanders into food and fibre jobs over four years,
and consider innovative ways to attract young people into the primary sectors,
develop career paths and business opportunities to ensure progressive succession
and sustainable land use.
Labour will partner with regions to progress their regional economic development plans
by making $200 million seed funding available through the Regional Strategic Partnership Fund for strategic investments in projects or programmes that support the growth of new and innovative industries,
deliver sustainable employment opportunities,
and further a region’s economic development.
You can read more here.
3. PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE
Labour’s recovery plan invests in tackling long-term challenges so our economy emerges stronger.
Our plan will create much-needed jobs
and economic stimulus now,
while also future-proofing our economy.
Labour will bring forward our 100% renewable energy target to 2030
and investigate dry year storage options such as pumped hydro.
Labour will continue to roll out our investment to increase electrification of industrial and process heat,
including by phasing out fossil fuels in process heat by preventing the installation of new low and medium temperature coal-fired boilers,
and supporting businesses to replace fossil fuels in industrial heat processes by connecting to the grid.
Labour will help accelerate the uptake of electric and other low emission vehicles, including by increasing the Low Emissions Vehicles Contestable Fund to fund more EV chargers and support the purchase of more low emissions vehicles.
Labour will continue its investment in innovation, including through the research and development tax credit programme.
For more information see our climate change, energy and housing policies.
4. SUPPORTING OUR SMALL BUSINESSES, ENTREPRENEURS AND JOB CREATORS
Small businesses are at the heart of New Zealand’s economy.
We’re backing our businesses with practical support to get through COVID-19, and to continue to innovate and grow.
The next phase of our plan tackles a number of the challenges identified by the Small Business Council’s Small Business Strategy.
Labour will extend the Small Business Cashflow Scheme for a further three years,
extend the interest-free period,
and investigate permanent financing for smaller businesses.
Labour will fund 30,000 Digital Training Vouchers for short-courses or training in digital training.
Labour will accelerate and strengthen Business Connect.
Labour will regulate the cost of Merchant Service Fees charged by a retailer’s bank to reduce costs on retailers.
Labour will continue to require Government departments to pay 95% of invoices they receive within 10 working days.
You can read more about our small business policy here.
Labour will also ask the Commerce Commission to conduct market studies on supermarkets and building supplies to ensure everyone is getting a fair deal.
You can read more about this policy here.
5. POSITION NEW ZEALAND GLOBALLY
We’re continuing to position New Zealand globally as a place to trade with and invest in to take full advantage of our economic head start.
As a trading nation we rely on international customers to purchase our goods and services.
Our plan will position New Zealand globally as a place to trade with,
to invest in,
and eventually, to visit again.
Labour will progress the Government’s tripartite Industry Policy focused on supporting industries in transition
and growing high-value export firms.
Labour will promote our primary sector roadmap Fit For a Better World to accelerate the productivity, sustainability and inclusiveness of the primary sector
to deliver more value
for all New Zealanders.
Labour will continue to pursue high quality trade agreements that diversify our trade relationships.
We will continue to expand opportunities including through trade deals with the EU and the UK,
the Digital Economic Partnership Agreement
and the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade, and Sustainability.
Labour will work to attract high-quality companies to invest and establish here by expanding the Innovative Partnerships programme and New Zealand Trade and Enterprises (NZTE) dedicated international investment attraction team.
Labour will open up travel bubbles when it is safe to do so.
Labour will restart and reimagine a more sustainable tourism industry
by working with the industry to support our tourism sector
and invest in its transition to a sustainable, low carbon, high skill and high wage industry,
focussed on attracting high-value tourists.
Labour will promote tourism as we progressively open our borders,
continue to support domestic tourism opportunities
and maintain New Zealand’s presence in the hearts and minds of key international markets.
Labour will develop an ethical investment framework for all government-controlled investments so New Zealanders know that all the public’s shared investments are into things we can stand proudly behind.
Labour will use the government’s procurement programme to support improved social and environmental outcomes,
and good employers who model modern, worker-friendly businesses practices.
FISCAL MANAGEMENT
Labour in Government has proved itself to be a responsible manager of the Government’s books.
We have also demonstrated during the COVID-19 health crisis the decisive, calm decision-making and careful investment required to support New Zealanders through challenging and uncertain times.
Labour is the only party with a realistic plan to help the economy recover.
Our Fiscal Strategy shows New Zealanders how Labour proposes to pay for its balanced plan to carefully manage the country’s finances,
respond to COVID-19,
maintain core public services,
and deliver a stronger
and more sustainable economy.
Achieving our five point plan will require a careful focus on fiscal management.
To guide this approach, Labour’s Fiscal Strategy sets out our principles for fiscal management.
These principles are the basis on which Labour will make spending and investment decisions over the next term of government.
Labour will take a balanced approach to control and reduce debt
while ensuring all New Zealanders have the health, education, and other essential services that they rely on.
We are also committed to building a stronger,
fairer economy
through our investments in productivity,
sustainability
and people.
CAREFUL MANAGEMENT OF GOVERNMENT FINANCES
We will continue to carefully manage the Government’s finances and keep debt under control including through on-going baseline reviews, rigorous Budget analysis, meticulous value-for-money processes, and a strong delivery focus.
We will only spend the remaining COVID Response Recovery Fund (CRRF) contingency if we absolutely need to.
INVESTMENT IN CRITICAL PUBLIC SERVICES
We will prioritise investment in critical public services, such as health and education, to support New Zealanders through the COVID-19 response, recovery and rebuild phases.
The lesson of previous recessions is that failing to invest slows our recovery,
increases the impact,
and has a scarring effect on our most vulnerable communities.
INVESTMENT IN SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH
We will grow the economy sustainably
by making the long-term investments necessary to secure New Zealand’s economic future.
STABLE REVENUE POLICY
We will maintain stability in the tax system.
We will lift the rate of tax for income earned over $180,000 to 39c in the dollar to contribute to COVID-19 response and recovery and keep debt under control.
Part of the importance of fiscal discipline today is that it makes it easier to meet the challenges of tomorrow.
Any responsible government has to look beyond the horizon, positioning the country to meet the challenges we know are coming.
One of those is the ageing population and the affordability of superannuation.
Our children won’t thank us if we borrow less now only by forcing them to borrow even more later.
Responding to COVID cannot come at the expense of saving for New Zealand’s future retirement.
Labour will continue to make contributions to the NZ Super Fund.
Labour will commit to not make any changes to the rate or entitlement age for New Zealand Superannuation.
You can read more about our fiscal strategy here.
Labour understands that today’s borrowing needs to be repaid,
and we’ll all have to contribute our fair share.
That’s why Labour will make two changes to the tax system to make sure we can continue to fund services like health and education,
while keeping a lid on debt.
Labour will introduce a new top tax rate of 39c, for any income people earn in excess of $180,000 a year.
Labour will continue to proactively work with the OECD in order to find a workable solution to the issue of multi-national corporations not paying their fair share of tax.
You can read more about our revenue policy here.
HEALTH
Investing in the health of New Zealanders
New Zealand’s response to COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of a strong, well-funded public health system.
In 2017, we inherited a system characterised by glaring health inequalities
and hospitals and health facilities that were severely depleted by historic under-investment.
We will continue to invest in our health system as a part of our elimination strategy to keep New Zealanders safe from COVID-19.
Labour will continue to invest in a strong public health response to COVID-19, including promoting the importance of basic health measures, and continuing to increase our PPE supplies and distribution.
Labour will prioritise our surveillance and testing strategies to enable early identification of COVID-19 and prevent and limit its spread in the community, including identifying and rolling out new testing technologies, appropriate for our context.
Labour will continue improving our contact tracing capability, both at a local and national level.
Labour will continue the COVID-19 Leave Support Scheme to support anyone who has to self-isolate due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
Labour will continue to improve our border settings to keep COVID-19 out.
Labour will ensure New Zealand secures a safe and effective vaccine (supported by a strong national immunisation programme),
including working with international partners
and investing in local research and innovation that contributes towards finding a cure.
Over the past three years we made record investments in health, playing catch-up after years of neglect.
We will build on our record of investment in New Zealand’s health services by tackling inequities,
expanding mental health services,
and rebuilding rundown hospitals.
We will continue our increased investment to ensure New Zealanders can access services and procedures where and when they need them.
Labour will undertake a long-term programme of reform to build a stronger health and disability system that delivers for all, drawing on the recommendations of the Health and Disability System Review.
Labour will make mental health support available to all primary and intermediate school age students in the country
and continue to roll out nurses in secondary schools.
Labour will expand nurse-family partnerships across the country
and additional respite beds for maternal mental health.
Labour will expand minimum sick leave entitlements from five days to ten days a year.
Labour will reduce planned care waiting lists by investing a further $200 million.
Labour will purchase more modern medicines and drugs by boosting funding by $200 million.
Labour will double the number of cochlear implants to 160 per year.
Labour will increase dental health grants to $1,000 for those on low incomes
and fund 20 additional mobile dental clinics.
Labour will work in collaboration with tangata whenua to establish a Maori Health Authority.
You can read more about our health policy here.
Labour will also work to return ACC to its original purpose of assisting all New Zealanders who have had an injury.
This will involve:Addressing the changes National made when last in office, which unfairly disadvantaged tens of thousands of New Zealand workers.
Considering the range of conditions ACC covers
and taking an evidence-based approach to updating the list of chronic illnesses caused through workplace exposure to harmful environments.
As part of the welfare overhaul, Labour will examine inequities between support through ACC and the welfare and health system for disabled people and people with health conditions.
We will also continue the business transformation of ACC to support a customer centric approach to engaging with clients, business customers, health providers and transforming ACC culture.
EDUCATION
New Zealanders are skilled, adaptable and have access to lifelong learning
COVID-19 showed us the importance of supporting schools and their leaders,
and exposed the existing inequities in our system.
We must continue to address these inequities over the next decade to avoid unacceptable economic and social repercussions across our nation.
Our approach to addressing inequities will be based on supporting our quality public education system.
Our plan is built around five key objectives: learners at the centre;
barrier free access;
quality teaching and learning;
future of learning and work;
and world class inclusive public education.
Labour will continue to work towards pay parity between teachers in education and care centres and their counterparts in schools and kindergartens.
Labour will continue to implement the 10-year Early Learning Action Plan and meet the needs of the youngest children in particular.
Labour will continue to support and encourage more te reo Maori teachers
and continue to integrate te reo Maori in our schools.
Labour will continue to support the revitalisation of te reo Maori and implement the aspirations set out in Maihi Karauna.
Labour will scrap the blunt and outdated decile system and implement the Equity Index for schools and early learning services,
and increase the proportion of funding that is allocated on this basis.
Labour will expand the Free and Healthy School Lunch programme to cover 200,000 students in 2021.
Labour will provide free access to all apprenticeships and many trades training courses for the next two years.
Labour will complete the reform of the Vocational Education system.
Labour will continue to roll out our Budget 2020 boost to Adult and Community Education, including a modern approach to revitalising night classes.
Labour will continue the Strategic Recovery Plan for the International Education sector to ensure the sector is rebuilt following the impacts of COVID-19.
Labour will continue its programme to build brand new schools and classrooms for 100,000 students,
and continue to upgrade around 180 schools over the next 10 years.
You can read our Education policy here.
HOUSING
Ensuring every New Zealander has a warm, dry home
Secure, healthy and affordable housing is at the heart of the wellbeing of New Zealand families.
It will take many years of sustained and continued focus to make that a reality for every New Zealand family.
Labour is determined to keep making progress on housing.
We know there is a lot more to do
and it will take time to roll out.
Labour will maintain construction momentum during COVID-19, through a Residential Development Response Fund, delivering over 18,000 public houses and transitional housing places,
support for first home buyers,
progressing the Construction Sector Accord,
and removing barriers to building homes.
Labour will repeal and replace the Resource Management Act 1991,
and review and modernise the Unit Titles Act 2010.
Labour will continue to partner with Community Housing Providers to support progressive homeownership and roll out a Government-led scheme.
Labour will amend the Building Act 2004 to deliver a better building consenting system
and continue with the Building for Climate Change work programme.
Labour will strengthen public and transitional housing to maintain our progress tackling homelessness through the economic impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Labour will establish an Earthquake-prone Building Remediation Service (EBRS) to help some apartment buildings be safer, faster.
Labour will partner with Maori through MAIHI
to support the implementation of the Homelessness Action Plan,
repairing and maintaining homes,
building papakainga
and establishing the Iwi Maori pathway for progressive home ownership.
Labour will support energy efficiency, including through new mandatory Energy Efficiency Certificates to support homeowners to reduce their power and energy costs.
Labour will regulate property managers to protect landlords and tenants.
Labour will expand the Ministry of Health’s Healthy Homes Initiative to improve the quality of housing to prevent childhood hospitalisations.
Read more about our Housing policy, Resource Management Act policy and Healthy homes policy by following links.
SOCIAL SERVICES
Modernising our welfare system, so all New Zealanders can live with dignity and contribute meaningfully to their communities
Our welfare system should ensure that all New Zealanders in need are able to have an adequate income,
are treated with respect and dignity,
and are able to participate meaningfully in their communities.
Labour will continue culture change at Work and Income to improve people’s experiences and ensure they are treated with kindness and dignity in all offices and regions across New Zealand.
We will continue to improve how the one million New Zealanders who access Work and Income for support each year feel when they interact with the welfare system.
We will also focus on expanding employment support and services to New Zealanders who are out of work to upskill, train and re-enter the labour market.
Labour will reinstate the Training Incentive Allowance so that sole parents and disabled people can access this extra support for courses at level four and above on the National Qualifications Framework.
Labour will increase abatement thresholds so people are supported to take up part-time work while on a benefit.
Labour will expand Flexi-Wage programme to support 40,000 New Zealanders into work.
Labour will continue the welfare overhaul and work towards implementing the recommendations of the Welfare Expert Advisory Group to improve the welfare system.
Over the next term we will prioritise:Continuing to remove ineffective sanctions that negatively impact individuals and families.
We have already started this by removing the harmful section 192 sanction which punished women for not naming the other parent of their child,
and we will remove the subsequent child policy in 2021 to ensure parents are not penalised for having an additional child while on a benefit.
Increasing income support and addressing debt.
Resetting the foundations of the welfare system by exploring amendments to the purpose and principles of the Social Security Act 2018 with a focus on developing a kaupapa Maori values framework.
Improving supports and services for disabled people and people with health conditions, and their carers.
Simplifying the income support system
and ensure the settings that underpin access to income support are fair and fit for purpose .
Labour will also work toward a more effective social service sector by improving how government commissions and works with social service providers.
More information is available on our Social Development Policy here.
Labour is committed to addressing child poverty
and making New Zealand the best place in the world to be a child.
We passed legislation to establish targets and progress measures for reducing child poverty and set an ambitious ten-year target to halve the rate of child poverty in New Zealand.
We will keep making real change to ensure our children get the best start in life.
Labour will ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the 3rd optional protocol, and will remove all earlier reservations.
Labour will expand the Free and Healthy School Lunch programme to cover 200,000 students in 2021.
Labour will fund 20 additional mobile dental clinics to improve access to dental services for children and young people.
Labour will expand the Healthy Homes Initiative to help prevent childhood hospitalisations, particularly for rheumatic fever
Labour will ensure Oranga Tamariki partner with iwi, hapu, and Maori organisations to find appropriate solutions for children in need.
TE AO MĀORI
Continuing on the partnership
We have much to celebrate after three years of Government.
Together we have started to tackle the big issues.
We knew that to get real results for Maori, to put an end to the disparity between Maori and non-Maori, we had to do things differently.
Our Maori Manifesto sets out our commitment to continuing on the partnership path with Maori
and looks to take bolder steps to create the change we need to finally realise the promise of Te Tiriti - Governance, Rangatiratanga
and equality for all.
Labour is committed to our obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
We are committed to the articles of Te Tiriti - the role of the Government in article 1, the promises it makes to Maori and their Tino Rangatiratanga in article 2 -
so that together we may achieve equality as promised in article 3.
Labour will celebrate Matariki as a public holiday beginning in 2022.
Labour will back Whanau Ora because we know it works.
Labour will strengthen Maori housing outcomes through collaborative partnerships, home- ownership models, and papakainga provision.
Labour will ensure Oranga Tamariki partner with iwi, hapu, and Maori organisations to find appropriate solutions for children in need.
Labour will support Whanau Maori business, enterprise and opportunities, including through a progressive procurement policy that would set a target for Maori business procurement.
Labour will recognise the important role our Maori boarding schools play in growing our future Maori leaders by investing $20 million into a fund designed to provide them with financial support to continue to house, educate and manaaki rangatahi in their care.
Labour will ensure Oranga Tamariki partner with iwi, hapu, and Maori organisations to protect our most vulnerable children and whanau.
Labour will recognise the vital contribution of Matauranga Maori.
Labour will continue its work to settle historic Treaty of Waitangi claims.
Labour will continue our commitment to our obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Labour’s full Maori manifesto is available here.
IMMIGRATION
Striking the right balance to support our recovery, fairness and opportunity
We will manage immigration settings, border controls and access to critical skilled workers for business with a balance that will support New Zealand’s economic recovery
while ensuring ongoing health protections against COVID-19.
Labour will open up our settings to get more people into the country,
while maintaining robust controls at the border.
This will include restarting the Refugee Quota programme.
Labour will review immigration criteria to enable a broader range of workers to enter New Zealand
Labour will enable a 10 percent quota for critical workers as we further develop the allocation system for managed isolation places
Labour will establish a new Investment Attraction Strategy to encourage targeted and high-value international investment into New Zealand
Read more about our COVID-19 border entry policy here.
Labour will also make the most of the opportunity provided by the changes to our border settings by updating our immigration settings.
Labour will continue to support redeployment of seasonal workers, working with primary sector bodies to help get them the workers they need
and allow those who are in New Zealand to assist with seasonal work,
while also getting more Kiwis into jobs in the primary sector.
Labour will continue our work to develop an immigration system that better matches the needs of employers in different regions
with the talents and aspirations of migrant workers.
Labour will update the settings of partnership visas so that these are up-to-date, culturally appropriate, and represent international best practice.
Labour will reduce barriers to access the parent category visa, including reconsidering the current provisions once the international flow of people across the border settles, and reducing the income thresholds.
Labour will continue our work to stamp out migrant worker exploitation with a focus on exploring the implementation of modern slavery legislation in New Zealand to eliminate exploitation in supply chains.
Labour will complete work on refugee family reunification and settlement.
Labour will ensure our immigration policies work in the best interests of New Zealand,
Pacific migrants
and Pacific Island nations,
including consideration of climate-related migration policies.
CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY
Transition to a clean, green carbon neutral New Zealand
Climate change is a crisis, and Labour has put in place a comprehensive programme to tackle it across energy, transport, agriculture, forestry, waste, and our construction sector.
Labour will work with local councils, unions, industry, iwi and Maori organisations to ensure a just transition to a zero carbon and climate- resilient economy and society,
which also optimises economic development opportunities.
Labour will phase out fossil fuels in process heat by preventing installation of new low and medium temperature coal-fired boilers.
Labour will require only zero-emissions buses to be purchased for the public bus fleet by 2025 and target decarbonising the fleet by 2035.
Labour will increase investment in world leading research that helps us reduce emissions.
Labour will continue its work to help New Zealand’s freight network to become more sustainable and efficient, including through coastal shipping.
Labour will expand the Just Transitions Unit to regions and communities beyond Taranaki, where it is currently working to transition the Taranaki economy away from oil and gas.
Labour will work to ensure that workers can access targeted training and new jobs as new opportunities are created and the economy transitions to being carbon-free.
Labour will empower local councils to decide which land can be used for plantation and carbon forests through the resource consent process.
Labour will continue its work towards New Zealand’s goal of planting one billion trees by 2028.
You can read more about our plan to tackle climate change here.
The COVID-19 economic recovery represents a once in a generation opportunity to reshape New Zealand’s energy system to be more renewable, affordable and secure,
while creating new jobs
and developing the high skill workforce our future economy needs to thrive.
Labour will investigate dry year storage solutions to help New Zealand achieve 100% renewable electricity.
Labour will continue to roll out our investment to increase electrification of industrial and process heat.
Labour will continue to implement the recommendations following the Electricity Price Review, with a particular focus on alleviating energy hardship.
Labour will investigate regulatory or market barriers to increase the uptake of solar electricity generation.
Labour will increase funding to expand the low- emissions contestable fund to accelerate the uptake of low emission vehicles in New Zealand, including in the freight and public transport sectors
and introduce a vehicle fuel efficiency standard for new and used light vehicles entering the fleet.
You can read more about out energy policy here.
OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Kaitiakitanga for current and future generations
Our natural environment is critical to our wellbeing, tourism, and national identity.
New Zealand’s environmental reputation is a core part of our export brand.
As we continue our COVID-19 recovery, we’re investing in nature to support thousands of people into jobs now,
and protect our environment for generations to come.
Labour’s waste action plan will future proof our economy through preventing, reducing and recycling waste consistent with a zero waste approach where waste and pollution are designed out.
This will create jobs,
grow the economy
and protect our environment.
You can read more about our Waste Action Plan here.
Labour will continue to improve the health of New Zealand’s freshwater and coastal areas.
Clean water is crucial to our environment, our economy and our reputation.
Our work will focus on stopping further degradation, making immediate improvements, and reversing past damage to bring our freshwater resources, waterways and ecosystems to a healthy state within a generation.
Labour will also work to achieve efficient and fair allocation of freshwater resources, having regard to all interests including Maori, and existing and potential new users.
Labour will extend the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management to cover estuaries in similar detail to freshwater itself, as recommended by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Labour will protect, preserve and restore our natural heritage and biodiversity,
and promote the recovery of threatened species.
Labour will commit to sustained funding for a kauri dieback National Pest Management Plan to provide a nationally coordinated, long-term approach to the management of kauri dieback disease, which is threatening kauri with extinction.
You can read more about our plan here.
Labour will repeal the Resource Management Act 1991
and replace it with a Natural and Built Environments Act
and a Strategic Planning Act.
You can read more about this reform here.
Labour will continue to work with the agricultural sector to develop integrated farm plans to remove duplication of reporting requirements
and achieve our goals of clean water, lowering emissions, and sustainable farming.
You can read more about our Farm Plans policy here.
Labour will continue to improve the sustainability of our fisheries sector where a range of environmental, recreational, tangata whenua and commercial interests can be upheld through an abundant fishery.
Labour will build on the sustainability measures we have already introduced
and continue the roll out of cameras on boats,
implement the Hector’s and Maui Dolphin Threat Management Plan,
and continue working on the Sea Change project within the Hauraki Gulf.
Labour will work with industry to help modernise fishing practices,
move towards an ecosystem- based management approach,
and rebuild any fish stock that has been overfished.
Labour will continue to work with Maori in the fisheries sector.
Labour will update marine protected areas legislation.
Labour will continue to fulfil our international obligations in the fishing sector.
Labour will continue to support aquaculture across New Zealand through an aquaculture strategy.
INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSPORT
Building a modern New Zealand
Over the past three years Labour has invested significantly in modernising our essential infrastructure.
This will help future-proof our country for decades to come by delivering new and upgraded roads, rail, schools and hospitals across the country.
As well as future-proofing New Zealand, we’re creating job opportunities up and down the country
and boosting our economy - both locally and nationally.
Labour will continue our major investment programme in rebuilding hospitals around the country, including substantial investments in new hospital facilities in Dunedin, Christchurch, New Plymouth, Auckland, and Counties Manukau,
and investing in community clinics.
Labour will continue our programme to build new schools and classrooms for 100,000 students.
Labour will continue to upgrade around 180 schools over the next 10 years,
and all state schools will continue to finish classroom upgrades, improve outdoor facilities,
and install energy efficient heating and lighting, through our School Investment Package.
Labour will continue building over 18,000 public and transitional homes, large-scale projects in places like Mt Roskill and Porirua,
and invest in infrastructure for new homes.
Labour will reform New Zealand’s drinking water and waste water system and upgrade water infrastructure
to create jobs across the country.
Labour will continue the roll out of rural broadband, including access capacity upgrades, backhaul replacements
and make spectrum available to network operators for low density application to enable the expansion of services in rural areas.
Labour will continue to progress the Urban Growth Agenda,
support the provision of infrastructure for housing,
and set standards for quality urban design.
Labour will run an evidence-based collaborative process with stakeholders to agree on the future of the upper North Island’s ports.
Labour will continue to invest in road, rail, public transport and walking and cycling infrastructure to get our cities moving,
keep New Zealanders safe,
unlock housing,
and boost productivity.
This includes implementing the 2021 Government Policy Statement on Land Transport.
Labour will continue to prioritise further investment in public transport, commuter rail, and walking and cycling to ensure accessible, affordable and reliable choices and services for users.
Labour will continue to prioritise road safety initiatives, including those from the Road to Zero Safety Strategy.
Labour will progress the Auckland Transport Alignment Project, Let’s Get Wellington Moving and developing a rapid transport network for Christchurch.
Labour will build a light rail connection from the City centre to Mangere and the airport following the receipt of advice from the Ministry of Transport.
Labour will continue to invest in KiwiRail
and to develop domestic rail workshops at places like Hillside and Woburn.
WORKPLACE RELATIONS
An inclusive economy where economic growth is shared by all
New Zealanders value a strong economy that provides decent jobs, higher incomes and more opportunities for current and future generations
New Zealand is recognised as being one of the best places in the world to live.
Wellbeing is high for New Zealanders overall, but the benefits of economic growth are unevenly distributed.
Significant disparities exist with some of our communities faring worse on wellbeing indicators including unemployment, income, health and educational attainment.
We want all New Zealanders to have equal opportunities to participate in an economy
that is strongly connected to the world,
and for all New Zealanders to share in the rewards and benefits of economic growth.
Labour will continue to increase the minimum wage.
Labour will make it easier for workers to receive fair wages and conditions
and avoid the ‘race to the bottom’ that occurs within competitive industries by legislating for and implementing Fair Pay Agreements.
Labour will make it easier for women to gain pay equity in their organisation or across their industry.
Labour will extend Living Wage guarantees to workers who the government pays via contractors in priority industries such as cleaning, catering and security guards, and then further as the COVID-19 recovery allows.
Labour will strengthen and simplify the Holidays Act, consistent with the recommendations of the Holidays Act Tripartite Taskforce.
Labour will recognise security guards as vulnerable workers to ensure their terms and conditions are protected by Schedule 1A of the Employment Relations Act.
Labour will strengthen section 59b of the Employment Relations Act so unions don’t have to establish “intent” of employers who automatically pass on gains from collective bargaining to non-union workers.
Labour will work with unions and employers to develop a better statutory regime to protect dependent contractors.
Labour will ensure that Seafarer Welfare Centres provide services to the level required by the ILO Maritime Labour Convention 2006 by amending the Maritime Transport Act 1994 to enable the maritime levy to fund the services required for seafarers’ wellbeing.
Labour will raise the age for workers to be allowed to perform hazardous work,
and ensure workers have the right to elect health and safety representatives.
You can read more about our workplace relations policy here.
JUSTICE, CORRECTIONS AND POLICE
Tackling the long term challenges in our law and order system
Labour is working harder and smarter to keep our communities safe,
break the cycle of offending
and tackle the root causes of crime.
We have already started to roll out our plan through Hapaitia te Oranga Tangata - Safe and Effective Justice, which is bringing people together to address the root causes of crime,
empower victims,
reduce offending,
and reduce the over-representation of Maori in the criminal justice system.
Labour will roll out the Te Ara Oranga meth harm pilot to support more communities impacted by high meth use.
Labour will establish an Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court in Hawke’s Bay .
Labour will expand Maori Pathways prison rehabilitation programme to wahine Maori.
Labour will strengthen the Maori, Pacific and Ethnic Services Group within Police.
Across justice, corrections and police, we will also continue to implement changes to support proactive, evidence-based policing to keep our communities safe.
You can read more about our law and order policy here.
We will also continue to protect and strengthen the rights of New Zealanders.
Labour will extend legal protections for groups that experience hate speech, including for reasons of religion, gender, disability or sexual orientation, by ensuring that we prohibit speech that is likely to incite others to feel hostility or contempt towards these groups under the Human Rights Act 1993.
Labour will honour the result of the referendum on the recreational use of cannabis.
Labour will continue to protect the integrity of New Zealand elections, and voters’ access to the polls, including a review of financing rules.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
New Zealand’s position in the world
New Zealand has a proud tradition of an independent foreign policy
with a focus on promoting multilateralism,
human rights,
and the international rule of law.
Our underlying foundation of New Zealand’s foreign policy is to have principled, independent policy driven by our national interests and that outwardly reflects our national values and experience.
This includes a commitment to our Pacific neighbourhood as our top priority,
multilateral approaches to resolve multilateral issues,
prioritising a human rights approach to international affairs,
and contributing to UN-sanctioned peacekeeping and humanitarian missions.
Labour will Chair APEC 2021 in a manner appropriate in a COVID-19 world
and showcasing the best of New Zealand.
Labour will continue to promote and develop strong multilateral links between Aotearoa and our international community.
Labour will continue to work in the Pacific as a priority area.
Labour will continue to make progress towards meeting New Zealand’s Official Development Assistance target.
Labour will build on our proud history of fighting for nuclear disarmament
and continue New Zealand’s long-standing advocacy for effective nuclear weapon free zones and a nuclear weapons-free world.
Labour will support the inclusion of indigenous collaborations agreements in the trade policy agenda that would create indigenous-indigenous opportunities.
Labour will continue to pursue high quality trade agreements that diversify our trade relationships.
We will continue to expand opportunities including through trade deals with the EU and the UK,
the Digital Economic Partnership Agreement
and the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade, and Sustainability.
Labour will open up travel bubbles when it is safe to do so.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITIES
Valuing Our Communities, Arts, Sports, and Media
Labour will uphold local decision making in the democratic institutions of local government.
Local government plays an integral role in the delivery of social and economic wellbeing for all New Zealanders.
We will maintain a cooperative, genuine, enduring, and meaningful partnership with local government.
Labour will strengthen the Local Government Commission to provide ongoing assurance of best practice and good governance across the sector.
Labour will continue to partner with communities, iwi, and local government on projects
that provide world-class community facilities,
community programmes,
and affordable housing.
Labour will ensure that major decisions about local democracy involve full participation of the local population from the outset.
Examples of these types of decisions include amalgamation or de-amalgamation, or major contracting out, privatisation, or reduction of services.
Labour will further integrate front line public services to enable easier access by New Zealanders.
Labour will ensure our emergency management systems are geared towards an inclusive, community-led response to natural disasters and health events.
Labour will continue to work with iwi on the role they play in emergency management.
Our stories and history are unique, and it is right that we celebrate them.
Our priorities are ensuring there is more quality local broadcast content - about New Zealanders, made by New Zealanders,
supporting the next generation of artists,
and securing the future of Te Reo Maori.
Labour will strengthen the role of public media and Maori media in the New Zealand community
and ensure public media assets are fit for the future and able to thrive amid the changing media landscape.
Labour will provide multi-year contestable funding through NZ On Air to fund public interest journalism, which is critical to an open, first world democracy,
and to protect jobs that will otherwise be at risk or lost due to the impact of COVID-19 on newsrooms.
Labour will continue to roll out the Creatives in Schools,
Creative Arts Recovery and Employment Fund,
the Cultural Innovation Fund,
and the New Zealand Music Recovery Fund.
These programmes will protect jobs
and help our arts and music industry recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and inspire the next generation of artists.
Labour will roll out a career service for creative jobseekers and creative sector workers who have lost income due to COVID-19, based on a modernised version of the Pathways to Arts and Cultural Employment (PACE) scheme for promising artists and creatives so we can continue to support their aspirations.
Sport plays a significant role in bringing our communities together.
Our success on the world stage also brings inspiration and pride to our country.
Much of the sector’s funding has been impacted by COVID-19 and put sports, particularly at a community level, under immense strain.
Labour will continue to roll out the Sport Recovery Package to get sport, from community clubs to elite level athletes, back up and running.
Labour will roll out the Strategy for Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation.
PACIFIC PEOPLES
Within New Zealand, we have a large Pacific population that makes up almost eight percent of the population.
It is important that our New Zealand Pacific peoples have the ability to access and participate in Pacific cultures.
Labour will establish a Pacific Wellbeing Strategy, aimed at lifting Pacific wellbeing and aspirations in health, housing, education, business, employment, incomes, leadership, Pacific arts, sports, music and STEM career pathways.
Labour will continue to roll out the Action Plan for Pacific Education, mapping out our commitment to transforming outcomes for Pacific learners and families, and signaling how early learning services, schools, and tertiary providers can achieve change for Pacific learners and their families.
Labour will continue to roll out Ola Manuia: the Pacific Health and Wellbeing Action Plan 2020-2025
and work towards health equity.
Labour will continue to roll out support to Pasifika festivals to maintain the financial viability of these iconic events
and ensure that the Pasifika community can continue to celebrate and share their rich culture and heritage in the future.
Labour will ensure our immigration policies work in the best interests of New Zealand,
Pacific migrants
and Pacific Island nations,
including consideration of climate-related migration policies.
ETHNIC COMMUNITIES
New Zealand is a diverse and inclusive country.
Our ethnic diversity is a source of strength, bringing new insights, skills, and opportunities to our society.
To fully harness all of these benefits, we need to provide a supportive environment for our ethnic communities to settle and prosper.
Labour will support the wellbeing of every person so that they are able to reach their full potential in life,
while retaining a connection to their heritage, culture, and language.
We recognise in particular that ethnic communities in New Zealand seek opportunities to live in welcoming and safe communities,
to succeed and contribute back to New Zealand,
to be treated fairly and on their merits,
and to build lives in a respectful and tolerant community.
We all have the right to be treated fairly, with respect and to be free from unwelcome racial discrimination.
Labour will continue the work programme with the Office of Ethnic Communities and Human Rights Commission to tackle the scourge of everyday racism and discrimination.
This will include creating and implementing a national plan of action to ensure tangible steps for government and all New Zealanders to take to help eliminate everyday racism and discrimination.
Labour will create and implement a national plan of action to ensure tangible steps for government and all New Zealanders to take to help eliminate everyday racism and discrimination.
Labour will ensure government and public services respond to the needs and strengths of ethnic communities including considering of the role and status of the Office of Ethnic Communities.
Labour will respond to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch Mosque attacks with a view to eradicating violent extremism,
and fostering a truly inclusive society for people from every culture, faith, and background.
Labour will work to promote equal employment opportunities for all,
with a view to removing the barriers to employment for people from ethnic communities.
DISABILITIES
Labour will continue our work towards a more inclusive and accessible New Zealand.
Disabled people make up a quarter of New Zealand’s population.
Ensuring we support the needs of this group and uphold their rights is not only vital to improving wellbeing for the disability community,
it will also contribute to a better New Zealand where everyone can meaningfully contribute and participate.
We are committed to supporting disabled people
and the realisation of their full rights and opportunities.
This commitment can be achieved through disability focused policy, funding and services,
as well as ensuring disabled people as a population group have their needs and potential considered across all significant policy and service development.
“Nothing about us, without us” is the mantra that underpins how Labour approaches addressing disability issues.
Labour will introduce an Accessibility for New Zealanders Act to help New Zealand to become more welcoming and accessible for disabled people and other New Zealanders with accessibility needs.
Labour will strengthen the mandate and resourcing of public leadership for the disability community, in consultation with the disability community.
Labour will replace the Minimum Wage Exemption with a wage supplement to ensure disabled people are paid at least the minimum wage.
Labour will increase access to closed captions in movie theatres and the availability of captions on free to air TV.
Labour will continue to boost the number of accessible state houses to ensure all tenants’ needs are met by requiring at least 25 percent of new public housing to meet universal design standards.
SENIORS
New Zealand has an ageing population.
This means more of us are living longer, healthier lives than ever before.
We need to ensure all people have the resources and support they need as they live longer while also embracing the opportunities that longevity brings.
• Labour will maintain the current entitlement age and the relative rate of New Zealand Superannuation.
Labour will continue to implement the Better Later Life Strategy, which promotes a society where people can age positively and where older people are highly valued and recognised as an integral part of families and communities.
Labour will establish an Aged Care Commissioner to help coordinate a system-wide response to addressing problems in aged care services through greater leadership to the sector and enabling better coordination of improvements
Labour will work with the dementia sector to support the goals of the Dementia Action Plan.
RAINBOW
From Homosexual Law Reform to Civil Unions and Marriage Equality, Labour has long been relentlessly proud, standing with our Rainbow communities and fighting for equity and justice.
We will continue to do this, creating a more inclusive and accepting New Zealand.
Labour will ban conversion therapy.
Labour will provide better access, support and treatment for our Rainbow communities through our health system
and ensure our healthcare system is responsive to the needs of trans, intersex and gender diverse people.
Labour will invest $4 million in mental health services targeted to the Rainbow community.
Labour will create more inclusive school environments,
including working with schools to ensure they have gender neutral bathrooms.
Labour will review the Human Rights Act 1993 to better protect communities from discrimination and prejudice, including adding gender identity as a prohibited ground of discrimination.
All New Zealanders should have the same basic rights, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics.
You can read more about our rainbow policy here.
WOMEN
New Zealand has been at the forefront of fighting for gender equality.
New Zealand was a world leader in implementing the Electoral Act which gave women the right to vote in September 1893.
This law was the first step in fulfilling women’s rights, reducing gender inequalities and acknowledging the importance of women in our political system.
We have taken massive strides since then, including reducing the gender pay gap,
increasing leadership for women in the public sector
and extending Paid Parental leave.
However there is still much to do, particularly for Maori and Pacific women.
Pacific and Maori women remain underrepresented in many of the areas where women in general are making progress.
We know that women undertake the majority of caring work in New Zealand, both paid and unpaid.
While unpaid work is an important contribution to the economy and society, it is often poorly recognised and undervalued.
We are committed to improving support for women both in their caring responsibilities, and if they want to return to the workforce.
• Labour will reinstate the Training Incentive Allowance for a wide range of higher-skill courses to support sole parents, disabled people and carers improve their qualifications.
Labour will increase abatement thresholds so people can earn more while on a benefit and are not discouraged from taking up part-time work.
Labour will continue the welfare overhaul and implementing the recommendations of the Welfare Expert Advisory Group.
Labour will expand minimum sick leave entitlements from five days to ten days a year to make is easier for parents to care for their children when they get sick.
Labour will make it easier for women to gain pay equity in their organisation or across their industry.
Labour will continue to roll out our programme to address period poverty through providing free access to period products in schools,
and will look to expand this programme.
Labour will continue to roll out its Strategy for Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation to overcome inequalities for women and girls in sport.
Labour will continue to take a community and prevention based approach to addressing family violence,
while supporting the capability of frontline crisis services.
YOUTH
We want New Zealand to be the best place in the world for children and young people.
The Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy sets out a shared understanding of what children and young people need and want in order to be well, and what we can and should be doing to support them.
It will guide Labour’s work to improve the wellbeing of all children and young people in New Zealand.
Labour will provide free access to all apprenticeships and to a range of trades training courses for the next two years, saving learners between $2,500 and $6,000 a year,
and continue the successful Mana in Mahi and He Poutama Rangatahi programmes to support people upskilling
and getting people into work.
Labour will strengthen healthy home compliance and enforcement efforts by Tenancy Services,
regulate property managers,
expand the Healthy Homes initiative for housing basics like heaters, curtains, bedding and floor covering,
and introduce a national register to actively track and treat rheumatic fever patients.
Labour will continue to roll out our programme to address period poverty through providing free access to period products in schools,
and will look to expand this programme.
Labour will work to strengthen student voice in the school and tertiary education system.
Labour will fund 20 additional mobile dental clinics to improve access to dental services for children and young people.
Labour will ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the 3rd optional protocol, and will remove all earlier reservations.
ADDITIONAL LABOUR COMMITMENTS SINCE FISCAL STRATEGY
Labour has released a responsible, balanced and costed fiscal strategy that continues our strong track record of managing the books carefully
while putting aside money for dealing with COVID-19
and protecting services like health and education.
The fiscal strategy was released on 1 October 2020, and accounted for the policies announced up to that date during the campaign.
It also set aside funding for contingencies and policies yet to be announced.
The table below sets out the additional spending commitments since the fiscal plan was published.
Infometrics has been contracted by the Labour Party to examine the high-level assumptions underpinning the policy costings and to confirm the value of the fiscal program as is set out in this Fiscal Strategy.
Infometrics concurs with the numbers presented within this document.
A 5-Point Plan for Economic Recover
ACT has a fully-costed plan for economic recovery,
which keeps the debt low,
cuts taxes,
and gets the country back to surplus,
while keeping Kiwis in work.
Our priorities are: 1: Getting Kiwis Back To Work
90-day trials for all businesses
Three-year moratorium on minimum wage increases
2: Balancing The Books
Borrow $76 billion less than Labour over the current decade
Return to surplus by 2028 and begin repaying the debt
Cut wasteful spending
Reduce the 30% tax rate to 15%
and cut GST to 10% for 12 months
3: Cutting Red Tape
Repeal the Zero Carbon Act and the oil and gas ban
Allow investors from OECD countries to invest without having to jump through bureaucratic hoops
Limit government’s ability to pass harmful regulation
4: Building For The Future
Replace the Resource Management Act
and amend the Building Act
End politically motivated infrastructure funding decisions with a new, independent Infrastructure Corporation
5: Protecting Public Health
Temporarily double Customs’ funding
to reopen the border as soon as it is safe to do so
Establish a permanent National Public Health Service to streamline epidemic responses
Expand the national personal protective equipment stockpile
Add a human health element to border inspections.
Covid-19 Response
The concept of wellbeing has been lost as New Zealand has scrambled to contain Covid-19.
While the virus has been largely beaten with few deaths and no community transmission, we have lost sight of the many costs imposed by lockdowns that are unaffordable.
The response to Covid-19 is about more than just the border.
No matter how careful we are, there will always be outbreaks so long as Covid-19 is endemic in the world.
It is about more than just preventing deaths from the virus.
There are other threats to our wellbeing, including our health.
A total response to Covid- 19 is about overall wellbeing in a world where we cannot guarantee against an outbreak.
Some have engaged in the debate over whether the elimination strategy should be continued.
To discontinue it is to consciously choose for some people to die for the greater good, an intolerable calculus for New Zealand.
Instead, we need to ask how elimination can be made affordable.
It is not affordable to continue with rolling lockdowns.
Being free of Covid-19 is one dimension of wellbeing.
We also have to think about a generation of students’ one shot at life-defining exams,
the mental health of small business owners run ragged,
non-Covid healthcare such as missed elective surgeries,
and families who can’t travel to Auckland for funerals.
Then there are financial costs.
If we take one estimate from a major bank, a Level 3 lockdown in Auckland costs $440 million a week.
16 days is $1 billion.
That is Pharmac’s entire budget for all taxpayer-funded medicine for a year.
In addition to the cost of lockdowns, New Zealanders face the uncertainty generated by the threat of them.
Who would invest in hospitality right now?
Who would invest in events?
Better wellbeing depends on investment in the future, but investment requires certainty, and the lockdown strategy imposes massive uncertainty on everyone.
Clearly, we must do better.
Unfortunately, the Government has not sought to do so.
Throughout the Covid period, the Government has almost fetishized comparisons with countries doing worse.
For instance, whenever the Government makes comparisons with Australia, it is with Victoria, seemingly ignoring that that has been an indulgent mistake.
At a national level, the Government has chosen comparisons with Sweden, as if that country’s approach is the only alternative.
This is another indulgent mistake.
Instead, we must compare ourselves with, and seek to emulate, Taiwan, the country that is the clear winner on a wellbeing basis.
A Wellbeing Approach to Covid-19
New Zealand needs a Wellbeing Approach to fighting Covid-19
Our response can’t be only at the border, we need deeper layers of defence
We should seek to emulate Taiwan, the clear winner on a wellbeing basis.
ACT’s approach
A multi-disciplinary Epidemic Response Centre
Government as referee, not player: allow arrivals to isolate at an Airbnb and be electronically monitored;
strict punishment for rule-breakers
A risk-weighted response: treat different countries and travellers with different levels of caution
A technology-driven response: use innovations such as the Covid Card, GPS locatable cell phones and Datamine’s elarm.
The Taiwanese Model
On the face of it, Taiwan should have been a Covid disaster.
The tiny island with a high population density (smaller than the North Island with 23 million people) is deeply integrated with China.
It even had direct flights to and from Wuhan.
However, Taiwan has achieved the astonishing record of only seven deaths (outperforming New Zealand by a factor of 12).
Most astonishingly, it achieved this without any lockdowns.
In fact, Taiwan allows people arriving in the country to isolate at home.
How is any of this possible?
The Government of Taiwan did not go hard and go early.
It went smart and went much earlier than New Zealand.
While the New Zealand Prime Minister was visiting Fiji in late February, the Taiwanese response had been fully implemented for a month.
In fact, the Government of Taiwan wrote to the WHO warning of the danger on 31 December last year.
The full Taiwanese response involved policies that are outlined here.
If we want to enhance New Zealanders’ wellbeing, we must stop indulgently comparing ourselves with the worst and start striving to be the best.
ACT’S WELLBEING APPROACH TO COVID-19
1.  Well Organised Government Response
ACT would establish a specialist multi-disciplinary epidemic response unit similar to Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Centre.
The Ministry of Health has a charismatic leader but not the ability to deliver the range of outputs required to fight a pandemic.
In fact, there are a wide range of criticisms that can be levelled at the management of healthcare normally.
Even if these criticisms are not sustained, the Ministry of Health appears to be fully occupied keeping up with its normal job.
The Ministry of Health is not the organization to bring together manufacturing and distribution (PPE), software development (contact tracing), operations (testing and isolating).
A multi-disciplinary, public and private, taskforce with overarching responsibility for our national strategy, like Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Centre, should be established instead.
ACT would have this group established and choose the best people without fear, favour or prejudice.
It would involve key leaders in the public sector
but also bring in private sector leaders on an equal footing.
It would have a transparent relationship with government, which would publicly set policy targets for the Centre.
The Epidemic Response Centre would be tasked with achieving these targets.
New Zealand’s Epidemic Response Centre would be tasked with maintaining elimination while maximising overall wellbeing.
Its first task would be to improve contact tracing to the standard that lockdowns are not required to contain an outbreak with a single chain of transmission.
2.  Government as a Referee, Not a Player
ACT would recognize the role of Government as a referee, not a player in maximising wellbeing in the face of Covid-19.
The role of Government should be to set clear rules of the game rather than to be a player itself.
Isolation is a good example of where government has failed to uphold the rules
while trying to provide the service itself.
While the Government was operating isolation facilities, nobody was responsible for checking dangerously exposed staff were being tested.
In Taiwan, new arrivals can isolate at an Airbnb.
However, they are strictly and electronically monitored.
If you breach the rules you will be severely punished.
The Government should be setting the rules for safety and ensuring people meet them
rather than trying to do everything itself.
Similarly, the Government has taken a dictatorial approach to essential services at a cost to safer services.
The closure of butchers and greengrocers while supermarkets remained open is one publicly visible example of this.
The failure to ensure lockdowns were legal is another.
Instead, the Government should be focused on enforcing rules that minimise transmission rates so that contact tracing can isolate an outbreak
with minimal disruption to people’s overall wellbeing.
3.  A Risk Weighted Response
ACT would recognise that risk varies and manage it accordingly.
Taiwan treats different countries (and we should treat different Australian states) with different levels of caution.
Similarly, we should manage different types of people differently.
At the moment we have the same policy for a rail engineer coming to work on the City Rail Link as we do for a deported gang member.
The former should be able to isolate privately if suitable rules and digital contact tracing are in place.
4.  A Technology Driven Response
ACT would augment our Covid response with better technology.
Taiwan used GPS locatable cell phones to track those in isolation, allowing it to isolate cases much more quickly.
With electronic contact tracing, it is unlikely we would have needed to extend the August lockdown beyond three days.
However, the Government’s electronic contact tracing efforts have been a fundamental failure.
The actual contact tracing app did not connect a single relevant contact.
Sam Morgan’s Covid Card has great potential.
It should be implemented.
At $100 million, it would only need to save two days of lockdown to pay for itself.
Similarly, Datamine’s elarm is being rolled out internationally before our Government gave it a chance.
Similarly, the Government should be constantly investigating rapid testing and temperature testing at key locations such as airports.
A multi-disciplinary Epidemic Response Centre makes this possible.
5.  A Culture of Openness and Continuous Improvement
ACT would start with honest reflection on our goals and our progress.
Taiwan is not ahead of us because they are better or smarter people, but because they had survived SARS and subsequent events.
Having fought imperialism and dictatorship to be free and democratic (lazy stereotypes of a pliant Asian population could not be more wrong), they do not rest.
We squandered 102 days on indulgence.
We cannot afford to repeat that mistake.
Conclusion
Our response to Covid-19 must consider all aspects of wellbeing.
It must seek to make the elimination strategy affordable
by ending reliance on expensive lockdowns.
It can’t just be about the border - we must have deeper layers of defence.
It cannot be purely about government - we must embrace partnerships with the private sector.
It can’t rely on twentieth century technology, it must use the best technology available.
It cannot be a one-time initiative but must be a continuing effort based on continuous improvement.
If we take this broad-based approach and remain aware of all aspects of wellbeing, then we will be truly better off in every sense.
A Party Vote for ACT is a vote to tackle Covid intelligently.
WELLBEING APPROACH TO COVID-19 Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
Transforming mental health
New Zealand is facing a mental health crisis.
The system is a messy and disorderly mix of DHBs, NGOs, and primary care providers all struggling to be part of a coordinated response.
ACT would create a separate, stand-alone Mental Health and Addiction agency on a national scale,
which would empower patients to choose between a range of providers, rather than simply accept what their DHB offers.
Mental Health Policy
Each year, the Government spends about $1.5 billion on mental health and addiction services.
Budget 2019 announced that a further $1.9 billion would be spent (over five years) taking total expenditure to $2 billion per year.
In spite of this expenditure, almost nobody is satisfied with the state of mental health and addiction services.
Our youth suicide rate is the darkest statistic in New Zealand.
Sadly, suicide is the one area where a country that’s used to leading the world in many areas has the worst record.
Our current mental health settings are a combination of an outdated focus and general confusion.
After deinstitutionalisation in the early 90’s, the Mason Inquiry called for three per cent of the population most in need to be covered by specialist services.
That goal has been achieved, but the system is a messy and disorderly mix of DHBs, NGOs, and primary care providers all struggling to be part of a coordinated response.
People who seek treatment describe a complicated system difficult to navigate, postcode lotteries,
and a lack of choice in services and resources to suit their individual and community needs.
NGOs voice concern about a lack of ‘level’ playing field, genuine partnership, and a power imbalance as DHBs favour their own provision of services over alternative community providers.
Meanwhile, attitudes to mental health have shifted massively during the 21st Century.
Good mental health is seen to be as important as good physical health,
and there is less stigma attached to talking about it.
This reflects the fact that the number of people accessing mental health and addiction services has grown 73% over the past 10 years.
Around one-in-five New Zealanders face a mental health challenge in any given year, and as many as four-in-five throughout their life.
There is a need for a continuum of services that matches the continuum of need.
Too Important To Keep Failing
Mental Health service provision is too important to keep placed in the hands of the ailing DHBs.
To some extent, mental health service provision is a victim of the same fragmentation and inconsistency of standards that comes with the ailing DHB model.
Independent reports, political parties, and the Government itself have attempted to rescue different health objectives from the problems of DHBs with suggestions such as a national cancer agency or a separate health funder for Maori.
We need an approach that will solve the big problems identified in the Government’s 2019 Mental Health Inquiry He Ara Oranga.
Some of the biggest problems identified are: /Inequity of access,
and not enough choice of provider
Too much burden placed on primary healthcare who are not always equipped to deal with mental health care
Too much confusion, too much bureaucracy, and conflicting objectives for providers
No whole of Government approach to mental wellbeing in general
The person seeking care is not put at the centre of service administration, but often has to navigate a web of agencies.
ACT’S Real Solution For Mental Health
The Government has established a Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission to provide system-level oversight of mental health in New Zealand.
However, it does not have real power to change the fundamental problem of lack of choice in the system
and the need for one clear, nation-wide approach to tackling poor mental health and addiction recovery.
ACT would give the Commission real power to transform Mental Health and Addiction service provision in New Zealand by taking the $2 billion per annum currently spent through the Ministry of Health and DHBs, and channel it to providers of care, and ultimately patients, through an upgraded Commission.
It would be renamed Mental Health and Addiction New Zealand (MHANZ).
Crucially, Mental Health and Addiction New Zealand would not be a provider of services in its own right.
It would be a world-class commissioning agency
that assesses individual need and contracts the best providers for a person’s therapy and care.
What MHANZ Would Do
It would put people at the heart of mental health and addiction care in New Zealand by giving more autonomy
and empowering people seeking help to have a service tailored to what they need to manage their mental health or addiction.
MHANZ (Mental Health and Addiction New Zealand) would be the one central interface for mental health and addiction funding across New Zealand, reducing bureaucracy and administrative burden.
It would develop expertise in evaluating where the money is going, to whom, and what services work based on evidence and data.
It would issue clear and certain contracts to service providers while keeping a keen eye on outcomes and quality of provider care.
Any provider, meeting strict criteria, would be able to register with Mental Health and Addiction New Zealand to provide treatment and care, and funding for services would be determined by and attached to the care of individuals and their needs.
MHANZ would carefully monitor providers to ensure New Zealanders are receiving high quality care.
A person needing help would be able to choose any registered provider for their immediate care,
giving autonomy to the person reaching out for help,
or be referred to a specific provider by MHANZ in cases where a person lacks the capacity to do so or requires specialised treatment.
For example, a person would have the choice to seek help from providers who offer treatment in specific cultural contexts, languages, or regions,
or be selected a treatment provider by MHANZ directly based on information supplied.
Besides registering and contracting providers, MHANZ would play a role in helping individuals and providers assess an individual’s level of need, ensuring help is going to those who need it the most.
Schools, GPs, Oranga Tamariki, Corrections, Ministry of Social Development, and Police would be able to refer people for treatment, work with MHANZ for assessments, and be involved in wrap-around care where it is in the best interest of the individual.
MHANZ’s interface would be simple, user friendly, and the only information needed for mental health and addiction services nationwide.
Addressing Identified Issues
How ACT’s Real Solution for Mental Health and Addiction measures up against the Mental Health and Addiction Inquiry’s recommendations:
Recommendation: More access
and choice.
• ACT's Real Solution: MHANZ (Mental Health and Addiction New Zealand) would not be a provider in its own right, so it would be neutral about which providers it funds.
Its only focus would be on outcomes and data.
Recommendation: Transform primary care.
ACT's Real Solution: Primary Care as well as other first responders to mental health issues would have a clear interface with MHANZ to assess need.
Recommendation: Support NGOs.
ACT's Real Solution: Because MHANZ would be focused entirely on assessment and commissioning, it would become an expert contractor interfacing with providers.
Regardless of provider type, it would focus on good relationships and contracting to get results.
Recommendation: Take a whole of government approach.
ACT's Real Solution: MHANZ would be the one source of funding and authority on mental health, and highly specialised in the area.
It would solve the problem of a fragmented approach to mental health.
It would have the knowledge and resources to set a clear direction for investing in mental health and wellbeing across Government.
Recommendation: Put people at the centre.
ACT's Real Solution: The MHANZ model means that all providers are on an equal footing
and a person is more likely to get care suited to their needs.
It also means that any agency they encounter can act as an assessor.
Recommendation: Take strong action on alcohol and drugs.
ACT's Real Solution: This initiative does not deal with regulation of alcohol and drugs, but it does make it easier for people with these challenges to be assessed, and for providers specializing in them to be contracted.
Recommendation: Prevent suicide.
ACT's Real Solution: The majority of people who commit suicide do not seek help.
This initiative will establish a continuum of care and make it more likely they will and have provision of care when they do.
Recommendation: Reform the Mental Health Act.
ACT's Real Solution: This initiative would involve significant legislative reform that would involve empowering the individual as the Inquiry called for.
Recommendation: Establish a Mental Health Commission.
ACT's Real Solution: The MHANZ initiative will greatly empower the Commission.
Where We'll Get To
The Government’s Mental Health Inquiry painted a picture of an outdated system that is overly complicated
trapped in a paradigm where Mental Health is seen as an acute issue for three per cent of the population.
It has responded with more money but increasing funding will not guarantee improvements for people’s care.
It does not address the issues of choice,
accountability,
or getting better value for the mental health dollar for the individuals and communities being served.
We can do better.
ACT’s vision is a New Zealand where people with a wide range of needs for mental health services can approach a wide range of services registered with Mental Health and Addiction New Zealand through an efficient, simple to access and easy to navigate interface.
MHANZ will register and contract a range of appropriate providers
so that individuals will have real choice in the help they receive.
In the background, MHANZ will become an expert in setting contracts that are reliable and low cost in terms of administration, but provide MHANZ with good evidence based data on what works, where, and for whom.
Creating a separate, stand-alone Mental Health and Addiction agency on a national scale also solves two other problems.
It is a clear statement that our thinking as a nation has evolved.
Mental Health and Addictions are not to be stigmatised or swept under the rug,
they are issues to be put front and centre with their own funding agency on an equal standing with general healthcare.
It will avoid postcode lottery syndrome, where the level of care an individual receives is dependent on the competence and priorities of their particular DHB.
Over time, MHANZ will use its expertise and patterns of data to drive better performance from the sector,
making sure that the Mental Health Dollar goes further.
Our friends overseas will come to New Zealand to ask, ‘how does this system work, how did you do it?’ and we will be proud to tell them.
TRANSFORMING MENTAL HEALTH Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
Real solutions for Small and Medium Enterprises
Covid-19 has hurt our small businesses.
Through no fault of their own, they were forced to shut down.
The crisis also showed how government puts small business to the back of the bus.
While supermarket chains who retain lobbyists in Wellington were given a pass, people were forced to drive past their local butcher, baker and greengrocer, which were all shut.
It’s only right that government now creates policies which supports SMEs to thrive.
Seven out of ACT’s top 10 candidates are business owners.
We understand the pressures that business owners are under and how to create sensible, practical policies which support them.
Starting a business is incredibly brave and involves taking huge risks.
ACT’s SME policies will empower small business owners to take chances,
get more people into work,
and boost the economy.
Depreciation of assets
ACT will:  Permanently increase the threshold to expense new capital investment from $5,000 to $150,000 per asset.
Cashflow is everything to a business.
Investment in plant and equipment ties up cash.
Leasing is capital efficient but expensive through-life.
The majority of small businesses see cashflow as being their biggest issue.
ACT is committed to helping business owners invest in and grow their businesses.
Capital investment needs to be returned to the owner as quickly as possible so that they can invest further as the business and revenues grow.
Moratorium on minimum wage increases
ACT will: /Place a moratorium on minimum wage increases for three years.
Labour increased the minimum wage as the economy was going into recession and businesses were in lockdown.
Increasing the minimum wage further while the economy is recovering will put a handbrake on business growth
and the creation of new jobs.
ACT would place a moratorium on minimum wage increases to enable SME businesses to better manage their way through a post Covid-19 recovery.
Business owners will still have the discretion to increase wages in a manner that is realistic and relevant to the sustainability of their business.
Temporary reduction in GST
ACT will: /Reduce GST from 15 percent to 10 percent for 12 months.
As we recover from Covid-19, we need to put more money in the pockets of New Zealanders to encourage spending and grow the economy.
A 12 month reduction in GST will stimulate consumption and put more cash in the hands of businesses and in the pockets of employees.
Reinstate 90-day trials for all businesses
ACT will:  Reinstate 90-day trials for all businesses.
With the impact of Covid-19, a renewed emphasis on job creation is required
and regulations that impede hiring must be streamlined.
90-day trials reduce risks for employers, giving firms the opportunity to take a chance on workers they wouldn’t otherwise employ.
Young or low-skilled workers, or people who have been out work, have the most to gain from being employed on a trial basis.
It also works to the advantage of the employee who can choose to leave should they find the job is not what they expected.
There are significant risks in hiring new employees.
Performance management of employees is cumbersome and time-consuming for SME owners and can be financially catastrophic if they don’t get it right.
Direct a larger proportion of apprenticeships funding to business owners
ACT will: Provide a greater proportion of apprenticeship funding to the business owner to reduce the cost to the business
and encourage them to take on more apprentices.
SME owners are not adequately compensated for the costs of engaging, supervising, training and educating apprentices.
ACT would create a more efficient funding pathway between the training providers and the business so that more funding ends up with the apprentice.
We would make permanent the temporary increase in funding for apprentices, across established and new businesses.
Apprenticeship programmes are cumbersome and impose significant costs in time and money on the SME owner, in terms of supervision, on-the-job training and managing trainee skills development.
SMEs have not been well compensated for these additional costs and most of the funding has been directed to the ITO or the trainee.
The proportion of funding provided to the employer needs to be reviewed for equitable sharing of cost and risks taken.
Prioritise and streamline the immigration process for skilled workers
ACT will: Consult with employers and training providers to identify skills gaps,
establish a coordinated response to domestic training,
and prioritise an immigration process that fast-tracks immigrants to fill our skills deficit.
For any economy to grow and raise the living standards of everyone, it needs a workforce that has the necessary skills.
SMEs are desperately short of skilled workers.
While we build a domestic skilled workforce through our tertiary education institutions and apprenticeship programmes,
we must attract skilled and semi-skilled workers from overseas to fill the gaps.
New Zealand was built on immigration.
With about 300,000 workers due to retire by 2030, we need to encourage people with the right skills to immigrate to New Zealand,
help our businesses to grow,
and share in that growth.
ACT is committed to attracting immigrants to New Zealand who can provide the skills that businesses need,
while we train and enhance the skills base of our current population.
Reduce the number of government organisations supporting SMEs
ACT will: Privatise business mentoring through competitive tender with MBIE governing the performance of the contract
Place NZTE under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
There is a large, complex bureaucracy of government organisations which supports SMEs and funds innovation and export growth.
But they have proven ineffective at delivering successful business outcomes
Government support to SMEs is provided through three different government departments: MBIE, NZTE and a voucher system administered through regional business networks.
ACT will redefine the role of government organisations
and reduce the level of bureaucratic interventions in new business development support, both domestic and export.
Mentoring and funding for export business development is provided through NZTE which lacks effective international business development capability and guidance.
It primarily serves as an ‘introductions’ and large event management agency.
NZTE should be placed under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade so that it can continue in its role of providing ‘government to government’ and ‘government to business’ introductions.
To drive effective export growth
there is a need to channel government funding for new business development and export mentorship through a single, experienced, knowledgeable and business-savvy organisation with strong domestic and international business development capability.
This private organisation would be accountable to the government against a robust set of professionally developed and agreed key performance indicators (KPIs).
Streamline performance management and personal grievance processes
ACT will: /Streamline performance management and personal grievance processes
while maintaining the principle of fairness for both parties
and invoke the principles of the Disputes Tribunal in the determination of cases.
For small businesses, the personal grievance process is cumbersome and open to abuse by some employees.
It can impose significant legal costs on businesses and impact their reputation, for which there is no redress.
Rather than the employer bearing all responsibility, ACT would make the personal grievance process fairer and more equitable by shortening the consultation and corrective action timeframes.
Personal grievance processes are intended to support fairness, non-discrimination and equity in employment.
For small businesses, the personal grievance process is cumbersome, costly and can be misused by some employees who start unfounded personal grievances which add significant legal costs to the business.
ACT will shorten and simplify performance management and personal grievance processes,
while retaining the principle of fairness.
Information on personal grievance responsibilities needs to be readily available to SME owners at minimal cost so they don’t have to resort to expensive legal advice.
“Tick-the-box” adherence to process should not be the primary reason upon which decisions are made by the courts.
Reform the Health and Safety at Work Act
ACT will: /Amend the Health and Safety at Work so that employees who are found to have acted in a wilfully irresponsible manner with respect to workplace health and safety bear some personal responsibility and can be immediately terminated.
The Health and Safety at Work Act is unfairly weighted against employers.
Punitive penalties exist for Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU), but workers, who may choose to ignore rules and safety practices or behave in a manner that endangers themselves and co-workers, do not face similar responsibilities.
Currently, employees cannot be terminated for wilful acts and must be taken through a time-consuming and costly termination process, sometimes lasting many months.
There is a need for a provision within the Workplace Health and Safety Act for immediate termination for acting in a wilfully irresponsible manner with respect to workplace health and safety.
ACT would rebalance the responsibilities for health and safety between employers and employees to make them fairer.
REAL SOLUTIONS FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES / Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
Defending Freedom of Expression
Hate speech laws punish people on the basis of opinion.
Usually opinion is met by opinion, but under hate speech laws opinion is met by the power of the state.
Freedom of expression is the basis of all freedoms.
It must be defended.
ACT has a policy for protecting free speech.
Freedom of expression has an inherent value.
We each experience life in a unique way and should be free to share that experience with others.
Freedom of expression also has a practical value.
Feminists or anti-Springbok tour protestors alike would not have been as successful as they were without having the ability to make unpopular statements.
Distinguishing hate speech from genuine criticism on any objective basis is impossible.
We now regularly see people try to use claims of ‘hate speech’ as a weapon against their political opponents.
This is deeply divisive.
As the Government considers further restricting speech, we risk following other countries into censorship, where elites decide what we can and can’t say.
ACT stands staunchly in favour of freedom of expression.
We need to remove restrictions on freedom of expression and make it clear that it is a critical value for New Zealand.
ACT will: Repeal existing hate speech laws.
ACT will remove restrictions on freedom of expression which currently make ‘insulting’, ‘abusive’ and ‘offensive’ speech unlawful.
Specify that the Harmful Digital Communications Act only applies if the complainant is under the age of 18.
Abolish the Human Rights Commission.
DEFENDING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
A Middle Income Tax Cut
ACT will cut taxes to get the economy moving again
and Kiwis back into work.
We'd temporarily cut GST to 10%
and permanently cut the marginal tax rate paid by those on the median wage from 30% to 17.5%,
simplifying the tax system to 3 rates.
ACT will cut taxes to get the economy moving again
and Kiwis back into work.
Tax cuts not only give earners more to spend and invest,
they also make work and investment pay.
Our proposed 5-point cut in GST would conclude in June 2021,
while our income tax cut will be permanent.
By cutting the 30% rate, we make the tax system flatter and fairer, with only three rates: On your first $14k, you would pay 10. 5%.
On your next $56k you would pay only 17. 5%, while the rate on income above $70k would remain 33%.
Backing Tourism in a Covid World
Tourism is New Zealand’s largest export earner and is the sector that has been most affected by the Covid-19 crisis.
Rather than picking favourites, we need to ask what can be done.
The Government’s approach has been to pick winners with its Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme.
While recipients are no doubt grateful for the money received, the effect of it is minor and largely concentrated on well recognised operators and particularly those where politicians have had their photos taken.
What the tourism industry needs is tourists, and the certainty of getting them.
The best thing the Government can do for the industry is to set clear rules of the game so that New Zealand can safely reconnect with the rest of the world.
We should start by asking what can be done, rather than imposing blanket restrictions on people entering the country.
There are already opportunities for high value tourism operators to bring in and isolate tourists for the required quarantine period before allowing them to travel more widely.
There are many around today’s chaotic world who would take advantage of these opportunities if the Government was willing to work with operators to allow them to.
WHAT ACT WOULD DO
Ensure Safe and Secure Borders
The way to save the industry is by opening the border to international markets as quickly and as safely as possible.
Opening the border to safe Australian States is an example of low-hanging fruit that the Government has been unwilling to pick.
ACT’s Wellbeing Approach to Covid-19 would allow people and money to cross the border while stopping the virus.
This includes:A single multi-disciplinary, public and private sector Epidemic Response Unit, modelled on Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Centre.
Government as a referee, not a player in the game, setting standards and enforcing them but allowing the private sector to meet them.
We should use the private sector to supplement the MIQ system like we do with health care - you should be able to ‘go private’ for your isolation period:
Allow high-value foreign tourists through this system.
Essential staff can pay extra for hotel rooms with home-office setups so they can work through their two-week period.
Managing the dangers of Covid with a risk weighted approach.
We should treat tourists from countries without Covid and with high quality public health systems (e. g.  Taiwan) differently from how we treat those from Covid- ridden countries or those with poor public health.
For instance, there might be shorter quarantine times for better tested and lower risk tourists.
Most importantly, ACT’s approach reflects a change of attitude.
We should allow practices that are safe and allow businesses to demonstrate that they can be safe, rather than imposing a Government monopoly.
Lift Restrictions that Hold Tourism Back
DOC needs a mandate to encourage private sector tourism on the conversation estate, not restrict it.
Leases could fund conservation projects,
but presently we are not getting full value out of the DOC estate and DOC is not getting full value out of tourism.
Tourism needs a flexible labour market,
but the current Government’s Employment laws will make it harder for the industry to employ people.
ACT would have a three-year moratorium on increasing the minimum wage
and bring back 90-day trials for all businesses.
Tax Cuts to Boost the Tourism Sector
ACT would cut GST from 15 percent to 10 percent for 12 months.
The GST cut will boost domestic spending
and make New Zealand an even more attractive holiday destination for Australians when the border opens.
ACT would abolish the $35 International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy, and return the proceeds to tourism business, on the basis of their GST receipts in 2019.
ACT would ban councils from using the rating system to impose a hotel bed tax.
This provision has been unfairly and destructively imposed on the sector in the case of Auckland.
It is a narrow tax imposed on tourism that amounts to a revenue grab by councils, that still hangs over other regions.
BACKING TOURISM IN A COVID WORLD Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
Build like the Boomers
ACT’s strategy for housing and infrastructure, Build Like the Boomers, offers real solutions to New Zealand’s building woes.
We’d get politicians out of the building business and leave it to those who know best - locals on the ground and everyday New Zealanders spending their own money.
We would bring New Zealand back to its building heyday.
ACT's Housing and Infrastructure Strategy
Since 1974, New Zealand’s population has grown by almost 2 million, and today we’re building fewer houses than we did then.
It is little wonder that house prices have skyrocketed, rates of homeownership have fallen, and levels of homelessness have increased.
Indeed, never since 1954 have so few New Zealanders owned their own home.
We are simply not building enough.
Our national infrastructure is also falling behind.
The last expansion of road capacity across the Auckland Harbour took place in 1969, only ten years after the Bridge was first built.
In 2017, the average water pipeline in New Zealand was more than 30 years old.
That’s a story repeated across the country.
Unsurprisingly, our infrastructure is straining under the weight of population growth and improvements in living standards.
Housing and infrastructure matter.
Safe, secure, and affordable housing provides a platform for a stable family.
Homeownership gives everyone a stake in society.
Infrastructure doesn’t just get us to and from work and school; it also gets clean drinking water to the taps and power to the lights.
It also affects our futures: If working-age Kiwis can’t afford to live where the jobs are, they can’t get ahead.
If we can’t provide a functioning transport system in our regions, no- one will invest there.
If teachers can’t afford to live in our cities, our children are short-changed.
If university graduates have no hope of buying a house, they’re more likely to leave the country and take their taxpayer-subsidised education with them.
Our failures in housing and infrastructure are, at their core, government failures.
This election, like every election, both major parties have proposed billions of dollars to be spent on pet projects.
The current Government has strangled the private sector with higher taxes and red tape.
Governments of both stripes have tinkered, subsidised, taxed, and regulated for the past 30 years.
Every scheme has failed.
It is time to give up on the experiment of leaving Wellington politicians in charge.
Resource Management Reform
If we are to build enough homes, we must allow new communities to emerge and existing ones to sensibly densify, as we once did.
The restrictions on land use in the 1970s under the Town and Country Planning Acts were far less stringent than those which exist today and allowed many more New Zealanders to build the home of their dreams.
Indeed, until the introduction of the Resource Management Act in the 1990s, the average house price hovered at around two to three times the average income.
Today, the average house price is more than six times income.
We need only look to the Auckland metropolitan-urban limit (MUL) to see the extreme effects of land-use restrictions on the housing market.
The Productivity Commission found that a section located 2km within the MUL was almost nine times the price of an equivalent section located 2km outside the MUL.
That is the value of being allowed to build.
ACT would repeal the Resource Management Act and replace it with separate Environmental Protection and Urban Development Acts.
The Urban Development Act would be based on the recommendations of the Productivity Commission’s Better Urban Planning report and significantly expand the rights of property owners to build on their own land.
The Environmental Protection Act would be rules-based, to provide property owners with certainty and confidence,
and focus only on those environmental issues not addressed through other schemes (e. g., climate change considerations, already included in the Emissions Trading Scheme, would be expressly excluded).
Land use restrictions created under the RMA are based not on science or environmental protection, but the subjective desires of councillors and those who speak most loudly to them.
That might be harmless, except that one analysis commissioned by Superu, the now-abolished Government think tank, found that more than 50% of the price of the average Auckland home was due to artificial scarcity created by land-use restrictions.
Even the largest economic recession for 150 years has not yet managed to off-set these restrictions.
If we wish to get more New Zealanders into safe, affordable housing, we must end these irrational restrictions.
But, RMA repeal does not need to be a recipe for unsightly development.
New Zealand’s most beautiful heritage communities, including Leamington in the Waikato and Christchurch’s Merivale, were all built before the imposition of strict town planning rules
and, in many cases, would be illegal to build today.
By subjecting architecture to the inconsistent whims of councillors, urban planners, and ministers, town planning creates the monstrosities; it doesn’t stop them.
ACT’s repeal and replacement of the RMA would not only accelerate housebuilding;
it would also allow faster infrastructure development.
The Government recognised the problems with the status quo when it bypassed the RMA for a number of its pet projects by ‘fast-tracking’ them.
ACT says all infrastructure projects, not just trendy ones which the Prime Minister wants her photo taken beside, should be on the fast track.
Our reforms to the RMA would increase the certainty for investors, developers, and local councils, giving them the confidence to invest in ambitious infrastructure projects, without living in fear of the Environment Court.
More sensible land-use regulations would also increase wages.
Too many New Zealanders are locked out of achieving higher incomes in our fastest- growing cities by high housing costs.
If we allowed more New Zealanders to move to higher-wage cities and boost their personal productivity, we could increase overall income significantly.
That one effect on its own could make New Zealanders significantly richer: One estimate from the United States found that had they relaxed their planning regulations, GDP growth could have been 36% higher from 1964 to 2009.
Given American planning regulations tend to be more liberal than those in New Zealand,
we would expect the impact in New Zealand to be even larger.
Building Act Reform
Existing building regulations are far too burdensome and hold back innovation without providing any security to homeowners.
Councils, because of the joint and several liability imposed on them, are very risk-averse in approving buildings and, because of their monopoly position as building inspectors, face no countervailing incentives encouraging them to allow construction.
ACT would replace this broken system with compulsory 30-year building insurance.
The scheme would require builders to purchase insurance for all new dwellings from an insurance company regulated by the Reserve Bank.
Insurance companies could choose not to cover a given builder if he used risky materials or was otherwise too risky of a client for them to take on.
With no insurer, a builder would not be permitted to build.
Similarly, insurers could adopt risk-differentiated premia to account for the different risks imposed by different materials or building techniques.
Because this insurance would be attached to the house, not the builder, and backed by a reputable and reinsured insurance company, homeowners could be assured of receiving compensation if their home turned out to be poorly- built or use shoddy materials.
This is in contrast to the status quo, where builders can use a variety of tactics to avoid liability and leave homeowners bereft of the compensation they deserve.
Secondly, because insurance companies would compete with each other for business and would be paid on a per-property-built basis, there would be a countervailing incentive encouraging them to approve development
and accept innovation.
This avoids the overly skittish approach of present council inspections
and will get more houses built more cheaply.
Insurance companies could, for instance, have ‘trusted builder’ programmes, where builders using certain standard materials and with good track records and certifications could be subject to fewer inspections than other builders.
ACT would also reform New Zealand’s building materials regulation.
We would automatically approve building products which had been approved by high-quality regulators in jurisdictions with similar conditions to our own (e. g., California and Japan) for use in New Zealand.
This would reduce New Zealand’s inherent price disadvantage as a small, distant market and encourage competition in the materials market.
Local Infrastructure Reform
New Zealand’s local infrastructure funding model is nonsensical.
Politicians in Wellington control approximately 90% of tax revenue, while councils across the country own almost 90% of the roads, by kilometre.
That leaves councils subject to the whims of central government, with its laser focus on the always-looming election.
The result is an infrastructure system where project priority is determined not by economic analysis, but by political calculus,
and is often totally misaligned with council plans.
ACT proposes a system of 30-year infrastructure partnerships between regional and central government.
Local councils would partner with their neighbours to form coherent regional alliances (e.g., Auckland, the Bay of Plenty, and Waikato could form a golden triangle partnership).
These alliances would then enter into long-term contractual arrangements with central government to provide them with funding for their infrastructure priorities.
The regional partnerships would take control of the prioritisation of projects within the budget allocated to them by the central government.
Meanwhile, central government, through the Infrastructure Commission, would be responsible for assessing the performance of these infrastructure partnerships
against pre-determined and agreed metrics, like population growth, road fatality rates, and congestion levels.
The exact funding allocated to each region would be a matter for negotiation but could be based on a variety of revenue sources.
For instance, the Government could agree to GST-sharing arrangements to provide councils with more resources to cope with a growing population.
Local voters would continue to hold local governments accountable for their spending of taxpayer money.
The Government would also be entitled to withhold funding from councils which consistently failed to meet road safety targets or congestion reduction goals.
These 30-year infrastructure partnerships would leverage the advantages of local and central government.
Councils have the local knowledge to design and prioritise infrastructure intelligently.
They are directly accountable to local voters and understand the particular needs of their constituencies.
They also set town plans which guide how growth will happen.
However, they are limited by inflexible funding rules, which make them heavily reliant on property rates
and reduce their ability to cope with growth.
By contrast, the Government has access to cheaper debt funding and the ability to spread risk across a larger balance sheet.
By matching Government funding with local knowledge, we can get more and better infrastructure built.
A similar approach is currently paying dividends in Auckland through the Auckland Transport Alignment Plan, and we would expect similar results across the country.
Also, the long-term nature of these plans
will insulate infrastructure from political pressures.
Infrastructure, with its very long time horizons, is profoundly unsuited to decision-making by political leaders, beset by three-year tunnel vision.
By setting plans decades in advance,
we can avoid the on-again, off-again uncertainty created by the political cycle
which deters councils and private infrastructure investors from undertaking ambitious projects.
Sound Infrastructure Investment
Taxpayers should not be the only source of infrastructure funding.
Increasing the level of private sector funding will inject much-needed discipline into decision-making
while allowing the Government to maintain prudent levels of public debt.
Unlike the Government, which can always off-set shortfalls in project performance by increasing taxes, private sector investors expect and require real economic returns from the projects they invest in.
That means, with the correct contractual design, they are unlikely to invest in white- elephant projects which, although they serve political egos, won’t return significant benefits to investors.
Between 2007 and 2017, more than NZ$300bn was raised by funds globally to invest in infrastructure.
Most of that capital was raised from insurance companies, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds (including our own New Zealand Super Fund) looking for long-term investments with reasonable returns.
Unfortunately, New Zealand’s regulatory framework makes it difficult for us to attract much of that capital to our shores,
despite our obvious need for infrastructure investment.
At present, New Zealand is rated as the most restrictive country in the OECD for foreign direct investment: Our restrictions are comparable to those of China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.
Overseas investment restrictions don’t just restrict initial investments from overseas; they also suppress investment by New Zealanders and New Zealand institutions at home.
If they cannot be assured of the right to sell their investment to the highest bidder, New Zealand investors may prefer to invest abroad, for instance, in Australia or the United Kingdom, where the value of their assets isn’t subject to the whims of Overseas Investment Office officials and cabinet ministers.
ACT would reform the Overseas Investment Act to make us a much more attractive destination for investment.
We would exempt investors from countries within the OECD from the need to receive Overseas Investment Office approval to invest here, except where national security interests are at stake.
Membership of the OECD is restricted to countries committed to preserving and advancing democracy and market capitalism.
Many OECD nations are already our allies on national security issues.
They are, therefore, the least risky sources of investment and, in many cases, have large amounts of money ready to be invested.
Under their infrastructure partnership agreements, regional alliances would receive significant Government funding each year to support the development of infrastructure.
However, funding above those taxpayer investments would have to be raised from private investors at home and abroad.
The regional alliances would not be permitted to pledge Government guarantees for their projects, ensuring that the private sector would take a fair proportion of the risk of their investments and creating the discipline required.
Where taxpayer money is invested, this should be done sensibly and with similar levels of rigour to those used by private infrastructure investors.
ACT’s plan for local management and central government oversight would ensure sensible management of the taxpayer money provided to councils, but central government itself currently holds around $42bn in infrastructure assets on its balance sheet.
Those assets shouldn’t be managed for the Government’s petty political interests.
Instead, experts, subject to rigorous democratic scrutiny, should control them.
ACT would establish a state-owned Infrastructure Corporation to own, manage, and expand the Government’s existing infrastructure assets, e.g., the state highway and railway networks.
Just as the Governor of the Reserve Bank is directly accountable to the Minister of Finance for achieving transparent and pre-agreed inflation and employment targets, the Managing Director of the Corporation would be directly accountable to the Minister of Transport for achieving congestion reduction and road safety targets.
These congestion targets would resemble those of the Land Transport Authority in Singapore, which is expected to keep expressways travelling in the target speed range of 45-65 km/h.
Apart from reporting on and being held accountable to targets, however, the Managing Director would be operationally independent from politicians,
to ensure that economic analysis, as opposed to political pressure, was behind the management of the state’s infrastructure assets.
Similarly to local councils, the Infrastructure Corporation would enter 30-year infrastructure partnership agreements with the Government for funding.
Just as with councils, any funding in excess of the Government funds would have to be raised from the private sector on unguaranteed terms to ensure fiscal discipline.
Conclusion
New Zealand’s pioneering spirit has not changed since the 1970s.
We have simply suffocated it under layer upon layer of government regulation and intervention in the name of ‘sensible’ town planning and other well-intentioned, but ultimately foolhardy attempts at social engineering.
We can’t fix that by spending more or
by repealing the RMA and replacing it with substantively similar legislation.
We need fundamental reform in our regulatory settings to allow building and attract investment.
We need sensible apolitical management of local and central government infrastructure assets.
That is what ACT’s strategy for housing and infrastructure will deliver.
BUILD LIKE THE BOOMERS Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
Real Solutions for Health
Covid-19 has highlighted how important access to high-quality healthcare and mental healthcare is for leading long and healthy lives.
However, the status quo isn’t acceptable.
Our hospitals are run down
and people are languishing on waiting lists.
ACT has real, positive solutions to reform our healthcare system.
ACT is committed to a modern healthcare system
which empowers New Zealanders.
We would ensure greater collaboration between the public and private sectors,
make better use of technology,
reduce bureaucracy
and have a stronger focus on patient outcomes.
Independent review of Pharmac
ACT will: Seek an independent review of Pharmac’s operating model for greater transparency and timeliness in decision making,
a more strategic focus,
and a productivity perspective based on real lives.
There is no transparency and accountability in the way Pharmac performs its role.
Unlike most OECD countries, we have no strategic perspective which would provide:
Accelerated assessment and funding pathways to improve access to new, more advanced drugs that better balance budgets with personal and social good.
Better health outcomes from a productivity focus on patient care.
The Pharmac model was set up in 1993 and there have been no material changes to it since then.
Its purpose was to manage and restrain government spending on medicines and it did a good job, particularly in bulk buying mass use drugs and staying within its budget.
However, the world of medicines has changed, and a rapid flow of highly sophisticated, costly, new generation medicines is transforming healthcare outcomes.
Pharmac’s strategy of sitting on applications until medicines are near the end of patent life is no longer workable, or fair on patients.
Spending on medicines is based on a Combined Pharmaceuticals Budget (CPB) which is negotiated between 20 DHBs and the Ministry of Health.
It is bundled with the total Health and Disability Support Services allocation.
Despite that, the Simpson Review did not consider access to medicines even though it is a fundamental contributor to health and there is inequitable access to medicines for lower socioeconomic groups.
Pharmac uses a narrow, clinical cost-utility assessment rather than a cost- efficiency model in allocation decisions.
From 2021 onwards, Pharmac will be given the responsibility for procuring medical devices, which will be bundled with medicines, making the actual expenditure on drugs even harder to track.
Pharmac expenditure for key community pharmaceuticals has declined over the past decade as a result of bundling.
Vote Health does not comply with the robust set of output classes developed by Treasury.
With an approximately $1 billion spend on medicines, an appropriations process for pharmaceuticals, rather than non-transparent allocations by Pharmac, would be in line with Treasury guidelines.
The Ministry of Health’s Implementing Medicines NZ Plan (2015-2020) expires this year.
It is no longer fit for purpose and there are currently no plans to review it.
A review of Pharmac’s operating model is timely.
It should be conducted by a skilled, independent committee that includes public and private sector expertise.
It should also review the viability of a medicines appropriations process.
A structural reorganisation of the public healthcare sector, as proposed by ACT, and a reduction in the number of DHBs, is aligned with shifting the decisions on pharmaceutical spending from DHBs to the Ministry of Health.
This would allow for parliamentary scrutiny and greater accountability for patient-directed outcomes.
The final framework should link health technology and medicines assessment using a productivity perspective
and allow the voice of patients to be considered in Pharmac’s decisions.
Government subsidies for private hospital elective surgeries
ACT will:Publicly subsidise more of the common elective surgeries
in private hospitals through competitive tender.
This will utilise spare private hospital operating capacity,
reduce public waitlists,
and free up public hospital operating theatres for urgent and major surgeries.
We have a backlog for elective surgery of 350,000 patients, of which one third, 110,000, are considered of mid-level urgency.
The negative impacts of long waitlists - physical suffering, social impairment and the overall wellbeing of patients - is well-documented.
There are 170 private operating theatres as compared with 200 in the public sector.
Private theatres are of a standard to perform most elective surgeries.
In times of high caseload and excessive wait times, a small amount of elective surgery is already farmed out to private hospitals by District Health Boards (DHBs).
Publicly subsidising more elective surgeries in private hospitals will reduce overall per patient costs,
significantly reduce elective surgery waitlists,
and deliver better patient outcomes.
Improved primary healthcare in rural New Zealand
ACT will: Seek to attract more doctors and primary healthcare professionals
under a new immigration policy
and establish better pathways for training and accreditation.
Rural New Zealand is significantly under-resourced in terms of medical, midwifery and other healthcare services.
This disadvantages vulnerable communities, particularly Maori, and results in higher mortality rates and poorer outcomes in these communities.
Primary healthcare is under-resourced and fragmented.
Rural areas are significantly disadvantaged by a shortage of doctors, nurses and midwives.
With more doctors working only part time, and a greater number facing retirement, there are growing issues in rural New Zealand primary healthcare.
New Zealand needs to attract a greater number of qualified migrants for the primary healthcare sector.
ACT will ensure that government works with the Medical Council, College of General Practitioners and Medical Schools to ensure more efficient pre-evaluation of their qualifications
and quicker pathways for upskilling.
Better integration of primary, secondary and community healthcare
ACT will: Reduce the number of DHBs from 20 to 6 (four in the North Island and two in the South Island).
Healthcare pathways are fragmented and variable.
There is poor integration of primary and secondary healthcare in New Zealand under the DHB structure and this negatively impacts patient outcomes.
General practice is under-resourced and is not well-integrated with broader community healthcare.
Secondary healthcare structures have excessive overheads,
are highly bureaucratic,
and focussed on spending more on organisational structures than on better patient care.
For a population of just five million, there are too many DHBs, each operating as a fiefdom.
We will reduce the number of DHBs from 20 to 6.
We will also expand the charter of the PHO Agreement Amendment Protocol Group to include community-based NGOs so that there are fully integrated, streamlined pathways in patient care between primary, secondary and community healthcare providers.
ACT is committed to streamlining our bureaucratic healthcare system by reducing overheads, ensuring better integration of healthcare systems and providers, and focusing on patient outcomes.
National, fully integrated IT platform for procurement and supply chain
ACT will: • Reduce the number of DHBs from 20 to six,
establish a national IT platform for patient management,
and tender the public healthcare procurement function for ten-year intervals under robust performance measurement.
There is no national, fully integrated IT across the public healthcare system.
There are many IT and procurement conflicts between too many DHBs which is jeopardising patient care.
The non-PHARMAC part of the supply chain is fragmented, ineffective and costly as a result.
New Zealanders deserve better.
The newly formed Crown entity, Health Partnerships NZ, is the latest organisation in a long line of failures to integrate the procurement processes for the 20 DHBs.
It continues to use the legacy secondary healthcare model with the same conflicts and issues that its predecessors failed to resolve.
The problem is too many DHBs,
many of which have unsustainable debt,
inadequate IT infrastructure,
and the lack of a common national IT platform for their supply chain and procurement processes.
ACT will reduce the number of DHBs from 20 to six
and privatise the procurement and supply chain for these consolidated DHBs, under competitive tender, as has been done in the UK.
We will establish a national, standardised ICT platform for patient data and management.
We will also tender to the private sector for supply chain procurement as has been done by the UK National Health Service and the New Zealand Ministry of Defence.
Private provision and leaseback of public hospitals
ACT will: /Allow lease-back and build arrangements with large, reputable global infrastructure investment groups for the refurbishment of existing public healthcare infrastructure and the construction of new facilities.
Such long-term leases would have the private lessor responsible for all build, maintenance and through-life utility costs.
The current build cost for a new 900-plus bed hospital is about $400 to $500 million.
Most of the forty public hospitals in the country were built pre-1960 and are not fit-for-purpose in today’s healthcare environment.
$14 billion will be required to repair and upgrade our current hospital assets.
Maintaining over $20 billion worth of buildings and infrastructure is not the role of the Ministry of Health which needs to be focussed on medical enhancements and best practice patient care.
ACT would establish Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) with large, global infrastructure developers and investors for new build and long-term facility lease arrangements.
PPPs would be used for the refurbishment and upgrades to existing facilities,
and would be converted to long-term lease backs.
Mental health and addiction services
ACT will: /• Establish Mental Health and Addiction New Zealand (MHANZ), a standalone agency on a national scale,
empowering patients to choose between a range of providers, rather than simply accepting what their DHB offers.
New Zealand is facing a mental health crisis.
Each year, the government spends about $2 billion on mental health and addiction services.
Yet, almost nobody is satisfied with the outcomes.
Our current mental health system is a disorderly mix of providers all struggling to provide a coordinated response.
People who seek treatment describe a difficult-to-navigate bureaucracy,
post code lotteries,
and a lack of choice in services and resources to suit their individual and community needs.
MHANZ would not be a provider of services,
but a world-class commissioning agency
that assesses individual needs and contracts the best providers for a person’s therapy and care.
It would put people at the heart of the system.
It would be the one central interface for mental health and addiction funding, reducing bureaucracy and administrative burden.
ACT’s new approach to mental health and addiction will reduce bureaucracy,
improve patient choice,
and empower New Zealanders.
Read our mental health policy, Transforming mental health.  / REAL SOLUTIONS FOR HEALTH Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
Real Solutions for Our Primary Industries
ACT wants to see the rural sector given the respect it deserves.
Through Covid- 19, the efforts of our farmers raised the level of respect rural New Zealanders get.
The rural sector has been given a short reprieve from the campaign of demonisation.
It’s time to put that change in rhetoric into action.
A Party Vote for ACT is a vote to see a more co-operative approach between government and the rural sector.
The environmental efforts of the rural sector should be acknowledged and valued before heavy-handed regulations are put in place.
Climate policies should be based on sound science,
acknowledging the fundamental differences between methane from livestock (a short-lived greenhouse gas) and carbon dioxide (a near permanent greenhouse gas).
Water policies should be tailored to local conditions, rather than imposing a one-size- fits-all solution that imposes massive costs for little benefit in many cases.
With the right approach, we can once again see the rural sector as an essential and valued part of the New Zealand economy.
Climate Change
Repeal the Zero Carbon Act and introduce a no-nonsense climate change plan which ties our carbon price to the prices paid by our top five trading partners.
Recognise that methane from livestock, as a short lived gas, has a very different effect on global temperatures compared to the near permanent effect of converting fossil fuel to carbon dioxide.
• Push government to provide leadership on more accurate measurement and management frameworks for methane emissions.
ACT was the only party to vote against the Zero Carbon Act.
The New Zealand Initiative called the Act the most expensive legislation in our history.
It will significantly raise costs on households and businesses.
The Act prevents New Zealanders from offsetting their emissions through overseas sources at a lower cost by restricting the number of approved overseas units.
New Zealanders should be able to offset their emissions at the lowest possible cost, no matter their source or location.
The Act also gives massive power over the economy to the Climate Change Minister.
It allows the Government to make regulations prescribing price controls, minimum auction prices, and reserve amounts of New Zealand units to be released.
ACT opposes the idea that the government should have a monopoly over such decisions.
Last minute changes to the RMA in June 2020 which allow councils to consider climate change in consenting decisions from December 2021 has the potential to further slow economic growth.
The legislation vests in the Minister the power to make an emissions reduction plan for the entire economy and to change it at any time.
With billions of dollars and thousands of jobs at stake, industries will lobby and counter-lobby the Minister.
Instead of being productive, the most important skill in business will become seeking political favour.
Every sector’s ability to survive and expand will depend on getting an allocation of units from the Minister in the carbon budget.
ACT believes New Zealand must play its part on climate change.
But any response must be simple to administer, politically durable, and effective.
New Zealand will only prosper
if we match our goals with actions which actually benefit the environment.
If we are forced to make significantly deeper emissions cuts than our trading partners, we will impoverish ourselves and push economic activity to other countries.
The Government has been unwilling to push for more accurate metrics for measuring methane and other short-lived gases.
GWP100, a CO2-equivalence metric, treats all gases equally and overestimates the contribution of methane to rising temperatures.
Leading climate scientists have developed GWP*, which more accurately measures the impact of methane.
If used internationally, it could have a significant impact on New Zealand’s liabilities.
Read our environment policy, Real Solutions for the Environment and the Climate.
Forestry
ACT will: ACT will remove all subsidies for commercial forestry investment.
Change Overseas Investment Office rules so that the sale of all farmland to overseas purchasers is on a level playing field, whether being purchased for forestry or not.
Our farmers are some of the most efficient food producers in the world, feeding New Zealanders, earning export dollars, producing enough food to feed 100 million people and underpinning our rural communities.
However, the Government’s tree planting subsidy of up to $4,000 per hectare is unfairly tilting the playing field towards forestry and creating perverse incentives.
Subsidies have given large forestry investors an unfair advantage
which is driving small farmers out.
Farm sales have gone beyond marginal land,
with productive farmland being sold off to overseas investors.
The policy of large- scale afforestation is a threat to jobs, families and rural communities.
Trees will take up to thirty years to mature, which will result in decades of lower food production.
This will be even worse in cases where trees are planted for carbon farming and are never pruned or harvested.
The forestry industry has a track record of making investment decisions without subsidies and regulations.
We should be mitigating the impacts of climate change, but there must be a level playing field.
Land use decisions should be made without distorting subsidies.
Read our environment policy, Real Solutions for the Environment and the Climate.
Water
ACT will:  Remove the requirement for mandatory three- metre setbacks across all low slope land parcels in favour of allowing customised solutions for individual properties with a focus on measurable outcomes.
Allow regional councils and communities to set their own freshwater management limits.
Limits and management interventions should be catchment-based, as opposed to being determined by a one-size-fits-all approach set in Wellington.
While it’s appropriate for central government to set the framework and methodology, local challenges and solutions should be identified by the people on the ground.
Insist upon peer-reviewed scientific evidence and quality economic analysis of the Government’s Essential Freshwater reforms.
Encourage technological solutions to reducing nutrient run-off and leaching.
Require that full compensation be paid by government if it locks out part of a farm from production, e.g.  by declaring it a wetland.
Require regional councils to move towards market-based tradable water-use rights, where possible.
The Governmet’s freshwater reforms impose impractical measures on farmers, will cap a property’s ability to perform to its potential, increase debt levels, and lower future earning potential.
Mandatory three-metre setbacks will take a significant amount of land out of production
and represent the seizing of private property without compensation.
A three-metre setback, in many cases, will be inappropriate.
Landowners and councils need to be given the flexibility to work out the best solution given the environmental problem and the nature of the terrain.
As water becomes more scarce, regional councils are moving away from first-in- first-served approaches and implementing water management systems.
These issues should be determined at a local level.
ACT favours market-based tradable water rights, where possible.
One-size-fits-all policies which assume all productive land behaves the same, when in fact different catchments and soil types have different requirements, is misguided.
Read our environment policy, Real Solutions for the Environment and the Climate.
Winter Grazing
ACT acknowledges the short growing period through the winter months and understands the need for winter cropping to protect animal welfare.
It’s critical for animal health when food growth and stores are limited.
ACT will remove sowing date windows which constrain when crops can go in.
Currently, sowing dates require council consent.
These restrictions don’t take into account seasonal and rainfall variations which would make winter crop sowing impossible in some years.
ACT will remove all pugging limitations on winter cropping and farmers.
We support a threshold limit of 20 degrees when putting down seed beds for winter crops.
ACT would remove the ability of councils to issue infringement notices.
In many cases, adverse weather events can keep ground conditions wet for several months, making infringement notices unfair and impractical.
ACT believes we should take an animal welfare approach that is driven by farmers and industry.
For example, heavily pregnant cows should not be calving in heavily pugged paddocks.
We will put animal welfare front and centre.
Resource Management Act
ACT will: Replace the RMA to make it easier for rural businesses to operate and grow,
enabling farmers to go about their business with minimal interference,
and allowing straightforward building and land management practices to be a right by default.
Under new legislation, treat the equivalent of farm-related resource consents as a controlled or restricted discretionary activity.
Restore the principle of private property rights that existed pre-1991,
uphold authority over property,
and require full compensation for takings in the public interest.
Property owners should have the right to do as they please with their land so long as they are not harming others’ enjoyment of their property.
This would represent a shift from council command and control to freedom under the law for New Zealanders
Fundamental changes to our planning rules are long overdue.
The 900-page RMA is the single biggest obstacle to development in New Zealand.
Even small- scale consents such as those for simple farm structures and drains are costly and time-consuming.
ACT will replace the RMA so farmers and rural businesses can get on with the job.
Health and Safety
ACT will: Amend the Health and Safety at Work Act to ensure any compliance measures contain a graduated set of rules relevant to the location and appropriate to the scale of the activity.
Our health and safety rules are one-size-fits-all.
The Health and Safety at Work Act fails to take into account the level of activity being performed.
For example, a sole contractor performing a simple task on a farm must adhere to the same requirements as a sole contractor on a large construction site.
One size does not fit all.
Such rules often result in fewer people complying with the law and putting themselves at risk.
Regulation
ACT will: /ACT will work with farmers to develop software and tools to reduce data entry, paperwork and compliance requirements.
Introduce a Regulatory Constitution requiring that all laws and regulations comply with basic principles of good lawmaking.
Governments should properly define the problem they’re trying to solve and analyse the costs and benefits of any regulation.
ACT would require governments to certify that new laws comply with these principles.
If they fail to do so, New Zealanders will have the right to sue the government in court to have the law struck down.
As issues arise, new regulation is almost always proposed as the solution.
Politicians face few consequences for creating new red tape, but New Zealanders bear the cost.
Red tape is a handbrake on our rural sector.
It often takes longer to get permission to do things than to actually do them.
Regulation shouldn’t be the default option for politicians.
Individuals, businesses and communities should be given the opportunity to propose their own solutions.
New policy proposals often fail to consider the seasonal pressures on farmers.
Government should give adequate time for farmers to be consulted and provide feedback during comparative downtime in February and March.
Farmers are required to provide the same data to multiple different industry organisations and government departments.
This duplication is burdensome and wasteful.
ACT wants to see farmers doing less paperwork.
Infrastructure
ACT will: Increase Funding Assistance Rates (FARs) for sealing and maintaining country roads.
Take the politics out of infrastructure by removing decisions from politicians.
Infrastructure decisions should be based on economic need, not political gain.
Replace fuel taxes with road pricing on our busiest roads.
It is a fair,
efficient,
and environment-friendly solution to congestion.
Recommend that business cases for new roads be calculated over a longer time period, e. g.  50 to 100 years instead of the current 30 years.
Allow councils to issue targeted rates on new housing development to help pay for new infrastructure.
Our farming communities need high-quality infrastructure to get stock and produce to market on time and to do business efficiently.
A lack of infrastructure - particularly fit-for-purpose roads and fast internet access - makes their job much more difficult.
Labour and the Greens have subsidised inner city public transport but have underfunded rural roads
and halted a number of key transport projects which link rural land to essential ports and transport hubs.
Read our infrastructure policy, Ending the Infrastructure Deficit.
Firearms
ACT was the only party to vote against both the Arms Amendment Act 2019 and the Arms Legislation Act 2020.
Only ACT has consistently supported the firearms community.
ACT’s priority is to repeal this year’s Arms Legislation Act, including the threat of a firearm register,
then set about making the world’s best firearm laws
that balance public safety,
firearms control,
and freedom.
We would introduce another Bill that repeals the Arms Act 1983 - and all subsequent amendments
- after the Royal Commission reports back.
The new law will be delivered in the next parliamentary term and will be the envy of the world.
Read our firearms policy, The World's Best Firearms Laws.
Tax
ACT will:Reduce the 30 percent tax rate to 17.5 percent
and cut GST to 10 percent for 12 months.
ACT’s goal is to make New Zealand the most attractive place in the world to work and do business.
We want opportunity for all New Zealanders
and having the best tax system is part of achieving that goal.
Our tax system sends a poor message to New Zealanders about effort and reward.
If you upskill yourself, work, save, and invest to increase your income, the government will take more of it off you.
On the other hand, if you drag your feet, you’ll pay much less tax
and even be given money for free.
Our long-term goal is to have the simplest,
fairest,
most competitive tax system in the world.
Read our tax policy, A Middle Income Tax Cut.
Rating
ACT believes: Rural land rates should be based on estimated usage of services, as rates based on land values are an attempt to redistribute of wealth.
Where the user of a service or amenity is clear, that user should pay for it.
Where a service or amenity is demanded by the community, and all residents have an equal opportunity to access it, then all landowners should pay equally.
Rating systems for rural properties vary across local government authorities, but all are based on land value instead of the services or amenities available to landowners.
Rural landowners lack or have little use for footpaths, street lighting, sealed roads, reticulated water supply and wastewater, and parks and reserves.
Rural landowners generally have to travel long distances to access public transport, libraries, playgrounds and community facilities.
Mental Health
ACT will: Create a separate, stand-alone Mental Health and Addiction agency on a national scale,
which would empower patients to choose between a range of providers, rather than simply accept what their DHB offers.
Mental health is a serious issue in rural communities.
Farmer confidence is at an all-time low.
Farmers have the highest suicide rates of any sector.
ACT believes we should treat mental health as seriously as we do physical health.
Our current system is a messy and disorderly mix of DHBs, NGOs, and primary care providers all struggling to be part of a coordinated response.
We would put rural New Zealanders at the heart of mental health and addiction care in New Zealand
by providing more choice and autonomy,
empowering people seeking help,
and tailoring mental health and addiction services.
Read our mental health policy, Transforming Mental Health.  / REAL SOLUTIONS FOR OUR PRIMARY INDUSTRIES Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
The World's Best Firearms Laws
ACT’s priority is to repeal this year’s Arms Legislation Act, including the threat of a firearm register,
then set about making the world’s best firearm laws
that balance public safety,
firearms control,
and freedom.
We would introduce another Bill that repeals the Arms Act 1983 - and all subsequent amendments
- after the Royal Commission reports back.
The new law will be delivered in the next parliamentary term and will be the envy of the world.
Fair Firearms Policy
After our country’s tragedy in Christchurch last year, the Government had two jobs:
The first was to find out what went wrong and fix any problems that allowed it to happen.
The second was to bring people together to move forward in a united way.
Sadly, the Government failed at both tasks.
We are no safer as a result of the Government’s law changes, but the way they were done was unjust, ineffective and, until the Royal Commission tells us what went wrong, premature.
Nearly everyone agreed that firearm laws needed to change, but the way the Government went about it amounted to bullying and scapegoating.
The end result was expensive, ineffective, and insulting.
ACT says if gun laws are worth changing, it is worth doing right.
ACT acknowledges the 250,000 honest and hardworking New Zealanders in our law-abiding firearms community, who have shown patience and resilience following the sweeping changes to New Zealand’s firearm laws,
and the confiscation of their private property.
The Arms Amendment Act 2019 did a great disservice to the public at large,
and unfairly treated the firearms community throughout the process.
This law change was followed up by the arguably worse Arms Legislation Act 2020.
The Arms Amendment Act 2019 was unnecessarily rushed, and lawmakers did not seek any meaningful input from industry experts.
The Order in Council, originally valid until 30 June 2020, provided sufficient time for public consultation, however the superseding legislation was passed under urgency.
This legislation effectively criminalised law-abiding citizens.
Put simply, it targeted the wrong people.
There are now serious risks to public safety.
The number of black-market firearms in New Zealand has the potential to increase exponentially.
ACT was the only party to vote against both the Arms Amendment Act 2019 and the Arms Legislation Act 2020.
Only ACT has consistently supported the firearms community.
ACT’S Real Solution For Fair Firearms
ACT’s bottom line is to repeal this year’s Arms Legislation Act, including the threat of a firearm register,
then set about making the world’s best firearm laws
that balance public safety,
firearms control,
and freedom.
We would introduce another Bill that repeals the Arms Act 1983 - and all subsequent amendments -
after the Royal Commission reports back.
The new law will be delivered in the next parliamentary term and will be the envy of the world.
ACT would also insist on a proper law-making process.
We would invite national organisations such as the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association, COLFO, commercial pest controllers, collectors, Police, political parties, and other interested groups to a genuine consultative effort to design better gun laws.
ACT will prioritise the rebuilding of trust and confidence in the firearms community with Police
and save taxpayers from any further confiscation programmes.
The Arms Act 1983 is no longer fit for purpose.
It has become a confusing, bureaucratic mess that is riddled with inconsistencies.
Below are the key points of our policy, but we accept we need to get wide agreement to make the new laws durable.
ACT Would
Repeal the Arms Legislation Act 2020
Introduce a new bill that would repeal the Arms Act 1983 and all subsequent amendments.
Upon enactment, this bill would become the new Arms Act
Create new classes of firearms that are simple to understand and administer.  For example:
- Class 1 for bolt/lever/pump actions and .  /22 rimfire or smaller semi-automatics / - Class 2 for all other semi-automatics (with sporting use allowed) / - Class 3 for pistols (pistol clubs) / - Class 4 for collectors / - Class 5 for theatrical etc.
Allow magazine limits of 7 for shotgun, 10 for all other centrefire, and 15 for rimfire;
a special endorsement would be required for purchase and possession of higher capacity magazines.
Pump- action and lever-action firearms would be exempt from magazine limits
Support the local presence of vetting personnel and promote face-to-face interviews of applicants, regardless of who is administrating the licensing regime
Stop the creation of a full register, which would include firearms that are presently A category
Support the work of the Firearms Community Advisory Forum’s Security Subcommittee
Ensure that the promised independent authority tasked with licensing gains full administrative control of firearms legislation, not just licensing
Hitting Gangs Where it Hurts
Gang numbers are increasing under Labour.
We are starting to see regular headlines about gang shootings.
According to Police, there has been a significant increase in the number of offences involving firearms in the last few years, identifying a clear change in the behaviour of gang members and prospects.
New Zealanders don’t feel safe.
The old approach hasn’t worked.
We need to get smarter.
That means coming up with a bold new policy to hit gangs where it hurts - their pockets.
Therefore, we would implement the following:
If a lawful Police search of a property (a ‘raid’) discovers ALL of the following -an illegal operation, e.g. drug manufacturing for supply, money laundering, and/or weapons manufacturing;
unlawful possession of a firearm, e. g.  a firearms licence holder is not present or there is possession of a prohibited or illegal firearm;
a person who is either a member of a gang or is closely affiliated, as defined by the National GangList (NGL);
then the Crown can apply to the Court for an order to seize the assets of that operation, e.g. the house, cars, motorcycles, cash, and so on.
By satisfying the above criteria, the Crown is exempted from establishing a link between the purchasing of those assets and illicit financial gain.
This policy would be brought into law by amending and increasing the scope of the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009, including sections 3, 5, and 6.
Note: The National Gang List (NGL) is maintained by the New Zealand Gang Intelligence Centre, a unit within the New Zealand Police.
This policy is justified by the assumption that the unlawful firearm is part of the protection and enforcement of the operation, therefore it is directly linked to illicit financial gain.
Of course, a gang conducting an illegal operation could get around this law by disarming, which is still a win for the community at large.
A scenario
A small mechanical workshop, owned by a known gang member, is suspected by Police to be a front that is facilitating money laundering.
Upon a lawful search, the Police discover a firearm in the workshop, and the owner does not have a firearms licence.
Assuming money laundering is taking place, the presence of the firearm has escalated the seriousness of the situation to the point where it falls under our proposed law change.
The Crown would be able to apply to the Court for the seizure of the workshop, tools, parts, cash, and so on.
Where We'll Get To
ACT believes that we should again be able to claim New Zealand has the world’s best firearm laws.
Developed in a way that is thoughtful,
inclusive,
and democratic.
New Zealanders rightly concerned about the tragedy of March 15 will be able to say that effective action has been to taken to prevent it happening again.
New Zealanders for whom firearms are a tool, a hobby, and a source of food will be able to exercise their rights under the law in a safe and dignified way.
Altogether, New Zealand will be truly united around high quality, democratically made laws that are respectful of all parties involved.
THE WORLD’S BEST FIREARMS LAWS Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
Welfare as a Hand Up
New Zealand's welfare system hasn't been fundamentally reformed since the 1970s and it is showing its age.
Too many children grow up without the positive example of a parent in work.
Too many adults suffer from chronic welfare dependency.
And, for those who do fall on hard times, the amount they receive in welfare is often far lower than the amount they contributed in taxation.
Employment Insurance & Welfare Policy
New Zealand has a long-term problem with chronic welfare dependency.
Over 350,000 working-age New Zealanders were receiving a benefit at the end of June 2020 quarter, and even before the Covid crisis, the number was typically 300,000.
That’s one-in-ten working-age New Zealanders on a benefit (the average percentage on a main benefit over the past 6 years has been 10.5% of working- age adults).
Prior to Covid, 71 percent of main benefit recipients have been on welfare continuously for more than a year.
The worst impact is on children.
One out of every ten children is born onto an existing benefit.
One in five babies is living in a benefit-led household by their first birthday.
These children face a bleaker future than children born to parents in work; they face worse outcomes on nearly every social indicator.
This often inter-generational scenario is an ongoing, low-moving social disaster for our country.
Additionally the Covid crisis has revealed a new problem that is growing by the week.
Mass lay-offs and redundancies mean people who paid high taxes on their incomes for years find they get little back in benefits.
Someone on the average wage of $69,000 paid $13,720 in tax last year, or $264 per week.
Instead of taking home just over a thousand dollars per week, they find they are entitled to a weekly base rate of $251.
A married couple with two primary school children in a high cost housing area find they receive a maximum of $733 per week, about the same as one parent earning the minimum wage full-time.
Our social security system imposes a one-size-fits-all solution that works for no-one:
It fails those trapped in long-term dependency.
It fails those who pay generously into a scheme that does not support them adequately if they unexpectedly lose their job.
Those in genuine short-term need also face the stigma created by long term dependents who choose to stay on welfare as an indefinite lifestyle.
The Covid crisis brought unexpected, short-term job loss front and centre.
However, short-term job loss is likely to become a feature of modern life as work becomes more fragmented and people move in and out of numerous ‘gigs.’
A new approach is needed to deal with this reality.
Our current employment ‘insurance’ system, instituted by the first Labour Government in 1938 and significantly reformed by the third Labour Government in 1972, is due for a serious overhaul.
The new system needs to deal with the crippling long-term dependency that no Government has managed to fix
while simultaneously addressing what some call the ‘future of work’ in a modern economy.
We need a new and fairer unemployment insurance scheme which pays out based on input.
How Employment Insurance Would Work
Income tax rates remain unchanged but 1 percent of the tax paid will be allocated to a ring-fenced Employment Insurance fund.
On loss of employment the tax-payer can claim 50 percent of their average weekly earnings over the previous 52 weeks (or fewer).
The maximum yearly insurable earnings amount is $60,000.
The insurance can only be claimed for one week for each five weeks the person has worked, up to a maximum of 13 weeks per claim.
Someone who has worked continuously for only one year could claim up to ten weeks Employment Insurance.
Over time, the Government would adjust the 1 percent levy so that the fund balances out over a four-year cycle.
In a high unemployment year the levy would increase.
In a low unemployment year, taxpayers would benefit from a levy reduction.
Those receiving Employment Insurance would be expected to look for work and report fortnightly on their preparedness to work and job application activity.
In practice, recipients would want to get back to work instead of remaining on 50 percent of their previous income.
Benefits of Employment Insurance
Employment insurance would bring many benefits:
It is a fairer system because people get paid out in proportion to what they pay in, rather than a flat benefit rate regardless of their outgoings or previous tax contributions.
It removes stigma from collecting a benefit for people out of work for a short time through no fault of their own.
They would be collecting an insurance payout from a fund they’d paid into for that very purpose.
It would be fiscally neutral, paying for itself with automatically adjusted premiums and savings on benefits.
It suits a modern workforce where people work in a ‘gig economy,’ it is a modern policy solution for what some call the ‘future of work.’
It provides an ‘individual’ rather than ‘couple’ entitlement.
Welfare If You Don't Qualify For Employment Insurance
ACT’s policy would make no change to the Supported Living Payment, Young Parent/Youth Payment, or Orphan’s/Unsupported Child benefit.
Its changes are focused on the Jobseeker and Sole Parent Support benefits.
Qualifying Sole Parents would be able to access Employment Insurance; however it is often difficult for sole parents to work.
Sole Parent Support is also an important aid for women who seek to escape violent relationships.
ACT would continue Sole Parent Support
but with one change.
We cannot continue to have so many children - approximately 6,000 per year - born onto a benefit (usually Sole Parent Support but Jobseeker Support to a lesser extent).
Welfare is not there to support beneficiaries who keep having children when so many New Zealanders wait, save and sacrifice before starting a family.
Consequently those who have additional children while receiving a benefit will receive support in the form of Electronic Income Management.
With Employment Insurance covering anyone who works at least five weeks out of six needing Jobseeker Support is also a sign that a person needs a new approach.
Under ACT’s policy, Jobseeker Support will also become subject to Electronic Income Management after an initial four week period of traditional cash welfare.
This initial period gives extra time to find work before Electronic Income Management kicks in.
Income management would also apply to those who seek hardship assistance repeatedly;
have received an imprisonable criminal conviction;
have committed benefit fraud;
or have a primary incapacity of substance or alcohol abuse.
Chronic long-term dependency on welfare is damaging the spirit and wellbeing of too many New Zealanders and their children.
This needs to change.
How Electronic Income Management Would Work
Electronic Income Management has been successfully trialed in Australia.
It issues an electronic card with tracked spending
and restrictions on alcohol, gambling, and tobacco expenditure.
Almost all of the benefit comes in this form, with a small amount left in discretionary cash.
It has been shown to improve child well-being by reducing spending on ‘harm’ and increasing spending on children.
The technology already exists within the New Zealand system as income management for Youth and Young Parent beneficiaries.
Some will see Income Management as a restriction on freedom, but two points need to be made clear.
Under ACT’s policy, Employment Insurance and initial Sole Parent Support are paid in cash to be used as the recipient sees fit.
Electronic Income Management primarily applies after a recipient uses up their Employment Insurance entitlement and moves to Jobseeker Support, or has more children while on a benefit.
The second point is that it is not the recipient’s money.
It is taxpayer money and has always been given under a range of conditions such as seeking work.
Where We’ll Get To
ACT’s vision is of a society that reaches several important goals.
No child goes hungry.
Nobody feels stigmatized for claiming Employment Insurance for a short time.
Our system is modern.
It is in touch with reality of modern careers and uses modern technology to achieve the right outcomes.
People who would abuse the system find that they are not given endless cash, but are carefully monitored and have controlled access to the essentials the taxpayer thought they were funding.
Altogether, New Zealand has a social security system fit for the 21st century and its people.
WELFARE AS A HAND UP Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
Guaranteeing the Freedom to Learn
We have some of the highest-performing schools and students in the world, but we also have a long tail of underachievement in disadvantaged communities.
Our education system is a slow moving disaster.
ACT has a plan for a world-class education system.
Government spends almost $15 billion on education each year, but the results are highly unequal and slowly declining.
This is a problem because it is the fastest growing demographic groups who are achieving the poorest results, and the 21st century will require more and more skills from workers as technology develops.
Children have a wide range of needs, but our one-size-fits-all education system has failed to adapt and provide every student with a good education.
Too many children are leaving school without the basic skills they need to navigate a rapidly-changing world.
New Zealand experiences significant educational inequality.
We have some of the highest-performing schools and students in the world, but we also have a long tail of underachievement in disadvantaged communities.
A 2014 report by the Tertiary Education Commission found 40 percent of Year 12 students failed to meet international benchmarks for literacy and numeracy even though they had NCEA Level 2.
Skills increasingly matter, and they'll be even more important in the future as more jobs are automated.
We are sending students into a world where skills matter more at a time they've got less of them.
ACT's plan for a world-class education system
ACT will: /Provide every child with a Student Education Account.
A child will receive $250,000 of taxpayer-funded education over their life, but parents have little choice in how it’s spent.
ACT will empower parents by placing this money in a Student Education Account.
Parents will be able to use it at any registered educational institution that will accept their child’s enrolment, public or private.
Increase choice in our education system by allowing any state school to apply to become a Partnership School.
Government should fund a range of schools, letting parents and children choose what is right for them, not simply forcing them to go to their local state school.
ACT believes we should celebrate diversity, not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.
Reduce the number of back office bureaucrats at the Ministry of Education by 50 per cent, saving $240 million a year.
We will put this money back into frontline education.
Student Education Account & Partnership Schools
Schools must be given the flexibility to respond to a diversity of needs
and all children - not just the well-off - should have a choice in education.
ACT's Partnership Schools were an example of this philosophy in action.
Educators had freedom to innovate and families could vote with their feet by taking their children to a more innovative school that better met their needs.
The Government will spend just over $250,000 on taxpayer-funded education over the life of every baby born this year, but parents have little control over how it is spent.
We could get much better value for that money for all children, but especially disadvantaged children, if it was used to empower families to choose their school, public or private.
Those who want to continue at their current school will be able to do so, however those who don't will have greater choice.
At the same time, we underinvest in Early Childhood Education,
and spend too much on degrees of little value for tertiary students.
ACT's Student Education Account policy will deliver more funding up front for parents who invest in Early Childhood Education.
Parents who do not wish to invest the full amount, such as stay at home parents, will be able to hold over some of their early year funding for later years.
Meanwhile, the changing job market means today's children will need to be lifelong learners.
The tertiary component will allow school leavers who do not wish to study immediately to hold onto the funds in their account for lifelong learning.
At retirement age, any funds still remaining will be converted to cash for their retirement.
ACT will give every child a Student Education Account at the age of two.
Each year until a student is 18, $12,000 will be placed into that Account.
At the age of 18, they will receive a further $30,000 for tertiary education,
with up to $50,000 available top academic achievers through a scholarship program.
Over half of students will receive a scholarship.
Parents will be able to spend that money at any registered education institution, public or private, that will accept their child's enrolment.
If parents and children are satisfied with the education they are receiving, they can stay at their current school.
If not, they can use the funding in their Student Education Account to receive a better education.
ACT will also allow any state school to apply to become a Partnership School.
Government should fund a range of schools, letting families 'not politicians' choose what is best for them, rather than forcing students to attend their closest school.
Until Jacinda Ardern's Government ended the Partnership School model, iwi, Pasifika, and community groups were providing innovative education and changing kids' lives for the better.
ACT's Student Education Accounts and Partnership Schools will create a vibrant marketplace of educators offering new opportunities for all children.
New Zealand needs an education system that celebrates diversity and engages every student.
What it means for teachers
Morale in the teaching profession is at an all-time low.
Teachers feel undervalued and overworked with bureaucratic compliance.
At its heart, the problem is that teachers have only one employment option, with 96 per cent working for the state system under contracts negotiated with the government.
Under this system teacher pay has been declining for decades and teachers' professional autonomy is vulnerable to whatever education fad the government of the day or the Ministry of Education dreams up.
Putting parents in control of education funding will not only free teachers from the state monopoly, it will give them many more options, too.
The ability to work for a fully-funded independent school outside of union contracts will give teachers much greater leverage to improve their conditions across the education sector.
Students and schools
Special needs students
A portion of overall funding will be held back from Student Education Accounts and distributed to schools serving students with special learning needs.
Students who immigrate or emigrate
Just as students not present in New Zealand do not receive an education, funding will not be placed into Student Education Accounts while a student is absent from New Zealand.
Students who arrive as immigrants will be registered with a Student Education Account and receive funding from the time they arrive.
Students who emigrate will have their account frozen and funding ceased.
If they return before the age of 18 they will have their contributions restarted.
If a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident returns after 18 they will receive the standard tertiary education grant.
Early childhood education
Early Childhood Education will continue to function as it presently does, with funding disbursed through Student Education Accounts.
The funding available for Early Childhood Education will be equivalent to that currently available through the 20 hours free program.
Tertiary education
Tertiary providers will continue as they have to date.
They must be registered to receive funding from a Student Education Account.
Non-student funding for tertiary education will continue as normal.
Tertiary providers will no longer have their fees capped, allowing them to compete on price and quality as they choose.
Students will also be able to draw down funds from their Student Education Account for living costs.
There will no longer be student allowances.
Students who elect for apprenticeships will be able to use their Student Education Account to fund course costs.
Independent schools
Independent Schools will be able to continue operating as they currently do.
They will need to be registered as they currently are and meet audit standards for financial probity.
They will need to demonstrate results for public reporting by the Ministry of Education.
They will no longer receive their current subsidies,
however they will be eligible to receive funding from the Student Education Accounts of students who choose them.
They will continue to be able to charge their own fees.
State schools
State Schools will continue to operate as usual, however they will be funded from their students' Student Education Accounts and any Special Education funding they are eligible for.
They will also have to pay a nominal per student rent for their land, which remains owned by the Crown.
State Schools that wish to will be able to convert to Partnership School status, freeing them from union contracts and giving them flexibility over their employment agreements and governance structures if they desire.
Integrated schools
Integrated Schools will continue as they currently do,
and will continue to be able to charge additional fees for their buildings if they choose to.
What government will keep doing
The Ministry of Education will be greatly reduced in its size.
The Ministry employs more than 3,200 staff; New Zealand has around 2,550 schools.
The average Ministry employee is paid $86,000, significantly more than a teacher at the top of the pay scale.
The number of employees will be halved,
freeing up a quarter of a billion dollars for children's education.
However, the Ministry of Education will continue to play a vital role.
It will be responsible for registering new students with Student Education Accounts, auditing schools, and reporting on their performance to parents.
Only schools registered with and audited by the Ministry will be able to receive funds from a Student Education Account.
The Government will transition from being a bureaucratic meddler in the education system to having three clearly defined roles:
Registering students and dispersing funds into their accounts.
This includes tertiary scholarships for high-performing students and additional funding for students with special learning needs
Registering and auditing schools who wish to receive funds from Student Education Accounts
Reporting to the public on school performance so that parents can make informed choices for their children.
Under this policy, the Ministry of Education will go from being ranked the worst government department in Wellington to becoming a world-class education administrator.
GUARANTEEING THE FREEDOM TO LEARN Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
Energy and Resources
ACT will develop the resources to power our economic recovery.
ACT will: Fast-track resource development
by introducing a streamlined process for consenting projects and granting land access,
while protecting areas with high biodiversity and conservation value
Require mining companies to put up hefty bonds,
undertake progressive restoration,
and make significant investments to deliver positive biodiversity outcomes
Separate the resource development and enforcement functions of MBIE
Repeal the ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration permits
Repeal the Zero Carbon Act
and introduce a no-nonsense climate change plan which ties our carbon price to that of our trading partners.
600,000 New Zealanders have moved across the ditch because Australians have
more job opportunities,
modern infrastructure,
and better education
and health outcomes, including a wider range of medicines to treat serious illnesses.
Resources have made Australia far wealthier over the past 30 years as compared to New Zealand.
Meanwhile, our Government is preventing New Zealanders from taking advantage of our country’s wealth by banning offshore oil and gas exploration
and promising to ban new mines on conservation land.
We are sitting on the resources to power our economic recovery.
Gold, silver, titanium, copper and lithium and other resources exist in large enough quantities to power our economic recovery and create higher living standards for all New Zealanders.
We also have plentiful resources of limestone, clay and hard rock for construction and manufacturing, which are currently in such short supply that major infrastructure projects like Transmission Gully are at risk.
Debates about mining have failed to distinguish high-value conservation land that must be protected from land with little or no conservation value.
By opening up the latter to development,
we could free up resources for doing real conservation where it counts.
DOC is expected to maintain tracks and huts in our National Parks, manage pests and look after offshore islands, so there is little money to invest in biodiversity enhancements in areas that do have high conservation value.
It takes far too long - between five and ten years - to get permits and resource consents to open a new mine, and only international investors with the deepest pockets would ever consider it.
Under this Government, companies are unlikely to risk investing in New Zealand, especially given the rug was pulled out from underneath the oil and gas sector without notice in 2018.
Fast-Tracking Development
ACT will: Fast-track resource development
by introducing a streamlined process for consenting projects and granting land access,
while protecting areas with high biodiversity and conservation value
Require mining companies to put up hefty bonds,
undertake progressive restoration,
and make significant investments to deliver positive biodiversity outcomes
Separate the resource development and enforcement functions of Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
ACT will introduce a streamlined consenting process for resource projects and land access, with requirements for the Department of Conservation and the Environmental Protection Authority to consider and approve applications in fewer than 12 months.
In order to achieve this, we will amend the Resource Management Act, the Conservation Act and the Environment Act.
We will also separate out the resource development and enforcement functions of MBIE.
Companies will also be required to put up hefty bonds to cover the risk of unforeseen events and final closure.
Restoration will be undertaken not at the end of the mine’s life, but progressively.
We will also require companies to make investments to deliver positive biodiversity outcomes.
These outcomes will exceed what is currently mandated by DOC and regional councils, and be greater than what government can currently afford.
High-quality, best-practice resource projects will provide investment opportunities for New Zealanders,
deliver tens of thousands of high-paying jobs,
support local suppliers and contractors,
and make New Zealand self-sufficient for generations,
and actually pay for the clean green environment we aspire to.
Oil and Gas Exploration
• ACT will repeal the ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration permits.
The Government dropped a wrecking ball on the oil and gas industry in 2018 by banning new offshore oil and gas exploration permits.
New Zealand desperately needs a cheap and plentiful supply of clean energy to sustain our economy, and the industries that generate the wealth to pay for health, education and infrastructure.
Current estimates are that we will run out natural gas reserves in about seven years.
Repealing the ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration permits would give industry the confidence to reinvest in plant and equipment to support manufacturing for the next 15 to 20 years.
It would sustain the high value jobs we are at serious risk of losing, while we transition away from coal for power and heat.
Natural gas
Natural gas provides about 20 percent of our primary energy, contributes $2. 5 billion to GDP, and pays $500 million in royalties and taxes, annually.
It can deliver dry year electricity security at 10 percent of the cost of the proposed giant Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme.
Natural gas is: Vital in the short to medium-term to support a transition away from using coal as a heat source in industrial processes
Cheaper and quicker to bring on stream than new hydropower, which the Government expects to take up to 15 years to develop and connect to the national grid
Essential to producing urea, a safe, high-quality fertiliser which sustains our primary production sector.
Without a cheap, plentiful supply of natural gas, we risk having to import dangerous fertiliser like ammonium nitrate at much higher cost, from poor and less developed countries
with lower environmental standards
A vital component for large industrial users such as oil refineries, milk plants, timber processing, steel processing, food processing, paper and plastic manufacturing.
Without access to indigenous sources of natural gas, the sustainability of businesses in these industries would be entirely dependent on imported fuel
An important back-up when renewable sources of electricity supply are not available
A key element in pursuing accelerated electrification of transport and process heat,
which will achieve greater and more cost- effective greenhouse gas emissions reductions
than a 100 percent renewable electricity target.
Common Sense on Climate Change
ACT will introduce a no-nonsense climate change plan which ties our carbon price to that of our trading partners.
ACT was the only party to oppose the Zero Carbon Act.
The law is overly bureaucratic
and costly.
It gives massive power over the economy to the Climate Change Minister.
The New Zealand Initiative think tank has called it the most expensive legislation in our history.
ACT believes New Zealand must play its part on climate change.
But any response must be simple to administer, politically durable, and effective.
New Zealand will only prosper
if we match our goals with actions which actually benefit the environment.
If we are forced to make significantly deeper emissions cuts than our trading partners, and if we set more aggressive targets than other countries, we will impoverish ourselves and push economic activity to other countries.
In place of the Zero Carbon Act, ACT will introduce a no-nonsense climate change plan which ties New Zealand’s carbon price to the prices paid by our top five trading partners.
This will show the world New Zealand is doing its bit.
It is a simple and effective response to climate change.
Developing the resources to power our economic recovery.  / Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
Real Solutions for the Environment and the Climate
We pride ourselves on being clean and green, but the reality lags behind the rhetoric.
Governments have offered up bold environmental policies, but they’re more symbolic than effective.
We can do much better.
ACT says we can take positive, practical steps towards a better environment by allowing individuals, businesses and communities the freedom to innovate.
We have banned plastic bags, but the major sources of plastic in the ocean are left unaddressed.
We recycle like mad, but waste to landfill keeps increasing.
We ban oil and gas exploration, but then import Indonesian coal.
Our environmental monitoring system isn’t even giving us the full picture of the state of our environment.
Our political response to environmental issues is this: If in doubt, regulate.
However, the solutions to many of our environmental problems are innovation.
Too often, regulations meant to preserve the environment actually stop innovation that could help solve our most pressing problems.
ACT’S REAL SOLUTIONS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE
Politicians’ Pledge: Cut Flights By 25 Percent
ACT will ask politicians to pledge to cut flights to Wellington by 25 percent.
ACT believes that our politicians should lead by example when it comes to addressing climate change by committing to individual actions which have real, measurable benefits.
Parliament has talked about putting solar panels on the roof and attempting to make the building itself a green one, but these changes make little difference when MPs fly en masse to Wellington 30 times a year.
Almost no other group of New Zealanders have an unlimited air travel budget.
Ironically, it’s often the politicians who talk about climate change the most who report the biggest air travel expenses each quarter.
Parliamentarians could take one simple and costless action to help the climate
and save the taxpayer significant money.
We propose to change the parliamentary calendar so that MPs sit for four days a week for 23 weeks a year, instead of three days a week for 30 weeks.
This would reduce the number of flights taken by MPs,
and carbon emissions, by around 25 percent.
The policy would not only reduce emissions
and save the taxpayer money,
it would have an additional benefit.
There has been much discussion in recent times about work-life balance
and pressures on MPs’ families.
Spending fewer weeks, but the same number of days, in Wellington, and less time travelling, would reduce the time pressure on MPs, leaving more time to be productive at work and home.
If our MPs can’t take a small, positive step towards a cleaner planet, what hope do we have of addressing long-term climate change?
Climate Change
ACT will introduce a no-nonsense climate change plan which ties our carbon price to that of our trading partners.
ACT was the only party to oppose the Zero Carbon Act.
The law is overly bureaucratic
and costly.
It gives massive power over the economy to the Climate Change Minister.
The New Zealand Initiative think tank has called it the most expensive legislation in our history.
ACT believes New Zealand must play its part on climate change.
But any response must be simple to administer, politically durable, and effective.
New Zealand will only prosper
if we match our goals with actions which actually benefit the environment.
If we are forced to make significantly deeper emissions cuts than our trading partners, and if we set more aggressive targets than other countries, we will impoverish ourselves and push economic activity to other countries.
In place of the Zero Carbon Act, ACT will introduce a no-nonsense climate change plan which ties New Zealand’s carbon price to the prices paid by our top five trading partners.
This will show the world New Zealand is doing its bit.
It is a simple and effective response to climate change.
ACT also proposes to change our climate change regulations to provide carbon credits for New Zealand wood products that store carbon for at least fifty years.
The current climate rules assume that the carbon from every tree felled for processing is released as soon as it leaves the forest.
These and other environmental and planning rules mean that sustainable and resilient wood products get no recognition for their actual climate benefit.
The Government has signalled it will increase the price of carbon to reduce emissions by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
Yet our domestic emissions are expected to increase overall by 2030, and New Zealand is projected to spend $1.4 billion every year until 2030 to buy carbon credits to offset our emissions.
These policies ignore what New Zealand is already doing to tackle climate change.
The wood processing industry has repeatedly asked for carbon credits for timber which is milled and turned into framing and building products.
ACT will give carbon credits where credits are due.
Forestry
• ACT will remove all subsidies for commercial forestry investment.
Our farmers are some of the most efficient food producers in the world, feeding New Zealanders, earning export dollars, and underpinning our rural communities.
However, the Government’s tree planting subsidy of up to $4,000 per hectare is unfairly tilting the playing field towards forestry and creating perverse incentives.
Subsidies have given large forestry investors an unfair advantage which is driving small farmers out.
Farm sales have gone beyond marginal land,
with productive farmland being sold off to overseas investors.
The policy of large-scale afforestation is a threat to jobs, families and rural communities.
Trees will take up to thirty years to mature, which will result in decades of lower food production.
The forestry industry has a track record of making investment decisions without subsidies and regulations.
We should be mitigating the impacts of climate change,
but there must be a level playing field.
Land use decisions should be made without distorting subsidies.
Reduce Waste to Landfill
ACT will remove regulations which favour landfills over modern waste reduction technology.
New Zealanders care about minimising waste.
At one level, we have enormous space for our small population and landfill environmental standards have improved enormously, so why worry?
The issue is that even modern landfills create environmental problems for decades, even centuries.
What’s more, we are going backwards.
Since the last Labour government announced a goal of zero waste in 2000, annual waste dumped in landfills has increased by a million tonnes per year.
We now bury 3. 5 million tonnes of waste in landfills every year.
European countries such as the United Kingdom have managed to reduce waste to landfill even with growing populations.
Those countries have solved their landfill crises with modern clean burning technology, and waste to energy, in fifteen years.
New Zealand has not kept up with technological advances.
While the Europeans have adopted innovative waste to energy and incineration options over the past three decades, our Ministry and Minister for the Environment continue to defend burying rubbish in the ground as the only option.
It doesn’t help that landfills are a profit centre for many councils.
We must do better.
ACT does not believe that landfills can or should be eliminated.
They will always have a role.
Similarly, recycling has a valuable role to play,
but we should acknowledge that it is not a panacea.
It is an industrial process that makes sense in some circumstances
and not in others.
However, we could reduce our waste by 30 percent
if we were prepared to adopt better technology.
The Resource Management Act bans modern waste incinerators and makes getting a permit for waste to energy almost impossible.
These are the very technologies that other countries have used successfully to reduce their waste to landfill.
ACT will repeal those parts of the RMA that prevent waste to energy, and other modern technology solutions to the landfill crisis.
Clean Water in Rural and Urban Areas
• ACT will stop councils from obtaining consents to spill raw sewage into streams and rivers,
and apply to councils the same set of rules that businesses and farmers must follow.
The Government recently announced a new set of water quality rules including what it calls “environmental bottom lines”.
These rules will impose additional costs on farmers
but do little to improve water quality in rural or urban areas.
The major issue in urban areas such as Auckland and Wellington is that councils have let existing networks run down to the point that sewage regularly spills into harbours and streams.
Yet councils have resource consents which means they don’t even have to report these spills to the public.
ACT will require councils to commit to short and long-term water quality objectives,
and to plan and budget to renew and upgrade aging and failing water and wastewater infrastructure.
Improving water quality in rural communities is a vital step to restoring the biodiversity that makes New Zealand unique.
Biodiversity in fresh water, plants and insects is the life support that underpins our rural economy, and our health and wellbeing as a nation.
The RMA and new freshwater rules are being used as a blunt tool to force farmers and landowners to abandon their farm environmental plans.
These plans are agreed with regional councils and are based on local rivers and soil science.
Farmers are instead being forced to submit to a government plan which sidelines the wishes of local communities and the businesses which produce our food and our wealth.
Rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all approach from Wellington, ACT will put farm environmental plans back into the hands of farmers
and regional councils.
ACT believes that a partnership approach between farmers, regional councils with their science capability, and the large primary sector businesses which rely on a clean, green reputation, are best placed to solve water quality issues.
ACT will reform the RMA to establish a framework for primary sector partnerships between farmers, regional councils, and primary sector businesses, to deliver the environmental outcomes which meet the expectations of communities and consumers.
Protecting Our Special Places
• ACT will replace the Resource Management Act with new law to promote best practice in protecting and enhancing the environment as part of major projects and when land use changes.
The RMA was designed in the 1980s in response to concerns about major public projects which flooded sensitive forest environments, landscapes and communities, and allowed sewage and pollution to flow into harbours and onto beaches in urban areas.
The RMA’s objectives in 1991 were noble and influenced sustainable design and construction on major projects for almost thirty years.
However, in the past decade designers have been forced to treat every risk equally, including minor issues at the margins, so that vital supply chain projects like East West Link become too expensive to justify, or impossible to deliver in the case of the Basin Reserve Flyover.
The major risks to the environment should be treated separately to minor risks,
and the solutions will be led by communities, individuals and business in partnership with government.
Environmental Reporting
• ACT will strengthen New Zealand’s environmental reporting system at local, regional and national levels so we can track our progress over time.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE) has found huge data and knowledge gaps where we are essentially “flying blind”.
These gaps prevent us from having a clear picture of our environment, and undermine our stewardship of the environment.
We also have few coordinated measures, at a national or local level, due to multiple pieces of legislation.
As a result, it’s not clear which organisation is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the environment.
There are fundamental knowledge gaps around soil health - the factors that affect soil structure and function under different land uses - yet soil is one of our greatest natural assets, and it is essentially a non-renewable resource.
Our long-term environmental goals, such as improving ecosystems in marine reserves, are dependent on having good data and reporting.
The alternative is that we risk imposing real costs on our environment
and our economy.
ACT supports the development of a comprehensive, nationally-coordinated environmental monitoring system, and a strategy to prioritise and fill data gaps.
We will implement the PCE’s draft recommendations to amend the Environmental Reporting Act,
establish a standing science advisory panel to respond to long-term and emerging issues,
and develop core environmental indicators to form the backbone of future reporting.
Where We’ll Get To
New Zealand’s rhetoric of clean and green can be matched by reality if we choose to take practical steps towards improving the state of our environment.
We can solve our environmental problems with a bottom-up, people-driven approach.
That can only be achieved with greater use of technology and community initiative.
ACT’s vision is of a New Zealand in which government supports innovation rather than preventing it with outdated and heavy-handed regulation.
REAL SOLUTIONS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE CLIMATE / Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
Individual Choice on Individual Issues
ACT is a party of tolerance and respect.
New Zealanders should be free to live their lives without government interference as long as they aren’t hurting others.
David Seymour authored the End of Life Choice Act.
End of Life Choice
ACT Leader David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill will give people with a terminal illness the choice of dying with dignity.
Read more on End of Life Choice here.
ACT Also Supports
The right of women to make a personal choice on the issue of abortion.
A referendum on the legalisation of cannabis.
Prohibition of cannabis has failed, but we need to be sure any particular approach to legalisation will improve the status quo.
Our priority should be harm reduction,
especially keeping cannabis out of the hands of children.
INDIVIDUAL CHOICE ON INDIVIDUAL ISSUES Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
Hunting and Conservation
ACT believes we must protect our country’s unique flora and fauna by eradicating pests and predators.
However, this shouldn’t occur at the expense of our valued introduced species.
Fishing, hunting and gathering are important activities undertaken by many thousands of New Zealanders.
Core principles of ACT’S Hunting and Conservation Policy
• ACT believes that the stewardship of, and responsibility for, the conservation of our unique and evolving natural environment belongs to New Zealanders in partnership with the government.
ACT recognises that input from outside of government into conservation management is crucial to the success of that partnership.
ACT acknowledges that hunters are a vital part of environmental management
and that hunting plays a valuable role in conserving nature.
ACT believes adequate resourcing of government entities is essential in order for them to support local communities to protect flora, fauna and wildlife.
ACT will enable these entities to fund scientific advice from experts whose research will help formulate conservation and environmental management plans.
ACT accepts that poisoning schemes need to be reviewed to ensure they are a last resort rather than the government’s preferred approach for large areas of the country.
Where it is practical to replace poisoning with hunting and trapping, this should be the preferred alternative.
Where it is possible to replace poisoning with more environmentally-friendly technologies, this should be referred as those technologies become available.
Hunting
Hunting is a valuable activity for many New Zealanders and, indirectly, for all New Zealand.
It provides food for many people,
social contact and friendship for many more,
and helps control pests to maintain balance in our unique ecosystems.
Unfortunately, Government policy often fails to recognise these realities and benefits.
The Department of conservation often sees hunters as their enemy instead of a valuable ally.
While it excludes them from being part of the solution,
it puts its own resources into damaging eradication and poisoning programs instead.
ACT will: Ensure the Game Animal Council (GAC) is empowered and resourced to achieve its statutory objectives and functions.
Establish Herds of Special Interest under the direct management of the GAC.
Conservation
ACT recognises that the use of vertebrate toxic agents like 1080 for the control of pests in our natural environment is both a controversial and emotive topic for hunters, animal welfare groups, conservationists and the general public.
ACT also recognises the significant threat pests like rats, mice, possums and mustelids pose to our native flora and fauna and our agriculture sector.
We support funding research into 1080 alternatives through Predator Free 2050, including trapping innovations, non-toxic alternatives and deer repellent.
We recognise that, until such tools are available, the use of 1080 in some remote high country areas may be unavoidable.
In more populated areas, however, we would prefer that alternatives to 1080 are used where possible.
ACT will: Ring-fence contestable science funding to prioritise research and development into viable alternatives to 1080.
Require the Department of Conservation to use all measures and resources at their disposal to minimise the by-kill of game animals and other non-target species during 1080 operations, including through the mandate use of effective deer repellents.
Where We'll Get To
ACT’s goal is a constructive and cooperative relationship between the hunting community, DoC, and the wider public.
The relationship should recognise the strengths of each party, creating win-win solutions for people
and New Zealand’s natural environment.
The relationship will occur at a local level,
with real democracy
where people are treated with dignity and respected rather than a combative relationship orchestrated from Wellington.
CONSTRUCTIVE RELATIONSHIPS IN HUNTING AND CONSERVATION Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
Law and Order
ACT believes protecting the safety and property of its citizens is the government’s first and most important job.
The rights of victims should trump the rights of criminals.
People should feel safe at home, at work and in public.
A one-size-fits-all approach won’t work when dealing with offenders.
We need to get tougher on criminals who repeatedly offend and ensure they remain behind bars.
But we also need to work with offenders who show a willingness to turn their lives around.
That means giving prisoners incentives to complete educational programs that will equip them to lead productive lives and stop them from returning to criminal activity.
ACT believes we also need to reduce the administrative barriers that prevent groups such as the Howard League from helping to educate and rehabilitate prisoners.
Finally, we need to be smarter with Police resources.
Significant time and resources go into chasing minor traffic offences and petty drug use.
Taxpayers fund Police to prevent serious crime, not to play nanny state.
ACT will: Add burglary to the three strikes regime, meaning someone convicted of a third burglary offence gets three years in prison.
Reward prisoners who complete literacy programs and driver licensing tests with reduced sentences.
Do the same for prisoners who volunteer to teach in these programs.
Scrap red tape that stops ordinary New Zealanders from volunteering in prison education and rehabilitation programs.
Immigration
New Zealand is a nation of immigrants.
Openness to newcomers is part of our national DNA.
Today, many of our businesses and public services either couldn’t function, or would be much poorer, without the infusion of new people and new ideas.
New Zealanders value equality,
free speech
and the rule of law.
ACT believes our immigration policy should reflect these values.
New migrants should be willing to adapt to and endorse New Zealand’s values.
ACT will: Continue to be a pro-immigration party, honouring our heritage as a nation of immigrants,
while trimming back overly generous entitlements such as pensions after only ten years’ residency.
Maintain New Zealand’s values of freedom,
property rights
and the rule of law
as non- negotiable conditions that all immigrants must accept.
We should require new citizens to explicitly sign up to these values, as required in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Pursue a free trade and free movement area between Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom (CANZUK).
Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
Standing Up for Freedom Abroad
Protecting the safety of its citizens is the government’s first and most important job.
ACT believes that New Zealand, as a small country, should favour a rules-based international order.
We have often been at the forefront of advocating this approach.
However, we cannot rely on faith alone.
We need strong alliances with like-minded countries
backed by adequate investment in our defence capabilities to ensure New Zealand’s security.
New Zealand is a trading nation.
Our wealth depends on importing goods and services we can’t produce cheaply, and exporting those we can produce for high prices to large markets.
ACT has always been the strongest supporter of free trade in Parliament.
We have been a reliable supporter of free trade agreements, giving governments of all stripes the numbers to confidently negotiate them.
ACT supports:Maintaining and strengthening our traditional alliances, such as Five Eyes
and the Commonwealth.
Continuing to lead the world with our relationships in Asia.
Emphasising our role as a leading country in the South Pacific.
Aid should be focused and directed into the South Pacific.
Continuing to support bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, as these are the basis of New Zealand’s prosperity.
Pursuing a free trade and free movement area between Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom (CANZUK).
STANDING UP FOR FREEDOM ABROAD Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
Protecting Academic Freedom
Freedom of expression is the basis of all freedoms and must be protected.
ACT would require taxpayer-funded universities charged with being society's critic and conscience to stand up for this sacrosanct principle.
Unfortunately, there is a growing danger of taxpayer-funded universities abusing their health and safety obligations in order to ‘deplatform’ speakers and shut down free speech on campus.
Massey University, for example, has recently cancelled Don Brash and Feminism 2020 events and taken down pro-Hong Kong democracy posters.
Massey believes it should cancel speakers if there is a chance of ‘mental harm to students’.
But mental harm is subjective and allows vocal activists to block events from taking place by claiming that they are likely to be psychologically hurt by the presence of a speaker on campus.
Universities are supposed to be committed to free and open inquiry in all matters and places where difficult ideas can be examined.
It is not the role of universities to protect students from ideas they find offensive.
It is for students to make judgments about which ideas they find disagreeable and to openly and vigorously contest them.
Fostering the ability of students to engage in such debate is an essential part of a university’s educational mission.
Health and safety has now become an excuse for universities to obstruct speech that small groups of activists find offensive.
Universities are required to meet a number of conditions to receive taxpayer money, but protecting academic freedom and freedom of expression is not among them.
ACT says that tertiary institutions must protect academic freedom and free speech in order to receive funding.
Tertiary institutions like universities will need to take all reasonable steps to protect academic freedom and free speech,
and health and safety will not be allowed to be used as an excuse to ‘deplatform’ speakers unless there are threats to physical safety.
ACT Will Specify that tertiary institutions have obligations under sections 13 and 14 of the Bill of Rights Act 1990.
Provide for the development of a mandatory code of practice for these instructions regarding how to ensure that they met those obligations.
Limit eligibility for funding to institutions that do not comply with the mandatory code of practice.
PROTECTING ACADEMIC FREEDOM Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.
Racing Policy
ACT believes our racing industry can be sustainable and, with better governance, will thrive once again.
ACT acknowledges that the racing and breeding industry is an integral part of our cultural identity, history, and economy, representing approximately 1 percent of GDP.
The industry employs between 14,000 and 15,000 people either directly or indirectly.
A further 11,000 regular volunteers add vital support to racing’s infrastructure.
With all participants considered, including owners and regular racegoers, almost 60,000 New Zealanders are involved in racing every week.
ACT believes racing is sustainable and, with more efficient administration, can thrive and retrieve some of the lost market share and prestige it has yielded in the past two decades.
ACT supports the majority of the Messara Review’s recommendations.
We have reservations, however, about the closure of racing venues without meaningful community consultation.
The loss of racing dates and well-attended community events have significant social, cultural and economic impacts.
The racing industry should be administered by democratically-elected boards
with sound racing knowledge and be free of both the government appointees and corporate interference that has been detrimental to the industry.
ACT does not believe New Zealand needs a Minister of Racing and we would abolish the role.
The Racing Minister’s responsibilities would transfer to the Minister of Internal Affairs, as was the case pre-1991.
The role of government in racing should be minimised, with its primary responsibility to issue the betting license to TAB NZ through the Department of Internal Affairs.
Racing is a highly specialised industry in which knowledge and expertise are invariably the domain of the participants and stakeholders.
The Racing Bill 2020 has provided the racing industry with an opportunity for a degree of self-determination.
ACT is aware of the issues created by racing’s ageing demographic and declining public image.
We would encourage the industry to utilise all available resources to attract younger participants, new owners and breeders, and to enhance the image of the industry.
Health and safety,
gambling harm,
and the rehoming of retired racehorses are issues for the racing industry which will require constant vigilance and future planning.
ACT recommends the racing industry develop a sustainable growth plan with strategies to maximise industry strengths
and thoroughbred export potential.
ACT sees racing’s main issues as: The excessive cost of administering racing for the size of the industry
Lower financial returns to owners as a percentage of costs
Loss of horses and horsemanship expertise overseas
Government interference in the administration of racing
Lack of promotion of the industry
Failure to act on the Messara Report’s recommendations
• Lack of cash or property reserves in the COVID- 19 downturn.
ACT Will: Recommend an immediate inquiry into the costs of administration in the racing industry
Consult the author of the Messara Review to maximise stakes and investigate the potential to sell New Zealand’s racing timeslot to the global market
Recommend immediate action for the collection of 100 percent of Betting Information Use Charges from Australia
Abolish the Racing portfolio
Ensure the Government has an arms-length relationship with the racing industry so it can self-determine its future.
The Future of Racing
The Labour Government’s racing legislation represents a partial remedy for the many ills which have developed since the Racing Act 2003, but it does not deal with the excessive interference from government.
Under ACT, the Government would have an arms-length relationship with the industry.
Many of the recommendations contained in the Messara Review should be regarded as the blueprint for racing’s future and should be revisited in consultation with the review’s author.
Change Your Future.  / Party Vote ACT.  / Source: https://www.act.org.nz/budget2020
Unleashing Our Potential
ACT's Alternative Budget 2020
This election year, New Zealand faces a choice between two basic strategies.  / One is a Government-led, high tax, high debt path that has nearly bankrupted the country before.  / ACT says we have the power to reject that, and instead choose a low tax, low debt, high growth strategy led by private enterprise.  / This fully costed Alternative Budget shows how we would free New Zealanders’ potential and come out of COVID-19 as a richer country.  / ACT has a bold vision for a freer, more prosperous New Zealand.  / A New Zealand in which: businesses and workers are free to earn a greater share of the rewards from their efforts; the next generation is free to build houses like our grandparents did; we take a 21st century approach to funding and operating infrastructure; our primary industries have the confidence to responsibly take advantage of our natural resources; and businesses and innovators are not held back by crippling regulation.  / I hope you share that vision, / David Seymour, MP / Act Leader
Getting Kiwis Back to Work
In every one of Treasury’s scenarios, the unemployment rate in June is expected to be the highest unemployment rate seen in New Zealand in at least 35 years.
Such levels of unemployment are unacceptable in the long term.
New Zealanders locked out of the labour market cannot provide for their families and are robbed of the inherent dignity of work.
And, not only does spending on unemployment benefits increase, tax revenues also fall precipitously.
A Tax Cut for Every Earner
ACT will cut taxes to get the economy moving again
and Kiwis back into work.
Tax cuts not only give earners more to spend and invest, they also make work and investment pay.
Our proposed 5-point cut in GST would conclude in June 2021,
while our income tax cut will be permanent.
By cutting the 30% rate, we make the tax system flatter
and fairer,
with only three rates: On your first $14k, you would pay 10.5%.
On your next $56k you would pay only 17.5%, while the rate on income above $70k would remain 33%.
Making it Easier to Hire
When the economy is under pressure, increasing the cost of hiring workers through labour regulation is likely to lock young people and others with little experience or few skills out of jobs.
We must make it as easy as possible to hire,
to get as many people back into work as possible.
We would hold the minimum wage at its current level of $18. 90 an hour hour for the next three years make hiring and retaining employees more affordable*.
We would also extend provisions to 90-day trials to 12-month probationary periods, available to employers of all sizes, to make hiring less risky.
* Previously this document said ACT would reduce the minimum wage back to its March 2020 level of $17.70 level.  / After listening to voters, we have revised this position.
Protecting Public Health
The first role of government is to keep citizens safe.
However, it should protect that safety at the minimum cost to freedom.
When the next pandemic comes, we cannot be forced to shut down our entire economy in response.
Just as East Asian jurisdictions, like Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan, learnt from their experience with SARS and were prepared for COVID-19, we must learn from this experience and be prepared for the next pandemic.
Border Protection
New Zealand is utterly dependent on international travel.
Our tourism sector directly employs more than 10% of the labour force.
To avoid the total destruction of that industry, we must reopen our borders to countries with similar or lower rates of COVID- 19 infection (e.g. Australia, Taiwan, and South Korea) as soon as safely possible.
To do so, ACT would double Customs' budget for checking passengers and crew to more than $140 million per year.
Pandemic Preparedness
New Zealand's response to COVID-19 was flatfooted.
Our initial contact-tracing relied on Excel spreadsheets;
we waited for notification from a politically-captured World Health Organisation before taking action;
initial border protection measures were weak.
The faster a pandemic is squashed, the less disruption to daily life is required.
Taiwan, a country with almost five times our population, just over 100km away from China, has had one-third the number of cases as New Zealand, without a total economic shutdown.
To improve our speed of response to future events, ACT would permanently increase funding to public health by 50% to $660 million a year.
We would abolish the 12 Public Health Units around the country and merge them into a single National Public Health Service, with its own human health border inspection service and a health surveillance capability
independent of the WHO.
This Service would manage an expanded national PPE stockpile and audit DHBs' and social care operators' pandemic plans.
Balancing the Books
The only reason we can afford to respond adequately to the current crisis is because of sound fiscal management in the past.
Countries in Europe, like Italy and Spain, who have run structural deficits for many years are relying on the charity of their wealthier northern neighbours to stay afloat.
We could not do so.
We must return to fiscal normality as soon as possible to be ready for the next COVID-19, Global Financial Crisis, or Christchurch earthquake.
All spending today in excess of revenues must be paid back in the future.
Our children will have to pay higher taxes or receive fewer services to pay back our debts.
They might be willing to fund an immediate recovery, but we cannot mortgage their futures to pay for permanent indulgences.
In tight times even more than usual, we must cut unnecessary spending and ensure that our limited resources are spent in the most effective manner.
Treasury has laid out five scenarios for New Zealand's economic performance, based on different levels of domestic restrictions and global growth.
Our fully-costed Budget returns us to surplus by the financial year ending in June 2024 in all five of those scenarios.
Once we're in surplus, we can begin paying down our debt.
We achieve surplus
while cutting taxes,
maintaining core government services,
and boosting funding to crucial public health services.
We do so by cutting over $7 billion in wasteful expenditure each year.
That includes blatant cronyism, like the Provincial Growth Fund and
subsidies to the racing industry and Hollywood film studios.
It also includes poorly-targeted vote-buying spending, like KiwiBuild,
fees-free tertiary education,
interest-free student loans,
and the Winter Energy Payments.
We also cut obscenely-high pay packets and overstaffing in the bureaucracy: We would cut top civil servants' pay by 20% across the board.
We also reverse the Government's unaffordable increases in entitlement spending, which not only saves money
but also encourages work and investment.
Cut Red Tape
A rejuvenated economy requires private sector investment.
Those investments will drive higher productivity
and higher wages.
Businesses already face enough obstacles, in the form of a global slowdown and significant travel and lockdown restrictions - we ought not to restrict them further with unnecessary regulation.
Regulatory Reset
ACT would cut existing ineffectual regulations and ensure new regulations were of a high-quality.
We would require every regulator to publicly justify every major regulation already on their books and quantify its costs and benefits.
If it was not clearly beneficial, it would be abolished.
We would allow affected firms and individuals to sue the Government if regulations were unfair or ineffective.
We would restrain the Government's power to force new legislation through Parliament
and automatically repeal all new regulations 10 years after they were passed, unless they are reviewed and actively re-introduced.
Primary Industries
We would free our crucial primary industries from the layers of unfair regulation which have been piled on them.
We would abolish the Government's oil and gas exploration ban
and ill-considered agricultural methane and water regulations.
We would replace the Zero Carbon Act and Emissions Trading Scheme with a transparent and simple carbon price linked to that charged by our international competitors and trading partners.
We would allow farmers to use innovative technologies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and improve productivity.
We would repeal the unscientific ban on technologies, like the taxpayer-funded AgResearch High Metabolisable Energy grass seed,
which can help our environment
and economy.
Foreign Investment
Overseas investment is crucial for our continued growth.
It brings foreign capital, expertise, and equipment into New Zealand firms,
making them more productive
and allowing them to reduce prices
and increase wages.
In today’s bad times, it may keep crucial New Zealand businesses afloat,
while in good times, it provides opportunities for overseas expansion and job growth at home.
ACT would encourage sensible and safe foreign investment from friendly countries.
We would automatically exempt investors from OECD countries from the requirement to gain Overseas Investment Office approval for investments, except where national security interests were at stake.
These investors are from countries with a strong tradition of the rule of law,
which respect private property rights.
There is little danger and much to be gained in allowing them to back Kiwi businesses.
Build for the Future
The depths of a COVID-19 recession might disguise the structural infrastructure and housing deficits we have built up over more than 20 years of inaction.
Once we return to something resembling normal times, however, government failures in both industries will slow down growth
and condemn people to poverty.
If we wish to build a high-growth, high-productivity, high-wage economy ,
we must have the capacity to absorb the new people and the new traffic which will come.
Ending the Housing Crisis
Housing costs as a percentage of income in New Zealand are some of the highest in the developed world.
An entire generation of Kiwis have been locked out of home ownership.
Thousands live in insecure housing; others have no home whatsoever.
This represents a total failure of government policy for the past 20 years.
Successive reports, discussion documents, and white papers, commissioned by governments of the left and the right, have correctly identified New Zealand’s planning system as the principal culprit.
We simply do not allow enough building - whether up or out - to house our growing population.
ACT would therefore remove much of the discretion around urban planning from hopelessly inept and distracted local councils.
We would repeal the Resource Management Act and replace it with an Urban Development Act, which will allow property owners increased rights to build on their own land
and automatically free up land for development when land prices become too inflated.
We would also reinject dynamism into the construction industry.
We would replace overly-skittish council inspections with compulsory building insurance, providing guaranteed redress to homeowners,
while allowing innovation and speed.
We would also automatically permit building materials allowed in jurisdictions with similar conditions to New Zealand (e. g. Japan) to be used here.
That ensures materials have been approved by a quality regulator,
while increasing competition in the building materials market.
Closing the Infrastructure Gap
In 1989, New Zealand adopted a world-leading model of independent central banking,
based on the sensible intuition that politicians cannot be trusted with interest rates.
Based on their abject failure to deliver a workable system, politicians evidently cannot be trusted with infrastructure either.
Governments of all stripes have, for years, chosen where to build roads, bridges, and railway lines, based not on the economic need for them, but on the political advantage to be gained.
Taxpayers deserve better.
ACT would replace this political discretion with economic discipline.
If roads are built where they are needed, rather than where they will generate the most votes for the governing party, we can produce much greater reductions in congestion for every dollar of government spending.
By abolishing the ineffective and unfair fuel excise and introducing transparent road pricing, like that used in Singapore, we could manage demand on the roading network, down to the minute.
Authorities could also see where new roads would be most valuable and cost-effective.
We would then remove infrastructure decision-making powers from ministers and vest them in an independent New Zealand Infrastructure Corporation.
This Corporation would cooperate with private infrastructure funders to significantly increase the capacity of New Zealand's road and rail networks.
They would decide where to build new road and rail lines not based on votes at stake, but on congestion levels and safety considerations.
They would be judged based on transparent performance indicators, like the average speed reached on major arterial routes.
National policies 2020
Our Policies
Responsible Economic Management
New Zealand is facing a deep recession,
with 100,000 Kiwis forecast to lose their job over the next two years.
To help get us through the Covid-19 lockdown, we have taken on enormous debt.
We were able to do that because the previous National Government had left the books in really good shape.
There will always be another economic shock, and we need to be prepared for it by getting our debt back down.
Labour’s first instinct in times of economic crisis is to raise your taxes.
So we are looking at Kiwis without jobs, and those who have one paying higher taxes.
National has a better plan, to increase investment in quality infrastructure,
to give businesses the confidence to grow
and create jobs,
to pay down debt
and to temporarily reduce your taxes.
Our economic plan shows we can keep increasing investment in core public services,
but at a lesser rate than what Labour is proposing.
There won’t be any cuts though.
Our pathway to pay back debt means more disciplined day to day spending, something Labour has failed at (eg KiwiBuild, Light Rail, Green School).
National will let New Zealanders keep more of what they earn.
It’s your economy and your future, we need to safeguard it.
National has a proven track record of effective economic management in times of crisis.
National will ensure taxpayer money is spent carefully and in ways that are linked to clear results
Economic & Fiscal Plan
National’s Economic and Fiscal Plan will put more money into Kiwis’ pockets
while also encouraging businesses to invest
and create more jobs.
Responsible economic management has been a hallmark of successive National Governments,
and our commitment to continue increasing investment in core public services.
We will invest more in education,
health,
social development
and infrastructure
while leaving $10.2 billion in operating allowances over the next four years to deal with future cost pressures.
National’s plan has been reviewed by NZIER, which said in its report that all fiscal commitments were within proposed spending allowance levels, with $10.2 billion in unallocated fiscal headroom over the next term of Government.
National’s pathway to reducing government debt involves a more disciplined approach to day-to-day new spending,
suspending Super Fund contributions,
eliminating wasteful spending like Fees-Free and KiwiBuild,
and benefiting from the subsequent reduction in finance costs.
Our projections show we can return debt back to 36 per cent of GDP by 2034 compared to the PREFU forecast of 48 per cent.
The choice for voters this election is clear: higher taxes and more government programmes under Labour and the Greens, or more money in their pockets under National.
National’s goal is to build a strong economy that provides a good standard of living for all New Zealanders and opportunities for future generations.
The best path back to prudent debt levels is through an absolute focus on economic growth
and disciplined spending,
not higher taxes.
National will cut taxes for hard-working Kiwis
With the right economic policy, we can grow and rebuild our economy from the biggest economic downturn the world has seen since the Second World War.
Our economy needs stimulus to ensure it
rebounds quickly from the recession,
jobs are saved
and households and businesses have confidence.
New Zealand has suffered a second lockdown,
worsening fiscal and economic projects
and the largest economic contraction in New Zealand’s history.
More than 70,000 New Zealanders have gone on to unemployment benefits since March and Stats NZ estimates a further 185,000 people expect to lose their job in the next year.
It has become clear that immediate fiscal stimulus is needed to boost the New Zealand economy,
inject cash and confidence into households and businesses
and restore our economic prospects.
The best short term stimulus is to allow New Zealanders to keep more of their money so they can spend it on what they need.
The alternative is to tax New Zealanders more and only let the Government spend the money on its pet projects.
The Policy
National will deliver massive tax stimulus for hard working New Zealanders, putting more than $3000 extra in the back pockets of the average New Zealander.
National will increase tax thresholds by lifting the bottom threshold from $14,000 to $20,000, the middle threshold from $48,000 to $64,000 and the top threshold from $70,000 to $90,000.
These changes will be in place from 1 December 2020 to 31 March 2022.
More than 2.6 million New Zealanders will benefits from these tax cuts, including more than 1 million New Zealanders who will benefit by more than $2500.
Tax Calculator - National will cut taxes for hard-working Kiwis
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To keep our economy ticking, New Zealanders need money to spend.
National will deliver temporary tax relief that puts more than $3000 - or nearly $50 a week - into the back pockets of average earners over the next 16 months.
Find out how much these tax changes will deliver for you:
Tax Indexation
A National Government would link income tax brackets to inflation, ensuring income taxes are adjusted every three years in line with the cost of living and allowing New Zealanders to keep more of what they earn.
New Zealanders’ incomes are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living
because this Government is imposing more red tape and taxes.
Over the next four years, New Zealanders will be paying almost $10,000 more per household in tax than they would have been under National.
The Government is taking more than it needs, only to waste billions on bad spending.
On top of that, by 2022 New Zealanders on the average wage will move into the top tax bracket.
That’s not right or fair.
So, in our first term National will fix that by indexing tax thresholds to inflation.
We will amend the Income Tax Act so tax thresholds are adjusted every three years in line with the cost of living.
That will mean that within a year after every election, Treasury will advise the Government on how much the thresholds should be adjusted for inflation.
This would prevent New Zealanders from moving into higher tax brackets even when their income isn’t keeping up with the rising cost of living.
It would ensure New Zealanders keep more of what they earn to stay on top of rising costs of living such as higher prices for necessities like petrol, rent and electricity.
We will include a veto clause so the Government of the day can withhold the changes in the rare circumstances there is good reason to.
But it will have to explain that decision to New Zealanders.
The changes would make a real difference.
Assuming inflation of 2 per cent, someone on the average wage would be $430 a year better off after the first adjustment, $900 after the second and $1,400 after the third.
A family with two earners - for example, one earning $80,000 and the other $40,000 - would be $600 better off a year after the first adjustment, about $1,300 after the second and $1,900 by the third.
That’s more of their own money in their own bank accounts.
The first adjustment would prevent Kiwis from paying an extra $600 million a year in tax based on today’s estimates.
We can afford that by managing the books prudently and spending wisely.
National is committed to helping New Zealanders get ahead.
This step means that as well as cancelling new taxes this Government has piled on, we won’t allow future governments to use inflation as an annual tax increase by stealth.
Small Business
New Zealand is facing its worst economic downturn in 160 years.
Right now, more than 200,000 New Zealanders are on unemployment benefits.
Another 280,000 are on the wage subsidy and whose jobs are at risk.
New Zealand needs a Government with the experience, the competence and the vision to
rescue the economy,
save businesses
and protect jobs.
Labour’s sole economic idea is more government spending, more debt and higher taxes.
National has a comprehensive five point plan to rescue the economy:
Responsible Economic Management.
Delivering Infrastructure.
Reskilling and Retraining Our Workforce.
A Greener, Smarter Future.
Building Stronger Communities.
National will back the private sector, in particular our small businesses,
to create jobs
and get the economy moving again.
Labour, on the other hand, believe every job needs to be created by Government Ministers and make-work schemes.
We understand that the only sustainable way to create new jobs is to reduce barriers, costs and uncertainty for the private sector and in particular small businesses.
You can read our full Small Business Package Factsheet here or click on a policy tile below.
Small businesses are critical for New Zealand’s economic recovery.
National will empower small businesses to grow, thrive and succeed.
We know there isn’t one single policy that will help small businesses, so we have announced a comprehensive package with a range of policies that will all help small businesses get ahead.
Our Small Business Package is divided into five parts:Lower Tax Cost and Compliance for Small Businesses
Fairer Employment Law for Small Businesses
Better Cash Flow for Small Businesses
Less Red Tape for Small Businesses
Better Access to Capital for New and Existing Small Businesses
Lower Tax Cost & Compliance
National knows the tax system imposes too much cost and compliance on small businesses.
We will introduce a range of changes that reduce the cost and compliance of the tax system for small businesses:
National will:Not increase taxes or introduce any new taxes.
Lift the threshold to expense new capital investment from $5000 to $150,000 per asset.
Increase the provisional tax threshold from $5000 to $25,000.
Raise the compulsory GST threshold from $60,000 to $75,000.
Allow businesses to expense an asset once its depreciated value falls below $3000, as opposed to having to continue to depreciate it until its depreciated tax value equals zero.
Change the timing of the second provisional tax payments for those businesses with a 31 March year end to 28 February (rather than 15 January).
Ensure Use of Money rates charged by IRD more properly reflect appropriate credit rates
and increase the interest rate paid on amounts owed by IRD to its customers.
Increase the threshold to obtain a tax invoice from $50 to $500, to reduce compliance costs.
Implement a business continuity test (rather than ownership test) to allow the carry forward of tax losses.
Review depreciation rates for investments in energy efficiency and safety equipment.
Consolidate the number of depreciation rates to reduce administrative burden.
Fairer Employment Law
Right now, more than 200,000 New Zealanders are on unemployment benefits.
Better employment law and incentives for job creation will help businesses take on new staff to get them off unemployment benefits.
National will simplify industrial relations legislation to reduce red tape
and encourage businesses, in particular small businesses, to create new jobs.
Small businesses need to be trusted to do the right things by their staff without overly burdensome employment law and red tape holding them back.
National believes in a flexible, productive workplace
where workers get a fair deal
and businesses are productive.
National supports an approach where employees and employers are trusted to work employment matters out themselves in good faith.
National backs the private sector to create jobs and get New Zealand moving again.
Our JobStart policy will encourage businesses to create new jobs,
get New Zealanders back into work
and off Government welfare.
National’s JobStart scheme will:Provide a $10,000 cash payment to businesses that hire additional staff
as part of our commitment to keeping New Zealanders in jobs.
Give businesses greater confidence to hire new fulltime permanent staff
and could incentivise up to 50,000 new jobs.
As well as JobStart, National will: Repeal the Government’s changes to the Employment Relations Act.
Simplify the employment dispute resolution process.
Get rid of the “no win no fee” provisions in the Employment Relations Act.
Ensure our laws and polices get the right balance between health and safety and productivity.
Better Cash Flow
Cash flow is critical to small businesses.
Only half of all businesses are cash flow positive at any one time.
When large businesses do not pay their bills on time or in a timely manner, then small businesses with limited working capital are the ones who suffer.
The Government promised Government departments would pay their bills faster, but there are still numerous reports of slow and late payments, which is hampering the cash flow of small businesses across New Zealand.
National will:National will guarantee all Government departments and Government agencies pay their contractors on time and within seven days.
National will establish a ‘Small Business Payments Guarantee’ - a voluntary initiative committing large New Zealand businesses and not- for-profits to ensure New Zealand small businesses are paid on time and within 30 days.
Less Red Tape
Excessive regulations hamper competitiveness
and reduce productivity.
National wants small businesses to thrive and not be strangled by red tape and bureaucracy.
National knows we need to regularly test whether regulations are still needed,
remove barriers to new small businesses entering markets
and streamline unnecessarily slow and expensive bureaucratic procedures.
Every worker should come home safely.
National introduced WorkSafe five years ago to bring a new culture of performance and lift the health and safety outcomes in New Zealand.
We would ensure WorkSafe continued on its track to being a high performance organisation.
We would also make sure that workplaces have adequate protocols and procedures in a world with Covid-19.
WorkSafe should drive positive change in our health and safety culture, but also reflect the common sense management of modern workplaces.
Health and Safety changes can have a major impact on small businesses.
Procedures should be reasonable and avoid a culture of draconian enforcement at the expense of a collaborative approach to make our workplaces safer.
National will:Repeal the RMA
and replace it with straight forward environmental standards.
Simplify Anti-Money Laundering legislation by providing guidance to industry, via a National Policy Statement, on how to comply in a less costly manner,
while continuing to meet our international obligations.
Initiate a review of WorkSafe, five years since its inception, to ensure it is focused on delivering a high performance culture, with an emphasis on a collaborative and reasonable approach to health and safety improvement.
Convene a joint initiative with IRD, ACC, Statistics NZ, MBIE and WorkSafe NZ to specifically identify areas of regulatory duplication for small businesses, specifically in terms of requests for information and unnecessary compliance costs.
Require Government departments to measure the cost of compliance imposed on small businesses.
Better Access to Capital
Access to capital is one of the biggest issues holding back small businesses from getting ahead and limiting the creation of new businesses.
National wants to remove barriers that are limiting access to capital for new and existing businesses.
National wants New Zealanders who have lost their job have a better opportunity to start their own business.
National believes Kiwis who have lost their job but have a bright idea should have access to their own money to start their own business.
National’s BusinessStart package will:Make available to all Kiwis who have lost their job since 1 March 2020, or those who lose their jobs in the months ahead, a $1000 voucher for them to get proper financial advice from a Chartered Accountant or Registered Financial Adviser on their ideas, and put together a viable business plan.
Once those business plans are signed off, BusinessStart recipients can access:Up to $20,000 of their own money from their KiwiSaver account to help get their business going.
At least $10,000 in tax credits to pay GST or provisional tax when the business starts making a profit.
A waiver from the Company Office registration fee of $130.
Free mentoring from advisers like chambers of commerce, employers and manufacturers associations and Business Mentors New Zealand from a new $10 million contestable fund.
As well as BusinessStart, National will also increase access to capital for small businesses by:Implementing a business continuity test (rather than ownership test) to allow the carry forward of tax losses.
Encouraging KiwiSaver providers to invest a small portion of their total funds in appropriate private equity/expansion capital opportunities involving New Zealand companies.
Economic Development focused on creating jobs
Under the previous National Government, we were creating 10,000 jobs a month.
But even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, that number had fallen to 2000-3000 under Labour, and in some months none at all.
Up to 80,000 New Zealanders have already lost their jobs and the Treasury has forecast that 100,000 will be made unemployed over the next two years.
When a government piles costs and regulation onto businesses it stifles job creation.
This means that when people leave their jobs, businesses can’t afford to replace them.
Building on National's economic plan to restore our prosperity, our economic development plan would get the economy back to creating at least 10,000 jobs a month, and unemployment tracking towards 4 per cent by 2025.
You can read our Economic Development Policy Factsheet here.
A National Government will work with businesses, not against them, by giving them the confidence to lead the recovery
and create more jobs and higher incomes for Kiwis and their families.
Our economy declined by 12 per cent last quarter yet Labour continues to release harmful policies that will pile costs onto businesses
and result in greater job losses.
Since the pandemic began, Labour has announced they will pile costs of up to $2.8 billion per year onto businesses by lifting the minimum wage;
doubling sick leave requirements;
creating another public holiday;
and less flexible working agreements.
These changes alone will see the end of many small businesses that are struggling under the debt incurred during successive lockdowns.
That’s before accounting for Labour’s pumped hydro scheme to bring forward their 100 per cent renewable energy target, which will lead to higher power prices for businesses,
and all the costs they’ve put on the primary sector through their bungled water policy.
National is committing to an 18-month moratorium on changes in regulations and policies that add costs to Kiwi businesses and calling for all other political parties to do the same in order to support businesses to lead the economic recovery.
Today National has released its comprehensive economic development plan to get businesses back on their feet
and increase jobs.
It includes:Setting a target of 4 per cent unemployment by 2025.
Replacing the RMA with a new Planning Act biased towards development,
and an Environmental Standards Act to protect the Environment.
Committing to a two-year moratorium on changes in regulations and policies that add costs to Kiwi businesses.
No tax increases or introducing any new taxes.
Suspending next year’s minimum wage increase.
Putting a halt to 70’s style fair-pay agreements that the Government plans to implement.
Supporting businesses with $10,000 to hire new staff and provide modern, flexible working practices.
Support new business owners through our BusinessStart package with a one-off $1000 voucher to buy advice and support, up to $20,000 from their KiwiSaver and Government grants.
A suite of investment-friendly tax initiatives including instant depreciation of up to $150,000 per asset and doubling the depreciation rate for businesses to invest in new plant equipment and machinery over a year.
Encourage high skilled migrants including surgeons, rocket-engineers and scientist to choose a life in New Zealand
to help grow the economy
and create more jobs.
National has also promised tax cuts which will encourage people to get out and support our small businesses to recover from this economic crisis.
Our tax policy will put more than $3000 into the back pocket of the average earner.
New Zealand needs a Government that not only understands the issues businesses are facing right now, but has the plan and experience to overcome those issues.
National will revive the economy
by supporting our businesses to bounce back and giving them the confidence to lead the recovery
and create more jobs
and higher incomes for Kiwis and their families.
Business Start
National believes that we need to unleash a wave of entrepreneurialism in New Zealand.
We need thousands of new businesses to kickstart our economy
and create tens of thousands of new jobs.
National will deliver this with a package of incentives that provide equity and cashflow to ensure new businesses succeed through the economic crisis.
For those who lose their jobs after 1 March 2020, National will support them if they want to get into their own business and give them the confidence to take on the challenge.
National will:Provide a one-off $1000 voucher to buy advice and support from a Chartered Accountant or Registered Financial Adviser to develop a business plan that shows the business is a viable proposal.
Upon that sign off, the new business owner will receive BusinessStart approval from MBIE.
This will:Allow the business owner to access up to $20,000 from their KiwiSaver account, to invest in the new business.
Provide for those who have been made redundant, the entire taxed portion of their redundancy as a tax credit with the IRD, which can be used to pay GST or other tax obligations created by the business.
Provide for those who have lost their job but not received redundancy, a tax credit of $5000 to meet tax obligations.
After 90 days, a second tax credit of $5000 will be allocated.
Give business owners a free Company Office registration ($130).
Encourage banks to use the business plan to provide a banking finance package.
Provide for additional business mentoring and start up advisers under a new contestable fund of $10 million dollars for providers of such services.
In addition, like all business owners, BusinessStart recipients will be able to write off new investment of up to $150,000 per new asset instantly under National’s previously announced policy.
As an emergency programme, BusinessStart will begin on 1 November 2020 and run for seventeen months through to the end of the financial year, 31 March 2022.
JobStart
The $10k JobStart will provide a $10,000 cash payment to businesses for all additional new employees.
As an emergency programme, it will begin on 1 November 2020 and run for five months through to the end of the financial year, 31 March 2021.
It will be administered by the IRD and will be reviewed in early January 2021.
The $10,000 per new hire will be paid to all businesses that employ a person on a fulltime, permanent basis where they can prove that the new hire is an additional Full Time Equivalent (FTE) over and above their existing labour force.
A first $5000 payment will be paid on the hire, and a second $5000 will be paid after 90 days.
The $10k JobStart is for all New Zealand businesses but it is focussed on small businesses.
It will be capped at 10 new employees, or $100,000 per business.
The scheme is capped at $500 million - or 50,000 new jobs.
It takes a real commitment to take on a new, permanent employee in the current economic climate and this payment is only a partial offset of the cost of that new labour for any business
Manufacturing
A National Government would better support the manufacturing sector by reducing taxes,
slashing costs
and upskilling the workforce.
The manufacturing sector accounts for nearly 10 per cent of all jobs in the economy and more than half of New Zealand’s exports.
If New Zealand is going to recover from the current economic crisis quickly, we need all parts of our economy firing on all cylinders.
To do so we must encourage investment,
reduce costs for manufacturing business,
reduce taxes
and make it easier for businesses to hire new staff.
You can read our Manufacturing Policy Factsheet here.
Manufacturing is critical to the New Zealand economy and should not be taken for granted like it has been under Labour.
Labour have relentlessly added costs and red tape, making it harder for our manufactures to compete on global markets.
Under Labour the manufacturing sector contracted for the first time in seven years, even before Covid-19 hit.
National’s manufacturing policy will:Lower Taxes on Investment
Create More Manufacturing Jobs
Ensure Better Industry Training
Ensure Fairer Competition
Grow our Technology Sector
Ensure a Secure and Affordable Supply of Energy
Better Mental Health Support for Businesses
Under National, manufacturers will benefit from bold pro-growth policies such as:
Double depreciation rates on investments in Plant, Equipment and Machinery;
Allowing instant asset write-offs for investments up to $150,000;
Expanding 90 day trials for all businesses;
Providing a $10,000 incentive for manufacturing businesses who hire additional staff through JobStart;
Strengthen trades training by ensuring it is led by industry not the Government; and
Ensuring Government agencies follow procurement rules more rigorously.
National will also expand the role of the Minister of Small Business to include manufacturing.
This will ensure there is a strong voice for manufacturing within Government.
A Labour Government will keep on adding costs, raising taxes and strangling businesses with red tape.
Only National has a comprehensive plan to support our manufacturing sector.
Double Depreciation for Plant, Equipment and Machinery
With the right economic policy, we can grow and rebuild our economy from the biggest economic downturn in living memory.
Our economy needs stimulus to ensure it rebounds quickly from the recession, jobs are saved and households and businesses have confidence.
New Zealand has suffered a second lockdown,
worsening fiscal and economic projections
and the largest economic contraction in New Zealand’s history.
More than 70,000 New Zealanders have gone on to unemployment benefits since March and the Treasury forecast an additonal 100,000 will lose their job in the next two years.
It has become clear immediate fiscal stimulus is needed to boost the New Zealand economy, inject cash and confidence into households and businesses and restore our economic prospects.
National believes short term stimulus to encourage businesses to invest in new Plant, Equipment and Machinery is necessary.
Encouraging businesses to invest will lift productivity,
increase incomes and create jobs.
The Policy
National will encourage businesses to invest in significant new Plant, Equipment and Machinery by offering a 12 month tax incentive for investments over $150,000.
National has already announced a policy to allow businesses to instantly deduct new capital investments up to $150,000.
This policy will allow businesses who invest in Plant, Equipment and Machinery worth more than $150,000 to double their depreciation rate on that investment over the life of the asset.
The policy will apply to new investments for 12 months.
The policy will encourage new investment by reducing the cost and therefore increasing its return.
In our first Budget we will assess the state of the economy and the effect on job creation, with a view to extending the scheme.
Example
A manufacturing business is considering investing in a new piece of machinery worth $1 million, which would have a depreciation rate of 10 per cent.
But the business is uncertain about the future so is reluctant to invest in the new machinery.
However, because of National’s policy, they would be allowed to depreciate the asset at 20 per cent per year which will reduce their tax liability by $100,000 a year for five years.
Because of the tax incentive, the decision to invest is now justified so the business goes ahead with the investment, which creates jobs and lifts productivity for the business.
Fiscal Impact
The total cost of the package is estimated to be $430 million per year for five year.
After which, tax revenues will likely rise as firms will not be claiming the depreciation they would otherwise be.
There are uncertainties about the fiscal impact based on the impact of the economic crisis on new business investment, which we assume will be offset by the incentive to invest created by this policy.
You can read more about National's Policy on Double Depreciation for Plant, Equipment and Machinery here.
Tiwai - Supporting Southland Jobs
A National Government will facilitate negotiations between Rio Tinto, power companies and Transpower to achieve a more cost competitive environment to keep the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter open.
New Zealand is losing thousands of jobs every week due to the largest economic crisis in a generations.
National recognises the need to support existing employment opportunities and protect the 2260 jobs, both at Tiwai and in the wider community, from the hard close of the smelter on August 31st, 2021.
Our aim is to create a commercially viable outcome that would keep the smelter in operation for at least the next five years
while preparing Southland to lessen the severity of the smelters hard-closure.
It is our understanding that the owners of the Manapouri Power Station - Meridian Energy - have offered a positive electricity price to Rio Tinto, based on Meridian’s potential losses of tens of millions of dollars a year if there is a drop-dead date for closure of the smelter.
Based on this, we understand that a commercial deal could be reached.
That deal alone would result in a more reasonable operating environment for the smelter’s operators, but National would do more.
A major factor is the cost of electricity carriage charged to the smelter by Transpower and National will want to see the current transmission price path negotiated to a point the smelter can commit to a future beyond the proposed hard-close date of 31st August 2021.
In exchange for this deal, we would require a plan from Rio Tinto for the cleanup of the site and dealing with the waste when it closes.
While creating certainty in the medium term for Southland, National would have an eye to the future.
Technology upgrades to the smelter could see up to 200MW of electricity available to the grid as dry-year cover.
We will look to partner with Rio Tinto on the installation of those upgrades.
National will accelerate Transpower’s investment into transmission lines upgrades to ensure Manapouri power station is not left stranded in the future, allowing the electricity to be available to the wider economy.
This is a better deal than Labour’s $4 billion pumped hydro proposal, which is many years away, and there is no surety that the $30 million investigation will support the project.
National will also invest in improving Southland’s internet connectivity,
to allow new industries to locate closer to the renewable energy that Manapouri provides,
to ensure the development of other industries
and future jobs.
Southlanders deserve a longer-term commitment
based on sound commercial negotiation.
The Government’s current hands-off approach falls short of what Southlanders should expect.
Environmental Considerations
This isn’t just about the $406 million Tiwai Point contributes to the Southland economy each year or the 2260 jobs the plant supports, it’s also about the impact closing it will have on global emissions.
Tiwai’s closure wouldn’t change global demand for aluminium but it would remove one of the lowest emission and internationally efficient producers of very high quality aluminium from the global network.
More than likely Tiwai’s production would be replaced by a coal-fired smelter in another country.
That would increase global emissions by 5.2 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent [5.2mt CO2e], representing a 6.6 percent increase in New Zealand’s total emissions.
Put another way, it’s the pollution impact of a near doubling of the 3.4 million passenger cars on New Zealand roads.
If we’re serious about addressing climate change we need to find a way of keeping Tiwai Point open.
Business Investment Accelerator Scheme
National understands the key to growing the economy is to encourage business investment.
We want New Zealand businesses to succeed.
We want to get New Zealand working again.
To help, we would temporarily lift the threshold to expense new capital investment for firms.
It has been stuck at the very low level of $500 for many years.
The Government lifted the threshold to $5000 as part of its Covid response.
National would go much further and lift it to $150,000 for two years.
This is equivalent to the size of the Instant Asset Write-Off in Australia, and would incentivise and reward businesses who are willing to invest.
Example: if a company spends $145,000 on a new machine to improve its productivity, rather than depreciating that asset over many years, it will be able to expense the full $145,000 in this tax year.
You can read our policy Factsheet and Q&A here
Supporting our Tourism Sector
National will work alongside New Zealand’s tourism sector to restore the industry towards the levels of success it had prior to Covid-19.
You can read our Tourism Sector Policy Factsheet here.
The men and women of New Zealand tourism have built an industry that is world-renowned through offering unique experiences and making visitors feel welcome.
Tourism was one of New Zealand’s biggest export earners and employed 400,000 people, and under a National Government it will be again.
National has listened to the sector and developed a plan to work collaboratively by partnering with local government, iwi and tourism sector representatives as well as tourism businesses to speed up decision making and cut out the bureaucracy.
New Zealand is in the worst economic crisis in living memory and the Labour Tourism Minister has been invisible.
Labour’s attitude to tourism over recent years has been marked by a lack of leadership, misunderstanding the sector, slow decision-making, and too much bureaucracy.
Inexplicable decisions have been made, including axing the valuable Accommodation Survey because government departments argued over funding it.
We will rule out new tourism taxes,
bring back and enhance the collection of tourism data,
and modernise legislation including the Conservation Act 1987 and National Parks Act 1980 to be more tourism friendly.
National will:•Use our Infrastructure Bank to work alongside local councils to build the new infrastructure needed to cope with tourism numbers across regional New Zealand.
Providing support to businesses and tourist operators through a $100 million Tourism Accelerator Fund.
Allowing travel bubbles with neighbouring Covid-free countries when it is safe to do so.
Implement a consistent and transparent national framework for freedom camping.
Support the TRENZ conference with $5 million for the next two years
and enhance the collection of accommodation and tourism data.
Closing the border cut off the international visitor market, worth more than $23 billion in 2019.
Subsequent local lockdowns have further devastated the industry.
Rather than coming up with a comprehensive plan to save jobs across the sector, Labour has so far delivered a patchwork response.
National has already indicated we would look at flexible travel arrangements for people entering New Zealand from countries and territories that are Covid- free, such as the Pacific Islands,
but only once it was safe to do so
and we had set up our dedicated border agency, Te Korowai Whakamaru/NZ Border Protection Agency.
National's plan will restore tourism
Tourism is an important part of our economy.
National will be a true partner to our valuable tourism sector so we can protect jobs, create new ones
and grow the economy.
National will build a vibrant and sustainable sector
that can proud of what it contributes to New Zealand by supporting and creating jobs.
National will also support and build capability for Maori tourism in response to Covid-19 through our tourism plan
so that the essence of Maori tourism continues to be represented to the domestic and international market.
The tourism sector supported New Zealand to get through the Global Financial Crisis, a National Government will support the tourism sector to get back on its feet.
You can read our Tourism Sector Policy Factsheet here.
Tourism Accelerator
The closure of New Zealand’s borders and ongoing domestic business restrictions due to Covid-19 are posing an enormous challenge to the tourism industry.
Struggling tourism operators need immediate relief to stay afloat and to ensure the industry can rebuild.
National’s Tourism Accelerator is a $100 million package of direct grants for tourism projects aimed at increasing demand for tourism.
It will provide an incentive for tourism businesses to invest in the sector, to facilitate opportunities by funding innovative ideas, and to encourage new options for tourism markets.
There is no maximum or minimum amount of funding that can be applied for.
All tourism operators are encouraged to submit proposals.
The $100 million would be allocated over a four-year period.
Tourism operators will be eligible to apply for up to 70 per cent of the funding for projects they propose that meet the criteria of increasing demand within the tourism sector.
The minimum co-investment expected from the private sector would be 30 per cent.
Viable projects must aim to increase demand for tourism in the region where the project is based,
and is assessed to be likely to provide commercial returns.
The grants are not aimed at covering current operational costs, rather they will fund any new component of a tourism enterprise aimed at driving increased or new demand for tourism, including developing new or amended tourism offerings or marketing to new demographics or geographies.
The grants will be managed by an independent board appointed by the Minister of Tourism.
The Minister can issue priority statements to provide guidance on the assessment of the broad criteria of the fund.
Covid-19 has posed a direct challenge to the industry and National’s Tourism Accelerator is one tool we can use to help the industry rebuild and bounce back.
Energy & Resources
Affordable and secure energy underpins New Zealand’s economy.
National believes competitive and well-regulated energy markets support households
and the transition to a low-emissions economy.
You can read our Energy & Resources Policy here.
National signed New Zealand up to the Paris Agreement.
In Government, National increased renewable electricity production from 65 to 85 per cent of supply.
We have and will continue to be committed to reducing New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions.
National believes that greenhouse gas policy needs to be fuel neutral unlike the current Government who have banned offshore oil and gas exploration
costing the New Zealand economy an estimated $30 billion
and 3000 jobs in Taranaki alone.
The Government should regulate greenhouse gas emissions, through mechanisms like the emissions trading scheme, rather than regulating individual fuels and fuel usage.
National will work hard to ensure energy is affordable, our dependence on coal is reduced and less hard-working Kiwis lose their jobs.
We believe it is critical that New Zealand is open to all technologies that support a transition to a net-zero emissions economy.
Technologies, like carbon capture and storage, will be critical to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from processes such as steel and concrete manufacture.
National will:Overturn the Government’s costly and harmful oil and gas ban.
Investigate new technologies that can support a transition to a net-zero emissions economy such as carbon capture and storage.
Support a case-by-case assessment for mining proposals on lower- quality conservation land that meet a ‘net conservation benefit’.
Repeal the RMA and implement an environmental legal and regulatory framework that is less complex and provides more certainty to all stakeholders.
With the economy now in the most severe recession New Zealand has ever experienced, we need a Government that delivers affordable and reliable energy,
while continuing to strive for a net-zero future in 2050.
Over the past two years we have witnessed a steady increase in energy prices
and increased consumption of imported coal
as a result of Labour’s ill- thought-out oil and gas ban.
National will work hard to ensure energy is affordable,
our dependence on coal is reduced
and less hard-working Kiwis lose their jobs.
We support responsible mining that can demonstrate a net positive contribution to the economy, to the environment, and to society.
National will deliver pragmatic energy policy that is better for the environment
and consumers’ bank balances.
Backing New Zealand’s racing industry
National is proud of New Zealand’s history of excellence in the racing history
and will ensure the industry isn’t put out to pasture.
Our racing industry employs more than 15,000 people directly and supports many more jobs indirectly.
Racing contributes in excess of $1.6 billion a year to our economy and will be an important part of rebuilding our economy.
We’re lucky to have a legacy of strong racing communities and modern infrastructure,
we want to encourage Kiwis to get out and support their local racing club
and stimulate their local economy.
National will:Partner with TAB, NZ On Air and the racing sector to explore options to promote New Zealand racing and breeding
and recommence Trackside Radio.
Repeal the RMA and replace it with legislation that enables better utilisation of existing racing assets,
while supporting the industry to upgrade our racing infrastructure.
Encourage the development of modern, fit-for-purpose racing facilities that provide the scale and services to support a profitable industry with improved stakes.
Support the industry to establish centres of racing excellence, with a focus on education and training, to create a clearer pathway for the next generation of racing leaders to enter the industry.
Include the racing and breeding industries in our proposed Primary Sector Visa, to enable fast-tracked access to international skills, networks and racing knowledge.
Implement the Racing Industry Act and ensure appropriate appointments are made to the Boards of TAB NZ and Racing NZ who will drive the industry forward.
Conduct a serious review of the tax and depreciation rules for bloodstock and make adjustments where we find they are acting as a barrier to investment.
Remove the inconsistencies between the regulation of racing and other forms of gaming.
Ensure there is opportunity for a series of racing events to feature as part of our planned New Zealand Tourism Festival, to get Kiwis back to the races.
There’s no reason why New Zealand’s racing industry can’t compete internationally and be recognised as world class.
We have the best breeders, the best trainers, the best strappers, the best jockeys and the best supporters in the world.
We want to ensure they’re operating in an industry that can set them up for success on the world stage.
A National Government will ensure an environment where there are less barriers to success and more economic stimulation for New Zealand’s proud racing industry.
A vote for National is a safe bet for the future of New Zealand racing.
You can read our Racing Policy Factsheet here.
Supporting New Zealand’s proud wine industry
A National Government will give New Zealand’s wine industry the tools to continue making a valuable contribution to our economy.
New Zealand wineries produce world-class products, contributing $1.9 billion in export revenue to our economy.
Our picturesque wineries are world- renowned tourist attractions and provide huge boosts to the local economies of regions like Marlborough, Hawke’s Bay and Central Otago.
You can read National's Viticulture Policy Factsheet here.
National is focused on growing our way out of this economic crisis.
That means giving businesses in the wine industry confidence to continue pushing forward and aiming higher.
National will:Amend the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act to support wine tourism.
Pursue trade access with key markets the United Kingdom and the European Union.
Encourage the development of technology and science to support industry growth.
Allow more skilled and seasonal workers to enter New Zealand through managed isolation.
Launch a New Zealand Tourism Festival to support domestic tourism.
Invest $600 million in water storage through the National Infrastructure Bank
Covid-19 has brought many challenges to our wine industry.
The closure of our borders has led to significant workforce shortages and a lack of tourism revenue.
Our viticulture industry relies on access to skilled and seasonal workers for harvesting, pruning and blending.
National will strengthen our border defences so we can safely allow workers into New Zealand.
We will provide wineries with confidence by lessening their regulatory burden,
encouraging more domestic tourism opportunities,
and investing in the future with our long-term plan for water infrastructure and storage.
New Zealand’s wine industry has a proud history of growth that has led to our world-class reputation and standing as the seventh-largest wine exporter in the world.
National will support the industry to continue growing despite the challenges of Covid-19.
Foreign Affairs
National understands that on the global stage we act on behalf of New Zealanders.
Everything we do on the world stage must reflect their interests and values.
Using the tools of diplomacy to advance democracy,
protect human rights,
and promote inclusiveness around the world,
National is committed to enhancing New Zealand’s hard won reputation as an honest broker and considered voice.
You can read our Foreign Affairs Policy Factsheet here.
National’s foreign policy is based on five interlocking principles.
New Zealand foreign policy under National will be:Outward focused to deliver New Zealand security
and prosperity.
Independent and agile in advancing our interests.
Credible positioning of New Zealand as a serious partner.
Values based
and underpinned by our commitment to democracy
and freedom.
Bipartisan and reaching out to engage all New Zealanders.
New Zealand is a small country that wields influence beyond its size.
Our opinion is respected and trusted internationally and for a modest country our voice is persuasive.
It is our duty to advance New Zealand’s national interests
as a responsible member of the international community
and to defend the values that we hold on to.
You can read our Foreign Affairs Policy Factsheet here.
Maori Economic Development
National believes the Government should empower Maori to determine the path of their own development now and into the future.
It is not the role of Government to direct Maori development.
You can read our Maori Economic Development Policy Factsheet here.
To improve outcomes for Maori, National believes the Government should set targets.
This enables progress to be measured and allows the Government to be held accountable for their performance.
Maori students who achieved NCEA level two, for example, increased markedly when National set targets for educational achievement while in Government.
Labour do not believe in targets and have scrapped the targets which saw gains in outcomes for Maori.
We will implement targets where inequities persist for Maori.
We recognise COVID-19 has put strain on many whanau.
National will invest in wrap around services to build strength, resilience and sustainability across Maori communities.
National will:Vigorously focus on improving outcomes and opportunities for Maori.
Partner with Iwi to focus on the needs of current and future generations.
Enable Maori, businesses and asset holders to unleash their potential.
Maori Development
National backs Maori to succeed in all walks of life and pursue their aspirations.
We firmly believe this starts with a primary and secondary education that enables young Maori to thrive,
and a tertiary education system that provides a range of career options to pursue.
It is important the education system teaches and reflects Maori history
which includes the option to learn Te Reo.
Given the current economic crisis has reduced the number of new job opportunities, it is critical the Government ensures the pathways from education and training into jobs meet the needs of young Maori.
National will:Partner with Iwi organisations to increase employment opportunities for Maori.
Ensure every young Kiwi has the opportunity to learn a second language,
including Te Reo Maori.
Review Government programs that support the delivery of Te Reo education to ensure they are effective
and reach all those who wish to learn Te Reo.
Ensure sufficient support exists for programmes that support people to pronounce Te Reo correctly and confidently.
Establish targets for the Maori trade training initiative, to ensure graduates have pathways into jobs in the trade sector.
Establish targets to ensure the public service is focused on improving outcomes for Maori.
Increase investment in students with additional needs, with more funding being allocated to lower decile schools - benefiting young Maori.
Re-establish Partnership Schools and aim to open at least 25 new partnership schools by 2023, including schools focused on specific learners such as Māori and Pasifika.
You can read our full Maori Economic Development Policy Factsheet here.
Fisheries & Aquaculture
New Zealand is one of the best performing fishing nations in the world.
We have the ninth largest exclusive fishing zone and the tenth longest coastline of any country in the world.
We export our seafood to more than a hundred overseas markets.
Commercial fishing generates over $1.6 billion per annum in exports and employs more than 13,000 full time workers.
You can read our Fisheries & Aquaculture Policy Factsheet here.
We also need to balance our commercial fishing interests with those of the more than 700,000 New Zealanders who fish recreationally.
National will ensure our fish stocks continue to be well managed
so Kiwi families will always be able to fish and enjoy a day out on the water.
Our aquaculture industry has grown substantially over the past few decades, and sustainably produces some of world’s best seafood, from Greenshell Mussels, to King Salmon and Pacific Oysters.
Last year aquaculture generated over $600 million in revenue for New Zealand, and employed over 3000 Kiwis.
Aquaculture has amazing potential for further growth.
With global demand for high-quality, sustainable seafood expected to continue to rise, National believes that with the right support aquaculture can play a big role in growing New Zealand out of the current economic crisis
and supporting thousands of new jobs in our regions.
National will:Work with the industry to promote commercial fishing as an attractive long term career option, and offer support to the development of young industry leaders.
Support the widespread industry use of digital monitoring for tracking and reporting fish catches to manage the sustainability of our fish stocks into the future.
This includes the use of on-board cameras which will also help to reduce seabird and dolphin deaths.
Form an industry advocacy group consisting of key stakeholders to better deliver information and advice to the Crown.
Explore new technologies and innovative solutions to improve information about recreational fishing and harvest levels.
Update the Marine Reserves Act and develop a new Oceans Management Policy to ensure efficient processes to allocate marine space for aquaculture.
Set a target of doubling the output from aquaculture in the next ten years.
You can read our Fisheries & Aquaculture Policy Factsheet here.
Delivering Infrastructure
Investing in quality infrastructure is critical to our economic recovery.
Not only does it help create jobs,
but it will also boost our productivity.
A good example is a concrete mixer who used to be able to do four trips across Auckland city, but now can only do two.
Decongesting our roads will mean you can spend more time with your family than sitting in traffic.
Investing in our schools and classrooms will mean our children can learn in fit- for-purpose education environments, rather than leaky old buildings.
All New Zealanders deserve access to world-class healthcare, investing in our hospitals is one part of this.
National has a strong track record of delivery on infrastructure for New Zealand.
National will build the modern, world class infrastructure,
that our economy needs to succeed
and create new jobs.
National Infrastructure Bank
A key part of National’s plan to deal with the current economic and jobs crisis is to deliver world-class infrastructure
that grows our economy,
and to gets Kiwis back to work.
To do that we have to invest,
and every dollar borrowed must be spent wisely
on projects that improve our economy and build productivity.
National will create a new Crown Financial Institution, named the National Infrastructure Bank to provide finance and advice to central and local Government infrastructure projects.
It will take an inter-generational, long term approach to finance of infrastructure in New Zealand.
You can read our National Infrastructure Bank Policy Factsheet here.
The Bank will employ professionals with valuable technical, legal, financial and economic appraisal skills.
This will lift the quality of engagement in the infrastructure sector.
The Bank will have a role in ensuring that the Crown receives value for money from its infrastructure finance structures.
It will provide an avenue for institutional investors such as the ACC, NZSuper Fund, iwi, Kiwisaver providers and Australian pension funds to take on investment risk in New Zealand infrastructure assets.
The Bank will consolidate several existing entities to provide a single, professional agency including the:Crown Infrastructure Partners
Green Investment Finance
Residual holdings at Crown Irrigation Investments Limited
Loans made by the Provincial Growth Fund
Other loan portfolios across the Crown balance sheet where appropriate
Final design of the Bank would be completed by a new National Government drawing upon the appropriate advice of The Treasury and private sector expertise.
Projects the National Infrastructure Bank could support:Development of new three waters infrastructure, including funding local Government finance.
Financing new toll roads through long term bond finance in collaboration with NZTA.
Supporting funding for green investment projects.
Financing water storage projects.
Supporting co-funding models for social infrastructure such as schools.
Helping local Government unlock housing and commercial development
with loans tied to targeted rates and development contributions.
A National Government will invest in New Zealand’s largest ever infrastructure programme, including $31 billion to upgrade our transport networks and de-clog our cities, $4. 8 billion to fix our schools, and further investment to upgrade healthcare infrastructure.
A modern fit for purpose dry dock in Whangarei
A National Government will support the construction and operation of modern fit for purpose dry dock and associated infrastructure at Northport in Whangarei.
You can read our Whangarei Marine Dry Dock Policy Factsheet here.
National would deliver a catalyst contract that would underpin the dock’s business case and provide support to a collaborative model between Government and private sector.
National is the Party of infrastructure.
We know how to deliver quality infrastructure
which will lay the bedrock for improvements to our long-term productivity and economic capacity.
We need to grow ourselves out of this economic crisis.
This project will create jobs
and generate export revenue.
National will seek private sector capital for investment in the dry dock
and the National Infrastructure Bank could also provide investment.
This is a big win for Whangarei
and will create valuable jobs
that will grow our economy.
It is estimated to create 400 high paying permanent jobs and an extra 200 jobs during the two to three year construction period.
National is aspirational for Whangarei and the wider Northland region.
The marine dry dock will provide a much needed injection
which contributes to the long-term prosperity of the region and the rest of the country.
Whangarei is the ideal location for this development as it has an available workforce, is within reasonable proximity to our main Navy base and is the deepest natural port in New Zealand including hectares of undeveloped land.
A key part of National’s plan to deal with the current economic and jobs crisis is to deliver world-class infrastructure
that grows our economy
and to gets Kiwis back to work.
This project will improve our economy and build productivity.
You can read our Whangarei Marine Dry Dock Policy Factsheet here.
Upgrading Hawke's Bay Hospital
National believes that everyone should have the opportunity to access world class healthcare regardless of income, background or postcode.
The current state of the buildings at Hawke’s Bay Hospital does not meet this goal.
The average age of the facilities at Hawke’s Bay Hospital is 50 years, and the hospital infrastructure is cramped, ageing and outdated, causing significant issues for patients and staff.
National will restore confidence in New Zealand’s public health system and deliver care for you, your children and your whanau.
The Hawke’s Bay District Health Board is in the middle of planning processes to determine future infrastructure requirements.
At present this is estimated to cost $800 million, which they will advance over 10-15 years.
National will bring forward and fund the largest part of the plan.
A National Government will urgently upgrade the Hawke’s Bay Hospital so it can deliver the care that New Zealanders deserve.
You can read National's Hawke’s Bay Hospital Policy Factsheet here.
National will:Rebuild the Hawke’s Bay Hospital main block.
Design and development work will begin in 2021, and we would aim to have the diggers on site in 2025.
Expand the emergency department to cater for growing need.
Immediately begin the installation of air conditioning at Hawke’s Bay Hospital.
$400-500 million has been budgeted for the rebuild of Hawke’s Bay Hospital.
This is based off calculations using the Ministry of Health National Asset Management Plan, and covers the cost of the main block, emergency department expansion and air conditioning.
National is the party of infrastructure.
Today’s announcement follows on from our plan to invest a record $31 billion in new transport projects over the next ten years
and our 30 year growth plan to improve our schools and classrooms.
National’s investment in Hawke’s Bay Hospital and our $300 million roading investment is the largest ever investment in the Hawke’s Bay region.
Hawke’s Bay is a rapidly growing part of New Zealand, and the hospital needs to grow to match this growth.
National’s wider Health policy will be released shortly.
You can read National's Hawke's Bay Hospital Policy Factsheet here.
Investing in Education Infrastructure
National will continue our aim of giving every New Zealand child the opportunity to succeed through education by committing $4.8 billion in new spending to school infrastructure.
In line with National’s commitment to shift New Zealand’s approach to infrastructure from a just-in-time strategy to one of early delivery, we will develop a thirty-year growth plan and commit $2.8 billion to its first decade, on top of funding that has already been allocated.
This will see about 60 new schools and sufficient new classrooms built at existing schools to meet demand for an extra 100,000 students within a decade.
You can read our 'Investing in Education Infrastructure' Policy Factsheet here.
National’s commitment to delivering world-class education infrastructure also includes $2 billion to fast-track repairs and upgrades through its Fix New Zealand Schools Alliance.
National will: Develop a 30-year growth plan for new schools and classrooms that will be reviewed and updated annually.
Commit $2. 8 billion in new spending to fully fund the first ten years of the plan.
Invest another $2 billion in new spending to fast-track school repairs and upgrades over the first five years.
Continue to allocate funding for education infrastructure on a rolling ten-year basis.
Too many schools wait too long for the new classrooms they need, forcing them to convert libraries and halls into teaching spaces.
This is bad for teaching and learning, and it reduces the facilities that should be available to schools.
This must change.
While the potential demographic impact of Covid-19 is still unclear, it’s likely that Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga and Queenstown will need extra investment to accommodate students as their populations grow.
Fix New Zealand Schools Alliance
National will invest $2 billion in a ‘Fix New Zealand Schools Alliance’ that will bring together builders, educators, architects and engineers to fast-track school repairs and upgrades.
Not only will this give every New Zealand child the chance to learn in a fit-for- purpose education environment,
it will also create hundreds of jobs nationwide through incentives for using local sub-contractors and apprentices.
Many schools need to repair leaky buildings, earthquake strengthen, address mould and dampness issues, modernise, and make health and safety improvements.
National will:Establish the Fix New Zealand Schools Alliance that will bring together builders, educators, architects and engineers to fast-track delivery.
Allocate $2 billion for the alliance’s five-year period.
This will be in addition to funding for capital upgrades allocated through the five-year agreement (5YA) process.
Make sure lead contractors are incentivised to use local sub-contractors and labour, including apprentices, to create local employment
and stimulate small businesses.
The alliance will be used to streamline major repair and redevelopment projects costing more than $100,000 for the next five years.
Delivering repairs and upgrades this way will see the work done rapidly
while providing maximum value for the taxpayer.
By creating a collaborative team approach, major contractors can bring professional disciplines to bare, buy material in bulk, find economies of scale and share knowledge.
This will be particularly beneficial given the large number of school repair projects that are similar in nature.
It will create certainty for the building sector by providing a clear pipeline of work and allowing them to develop expertise in school repair.
The last National Government invested more than $5 billion in school infrastructure to fix dated classrooms and address legacy issues.
More than $700 million was also invested in ICT infrastructure, including connecting schools to fast internet connections.
Despite this investment, too many of our schools still have outdated or worn- out facilities that no longer meet their needs.
Several hundred schools have been assessed as being below average condition.
Almost every school leader can tell you about much-needed building work that’s been put-off due to budget constraints.
The funding we are announcing will allow schools to accelerate these projects, on top of those approved through their existing property plans.
All New Zealand children should have the opportunity to learn in world-class schools.
Now is the time to invest in better learning environments for this and future generations.
You can read our 'Investing in Education Infrastructure' Policy Factsheet here.
Second Auckland Harbour Crossing
Auckland is projected to have an increasing population and vehicle movements over the upcoming years and decades.
An additional million people are projected to call Auckland home over the next 30 years.
The Auckland Harbour Bridge has a level of service during peak times of E/F - the most congested measure on the scale.
Every year Auckland commuters spend 20 working days stuck in traffic.
On top of the huge frustration that causes, traffic congestion is estimated to cost over $1 billion a year in lost productivity.
Population and travel demand growth is forecast to increase by around 22% (an additional 40,000 vehicles per day) by 2041.
The structural capacity of the current Harbour Bridge has been maximised, meaning there is no room for additional capacity to be added.
Based on projected growth, restrictions will be required in the future in the absence of an additional crossing.
This will limit heavy traffic access to the harbour bridge forcing a large detour via the Western Ring Route, taking up extra time and fuel, adding costs to businesses and consumers.
The current harbour bridge is too steep to allow for heavy or light rail between Auckland, the North Shore and further north.
Our commitment
A road and rail tunnel under the Waitemata Harbour.
This is likely to be from Esmonde Road on the North Shore to Wynyard Quarter in the CBD.
This is a commitment to NZTA’s Additional Waitemata Harbour Crossing (AWHC) road and rail project.
The tunnel is expected to take between five and seven years to construct.
Detail
Combined road and rail tunnels under the Waitemata Harbour, likely between Esmonde Road on the North Shore and Wynyard Quarter in the CBD.
Two double-decker tunnels, one northbound and one southbound, with road and rail on separate levels.
This would entail an approximately 5 km tunnel under the Waitemata Harbour and Shoal Bay.
The road link would join with State Highway 1 at both ends of the tunnel.
The Northern Busway would be converted in time into a rail corridor and would join the tunnel at Esmonde Road.
The project would also require a rail tunnel under the Auckland CBD to connect the new Northern rail with the Britomart Precinct.
East West Link
The East West Link was a planned Road of National Significance announced by National in the lead-up to the 2017 election.
The plan was put on hold by the Labour Government and the road was re-evaluated by NZTA.
As of 13 July 2020, there has been no resolution to this process and no progress has been made for three years.
The re-evaluation has not been made public.
The East West Link was identified by the Auckland Plan in 2012 as a major project to be completed by 2020.
The need for the East West Link has not gone away in the last three years.
The Onehunga-Penrose area in Auckland is the engine room of New Zealand’s industrial and manufacturing economy with many of the largest distribution and logistics facilities based in the area.
This area, along with East Tamaki and Auckland Airport, employs over 130,000 people
and generates more than $10 billion a year in GDP.
Detail
The East West Link will provide a new transport connection on the northern side of the Mangere Inlet between Onehunga.
It will connect SH20 in Onehunga and SH1 at Mt Wellington.
The four lane road (with cycleways and footpaths) crosses along the southern side of the Onehunga/Penrose business area, with connections at Galway St, Captain Springs Road, the inland port, Hugo Johnston Drive, and Great South Rd.
The project also includes 2.7 km of widening on State Highway 1 between Mt Wellington and Princes Street, Otahuhu
The East West Link also includes environmental improvements through stormwater wetlands, a leachate containment bund along the Mangere Inlet foreshore and planting / landscaping.
Benefits
The East West Link will:• Improve the resilience of Auckland’s State Highway network by providing a further connection between State Highway 1 and State Highway 20.
Significantly improve connections to air, rail and freight and sea ports.
Improve travel times for over 6000 trucks that travel between the Onehunga - Penrose industrial area and State Highways 1 and 20 each day.
Time savings of up to 10 minutes in peak period.
Reduce vehicle movements on local roads by 10,000-13,000, 2,000-3,000 of which would be freight movements.
Significantly reduce the travel time between SH1 and SH20, in some cases by up to 19 minutes.
Support the growing Onehunga Town Centre by removing through traffic on Neilson Street and arterial routes (e.g. up to 27,000 fewer vehicles a day on the roads through the town centre).
Provide more reliable bus journey times between State Highway 20 and Onehunga, with savings of five-six minutes at peak times
Create better and more useable access for the community to the foreshore.
5.5km of new and improved walking and cycling routes between Mangere Bridge, Onehunga and Sylvia Park and access to Otahuhu, that saves 1.6km.
Cost and timing
The project was initially estimated to cost between $1.25 and $1.85 billion.
We have budgeted $1.55 billion.
Auckland Rail Network - Airport from Puhinui and Onehunga
The importance of Auckland Airport and surrounding areas
Auckland Airport is a critical part of Auckland’s economy.
The airport contributes $3.5 billion to Auckland’s economy each year, and provides access for 75% of all international arrivals, including 92% of long haul arrivals.
Within 30 years, passenger numbers are expected to triple to 40 million passengers per year.
The Airport is a nationally important freight hub and is the second largest cargo port in New Zealand by value, moving approximately 230,000 tonnes of freight every year with a value of $13 billion.
The Airport and the surrounding business area is a major regional employment hub, which attracts employees from across the Auckland region.
Congestion
Congestion around the airport is a major problem and is expected to get worse.
The 2016 South-western Multi-modal Airport Rapid Transit Business Case for Auckland Transport noted that: The airport is constrained in terms of connections to the wider strategic transport network.
Currently, 62,500 vehicles per day move to and from the Airport using SH20A and SH20B and this volume is predicted to more than double to 158,000 vehicles per day by 2041.
The increase in travel demand to the airport and surrounding areas is mainly driven by more businesses and houses in the area as well as the doubling of passengers flying into and out of the airport over the next 10 years.
With anticipated traffic volume growth, demand is expected to exceed the capacity of a four lane expressway in the next 5 - 10 years or a four lane motorway in the next 10 - 20 years.
“Considering the impact of future travel demands, if public transport capacity is not significantly increased, the development potential of the airport and surrounding land will be severely restricted. ”
There is a widespread consensus that Auckland Airport needs better public transport connections.
Context for rail investment
There has been significant investment in the Auckland heavy rail network in the past decade.
From 2010 onwards, the network was fully electrified, Newmarket station opened, the Western Line was double-tracked and the Onehunga branch line re-opened.
There were over 22 million boardings on the rail network in the year to February 2020, a key part of the renaissance of public transport in Auckland.
The City Rail Link (CRL) will accelerate these gains, allowing the rail network to at least double rail capacity.
The $4.4 billion project will be transformational for Auckland.
The CRL (or Morningside Deviation) was planned for Auckland from at least the 1940s and will finally be operational by 2024.
History
For decades, the plan for Auckland rail, alongside the CRL, was to extend the rail line from Onehunga to the airport.
It was proposed by De Leuw Cather and Company in their never-adopted Rapid Rail Transit Plan in 1965.
Later, a rail line from Puhinui to the airport was proposed in the 1970 Auckland Rail Rapid Transit Plan.
The 2012 Auckland Plan saw the city developing rail to the airport from Onehunga and Puhunui, with construction occurring between 2021 and 2030.
2011 Scoping Report
Just prior to the development of the 2012 Auckland Plan, Auckland Transport, the New Zealand Transport Agency, Auckland Council, Kiwi Rail and Auckland International Airport commissioned the South-Western Airport MultiModal Corridor Project Scoping Report, which reported in June 2011.
The report recommended a heavy rail loop from Puhinui to Onehunga via the airport, designed to run standard Electric Multiple Units (EMUs).
The 2011 report said that this option: Reduces congestion within the existing network by removing trips from the roading system.
Provides a high level of capacity to sustain feasible frequency that meets demand and improves accessibility across the wider region.
Attracts the greatest number of public transport passengers as a result of the quality of the service expected to be provided.
Provides direct integration with the region-wide rail network and leverages off the current substantial investment in electrification, new rolling stock, signalling improvements and station upgrades.
Reduces interchange penalties for longer trips located across the rail network.
Cost and sequencing
National envisages the Puhunui to airport line starting construction in 2026/7.
The line to Onehunga would begin after 2030.
The cost estimate for Puhinui to the airport is $1.5 billion.
The cost estimate for airport to Onehunga is more difficult to estimate, but we have conservatively estimated $3.5 billion.
You can find a copy of the Factsheet here
Auckland Rail Network - Third and Fourth Main Line
The section of the train line from Wiri to Westfield on the North Island Main Trunk Line (NIMT) is an extremely important part of Auckland and New Zealand’s transport system.
The line, which currently consists of two tracks, carries Auckland suburban rail services, inter-regional freight, and freight to and from Ports of Auckland at Wiri.
The line is at operational capacity, with up to 12 passenger services and two freight services per hour.
Indeed, it is the busiest single section of freight rail in the country with around 4-5 million tonnes of freight carried every year.
Congestion on the line already causes delays to freight and passenger rail services and unreliability for customers.
In 2017 a joint case for investment was made by KiwiRail, NZTA and Auckland Transport.
The National-led Government campaigned on building a third main line at the 2017 election, as did the current Government.
However, since 2017 the project has stalled.
In 2017, the case for investment said that building a third main from Westfield to Wiri would immediately deliver the following outcomes:300 hours per annum freight travel time savings due to increased reliability.
Three minute travel time saving for five million rail passenger journeys per annum.
An additional three-car rail unit made available for commuter passenger use on the network.
At least 400 fewer heavy vehicles on the State Highway network each week with associated decongestion and road safety benefits.
A step change in the performance of the national freight rail network for key journeys such as Wellington and Tauranga to Auckland.
The third main will complement the City Rail Link, by improving capacity on the network,
and help drive economic growth in South Auckland.
In 2020, as part of the NZ Upgrade Programme, the government committed $315 million for the Wiri to Quay Park project (the third main) with work beginning at the end of 2020.
Fourth Main
The case for investment in 2017 noted that “The 4th Main will be almost certainly be required in the medium to long term horizon” and building both the third and fourth main line came out ranked first in the Multi-Criteria Analysis carried out in the study.
National’s view is we should get on with building the third and fourth main lines immediately.
As the report noted, “building the 3rd Main and 4th Main (or some component parts) together could result in cost synergies”
and “The 4th Main has been found to be an important project… and it is clear that it will be a critical piece of infrastructure as the Auckland rail network develops, delivering substantial passenger and freight benefit. ”
Cost
The third main line has been costed in the NZ Upgrade programme at $315 million, although the 2016 business case put the upper estimate of the cost at $80 million
We have conservatively worked on the basis that doing the third and then the fourth main would cost an additional $200 million.
Auckland Rail Network - Additional Rail Projects
National will investigate a new rail line from Southdown to Avondale
The Avondale to Southdown rail line has been proposed since 1946, and designations on the route have been in place for several decades.
The primary benefit of the line would be to route freight heading to/from Northland and the industrial hub of Southdown/Penrose/Westfield away from Newmarket.
Instead, freight could go direct to the Western/North Auckland line.
National will commence investigation into the line during the 2020s, and look to build from 2030 onwards.
National will electrify the rail line to Pokeno in Waikato
Electrification of the rail line to Pukekohe is currently funded as part of the NZ Upgrade programme.
This will allow electrified commuter services from Pukekohe on the southern line.
Currently, commuters from Pukekohe have to take a diesel “shuttle” train to Papakura, before changing trains to get on an electrified train.
The corridor between Auckland and Hamilton is currently experiencing very strong population growth.
Pokeno’s population is just over 2,000, but it is expected to grow to reach 12,000 people by 2045.
Cost
National will continue electrification of the line to Pokeno, allowing commuters uninterrupted travel to Auckland.
The estimated cost is $300 million, based on the amount budgeted for electrification to Pukekohe funded as part of the NZ Upgrade package.
National will extend commuter rail to Huapai via a diesel shuttle to Swanson or Henderson
The Kumeu/Huapai area of Auckland is fast-growing but currently poorly served by public transport.
The Northwest Rapid Transit corridor will assist but will not be complete until the end of the decade.
Rail to the west does exist and will be revolutionised through the CRL.
However, the rail line currently stops at Swanson even though stations exist at Waitakere and Huapai.
National will fund a diesel shuttle service from Huapai to Swanson, similar to the diesel shuttle that currently exists from Pukekohe to Swanson.
This will allow commuters in Kumeu/Huapai to connect to the electrified service from Swanson.
In time, National will look to electrify the line further west.
Eastern Busway
The Eastern suburbs of Auckland have grown quickly, with particularly rapid population growth over the last 30 years.
The current population of 130,000 is projected to grow to approximately 160,000 by 2030.
While improvements have been made to services, further and substantial infrastructure changes are needed to cater for this past and projected future growth.
The AMETI (Auckland Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative) Eastern busway will create a dedicated, congestion-free busway between Panmure, Pakuranga, and the Botany town centres.
The project also includes the Reeves Road flyover connecting Pakuranga Road with Pakuranga Highway.
The busway is supported by new cycling and walking connections, urban design improvements, safety and signal improvements at key intersections, and more.
National’s Commitments
National will ensure the completion of all four stages of this project, including the promised Reeves Road flyover, as originally envisaged and which the community expects.
Benefits
This will deliver the following benefits:Travel by bus and train between Botany and Britomart in less than 40 minutes.
Two new stations at Pakuranga and Botany (in addition to Panmure).
New cycling and walking connections, urban design enhancements, and improvements for general traffic such as advanced signalling at important intersections.
A new flyover connecting Pakuranga Road with Pakuranga Highway which will provide better travel options and reduce congestion for general traffic.
Cost
The 2017 Indicative Business case forecast the cost at $1.4 billion.
Timing and sequencing
Construction is currently set to occur in four stages and is due to be completed in 2025.
Northwest Rapid Transit Bus Corridor
Auckland’s Northwest is a rapidly growing part of the city, with 30,000 new homes and 13,000 new jobs expected in the next 30 years.
However, the area has been poorly served by transport connections, particularly public transport, for years.
In 2017 an Indicative Business Case for the corridor recommended a BRT route alongside SH16 that would provide a long term solution to improve travel times and reliability for customers, similar to the existing Northern Busway.
However, since then the project has gone nowhere.
Labour’s plans for light rail down Dominion Road to Mangere also included light rail to the northwest.
Sadly, the failure of light rail down Dominion Road has also meant the complete cessation of any work on the northwestern corridor.
This is a tragedy for the residents of northwest Auckland.
The business case was not even presented to the Auckland Transport Board, and as the December 2019 Board minutes note, “It is becoming increasingly urgent to take action in this corridor.”
National’s Commitments
National will deliver bus rapid transit to the northwest.
Following the recommendations of the 2017 business case:
Benefits
Access to jobs: The project will bring 320,000 jobs within a 45-minute public transport journey of Westgate in 2046.
Catchment for the north-west: The project creates a population catchment of 580,000 people within a 45-minute public transport trip of employers in Westgate.
Travel Time: The project creates a journey time by bus from Westgate to the city centre of 32 minutes in the peak, compared to an expected journey time of 50 minutes under a do-nothing scenario.
Cost
The 2017 Indicative Business case forecast the cost at $2.39 billion.
Timing and sequencing
National will progressively roll out the Northwest Rapid Transit Bus Corridor, starting from 2025.
Bus Rapid Transit from Onehunga to the Auckland CBD
National will build bus rapid transit from Onehunga to the CBD.
The critical route between the City Centre and Onehunga has been subject to competing approaches from central Government over the past two terms of Parliament.
In particular, the current Labour Government abandoned plans for a rapid bus solution down the route in favour of a light rail option.
This option has been in a planning phase for the past three years and ended on 24 June 2020 with no resolution.
The route still requires the delivery of public transport infrastructure but has been neglected for the past three years despite plans being in place in 2017 to begin the delivery of a bus-based option that was projected to support patronage to 2046.
National’s Commitments
National will deliver bus rapid transit to Onehunga.
This will adapt the advanced bus solution designed in 2017.
The route will run from the Britomart precinct along Queen Street to Dominion Road, with a dedicated bus lane down Dominion Road.
Benefits
Travel time: the project cuts the peak hour journey time between the CBD and Onehunga.
This is a cost effective option
that can be implemented quickly.
The mixed use zoning along Dominion Road has strong potential for intensification and growth with better transport connections.
Provides easy access for tens of thousands of people in the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) catchment area to the jobs in the CBD.
Cost
The cost is estimated at $1.2 billion, which is very conservative given the 2017 study indicated a cost of $1.2 billion for the whole route from the CBD to the airport.
Timing and sequencing
National will begin rolling out Onehunga BRT from 2023.
You can read our policy factsheet here
Waikato Expressway
National will build the Cambridge to Piarere expressway, delivering a 16km four-lane expressway between the completed Cambridge section of the Waikato expressway and the State Highway 1 / State Highway 29 intersection.
The Cambridge to Piarere section of State Highway 1 forms part of New Zealand’s most important transport corridor between Auckland-Hamilton- Tauranga which accounts for a significant proportion of all road freight in the country.
Recognising the high volumes of traffic and freight in the area and the impact that has on travel times and increasing safety risks, it is important to invest in high quality roading infrastructure to future-proof the transport links in the area and improve road safety.
This project will increase the safety of the road,
support faster freight and vehicle connections between Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga,
and improve access to the local community
meaning we can maximise the opportunities for future growth.
You can read our policy factsheet here
Bay of Plenty/Coromandel Transport Package
National’s Bay of Plenty and Coromandel transport package will create hundreds of jobs
and drive economic growth across this fast-growing region.
This includes building the full Tauranga to Katikati Expressway, complete with a bypass at Katikati that will be a priority in our first term.
This project will connect the Bay of Plenty and Coromandel with a new world- class, four-lane expressway, replacing one of the most dangerous sections of the roads in the country.
National’s vision is to transform Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga into one economic powerhouse, unlocking their potential so the upper North Island becomes Australasia’s most dynamic region.
The Tauranga Northern Link was out for tender before the last election and the project has gone nowhere since because Labour cut $5 billion from the state highway budget.
Labour belatedly put money towards part of this critical project but chose not to fund the final section from Omokoroa to Katikati, including the bypass of the town.
National will invest $855 million in this project, with construction due to start in 2027.
This is one of the most dangerous stretches of road in the country.
There has been 42 fatal crashes between Tauranga and Katikati in the past 20 years.
Between 2012 and 2016 there were 18 fatalities, the highest death toll of state highways listed by NZTA.
The Western Bay of Plenty is growing strongly on the back of horticulture but the resulting freight and population increases have put pressure on its road infrastructure.
Between 2014 and 2018 the existing road experienced a 28 per cent increase in traffic flow, and traffic volumes are expected to continue to grow.
National will also invest $300 million to deliver the SH2 Pokeno to Mangatarata improvement projects that were cancelled by Labour.
This road links the high-growth areas of Auckland and Tauranga with the Coromandel but is at capacity with an average of more than 15,000 vehicles using it daily, including peaks of more than 25,000 vehicles.
This highway also has a poor safety record.
The speed limit was reduced to 90kmh as an interim safety measure in 2011 and nine years later it remains in place, despite this there were 18 crashes resulting in 34 deaths and serious injuries between 2011 and 2016.
NZTA estimates National’s investment will reduce death and serious injury by 80 per cent over 20 years.
The project will start in National’s first term.
It will include two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane - with futureproofing to allow for a second eastbound lane if required - and four grade-separated intersections.
The speed limit will eventually return to 100kmh.
National will also upgrade three one-way bridges in the Coromandel.
These bridges, particularly on main corridors like SH25 into Tairua, have long frustrated locals and tourists alike.
National will begin work on the following one-way bridges in our first term:
The Hikuai River (Bailey) Bridge - SH25 South.
The Pepe Stream Bridge - SH25 South of Tairua township.
The Grahams Stream Bridge - SH5 North of Tairua township.
NZTA said in 2018 that upgrading one-lane bridges would not occur for at least a decade, from 2029 onwards.
National will bring these forward and complete them in our first term.
Funding will come from within National’s record transport infrastructure funding envelope.
Palmerston North Ring Road
National will begin work on Palmerston’s North’s long-awaited rural ring road within six months of forming Government
to stimulate the Manawatu economy
and create new jobs.
Diverting heavy traffic away from Palmerston North’s suburban streets onto this new road will be transformational for the city and the wider Manawatu region.
Not only will it make Palmerston North safer;
it will unlock Manawatu’s economic potential as a distribution hub by providing a better, faster link to national and international markets.
National estimates the total cost of the ring road will be approximately $200 million.
We intended to fully-fund the project from our $31 billion transport package.
The ring road will connect Palmerston North’s distribution hub area (North East Industrial Zone) to the Manawatu Gorge in the east, Bulls to the north, and the state highway network south towards Wellington.
With an estimated 23,000 vehicle movements a day between Palmerston North and Fielding, this project is long overdue.
National wants to see freight trucks rumbling along fit-for-purpose highways en route to the North Island’s ports,
not hurtling past primary schools on streets they shouldn’t be using.
Palmerston North City Council has called for this project to start as soon as possible to drive the city’s economic and employment revival.
But while the Government is content to sit on its secret list of shovel-ready projects and let construction workers be laid off, National will give the construction sector the certainty its needs to keep staff employed.
We’re saying it loud and clear - we will build this road and we won’t muck around.
Pushing the go button on infrastructure like this will secure jobs in the pre-construction phase.
National’s $10,000 JobStart programme will also give businesses confidence to hire new staff,
which is vital if they want to expand into new domestic and off-shore markets.
Wairarapa Transport Package
National will create hundreds of new jobs
and boost the Wairarapa economy
by delivering a suite of transport projects to get the region moving.
High quality, efficient roads are the backbone of commerce in the Wairarapa.
By getting wheels moving we are letting the economy grow faster.
National’s Wairarapa transport package includes two projects that will be fast- tracked with funding from the $300 million set aside for ‘digger-ready’ projects in National’s $31 billion infrastructure package announced last week.
Those fast-track projects are:The Norfolk Road Roundabout upgrade
SH2 Waingawa to Clareville Safety Improvements
National’s Wairarapa transport package also includes:Upgrading the Ngaumutawa intersection in Masterton
Safety improvements on the SH2/Chester Road intersection
New passing lanes between Masterton and Woodville on SH2
Investigating a replacement Waihenga Bridge on SH53 at Martinborough
National has a simple approach to infrastructure.
We make decisions, we get projects funded, and we actually deliver them.
Masterton’s Norfolk Road Roundabout has seen 22 crashes in the past ten years.
National is committed to starting upgrade work as soon as possible after forming Government.
The Ngaumutawa roundabout has long been a cause for concern as traffic volumes rise, especially with its proximity to Solway School across the road.
We will fast-track the upgrade and begin work as soon as possible.
Between 2007 and 2020 there were 16 deaths and 48 serious injuries between Woodville and Masterton on SH2.
Proper passing lanes will help save lives and fix congestion.
The Clareville section of SH2 saw 13,126 vehicles on it per day in 2018 and this is expected to rise to 16,000 by 2028.
NZTA consultation has highlighted safety issues at the intersection of SH2 and Chester Rd, which National will fix.
The Waihenga Bridge, which spans the Ruamahanga River linking Martinborough and Featherston, regularly floods.
The ageing sub-structure of the bridge is a concern at times of high river flow.
National believes the time has come to investigate a replacement bridge.
By fixing these dangerous intersections, roundabouts and stretches of highway, National will make the Wairarapa a safer place to travel
and we will get the local economy firing.
Horowhenua and Kapiti Coast Transport Package
National will unlock the economic potential of Horowhenua and Kapiti by connecting Otaki to Wellington’s electric commuter train network and fast- tracking construction of a four-lane expressway between Otaki and Levin.
National is committed to:Electrifying and double-tracking the rail line between Wellington and Otaki
Building a full expressway interchange at Peka Peka
Completing the Horowhenua Expressway (Otaki to Levin)
New spending for these projects will be funded from National’s record $31 billion transport infrastructure plan.
This is a significant investment in the future of Horowhenua and Kapiti.
These projects will generate hundreds of jobs for years to come,
giving the local economy the boost it needs to bounce back from the economic crisis that has already seen 212,000 New Zealanders end up on unemployment benefits.
These world-class road and rail links will free people from the tyranny of congestion and save lives
while opening up even more job
and growth opportunities by bringing the coast closer to Wellington.
The previous National-led Government electrified the rail line and extended Wellington’s metro rail network to Waikanae.
Now is the time to take the next step and back this rapidly-growing region by extending that network north to Otaki.
This will allow people living in Manakau, Otaki and Te Horo to easily travel to Wellington, rather than relying on the once-a-day Capital Connection service from Palmerston North.
In time, we will look to electrify and double-track the line to Levin, expanding even further the pool of commuters able to use the service.
Bringing forward construction of the Horowhenua Expressway - one of National’s first-generation Roads of National Significance - will rectify the shameful actions of the Labour-led Government, which cut $5 billion from the state highway budget in 2018 and delayed the progress that had been made on this project under the last National Government.
Two years of development have been lost and even now, construction is not slated to begin until 2025.
National won’t muck around, we will start construction in our first term.
Adding a full interchange to the Kapiti Expressway at Peka Peka will allow traffic from Te Horo, Peka Peka and Waikanae to enter and exit the expressway both north and south.
It was a short-sighted decision to not include an interchange at this fast- growing area.
This is a sensible change that can be done at minimal expense.
These commitments form part of National’s wider Transport Plan for the Wellington and Lower North Island regions.
Further details of this plan will be released.
Belfast to Pegasus
The next National Government will build the Belfast to Pegasus Motorway, including the Woodend Bypass.
National campaigned in 2017 on constructing the motorway as a logical extension of the transformational Western Belfast Bypass and Northern Corridor motorways that the last National Government delivered.
Sadly, Labour cancelled the project when in Government and NZTA have told residents it is not a high priority.
Cantabrians deserve better and National will make sure this road is built.
Northern Christchurch is experiencing strong growth and the Belfast to Pegasus motorway is a critical project to support that growth, reduce travel times, and improve safety.
It will also help drive jobs
and growth in north Canterbury,
and help our economy recover from Covid-19.
Belfast to Pegasus Motorway
The starting point of the new motorway will be Belfast, where it joins with the Western Belfast Bypass and the Northern Corridor motorways.
It will go through to Pegasus, bypassing Woodend.
It is expected the road will follow the current alignment of State Highway 1 north to Pineacres and then follow the eastern Woodend bypass route preferred by NZTA
NZTA will be asked to determine options for the alignment
through the business case process, which will also finalise the cost of the road.
The new motorway will be a continuous four-lane state highway (two lanes each way) with separation from traffic in the other direction, grade-separated intersections, wide lanes and large, sealed shoulders on the road, safe roadsides,
and high-standard landscaping.
Background information
Daily vehicle movements through the Woodend area have increased 20 per cent over the past three years, and this year is expected to reach 20,000 vehicle movements a day.
A recent report by the Automobile Association deemed SH1 through Woodend, north of Christchurch, as the most dangerous road in the region.
Christchurch to Ashburton Expressway
National will build the Christchurch to Ashburton expressway, delivering approximately 60km of expressway between the Christchurch Southern Motorway and Ashburton.
The project will see the existing four-lane expressway extended from the Christchurch Southern Motorway through to Ashburton and will include new bridges over the Selwyn, Rakaia, and Ashburton rivers.
The Canterbury region is New Zealand’s largest by land area and second largest by population.
Strong, resilient and reliable transport networks are needed to continue supporting growth in the region.
The State Highway 1 route between Christchurch and Ashburton is a critical gateway for the rest of the South Island and complements the previous work by National to deliver the Christchurch Northern and Southern motorways, the rebuild of SH1 to Kaikoura and the newly promised extension of the Northern Motorway between Pegasus and Belfast.
Recognising the high volumes of traffic and potential for future growth in the region, National's vision for the SH1 link between Christchurch and Ashburton will deliver a highly engineered and safe road that provides reliable journey times
to support the economic growth of the region
and access to key markets.
Southern Transport Package
National is committed to investing in our regions up and down the country and delivering high quality and much needed transport projects
to save jobs,
improve safety
and increase opportunities around the country.
As part of National’s record $31 billion transport infrastructure investment over and above current government funding, we are committing to a range of projects across Dunedin, Invercargill, Queenstown and the wider Southern region totaling $140 million in new funding.
National will also commit to the Queenstown NZ Upgrade project funded by the current government.
Safety improvements are at the core of the package.
You can view the Southern Transport Package Policy Factsheet here.
Dunedin and the wider region is growing, and traffic volumes on the route between Dunedin and Mosgiel have increased by approximately 13 per cent in the last four years.
Between 2006 and 2015, 12 people were killed and 66 were seriously injured in crashes on this stretch of road.
National will fund and fast track work on this stretch of SH1, including widening the shoulders where possible in high-risk sections, putting in flexible roadside safety barriers to stop drivers running off the road, and widening the road.
Across the region National will also:Work with the Dunedin City Council and the Mosgiel-Taieri Community Board to investigate a heavy traffic bypass for Mosgiel.
Immediately begin work to deliver passing lanes and safety improvements on the road between Queenstown and Te Anau, a critical connector for tourists to the region.
Direct NZTA to work with the District Council to put in place a systematic bridge upgrade programme over the next decade, with funding shared between NZTA and the Council.
There are 850 bridges in Southland, with 171 needing replacement within the next twelve years.
Fund and fast-track the replacement of the Beaumont Bridge, which provides an important link over the Clutha River on the road connecting Dunedin with Central Otago and onto Queenstown.
We will also doublelane and upgrade the Orari Bridge in Geraldine.
Explore whether commuter rail between Dunedin and Mosgiel could make sense for Dunedin.
There are 30,000 vehicle movements per day between Mosgiel and Dunedin, with 75 per cent bound for the Dunedin CBD.
National will provide $100,000 for a feasibility study.
If the feasibility study is robust and warrants further investigation,
National will fund up to $300,000 through NZTA for a limited trial of the service, working with KiwiRail to make it happen.
Provide support for an exciting cycling project, the Dunedin Tunnel Trails, a 15km cycle and walking trail between Dunedin and Mosgiel.
National will work with local government to ensure the delivery of the full Dunedin Tunnels Trail over the next decade, with $10 million allocated as an initial investment.
The Southern Transport Package will increase safety in the region, improve resilience,
and increase economic opportunities for southern residents.
I am looking forward to delivering this package in government.
Where Labour talks, National delivers.
Reskilling & Retraining our Workforce
100,000 New Zealanders are forecast to lose their job over the next two years.
It’s important that we have the programmes and systems in place to help these Kiwis retrain and find a new job.
National’s Skills package targets many sectors
and will see Kiwis get back into the driver’s seat.
Our plan will see displaced New Zealanders into jobs quickly
and provide strong incentives for our tertiary education sector to deliver short training courses aligned with the skills businesses need.
While we’re focused on creating new jobs and protecting the ones we currently have,
it’s important we have a strong education and technology sector to support those who may need to retrain.
Re-Skilling & Re-Training
Getting the unemployed back into work,
upskilling small business owners
and finding a pathway for young people to find work form the heart of National’s Reskilling and Retraining Policy.
You can read National's Re-Skilling and Re-Training Our Workforce Policy Factsheet here.
This is a fresh approach on how we can inspire people to further themselves at a time when it is needed most.
Central to this is SkillStart, a rapid retraining and job placement scheme, which will get displaced Kiwis into jobs quickly
and provide a strong incentive for polytechnics, universities and private training providers to deliver short training courses that are fully aligned with the skills Kiwi businesses need.
Reskilling and Retraining includes a raft of packages which will target many sectors
and will see more New Zealander’s get back into the driver’s seat.
The package includes:SkillStart: Designed to rapidly retrain Kiwis who have lost their jobs to get them back into the workforce.
Under the scheme, tertiary training providers will be eligible for $4000 payment for every unemployed person they retrain and get back into full-time work within a year.
Small Business Builder - A 12 week business training and mentoring programme to provide unemployed Kiwis with the essential skills they need to start a business.
Small Business Accelerator - A dedicated fund to deliver management training to small business owners,
to help them grow their businesses
and generate jobs.
Under 25 Job Coach - A specialist position within WINZ offices tasked with working with Kiwis under 25 on the JobSeeker benefit to develop personalised, intensive ‘path to work’ plans to get them back into the workforce.
Skills and Jobs Hubs - Expansion of National’s successful Skills and Jobs Hub model using purpose-built centres to deliver wraparound services and match unemployed Kiwis with jobs generated from our long-term infrastructure upgrade.
Work-focused welfare - Ensuring our social welfare system is geared towards supporting and encouraging people to move from welfare back into work.
Vocational Education - Reversing the Government’s expensive and distracting restructuring of the vocational education sector
NZ Tech 2030 - Boosting the supply of tech-related skills through scholarships and dedicated ICT graduate schools,
to help achieve our ambitious plan to double the size of our technology sector by the end of the decade, creating thousands of high paying, future-proofed jobs.
National knows that training providers, properly incentivised and working with the employers in their regions, are in a much better position to identify where the new jobs are going to come from and what skills are necessary to fill them
National's Reskilling and Retraining Policy
This package is about getting New Zealanders back to work
and developing a stronger economy
and this plan will be the difference for New Zealanders,
providing them with choices.
Technology Sector
National will double the size of New Zealand’s technology sector by 2030
with a $1.29 billion plan that will aim to create at least 100,000 new high-paying, future-proofed tech jobs.
Doubling the size of the technology sector by 2030 is an ambitious goal, but one that we are serious about achieving.
We’re sending a strong message to New Zealand’s best and brightest minds, both here and overseas, that technology and innovation will be championed by a National Government.
You can read National’s NZ Tech 2030 Policy Plan here.
National’s NZ Tech 2030 Plan includes:Establishing a Minister for Technology.
Offering 1000 tertiary scholarships per year targeted at students from low decile schools to undertake science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) degrees.
Establishing a STEM-focused partnership school
and restoring funding for specialist ICT graduate schools.
Introducing a fast-track technology skills visa.
Investing $1 billion in technology infrastructure upgrades with the aim of achieving 100 Mbps uncapped internet speeds for everyone using Ultra-Fast Broadband.
Establishing three targeted investment funds for tech start-ups worth $200 million each,
with the cost split evenly between Government and the private sector.
Developing the world’s most tech-friendly regulation.
With about 50,000 Kiwis returning home because of the Covid-19 pandemic, now is the time to harness their talent and create an ecosystem of technology companies in New Zealand.
We must seize this opportunity to drive a step change in our technology sector.
National will give Kiwis with world-class skills and experience the chance to flourish right here
and help grow our economy,
rather than hit them with higher taxes like Labour will.
New Zealand’s technology exports now total $8 billion per annum - equal to our forestry and seafood exports combined.
National’s NZ Tech 2030 Plan will be geared towards increasing this to $16 billion by 2030, establishing thousands of new tech businesses in the process.
Our tech sector has amazing potential.
If we attract the right talent and create an environment for growth, it could be bigger than our dairy sector in 10 to 15 years.
New Zealand needs to grow its way out of this economic crisis,
which will only be possible with the hard work, ingenuity and determination of the private sector.
National’s NZ Tech 2030 Plan will diversify our exports,
level-up our economic productivity,
and generate thousands of high-paying, future-proofed jobs for New Zealanders.
National’s NZ Tech 2030 Plan is expected to cost $690 million over its first four years.
Infrastructure upgrades over the following six years are expected to cost another $600m, bringing the total cost to $1.29 billion.
You can read National's NZ Tech 2030 Policy Plan here.
Scrapping Teacher Registration Fees
National’s policy will scrap the $157 annual fee teachers are expected to pay from February 2021 to keep their registration certificates up to date.
The Teaching Council currently charges teachers $220.80 every three years (equivalent to $73.60 a year) to register.
The fee was last increased in 2010.
Under the current proposal teacher registration costs are set to double from February 2021, which is unacceptable.
The next couple of years is not the time to be increasing costs, instead we should be reducing costs as people deal with the economic crisis our country is facing.
New Zealand has had long-standing teacher supply and retention issues.
This is a small way that we can reduce costs for teachers and is one of a number of policies National intends to implement to reinforce the value of educators in our society.
Teachers play an incredibly important role in our communities.
Throughout the lockdown teachers across the country showed their dedication and commitment to children by teaching from home.
Educators were some of the heroes of the lockdown as they worked hard to ensure young people were learning and supported.
We’re focused on attracting and retaining teachers and ensuring they feel supported in their profession.
Removing teacher registration fees is one way National will support our teachers.
Restarting International Education
International students contribute $5.1 billion a year to the New Zealand economy.
Most of this money does not come from tuition fees, but from spending on accommodation, food, tourism, entertainment etc.
Spending by international students supports around 50,000 Kiwi jobs.
National would allow tertiary education providers to bring international students into New Zealand, under strict quarantine and testing protocols,
to support our education sector
and economic recovery.
Incoming international students would need to undergo stringent health tests and quarantine measures and stay at facilities that are certified and audited by the Ministry of Health.
There are significant economic gains to be had if we move fast.
We could attract students who would normally go to other countries to study, or those who want a full experience of campus life.
These students spend significant amounts of money in New Zealand.
The average international university student spends more than $28,000 and for every dollar spent the flow-on benefit to the economy is estimated to be $1.60.
Spending by these students would also help New Zealand’s tourism industry recover.
Reversing Vocational Education Reforms
The Government’s expensive and disruptive restructuring plan is a massive overreaction to the issue of Institutes of Technology and Polytechnic’s (ITP) financial sustainability.
With demand for vocational training set to increase over the coming months and years due to rising unemployment, we should be directing all of our efforts and resourcing towards frontline education and training,
not into establishing a centralised bureaucracy that will take years to get up to speed (and even then, will be less nimble and effective than our current, decentralised system).
National will return autonomy and independence to the ITPs
and ensure that industry training is led by industry, not Government.
A Greener, Smarter Future
Protecting our environment is important to all New Zealanders.
People from around the world to come to New Zealand to walk our Great Walks, to watch whales and swim with dolphins, and to see our native birds.
We need to protect this important part of our identity.
National takes a practical and science based approach to protecting our environment and tackling climate change.
Whether that is through encouraging the uptake of more electric vehicles, creating more National Parks and Great Walks, or investing further in the technology sector, we are committed to protecting New Zealand’s environment.
National knows New Zealanders want a cleaner and greener future, and will make this an important part of our recovery.
A National Government would also build on our digital successes to embed innovation throughout our economy as we focus on the jobs of tomorrow.
Water storage to unlock economic potential
A National Government will utilise water to grow our economy and ensure better outcomes for our towns, cities and regions.
National wants a strategy and model that allows us to unlock our economic potential
and safeguard our communities from increasing drought.
Done correctly, water storage can be equal parts beneficial to the environment, economy and community.
National will support local government to develop the three waters infrastructure, which will include clean water infrastructure and storage.
The new National Infrastructure Bank will be able to provide professional advice and finance models to enable the delivery of vital new infrastructure.
The recent Auckland water crisis highlighted the need for more to be done.
Cities like Auckland need a resilient and clean water supply to continue being a world class city, and to make sure we can deal with the economic crisis we are facing.
National knows we need to grow ourselves out of this economic crisis.
This initiative will help New Zealand businesses increase their productivity and resilience.
National will:Establish a fund within the National Infrastructure Bank with $600 million to develop a long term plan for water storage.
Develop a National Policy Statement on Water Storage to provide certainty around the strategic use of water,
streamline consenting
and set minimum environmental standards for newly irrigated land.
Guarantee common ownership of water for all New Zealanders.
Treat water as a prime strategic resource, recognising the importance of water storage for resilience,
urban water supply,
enhanced environmental outcomes,
and better land use options in rural communities.
Currently less than 2 per cent of the water that flows over New Zealand is captured.
About half of this is used in our towns and cities and the other half for irrigation.
Our country has water, we’re just not using it.
It also improves water flows and recharges aquifers,
bolsters municipal water supplies
and provides vital food security by ensuring crops don’t wither up and stock are well fed and watered.
We will ensure there is a commitment from farmers with access to water to farm within existing limits and meet the highest environmental standards possible, and I am confident they will achieve this.
Having reliable access to water will allow us to develop more high value crops and will expand our rural economy.
Horticulture exports have grown by 50 per cent over the past four years and water storage will help this grow even further.
We can’t keep letting our water flow out to sea while our towns run out of water and our farms dry up.
National will provide water storage that delivers for your business,
delivers for your environment
and delivers for your community.
Conservation
The National Party believes our unique native species and natural environment are some of our most precious taonga.
We will invest in protecting and preserving them so that all New Zealanders can experience and enjoy them.
You can view our full Conservation Policy Factsheet here, or click on the policy tiles below.
We know the value that New Zealanders place on protecting our unique flora and fauna, and preserving our globally recognised natural environment.
The principle of conservation, of protecting what we have and improving it for future generations, has always been a core value of the National Party and we will continue to embody it.
National will take a balanced, long-term and pragmatic approach to conservation to ensure that all New Zealanders - both here today and future generations - will have the opportunity to experience and enjoy our incredible natural environment.
National will:Re-affirm our commitment to a Predator Free New Zealand by 2050, and fully resource efforts to keep us on track towards this goal.
Begin work to establish two new National Parks - one on the Coromandel Peninsula and one in the Catlins,
and build two new Great Walks.
Provide $15 million to DoC for predator free ecological sanctuaries and breeding programmes.
Recognise iwi have concerns and work with them
to progress the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary,
while exploring options for the establishment of new marine reserves.
Ensure New Zealanders are able to continue to enjoy access to recreational fishing, whitebaiting and hunting.
Utilise expertise from the professional and recreational hunting community, including the Game Animal Council, in the control of tahr, wallaby and other game animals.
Fishing and hunting
National recognises that for many New Zealanders, recreational fishing and hunting are a way of life, and one that we will work to protect.
We also believe that the fishing and hunting communities have an important role to play in the conservation effort, as partners with Government alongside local communities and NGOs.
National will ensure that New Zealanders continue to enjoy access to recreational fishing and hunting opportunities,
balanced with careful, sustainable management of animal stocks
and strict enforcement of existing conservation rules to ensure sustainability and the continued recovery of our native species.
National will:Update the 1993 Tahr Management Plan, staying true to its principles of balancing environmental needs with commercial and recreational hunting opportunities.
Utilise expertise from the professional and recreational hunting community, including the Game Animal Council, in the control of tahr, wallaby and other game animals.
Ensure New Zealanders are able to continue to enjoy access to recreational fishing and whitebaiting,
and that commercial fishing stocks are managed sustainably
so recreational fishers are not adversely impacted.
Access to our outdoor environment
As New Zealanders, we are all rightfully proud of our pristine natural environment.
National will ensure that all Kiwis continue to enjoy access to our great outdoors, and we will prioritise upgrading and expanding our walking tracks, huts and camp grounds.
National will also work to expand the opportunities available for New Zealanders to enjoy our own backyard, by building new Great Walks
and expanding our National Park network.
National will:Guarantee freedom of entry to all public conservation land,
and ensure that DoC huts, walking tracks and camping grounds are maintained to a high standard.
Begin work to establish two new National Parks - one on the Coromandel Peninsula and one in the Catlins.
Build two new Great Walks, including one along the Kaimai Range from Mt Te Aroha to SH29.
National supports a strong, sensible approach to conservation.
We want a conservation system that is capable of managing the many competing demands for land use in New Zealand and can make sensible, pragmatic decisions about the long-term conservation of our natural resources, the promotion of biodiversity and the protection of our native flora and fauna.
A National Government will continue to support the outstanding work carried out by the Department of Conservation (DoC) and will work to ensure the system is functioning as efficiently and effectively as it can to benefit all New Zealanders.
National will: Ensure DoC remains focused on its core conservation functions of land management, pest and predator control, and the promotion of biodiversity.
Amend the National Park management plans to allow for more recreational
and commercial activities
where these deliver a net conservation gain.
Provide an opportunity for limited grazing on Crown pastoral lease land that has been through tenure review,
provided there is a net conservation benefit from that activity
and a net financial benefit to the Crown.
Protecting our flora and fauna
Dedicated work from DoC and the wider community has seen many of our native species brought back from the brink of extinction.
Over the last 25 years, we have established numerous predator-free areas, from small islands of a few hectares to largescale enclosed areas with many thousands of hectares.
Many of these sanctuaries are now thriving with abundant bird and animal life, many of which are open to the public to enjoy.
Building on this, in our last term in Government National announced the Predator Free 2050 initiative - an audacious goal to eradicate predators from our country that just a decade earlier most would have said was a pipedream.
We invested millions in new traps, poisons and lures and in our next term, we will continue this vital work to ensure our threatened native species are once again able to thrive.
National will:Re-affirm our commitment to a Predator Free New Zealand by 2050, and fully resource efforts to keep us on track towards this goal.
Provide $15 million to DoC for predatorfree ecological sanctuaries and other breeding programmes - such as Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, Wellington’s Zealandia and Dunedin’s Orokonui - to enable them to continue to protect plant and animal species and support species re-introduction and breeding programmes through the disruption caused by Covid-19.
Recommence work to develop new biotechnology tools and techniques to help reduce the impact of pests and predators on our native species.
Recognise iwi have concerns and work with them
to progress the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary,
while exploring options for the establishment of new marine reserves.
Commit to the control of Kauri dieback disease, including through further investments in track and facility upgrades where needed to prevent its spread.
Electric Vehicles
National believes the future of transport in New Zealand will be zero emissions.
New Zealanders use private motor vehicles for 95 per cent of their land transport needs.
Reducing emissions doesn’t mean stopping cars, our zero emissions future will be one where cars continue to move us around to our jobs, visit our family and take kids to sports games,
but these cars will be emissions-free.
Transport emissions are the largest driver of increasing greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand.
Since 1990, transport emissions have doubled.
We can address this issue.
We can reduce our transport emissions right now through the electrification of our fleet.
National believes that future technology development will increasingly make electric vehicles the natural choice for many Kiwis.
You can read National's Electric Vehicles Policy Factsheet here.
The benefits of electric vehicles are far reaching.
We will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and can also dramatically improve air quality on our city streets.
National believes more can be done to allow the shift to fully electric, plug-in hybrid electric and hydrogen vehicles (EVs) to happen sooner.
National will:Exempt EVs from fringe benefit tax until 2025 to encourage fleet uptake.
Exempt EVs from Road User Charges until at least 2023.
Allow EVs to use bus lanes and high-occupancy lanes to incentivise consumers by shortening commute times and increasing driver benefits.
Introduce an EV licence plate for ease of identification.
Target a third of the government light vehicle fleet to be EV by 2023.
Set a target of 80,000 EVs on our roads by 2023 - four times the current level.
We’re committed to addressing the issue of our transport emissions in a practical and effective way.
This ambitious plan will make EVs cheaper and easier to own
without unfairly taxing Kiwis,
create a thriving second hand EV market,
support sustainable transport infrastructure,
and lower carbon emissions in New Zealand’s transport sector.
Labour has failed to deliver a single new policy to increase EV uptake.
Their abandoned car tax actually slowed EV sales
and, if implemented, would have punished those who could least afford it.
Exempting EVs from fringe benefit tax will significantly bolster the second-hand market by giving Kiwis access to NZ-new, longer range, late model EVs.
Despite promising to electrify the government fleet by 2025, Labour has not even achieved one per cent of its target.
National’s policy package is practical, supported by the sector and will deliver immediate positive benefits.
You can read National's Electric Vehicles Policy Factsheet here.
The estimated fiscal impact of the Electric Vehicle package is $93m over four years.
This includes $55m over four years in lower revenue from exempting electric vehicles from Fringe Benefit Tax and $38m over four years in electrifying the Government fleet.
Energy & Resources
Affordable and secure energy underpins New Zealand’s economy.
National believes competitive and well-regulated energy markets support households
and the transition to a low-emissions economy.
You can read our Energy & Resources Policy here.
National signed New Zealand up to the Paris Agreement.
In Government, National increased renewable electricity production from 65 to 85 per cent of supply.
We have and will continue to be committed to reducing New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions.
National believes that greenhouse gas policy needs to be fuel neutral unlike the current Government who have banned offshore oil and gas exploration
costing the New Zealand economy an estimated $30 billion
and 3000 jobs in Taranaki alone.
The Government should regulate greenhouse gas emissions, through mechanisms like the emissions trading scheme, rather than regulating individual fuels and fuel usage.
National will work hard to ensure energy is affordable
our dependence on coal is reduced
and less hard-working Kiwis lose their jobs.
We believe it is critical that New Zealand is open to all technologies that support a transition to a net-zero emissions economy.
Technologies, like carbon capture and storage, will be critical to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from processes such as steel and concrete manufacture.
National will:Overturn the Government’s costly and harmful oil and gas ban.
Investigate new technologies that can support a transition to a net-zero emissions economy such as carbon capture and storage.
Support a case-by-case assessment for mining proposals on lower- quality conservation land that meet a ‘net conservation benefit’.
Repeal the RMA and implement an environmental legal and regulatory framework that is less complex and provides more certainty to all stakeholders.
With the economy now in the most severe recession New Zealand has ever experienced, we need a Government that delivers affordable and reliable energy,
while continuing to strive for a net-zero future in 2050.
Over the past two years we have witnessed a steady increase in energy prices
and increased consumption of imported coal
as a result of Labour’s ill- thought-out oil and gas ban.
National will work hard to ensure energy is affordable,
our dependence on coal is reduced
and less hard-working Kiwis lose their jobs.
We support responsible mining that can demonstrate a net positive contribution to the economy, to the environment, and to society.
National will deliver pragmatic energy policy that is better for the environment
and consumers’ bank balances.
Building Stronger Communities
If we give New Zealanders the best start we possibly can, this will set them up for the rest of their lives.
Whether that’s through their 1000 days, and making sure New Zealand babies receive the care they need and deserve.
And through ensuring all New Zealand children receive a world-class education, because education is the greatest investment in our future.
National believes in a hand up not a handout system,
we want all New Zealanders to have the security a job provides,
and not languish on a benefit.
We want a health service that is modern, high-quality, evidence-based and available to all regardless of who you are or where you live.
Too often we hear stories of people who have missed out on care based on their location, we want to fix that.
We will ensure New Zealand is a safe place to live, work and raise a family.
We have a simple policy, victims should get justice and criminals should be held accountable for the harm they cause,
while also being rehabilitated into contributing members of our society.
National knows our economy is first and foremost about people and their communities.
We will invest in strengthening our community connections and social fabric.
We will support communities to build new enterprises
and create local jobs.
Reviving the Kiwi Dream of Home Ownership
National will help New Zealanders secure their financial future by delivering policies that will allow more renters and social housing tenants to get a foot on the property ladder.
Home ownership is an important part of our social fabric.
It helps give people financial security, helps families build roots in their communities and gives parents a valuable asset to pass on to their children.
You can read our Housing Policy Factsheet here.
Sadly, the dream of home ownership has slipped further away under the Labour-led Government, which is turning New Zealand into a nation of renters.
National will fix this.
National’s housing policy includes:Passing emergency legislation within 100 days to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) and require councils to permit more housing.
Repealing the RMA in our first term
and replacing it with new legislation that allows more houses to be built at a faster pace.
Allowing social housing tenants to buy their homes through a rent-to- own or shared equity scheme.
Empowering Community Housing Providers to build more social houses by setting aside $1 billion from Kainga Ora’s borrowing facility for them to access.
New Zealand currently has some of the most expensive housing in the world, increasingly putting home ownership out of reach of many.
There is now consensus across politicians and experts that New Zealand’s planning rules are primarily to blame.
The long-term solution to getting more houses built is repealing the RMA,
replacing it with an Environmental Standards Act
and a Planning and Development Act.
These will deliver clarity and speed rather than the present murkiness, expense and delay.
National will help more families into homes.
Delivering the more immediate solution needed to address the housing emergency we have in front of us now, National will pass emergency legislation within 100 days similar to that used for the Christchurch rebuild.
This will require all councils to immediately open up 30 years of growth for urban development
and establish a fast-tracked consenting process.
This approach will improve housing affordability.
It will mean your children will have the same opportunity you had to purchase their own home to raise their own families.
National will also fix New Zealand’s broken rental market by simplifying Labour’s unwieldly rental regulations so that it is easier for landlords to comply.
This will stop good landlords from fleeing the market due to cost,
bringing down the cost of rents
and ensuring there are enough rental properties on the market to meet demand.
National will also allow social housing tenants with good track-records to buy their homes through a shared equity scheme.
National is committed to supporting our most vulnerable New Zealanders and helping them lead better, more independent lives.
Labour promised to bring house prices down by building 100,000 KiwiBuild houses, claiming the market had failed.
But three years on, Labour has built less than 600 KiwiBuild houses,
while the median house price has risen 27 per cent
and rental costs are up 15 per cent.
The social housing waiting list has also exploded on Labour’s watch from 5844 at the last election to nearly 20,000 today.
Labour has utterly failed to deliver on housing.
National is the party of home ownership.
We have a clear plan to undo the housing damage done by Labour
and get more New Zealanders into their own home.
National’s housing policy has been costed at $480 million over five years.
Social Development
Strong families,
thriving communities
and a growing economy are the essential ingredients for a successful society.
People are better off in paid employment than on welfare, so getting Kiwis back to work will be the central goal of a National Government.
You can read our Social Development & Investment Policy Factsheet here.
We all face challenges in life, and National supports a strong safety net to assist New Zealanders in times of need.
While some of us need a little help to get back on our feet, others need more assistance.
National will:Empower parents with a funding entitlement of $3000
to allocate as they choose between whatever services they believe best meet their needs and the needs of their child during the crucial first 1000 days.
Get New Zealanders into work with incentives for businesses to hire more staff (JobStart),
cash support for Kiwis who want to start a new business (BusinessStart)
and incentives to retrain and reskill people who have lost their jobs (SkillStart).
Ensure our welfare system is a strong safety net that’s focused on supporting and encouraging people to get back into work.
Invest $31 billion on intergenerational transport infrastructure,
$4.8 billion on world-class education infrastructure,
and $1 billion on internet and communications infrastructure,
a package that will create work for thousands of Kiwis.
Reinstate our ground-breaking Social Investment Approach to social spending, to invest in areas that will have the biggest positive impact on social outcomes over the long term.
Improve the reach of Whanau Ora to communities where it is not yet provided or more difficult to access, so that communities throughout New Zealand can benefit from the tailored support it provides.
National’s pioneering Social Investment approach - using data and evidence to understand needs, and targeting support to those who are most at risk - is the most effective, long-term response we can take as a country to improving lives.
We will restart this vital programme of work to tackle the root causes of disadvantage, ensuring that social spending is focused on targeted interventions that keep our young people on the path to success,
and get adult New Zealanders back into the workforce.
Investing in the first 1000 days
Recognising that the first one thousand days of a child’s life is the most critical period in their development, National has committed to a raft of parent-and-child focused plans in its First 1000 Days policy.
The seven-part plan, which centres on National’s pioneering social investment approach, calls for greater and more targeted spending to create better human and economic returns in the long run and costs $226 million.
You can read our 1,000 Days Plan Policy Factsheet here.
Studies have shown that countries that fail to invest in the wellbeing of women and children during this crucial time will suffer worse economic results in the future, through lower productivity and higher health costs.
Our package will give parents control and choice over the type of support they receive, regardless of their situation or parenting experience.
The First 1,000 Days package includes: Empowering parents - An entitlement worth up to $3000 for all expecting mothers that can be used to commission services to support their child’s first 1,000 days of development.
Mothers and babies who have higher needs will be entitled to up to $3,000 additional funding ($6,000 in total), along with the support to help them choose the services they need.
Enhanced screening - This includes pre & post-birth GP visits, and a revamped B4 School check at age three to identify developmental concerns and trigger early intervention services.
Three day postnatal stay - All new mothers will be entitled to a three day stay in their postnatal facility.
Child passport - An enhanced version of the current Well Child/Tamariki Ora book with electronic record-keeping, this will record needs identified through screening and track progress to key physical, emotional, developmental and education milestones.
It will be used to ensure that, where required, early action is taken to address issues or additional needs.
Paid parental leave at the same time - Parents will be given a choice about when they take their leave - either one parent at a time, as they now can, or both parents at the same time if that’s what they prefer.
We believe both parents should have the opportunity to bond with their baby during the first months of life,
and we support parents to make the best decisions for their baby and family.
National Centre for Child Development - Headquartered at a university, the Centre will bring together the best of child health, neuroscience and education research.
Its job is to improve best-practice for child development throughout the early childhood system.
National believes in empowering parents to make decisions about their children and their own wellbeing.
National’s bold plan would give parents commissioning power over the support they need, recognising the fact that a mother with her third child may need different services than a mother experiencing her first pregnancy.
This new funding, allocated per child rather than directly to services, will mean that parental demand will determine which services receive how much of the additional money.
However, organisations that are currently funded by the Government to provide services for the first 1,000 days would keep their existing baseline funding.
Plunket, for example, will still receive its existing funding allocation of approximately $66 million per year.
They would also be eligible to receive a share of National’s new funding, if that’s what New Zealand parents choose to do with their allocation.
Families and Children
Under a National Government, the non-disclosure of child abuse will be an offence
and there will be reduction targets for children suffering material hardship.
Our Children and Families Policy builds on our First 1000 Days policy aims to protect children from abuse and mistreatment within their own homes.
We will bring people to justice who stand by and do nothing when children are being abused.
You can read our Children and Families Policy here.
Every child deserves the best start in life and the opportunity to achieve their full potential.
We are willing to legislate to ensure that children are better off.
The Families & Children Policy will:Make non-disclosure of child abuse an offence, with a maximum three year sentence for failing to provide information about child abuse to police.
Drive a reduction in child poverty by establishing a meaningful reduction target for what really counts - the number of children suffering material hardship.
Implement regular reporting and a clear reduction target for the number of children experiencing physical and sexual abuse, to reveal the full extent of the problem in New Zealand and focus the public sector on stamping out abuse.
Implement enhanced screening, with pre-birth & post-birth GP visits, and a revamped B4 School check at age three to identify developmental concerns, screen for trauma, brain injury and foetal alcohol syndrome, and trigger early intervention services.
Empower parents with a funding entitlement of $3000
to allocate between whatever services they believe best meet their needs and the needs of their child.
Establish a National Centre for Child Development, which brings together the best of health, education research and neuroscience and develops new products and services to support parents and children during the first 1000 days and beyond.
Improve the reach of Whanau Ora to communities where it is not yet provided or more difficult to access.
National knows that there is a responsibility for Government - working together with communities, whanau, schools, and iwi to intervene when children are experiencing material hardship, suffering from abuse or being denied the basics that enable them to thrive.
National will ensure Kiwi children grow up with opportunities by having a strong, dynamic and growing economy
that provides every adult with the means to provide for their children.
Health
A National Government will deliver a health service that is modern, high- quality, evidence-based and available to all, regardless of who you are or where you live.
National will: Increase funding to PHARMAC
and create a rare disorder fund worth $20 million over four years
and a dedicated cancer drug fund worth $200 million over four years.
Institute an elective surgery commitment that means everyKiwi that needs elective surgery will have it done withinfour monthsof the decision to treat.
Fully fund a primary care social worker-type navigator for every General Practice to increase frontline health services.
Restore and update National Health Targets.
Start a request for proposal process to establish a third graduate entry medical school focused on retaining General Practitioners in rural areas.
Better protect New Zealanders from Covid-19 with a dedicated Border Protection Agency.
Increase funding for the number of cochlear implants from 40 to 100.
Improve cancer management with a new cancer agency, accelerated bowel screening, local radiotherapy units and faster cancer treatment targets.
Require DHBs to annually construct and report against a Maori health strategy to help address inequities.
National’s new health initiatives have been costed at $800 million over four years.
These are just some of the changes National will deliver.
Even before Covid-19’s emergence we were seeing cracks in our health system.
Access to quality healthcare has slid backwards under Labour.
Waiting times are increasing and the number of elective surgeries has decreased.
Every single health target has gotten worse over their term and Kiwis are missing out on the care they deserve.
National is focused on ensuring more New Zealanders have access to world- class healthcare regardless of income, background or postcode.
These are practical solutions that will have a tangible impact on New Zealander’s lives for generations to come.
We’re committed to ensuring our public health system is delivering for you, your children and your whanau.
Elective Surgery Commitment
National will institute an elective surgery commitment.
That means that every Kiwi that needs elective surgery will have it done within four months of the decision to treat.
This will entail:Ensuring everyone requiring elective surgery will have that surgery funded by the Crown within four months.
Sooner elective surgery so that if you are promised treatment in the standard four months then you will be operated on in four months.
If the DHB is unable to provide the treatment within four months, DHBs will be required to source another provider to meet that need.
This could be either another DHB or a private provider.
Ensure equitable access to elective surgery by replacing the post code lottery with standard treatment levels across the country.
An elective surgery is one which is planned in advance rather than done in an emergency situation.
This includes vitally important operations like hip replacements and cataract surgery.
The guidelines for maximum waiting times is meant to be four months, and National will ensure this is met.
Too many Kiwis are left languishing on long waiting list for months or even years, and the COVID-19 lockdown has made the wait lists even longer.
This has a serious effect on quality of life.
National can do better for these people, and we will do better.
National believes that every New Zealander deserves the best treatment from the health service.
However, there are significant regional disparities in the delivery of elective surgeries.
Currently, each DHB is allowed to set its own criteria to decide which patients are eligible for elective surgeries.
National will address this and establish a common points system for elective surgeries.
That way whether you live in Kaitaia, Bluff or any place in-between, your address will not determine whether your treatment.
Primary Health Navigators
A National Government will increase our frontline primary healthcare services by adding a primary care navigator to every General Practice.
Primary care navigators bring a wide range of skills and will act in a patient- facing role that will boost General Practices’ capacity.
The United Kingdom has piloted the use of primary care navigators with positive outcomes.
National will:Establish a national programme of primary care navigators.
Invest so that every General Practice location can get a government funded primary care navigator.
Once this policy is fully rolled out it will cost $64 million annually.
General Practitioners are often under significant time pressure which can lead to longer waiting times, and leaves them little time to address anything but their patient’s immediate health concerns.
Primary care navigators will support General Practitioners by providing the additional time to talk to patients who need help accessing the right services.
They will provide counselling, interface with government agencies, follow up appointments and referrals, do home visits and implement primary care health plans collaborated with each general practice.
National is committed to delivering better healthcare, sooner, and regardless of location.
This is another practical solution that will help many New Zealanders.
Better funding for PHARMAC
A National Government will increase funding for PHARMAC and ensure more Kiwis have access to life-saving medication.
National will increase PHARMAC funding by approximately $90 million per year, this is made up of:
A $50 million per year cancer drug fund.
$20 million over four years for rare disorders.
Increasing PHARMAC funding at the same rate as increases in the health budget, which will add around $35 million per year, increasing each year.
National believes the PHARMAC model is the best way to ensure New Zealanders are accessing much-needed medication.
When last in Government National increased funding by an average of $24 million per year.
These increases led to 800,000 more Kiwis getting improved access to medicine.
New Zealanders shouldn’t have to pack up their lives and go to other countries for cancer treatment.
New Zealanders shouldn’t have to mortgage their houses, set up a Givealittle page or take out massive loans to be able to afford medicines which are funded in other countries.
National is committing an extra $200 million over four years for cancer medicines.
The sad reality is that most New Zealand families will be affected by cancer.
Cancer doesn’t discriminate when it chooses its victims and all New Zealanders should have the ability to access potentially life-saving drugs.
We are also making a concerted effort to address rare disorders, with a special fund that will widen the range of drugs available and ensure that people suffering from rare diseases aren’t overlooked.
National will continue to review the level of funding PHARMAC requires and make sure it is receiving the funding it needs to deliver for New Zealanders.
National Cancer Agency
Cancer is New Zealand’s biggest killer, we have some of the world’s worst statistics when it comes to treatment and prevention.
There is a growing ‘postcode lottery’ for cancer care where your location and proximity to major hospitals and specialists determines a successful diagnosis, treatment and cure.
You can view our Policy Factsheet here
In our first 100 days in office, National will:Legislate to create an independent National Cancer Agency to drive better access to diagnosis, treatment and care across New Zealand.
This will be separate to the Ministry of Health and District Health Boards.
Start the process to appoint specialists and proven leaders in the field to run the Agency and provide expert advice to improve outcomes for cancer patients.
The National Cancer Agency will have primary responsibility for better access to diagnosis, treatment and care across New Zealand.
They will provide leadership in all aspects of cancer control, including prevention, screening and treatment, guiding scientific research and ensuring variations in outcomes across different groups and regions is reduced.
The Agency will report to the Minister of Health.
We will ensure:Consistency of diagnosis across the country - so local GPs have the tools and the knowledge to test and recognise symptoms irrespective of where you are
Consistency of treatment - you shouldn’t be disadvantaged by living remotely or in a centre where specialist care isn’t available
Consistency of outcomes - you shouldn’t have a lower likelihood of surviving if you don’t come from the right place.
Likewise, you shouldn’t receive less post-treatment support if you come from a smaller town
They will be primarily responsible for the Cancer Plan which will direct investment and key performance indicators across DHBs.
DHBs will be accountable to the National Cancer Agency for the targets and indicators the Agency sets.
It’s important that the National Cancer Agency holds DHBs accountable for these targets
and has clear structures to ensure delivery.
Dedicated PHARMAC Cancer Fund
Too many New Zealanders are having to go overseas for treatments because PHARMAC won’t fund new drugs to save lives.
Some cancer patients are setting up Givealittle pages to crowdsource funding for life saving drugs.
Labour has underfunded PHARMAC this year by only providing a 1 per cent increase in its funding
whilst finding billions of dollars for fees free,
rail
and political slush funds.
The previous National Government boosted annual investment in PHARMAC by $220m over nine years.
That meant around 820,000 New Zealanders benefited from extra investment in new PHARMAC funded medicines.
The current Government hasn’t even invested enough to keep up with population growth or inflation.
What will we do?
National will:Ring-fence an extra $50m a year ($200m over four years) for more, effective cancer drugs.
If they don’t use it, they don’t get it
Direct PHARMAC - within its current parameters - to fund cancer drugs that would improve outcomes for as many as possible
Ensure those cancer drugs go to those who need them, so PHARMAC will need to make sure they are as affordable and as accessible to as many New Zealanders as possible
Expect the cancer drugs PHARMAC buy from this fund to be those that demonstrate high levels of effectiveness internationally.
We don’t want just more drugs - we want drugs that will save lives
What will this do for PHARMAC funding?
This will ensure PHARMAC can continue to provide the current medicines it does, as well as focus on providing access to more treatment for cancer.
This Government has underfunded PHARMAC because of poor spending spending choices - the next National Government will not make the same mistake.
You can view our Policy Factsheet here.
Fighting Gynaecological Cancer
Every year in New Zealand, over 1,000 women are diagnosed with, and over 475 die from, one of the five gynaecological cancers (cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal and vulva).
While we do screen for cervical cancer, rates have been dropping
and there are significant disparities in coverage among different sub-populations (ethnicity, socio-economic status, geographies).
For the remaining four cancers, late diagnosis or misdiagnosis is a problem.
For example, for ovarian cancer, 85% of detection is at late stage, and women are often misdiagnosed initially.
As a result the five year survival rate for ovarian cancer is just 39 per cent, compared with 87 per cent for breast cancer.
You can find a copy of our Policy Factsheet here
Our plan National will provide targeted funding of $20m over four years to reduce mortality rates of gynaecological cancer through greater awareness, clinical guidelines, increased testing and greater access to clinical trials.
This aligns with the NZ Cancer Action Plan to ensure lower cancer rates and increased survival.
Policy highlights
Greater awareness National will provide $4m over four years to fund a campaign to lift awareness of the symptoms of gynaecological cancer.
Improved clinical guidelines National will ensure that revised, up-to- date clinical guidelines are developed for GPs to help them identify gynaecological cancer earlier, and make improved decisions around diagnosis and referring women for testing.
Increased testing National will provide up to $12m in funding over four years to cover the increased testing that is likely to result from more awareness and improved clinical guidelines, to ensure that every women in New Zealand who would benefit from a test, is given one.
Access to clinical trials National will invest $4m over four years to ensure more New Zealand women have access to clinical trials to improve treatments for gynaecological cancers.
Introducing HPV Self-Test National commits to transitioning to HPV selftests within our first term to test for cervical cancer.
To provide all women in New Zealand have access to an easier more convenient and effective tests for early detection of cervical cancer.
Mental Health
A National Government will deliver high quality mental health care that is accessible, timely and effective, regardless of where you’re from.
You can read National's Mental Health Policy Factsheet here.
Mental health is just as important as physical health.
One in five Kiwis experience a mental health disorder at some point in their lives, and nearly nine per cent of adults experience psychological distress every month.
The impact of Covid-19 has exacerbated this with more New Zealanders struggling with unemployment and an economic recession.
Mental health is just as important as physical health.
Labour promised big on mental health but have failed to deliver,
only being able to spend seven per cent of the funding they announced for mental health and only equipping four per cent of General Practitioners with new frontline services.
National will:Establish New Zealand’s first Minister for Mental Health to drive our mental health strategy.
Strengthen our frontline with a primary care navigator in every General Practice.
Implement a ‘national stepped care approach’ for commissioning and delivering services to provide a joined up and integrated network of mental health services.
Establish a $10 million mental health support package for small and medium businesses where mental health has been identified as a concern.
Fund life-saving mental wellbeing and suicide prevention workshops in our rural communities.
Commit to a nationwide ‘Zero Suicides’ comprehensive multi-sector suicide prevention strategy
Invest in a $10 million contestable fund to establish free psychological first aid training.
Require schools to deliver a skills based mental health and resilience training program from years 1 to 13.
Fund a new, fit for purpose baseline study of children and young people to understand the context and conditions underpinning the mental health of New Zealand’s youth.
These are just some of the changes National will deliver that will improve our mental health outcomes for generations to come.
National will also provide short term relief in light of Covid-19, by urgently funding 100,000 free counselling sessions.
New Zealanders deserve world class mental health care
and this policy is in line with National’s core health focus of delivering frontline services sooner
so New Zealanders can access high quality services no matter where they live or who they are.
You can read National's Mental Health Policy Factsheet here.
Ensuring Kiwi kids most at need can access quality dental care
Through our policy Tamariki Niho Ora - MySmile, National will ensure that all children in New Zealand have true access to good oral health.
We will increase funding for childhood dental services by 30 per cent.
You can read about our Tamariki Niho Ora - MySmile policy here.
National will: Invest an additional $30 million per year in our childhood oral health programme
Increase resources for paediatric and school dental services to ensure all children have appropriate access to high quality dental care
Introduce a comprehensive programme to improve paediatric and child oral health
New Zealand has free dental care for children up to age 18.
But too often this system is not comprehensive especially for the formative pre-school, primary school and intermediate years.
The system is not performing well with New Zealand children having poor oral outcomes.
There are currently 120,000 kids on the dental waiting lists.
Kiwi kids most at need of dental care will have the resources to access quality dental care under National.
National will provide the resources to ensure that Kiwi kids most at need can access quality dental care.
We will introduce a comprehensive programme for pre-school, primary schools and intermediates initially in high need areas to improve child oral health from ages 3 to 13 modelled on Scotland’s Childsmile programme which includes:
• All children provided with an annual dental health pack containing information material, a toothbrush and toothpaste for daily tooth brushing.
Oral health education programme.
Funding a free fluoride varnish.
Oral health is a key part of general health and it involves much more than a nice smile.
It affects the way we chew, eat, smile, speak and can influence our overall wellbeing.
There are currently substantial disparities in dental care access across New Zealand and in low socioeconomic groups children’s dental decay rates remain high.
Poor oral health is preventable.
To tackle the broader issues of oral health for children, a focus on oral health prevention and promotion is necessary.
National will invest in our kids.
We will increase the resources to paediatric and school dental services and introduce a comprehensive programme to improve child oral health in New Zealand.
Investment in Tamariki Niho Ora - MySmile is part of National’s Social Investment approach.
By providing a targeted intervention in childhood we can provide lifelong benefits to our kid’s health.
This investment will also provide savings to future individuals and taxpayers as they will require fewer expensive dental procedures.
It is also expected to save money in the long term
with a cost benefit analysis as high as 5.0 indicating that for every $1 spent there will be $5 in benefit.
Currently $100 million is spent on childhood dental services.
We will increase that by 30 per cent.
National will fund free targeted topical dental fluoride in line with the Ministry of Health recommendation.
Education
Education is the greatest investment we can make in our future.
A National Government will prioritise lifting academic achievement for all New Zealand children
- no matter their background or ability.
We will provide better support for children with additional learning needs, so that each child in New Zealand is able to get the start in life they deserve.
You can read more about our Policies by reading our Education Policy Factsheet here.
National will continue to improve the quality of teaching,
promote innovation
and increase parental choice so that more children can receive an education that makes sense for them.
National will make the largest investment in repairing, rebuilding and redeveloping our schools in a generation, to make sure every child has the chance to learn in a fit-for-purpose education environment.
Our Policy Highlights
In Early Childhood Education (ECE) National will: Progressively improve the adult-to-child ratio for under two year olds in ECE.
Strengthen spot-check monitoring of ECE services so parents can be confident when they drop their children off at their chosen ECE centre.
Improve parents’ access to information about the quality of ECE services on offer in their area, and ensure parents are directly informed of any concerns about the quality of their child’s ECE service.
Work with ECE providers to ensure the ECE funding system is fair, simple and transparent
and supports both quality
and parental choice.
In Primary and Secondary Education National will:Invest an additional $4. 8 billion in school infrastructure, including $2 billion over five years for the Fix New Zealand’s Schools Alliance,
and another $2. 8 billion over a decade for new classrooms and schools to accommodate growth
and reduce the need to impose restrictive zoning requirements.
Establish a $160 million per year fund to support children with additional learning, behavioural and physical needs - allocated based on school roll and need - so schools can invest in the initiatives they believe are appropriate for their student community.
Invest $150 million over four years to fund an additional six million hours of teacher aide support in classrooms, equivalent to around 1500 new teacher aides (at 25 hours per week), or an average of 600 hours per school each year.
Deliver smaller class sizes by progressively reducing student-to-teacher ratios in primary schools.
This will reduce teacher workloads and make sure children get more focused teacher attention in their foundation years.
Establish at least 25 new partnership schools by 2023, including some focussed on high-priority learners such as Maori and Pasifika; children with additional learning needs; and in specialist education areas such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).
Abolish the annual registration fee that teachers are currently required to pay to the Teaching Council for certification to teach.
You can read more about our Policies by reading our Education Policy Factsheet here.
Securing Our Border
National recognises COVID-19, as well as other pandemic threats, will continue for some years to come.
National is committed to a border plan that provides long-term security for New Zealand families, their health and the wider economy.
You can read National's full Border Policy Document here
Human to human contact is the most likely mode of transmission into New Zealand.
Therefore, our border is our first line of defence against the threat of transmission of COVID-19 in New Zealand.
Changes in approaches to border management around the world are as profound as the changes in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks in 2001.
This border policy will be our initial response to provide a long-term and coherent response to the ongoing threat of COVID-19 and other public health threats.
Our key policies are:Establishing Te Korowai Whakamaru/NZ Border Protection Agency
to cut through the confused response from Labour.
Require people travelling to New Zealand to provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test before arriving.
Deploy compulsory contact tracing technology for Agency workers, workers in border facilities and points of entry, and District Health Board staff treating or testing patients.
Ensure new arrivals can be adequately contact traced by requiring compulsory use of contact tracing technology.
Immediately invest and seek to rapidly deploy a Bluetooth application to enhance contact tracing capability.
Explore alternative contact tracing technologies to add more tools to the contact-tracing system (eg: COVID Card).
Widen the availability of testing throughout the country, making sure there are readily deployable mobile testing stations in each main population centre as well as any population centre where there is a quarantine facility.
Implement a target for test waiting times of no longer than 60 minutes for a test.
Require regular testing of aged care workers.
Have regular opportunities for testing within retirement homes.
This is how we will correct the systemic breakdown we have seen at the border to date and introduce a professional front line of defence to keep New Zealand safe.
You can read National's full Border Policy Document here
Building a more resilient economy
National would strengthen the ability for our economy to work in a COVID-19 and pandemic prone world.
We will work to ensure that in the first instance our border is secure
but with a mind to ensuring we are not caught wanting if an incursion does occur.
If lockdowns do occur, we must help our economy so that commerce can continue through lockdowns and people can continue work.
Our economy must become more resilient to the threat posed by COVID-19.
Lockdowns are a short-term intervention that come at a tremendous cost to businesses and our economy.
In the long term, New Zealand cannot afford to shut down or slow our entire economy even if there is a localised incursion.
National will improve regulatory settings and allowing more business to be conducted in a contactless way.
We will need to become more contactless and able to operate despite the health threat.
We will need efficient systems that protect the supply chain and minimise the upheaval and disruption caused by an incursion.
National is concerned the lessons of the first lockdown were not closely studied to provide an improved response during the August lockdown.
Continuous improvement of our systems is required so that lockdowns become more targeted and effective,
with minimal impact on our communities and the economy.
For example, where small businesses like butchers and greengrocers can demonstrate and implement or plan to operate safely, they should be allowed to do so.
Border Protection Agency / Te Korowai Whakamaru
National will establish a single Crown Agency to unify the Government response to securing our border - the first and best line of defence New Zealand has against COVID-19.
The current arrangements are ad-hoc and have been assembled in haste.
Various agencies are in charge of different facets of securing our border, which has led to a disorderly and confused response, miscommunication
and insufficient testing.
This was exposed in August and led to a major lockdown across the Auckland region.
New Zealand needs a coordinated and professional response for the years to come, with a well trained workforce within a structured and compliance- focused agency.
The Agency would be accountable to a dedicated minister, who would set the priority of operational excellence.
Te Korowai Whakamaru/NZ Border Protection Agency would enhance the all-of Government response model
by establishing a single agency to coordinate the Government’s response.
National would begin work on implementing the Agency immediately upon taking office, establishing it within our first 100 days.
Detail:
The Agency would report to a single minister whose focus will be keeping New Zealand free from the risks of COVID-19 and other pandemic threats.
The Agency will have overall control of the response when dealing with an outbreak, including the ability to order compliance with agency policies
and oversee the response from other agencies such as the Ministry of Health, District Health Boards and other agencies operating at points of entry.
The Agency will be empowered to make orders to ensure compliance with the policies it sets.
The Agency will be responsible for managing co-payment for the costs of managed isolation.
All Agency workers who are in contact with people in managed isolation would be required to have a COVID-19 test weekly.
All Agency workers would be required to carry contact tracing technology as it becomes available.
The Agency would establish policy to manage capacity for safe entry into New Zealand.
This agency will be resourced to act as a centre of expertise with the personnel, technology and capability to provide a world-class defence against COVID-19.
They will manage the response in the event of an incursion.
The Agency would not replace any current ministry or department but would draw on the resources across Government, including officials and staff, working within the border and managed isolation system.
The Agency would develop and implement long-term policies and plans for safe and efficient international travel and people movement.
In the shorter term, the agency will administer policy and procedures for:Approving operations and developing protocols for managed isolation and quarantine facilities, and provide security.
Ensuring effective training and safety protocols for all staff involved in border control, managed isolation and quarantine.
Managing protocols for port movements, freight and testing procedures at ports.
Receiving returning Kiwis and visitors at the border, and ensuring pre-border checks for people coming into New Zealand.
Transferring people to managed isolation facilities.
Acting as a centre of expertise on pandemic containment and best practice.
Facilitating planning with businesses to ensure safe practices.
Specifically tailoring plans for small business, retailers and manufacturers.
Considering expansion of entry qualifications and timing.
Heightened border management will be required for the foreseeable future.
Even beyond the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, there will need to be procedures at the border to ensure the ongoing safety of New Zealanders.
Why a unified response is required
The cost of the current approach is estimated to be close to half a billion dollars for managed isolation and quarantine facilities in 2020 alone.
While border control is expensive, it is cheaper than the alternative: periodic lockdowns.
But an expensive and ineffective system is the worst outcome.
National will manage the border effectively to keep New Zealanders safe.
Border management to date has not been satisfactory.
It has been ad-hoc and has resulted in a confused response from government departments and private services, heightening the risk to New Zealanders.
The current management requires synchronisation between large numbers of agencies:
[TABLE]
This is all currently coordinated by a senior military officer reporting to the Minister of Housing.
Securing the border
Testing at the border is required to make sure the Government is identifying and managing active cases.
Ensuring access and availability to testing is critical.
However, there have been numerous issues of testing procedures not being followed, with inconsistencies in required testing of individuals in managed isolation and quarantine.
National would follow international models and require people coming into the country to not only quarantine but also receive a test for COVID-19, or a subsequent pandemic virus, three days before departure and provide the results of that test to airline staff before boarding their plane.
National would:Require people travelling to New Zealand to provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test before arriving into New Zealand.
Pre boarding thermal imaging and completion of health declaration card.
Deploy compulsory contact tracing technology for Agency workers, workers in border facilities and points of entry, and District Health Board staff treating or testing patients.
Ensure new arrivals can be adequately contact traced by requiring compulsory use of contact tracing technology.
Require another test within three days of arrival as well as a test on day 12.
Implement thermal imaging at points of entry.
Require arrivals to complete a health declaration card.
Strengthening Our Public Health Response
The threat from COVID-19 will be present for years to come and other pandemic threats will require responses in the future.
National recognises we must also prepare a second line of defence, behind our border, so that in the event of any limited outbreak, cases can be identified, traced and isolated quickly.
With strong contact tracing and a more sophisticated testing and compliance structure we can minimise the impact on New Zealanders of further incursions.
We will protect those vulnerable to the disease and the wider population from the major impact of outbreaks.
As outlined in the Verrall Report provided to the Ministry of Health on contact tracing, outbreaks can be controlled through rapid contact tracing.
Further, contact tracing, when used alongside other public health measures has more than 90 per cent efficacy against COVID-19, which makes it as effective as many vaccines.
This report, and the examples of high quality contact tracing and testing systems internationally, provide confidence that similar systems in New Zealand could allow for less intrusive lockdowns in the event of an isolated outbreak.
A functional response system requires coordination at the border
and the ability to rapidly deploy contact tracing
and testing throughout the country if we are to expel the risk of future outbreaks.
However, the system in past months has not worked as it should.
While frontline workers at the border have been doing their best in difficult conditions, they, like the public, have been let down by a cobbled together approach.
Our health system will adapt to provide greater capability in the event of an outbreak.
National will ensure our medical systems are adequately resourced with equipment such as ventilators to provide appropriate treatment solutions in the event an outbreak.
In addition, National will enhance the contact tracing system
and develop a long-term plan for managing public health threats such as COVID-19.
Contact Tracing
Contact tracing is one of the most effective tools we have against COVID-19.
The success of a high-capacity rapid contact tracing service has also been seen in South East Asian countries such as Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan in addressing outbreaks as noted by the New Zealand Initiative’s Leonard Hong.
The first line of defence must be strong border management,
but ensuring a high-quality contact tracing system is a vital second line.
National would implement the following:
Scale up contact tracing
Ensuring consistency and capacity within the contact tracing system is critical to achieving the goals of a rapid contact tracing system that would help manage any isolated incidents of COVID-19 beyond the border
and to limit the need of intensive lockdowns across the country.
The recent examples of contact tracing from the South Auckland cluster identified on 11 August 2020 showed that, while contact tracing could be undertaken, there were questions about the time it took to identify and notify contacts.
If New Zealand is to be able to effectively eliminate COVID-19 from the country we should immediately look to scale up the capacity of contact tracing to enhance speed reliability within the system.
National would:Ensure the response to COVID-19 and other pandemic threats is coordinated nationally
to provide for a more comprehensive contact tracing system.
Scale up the contact tracing capability by increasing the numbers of people available to work on contact tracing to ensure contacts can be identified, traced and isolated quickly.
Resourcing the Long-Term Response
National would ensure the Border Protection Agency and the wider Government sector is resourced to manage the response in the longer term.
The pandemic has bought forth considerable innovation to improve testing and better manage COVID-19 and other pandemic threats.
National recognises that in the medium term, technology is going to provide the capacity to better test and track, to manage the COVID-19 and other pandemic threats.
The response to COVID-19 and similar pandemic threats requires the Government to fund and invest in emerging medical technologies and practices as they become viable.
The Agency would be expected to learn from and collaborate to ensure best practice protocols and technology are brought to or developed in New Zealand and shared.
The current Government’s response has been too slow.
The Government’s COVID-19 contact tracing app was deployed after private sector alternatives were made available
and take-up of the COVID-19 app has seen limited usage.
Since the rollout of the app in May there has been less than two uses per New Zealander.
That is not sufficient and more must be done.
Internationally, examples such as Australia show success in deploying a Bluetooth contact tracing app, which allows for easier and more effective contact tracing.
National would: Immediately invest and seek to rapidly deploy a Bluetooth application to enhance contact tracing capability.
Explore alternative contact tracing technologies to add more tools to the contact tracing system (eg: COVID Card).
Immediately provide additional resource to bolster the campaign to increase the use and take-up of the COVID-19 app
and continue to update its functionality.
Ensure the Government is working with private providers to ensure best practice in the way we are deploying contact tracing technology.
Undertake risk-based assessments for requiring the use of certain contact-tracing technologies.
For example, requiring border-facing workers to use COVID Cards or mandating the use of contact tracing technology for people arriving from certain high-risk countries in the future.
Surveillance and Monitoring
Continued monitoring and surveillance will be required to make sure the policies at the border are successful.
A strong testing regime will provide confidence in the efforts at the border.
National would:Widen the availability of testing throughout the country, making sure there are readily deployable mobile testing stations in each main population centre as well as any population centre where there is a quarantine facility.
Implement a target for test waiting times of no longer than 60 minutes for a test.
Strive towards a ‘test on demand’ system where people seeking a test can and do receive one.
A number of reports of individuals being told they do not require a test or waiting for more than five hours for a test is not optimal.
National would scale up availability and processing so we have as widespread of a testing system as possible.
Ensure regular wastewater testing for COVID-19 to monitor potential early outbreaks in the community.
This would build on the testing already undertaken by the Institute of Environmental Science and Research in April and operating in other countries such as the Netherlands.
Ensure people in managed isolation and quarantine have a compulsory day three and day 12 COVID-19 test.
At-risk care contingency planning
Certain populations are more at risk of a COVID-19 outbreak than others and it is important a clear plan is developed to continue to keep these New Zealanders safe.
Most obviously, those who live in retirement homes across the country require a plan in place so they are prioritised, even under Alert Level 1.
National would:Require regular testing of aged-care workers.
Have regular opportunities for testing within retirement homes.
Ensure adequate supplies of personal protective equipment and appropriate hygiene protocols are in place.
Coordinate with food providers and delivery agencies for an aged care response plan to cater to those who cannot simply rely on volunteers to deliver necessities to them in the event of an increases Alert Level.
Delivering a Smart Border
National will deliver a smarter border that allows New Zealand to safely reconnect to the world.
Covid-19 is going to be with us for a long time and we can’t afford to isolate ourselves forever.
The latest dire projections from Treasury show decades of deficits and sky-rocketing debt.
National has a plan to defeat the deficit,
restore the economy
and secure New Zealand’s borders from Covid-19.
You can read our Smart Border Policy factsheet here.
Changes to the way our border arrangements operate due to Covid-19 are as fundamental as the changes in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks in New York.
We need a dedicated border agency to provide strong security
and policy advice to the Government on how we secure the border and safely reconnect to the world.
The first phase of our smarter border plan is to establish Te Korowai Whakamaru/NZ Border Protection Agency, to provide long-term security for New Zealand families, their health and the wider economy.
The agency will be established within National’s first 100 days of Government.
The second phase of National’s smarter border plan will enable New Zealand to safely reconnect to the world,
and will establish safe conditions for skilled and essential workers to re-enter the country, providing relief for the many industries that depend on them for survival.
National will:Implement a booking system to manage more arrivals into New Zealand safely
Allow accommodation providers to gain approval to act as managed isolation facilities to scale up capacity
Immediately invest in and deploy Bluetooth contact-tracing, and invest in new testing technologies
Investigate streamlined travel arrangements for low-risk countries and territories
New Zealand currently has space for 7300 people in managed isolation at any one time, and up to a third of this capacity is not being used.
New Zealand needs to grow its way out of this economic crisis,
which means we need a plan to get essential workers back into the country.
You can read our Smart Border Policy factsheet here.
National will prioritise returning Kiwis
while enabling essential and skilled workers, students and, eventually, long-stay tourists to book a place in managed isolation facilities.
Our horticultural industry, for example, is desperate to fill the worker shortage created by border restrictions that is putting $9.5 billion of the country’s economy at risk.
Our Smart Border Policy announcement builds on National’s previously- announced plans to put some steel into New Zealand’s border defence by:
Establishing Te Korowai Whakamaru/NZ Border Protection Agency to provide comprehensive oversight and management of Covid-19 at the border
Requiring international travellers to provide evidence of a negative Covid-19 test before arriving in New Zealand
Making contact tracing technologies compulsory for agency employees, border facility workers, and District Health Board staff who treat or test patients
Rapidly deploying Bluetooth applications to enhance contact tracing
Striving towards a wait time of no longer than 60 minutes for a Covid-19 test
Widening the availability of Covid-19 testing nationwide
Regular testing of aged-care workers
Allowing future lockdowns to be more targeted and shorter in duration
National’s entire Border Security Plan has been costed at $120 million over four years.
Tackling methamphetamine harm
National has outlined an integrated and comprehensive plan to tackle the issues caused by methamphetamine use.
Our Plan will deliver a response work programme, unifying resources from Justice, Health, Police and Customs.
You can read National's Tackling Methamphetamine Policy Factsheet here.
National’s plan tackles the harm of methamphetamine use,
restoring hope to people trapped in cycles of drug dependence
and challenging those who peddle misery in our communities.
The use of this drug tears families apart, fuels violence, enriches criminals and destroys lives.
We cannot tolerate the continued misery this drug causes, which leads to rising levels of violence and poverty, and widespread social harm.
Methamphetamine is the most commonly detected illicit drug nationwide.
Social agencies identify it as a significant factor in domestic and family violence.
There is no single solution to what has become a scourge on our society.
A National government will tackle this problem from all angles, addressing both demand and supply.
National Plan to tackle demand will:Deploy the Matrix Methamphetamine Treatment Pilot Programme across District Health Boards to provide direct support to those recovering from methamphetamine use.
Add 13 detox bed for methamphetamine across New Zealand, ensuring every District Health Board has at least one.
Ensure at least one methamphetamine specialist per District Health Board is available to assist with in-patient detoxing from methamphetamine.
Establish a contestable fund of $50 million to pilot new or scaled-up whole-community harm reduction programmes.
Establish best practices for frontline police to refer meth users to DHBs, Ministry of Social Development, education resources and community- based support.
National will reduce demand by improving the health response and providing treatment options that are not available today.
There must also be a strong response from our law and order agencies to disrupt those trying to bring meth into the country.
We will build capacity to interdict the international crime cartels that are bringing this problem to our shores.
Good intelligence and international cooperation will be a priority under National.
There can be no tolerance for the dealing and supply of methamphetamine.
Those who peddle this drug are responsible for the misery and social harm it causes.
National’s Plan to tackle supply will:Increase funding for drug intelligence to enable Customs, Police and health authorities to identify drugs coming into the country.
Increase funding for Police and Health to identify new drugs and bad batches sooner.
Introduce more drug dogs at airports and ports.
Identify a new supply disruption strategy to reduce methamphetamine use in Corrections facilities.
Target domestic organised crime networks with extra focus and resourcing from Police.
National has a strong track-record of fighting the meth scourge.
The Methamphetamine Action Plan we introduced saw increased seizures of methamphetamine and a 59 per cent reduction in use as a proportion of the population, between 2009 and 2015.
Labour rescinded National’s refreshed Action Plan in 2018 in favour of an ad- hoc, piecemeal approach to drug harm.
We will re-establish the social investment approach across the justice system, making sure the impacts of crime are addressed, as well as the causes of it.
New Zealand needs a co-ordinated and effective response to the methamphetamine problem.
With this Plan, National will deliver one.
You can read National's Tackling Methamphetamine Policy Factsheet here.
Law & Order
National has a proud history and track record of delivering strong effective policies which reduce crime, improve community safety
and help break the cycle of inter-generational family violence and abuse.
You can view our full Law & Order Policy Factsheet here, or click on the policy tiles below.
National is the party of law and order.
We will ensure New Zealand is a safe place to live, work and raise a family.
That means National will make sure victims are at the heart of our justice system,
offenders are held to account,
and Social Investment is used to tackle the causes of crime.
National will:• Implementing our Social Investment Approach across the justice system by setting clear targets to reduce offending and address the areas of most need.
Significantly expand mental health facilities in policing such as the Watch House Nurse Programme and the Mental Health Co-response initiative.
Change the Victim Notification Register to make it opt-out rather than opt-in.
Tightening border controls through increased searching of containers and mail to prevent drugs coming into the country.
Expanding the use of specialist courts, such as drug and alcohol courts, which help offenders deal with their addiction issues.
Institute a range of policies to target gangs and the harm they cause in communities.
Introducing the Clean Start policy to help newly-released prisoners move to a new community.
Our policy is simple: victims should get justice and criminals should be held accountable for the harm they cause,
while also being rehabilitated into contributing members of our society.
Justice
We put victims at the heart of our criminal justice system because we understand that, through no fault of their own, they are often left with deep physical and mental scars.
National is committed to returning to using the Social Investment approach in the justice sector.
This means we will use the tools of Government to target the causes of crime
as well as responding forcefully to the perpetrators of crime.
National will focus Government responses on clear targets to reduce crime and re-offending, using data to help identify areas of greatest need, and on making New Zealand a safer place.
National will:Ensure that the Social Investment approach is implemented across the justice sector with clear targets established to reduce offending and address the areas of most need within the justice system.
Set a target for sexual violence offences to be dealt with within 12 months.
Introduce a new category of Young Serious Offenders to give Police more tools in dealing with teenage and young adult offending.
We know the best chance we have to prevent crime is stopping people becoming offenders in the first place.
This means a targeted approach early-on to stop young people spiraling into a lifetime of crime.
Expand the Integrated Service Response initiative to provide greater access to support for family violence.
Change the Victim Notification Register to make it opt-out rather than opt-in.
Police
National is committed to keeping New Zealanders safe and that means giving Police the tools and resourcing they need to do their job.
New Zealand’s frontline Police officers are some of the most professional in the world.
We are privileged to have such a dedicated Police force who put their safety on the line to keep our communities safe.
National will:Expand mental health facilities in policing such as the Watch-house Nurse Programme and the Mental Health Co- Response Initiative.
Clamp down on organised crime and drug dealers who push dangerous drugs into our communities.
Introduce Firearm Prohibition Orders to give Police more powers to stop dangerous people accessing firearms.
Increase funding and resourcing for the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
Increase allocation of Police to rural areas, including increasing one- person Police stations to two-person stations (pilot scheme in Northland first).
Firearms
National will focus on the criminal and violent use of firearms.
National opposed the unnecessary regulation placed on law abiding firearm owners and set out a number of changes we required to the Arms Legislation Bill which was introduced in 2019 passed by the Government earlier this year.
National will:Amend the Arms Act 1983 to implement the changes not adopted in the Bill, including introducing Firearm Prohibition Orders,
provide clear rules around the regulation of clubs and ranges,
and provide common sense exemptions for pest control operations, sports shooting, and collectors.
Place policy and administration responsibilities for the Arms Act 1983 with another Government entity other than NZ Police.
Curbing the harm organised crime creates
Gangs and organised criminal elements peddle misery throughout New Zealand.
In just three short years, the Government has overseen a 34 per cent increase in the numbers of patched gang members across the country.
National has advocated strongly for measures which will stop gangs peddling drugs and violence through the country.
Gangs contribute significantly to the methamphetamine epidemic in New Zealand and, increasingly, are developing transnational connections to organised crime networks.
We need to change the soft approach that has been adopted to organised crime and implement policies that will disrupt and halt the operations of gangs across the country.
National will:Give Police greater powers to search the homes and cars of violent gang members for firearms through Firearm Prohibition Orders.
Resource Police to designate a dedicated gang unit to disrupt the operation of gangs and work within Police to target the proceeds of crime.
Create new criminal offences targeting violent gang crime and introducing tougher sentences for gang-related crime.
Set tougher parole conditions for gang members who return to associating with a gang after release.
Create a new aggravating factor in the Sentencing Act that would capture offending done whilst being a member of a gang, or offending done in association with gang members and/or a gang.
Change the onus of proof on gang related income.
If an individualis identified as member of a gang on the National Gang list they have to prove their income came from a legitimate source, rather than the Police proving their income came from an illegitimate source.
Ban all gang insignia in public places.
Corrections
National is committed to a high functioning Corrections system that keeps New Zealanders safe and works to reduce repeat offenders.
National will keep communities safe and prevent crime, as well as hold offenders to account.
We have a track record of championing victims
and helping offenders set their lives on a different path.
National will incorporate a Social Investment approach into the Corrections system again.
We will prioritise both rehabilitation and reintegration, through Clean Start, focusing on first-time remandees,
and make sure all prisons provide education/work opportunities.
This will enable us to work with vulnerable individuals and stop them entering a life of crime.
Labour’s policy of reducing the prison population by 30 per cent over 15 years has the wrong focus and we will scrap it.
National will focus on reducing crime, meaning fewer criminals requiring sentencing and most importantly fewer victims of crime.
Use the Social Investment approach to work with vulnerable individuals and stop them entering a life of crime.
Introduce the Clean Start policy for newly released prisoners to move to a new community.
Expand the use of mental health support for prisoners, particularly young prisoners.
Increase funding for education and drug treatment in prison.
Focus on first-time remandees, many of whom have drug/alcohol or mental health issues.
We will expand alcohol, drug, literacy and numeracy programmes for this group to reduce their chances of returning to prison.
Ensure that all prisons are working prisons, so prisoners are either in work, education or training.
Support the Howard League’s driving and literacy training.
Courts
National will get the Court system moving quickly to clear a backlog of disputes,
modernise its operations through technology
and make better use of existing resources.
National recognises the value of specialist courts and will extend their operations.
National will encourage the transfer of disputes from the Court system to alternative dispute resolution forums as much as possible.
National will:Expand the use of specialist courts like drug and alcohol courts, which help offenders deal with their addiction issues.
Investigate transferring disputes from the Court system to alternative dispute resolution forums.
De-escalate disputes by having some cases heard at lower levels of the Court system.
Extend sitting hours and increase use of technology to clear Court backlog.
Customs
National knows the border is our first line of defence and we will resource it appropriately.
National will invest more resources to combat the drug trade, particularly methamphetamine and synthetics.
National will:Tighten border controls with increased searching of containers and mail to prevent drugs coming into the country.
Introduce additional drug dogs at airports and ports.
Increase funding for drug intelligence to enable Customs, Police and Health to identify new drugs and bad batches sooner.
Increase resourcing for passenger health screening in the COVID-19 environment.
Serious Fraud & Anti-Corruption Agency
A National Government will back the Serious Fraud Office to do more to stamp out corruption.
New Zealand is regarded as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, but that’s no reason for complacency.
The SFO says the threats to our reputation as a relatively corruption free country ‘have probably never been greater today than any other time in our history.’
National agrees, and we’ll resource the office properly to do the job New Zealanders expect it to do.
New Zealand’s most successful crime fighting agency will get the resources it needs to deliver on its stated role as the ‘lead law enforcement agency for investigating and prosecuting serious financial crime, including bribery and corruption.
National will double the Serious Fraud Office’s budget, from its present total budget for the 2020/21 financial year of $12.7 million to $25 million a year.
You can read our full Serious Fraud and Anti-corruption Agency Policy Factsheet here.
It doesn’t make sense for the lead agency battling fraud, bribery and corruption, with the greatest legal powers to uncover those things, to be playing second fiddle to other government agencies working in this area.
National will double the Serious Fraud Office's budget and give it extra powers to stamp out corruption.
The SFO will continue to work alongside the likes of the NZ Police’s Financial Intelligence Unit, but it will have the funding it needs to do the job it was established in 1990 to do.
The SFO has statutory powers that other New Zealand crime fighting agencies do not, including powers to compel the production of information and to require witnesses and suspects to answer any questions put to them without the right to silence.
But these powers aren’t being given enough opportunity to be used.
The SFO takes very few prosecutions, not because there isn’t fraud, bribery and corruption in New Zealand, but because the office doesn’t have the resources to do its job properly.
The office needs more investigators and more resources to work with its domestic and international counterparts.
National will also change the office’s name from the Serious Fraud Office to the Serious Fraud and Anti-corruption Agency, because we think New Zealand needs to better understand the types of crime fighting it is responsible for.
Over many years the SFO has developed a reputation for targeting the private sector, in part due to its self-publicised focus on ‘white collar crime’.
Many people think this means the big end of town, but that’s far from the office’s only focus.
We want people to know the office’s mandate and focus goes well beyond the world of investment, accounting and banking.
It also tackles fraud, bribery and corruption in local government, community entities and iwi trusts.
It prosecutes wrongdoing in infrastructure contracting, project tendering and central Government, including ministries, Crown agencies and political parties.
In many ways corruption in the regions has the greatest impact on New Zealanders, by eroding small communities’ trust in institutions they deserve to believe in, and depriving them of resources they desperately need.
We think the name the Serious Fraud and Anti-corruption Agency makes it much clearer what the office’s business is, and why anyone thinking about trying to circumvent the laws of New Zealand should be aware that an agency exists to stamp out that behaviour.
Backing our farmers - Agriculture & Horticulture
A National Government will reduce regulatory burden and give farmers confidence for the future.
Agriculture is responsible for 60 per cent of New Zealand’s goods exports and is the backbone of our economy.
Farmers have enough on their plate with weather, interest rates, and international markets, they shouldn’t have to contend with a Government who doesn’t understand their sector and restricts their growth.
Agriculture is the backbone of our economy
New Zealand’s reputation as a producer of quality and sustainable agricultural products is well known around the world.
When National form the next Government, our pledge is to ensure that our agricultural policy focuses on allowing farmers the opportunity to farm their way to better outcomes, rather than being regulated into oblivion.
National will:Repeal the Resource Management Act (RMA) and replace it with an Environmental Standards Act and Planning and Development Act.
Allow skilled workers and Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers to enter New Zealand.
Create a fast-tracked Primary Sector Visa.
Repeal or review the nine new water regulations Labour introduced in August.
Promote water storage options.
Review the treatment of forestry in the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Remove the exemption that streamlines the process for forestry applications in the Overseas Investment Office test.
Remove the review process around introducing agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme in 2022.
Pass seven changes to the Zero Carbon Bill, including a review of the methane target.
Pursue an active free trade agenda to open up new markets for New Zealand’s food and fibre products.
Enforce stronger penalties for biosecurity offences.
Build the infrastructure to ensure better connectivity for rural communities.
Labour took farmers for granted.
Now as we face an economic crisis we are seeing just how foolish Labour’s treatment of farmers was.
National’s approach to agriculture is simple - allow the sector to thrive by investing in and encouraging innovation, not constraining the sector with excessive regulations.
There will be a demand for more sustainability in our farming practices.
Farmers are up for this challenge and this desire for improvement is clear in farmers’ efforts over recent years.
We’ll address the issues around workforce shortages
and ensure that primary sector businesses have every opportunity continue growing and supporting New Zealand’s economy.
National is proud of New Zealand’s history as the world’s best producer of food and fibre, and we are committed to it being New Zealand’s future as well.
A vibrant Arts, Culture & Heritage sector
National celebrates New Zealand’s vibrant and dynamic Arts, Culture and Heritage sector.
Through a range of important platforms, the sector enables our stories and talent to be shared with audiences both at home and around the world.
You can read our Arts, Culture & Heritage Policy Factsheet here.
We believe showcasing New Zealand’s history is vital,
and that current generations should be given the opportunity to recognise the contribution made by previous generations of New Zealanders to our shared heritage.
National values the contribution our theatres, art galleries, museums, public sculptures and heritage buildings all play in weaving together the fabric of our communities, and enhancing the character and identity of our country.
Collectively, the creative industries make a significant contribution to our communities and economy.
They support the tourism and hospitality sectors, and are an important contributor to the revitalisation of our city centres.
National backs the creative sector to grow as it adds vibrancy to our communities.
National will:Remember New Zealand’s shared history and culture through events such as Treaty of Waitangi commemorations, protection of Taonga Tuturu, and Maori and Pasifika visual and performing arts.
Ensure the legal and regulatory framework our creative industries operate under is fit for-purpose,
fosters growth,
and supports access to international markets.
Increase the reach of Te Papa and other mobile exhibitions to provide more opportunities to access our cultural heritage outside of the major urban centres.
Develop a nationwide, sector-specific strategy to enhance the creative industries
and promote New Zealand to the world.
Pilot a Creative Accelerator programme designed to assist young people to identify creative careers opportunities.
Disability Issues
National believes New Zealand should be a place where people with disabilities have equal opportunities to pursue their goals and aspirations.
We believe everyone with a disability should have greater choice and control over their lives.
You can read our Disability Issues Policy Factsheet here.
The current disability system is large and complex.
Too many New Zealanders are falling through the cracks and finding it difficult to access the support they need.
National is committed to improving disability support
and ensuring Government services are more responsive for those with disabilities.
National will:Be ambitious for people with disabilities by taking action to support more people with disabilities to move into work.
Ensure people and their families sit at the heart of disability policy, and work with them to ensure their disabled whanau receive support that suits their needs and circumstances.
Grow the Enabling Good Lives model to provide people with disabilities with greater choice and control over the supports they receive and the lives they lead.
National launched the New Zealand Disability Strategy 2016-2026 to improve the lives of the 24 per cent New Zealanders with physical, mental, sensory, and learning disabilities.
National is committed to implementing this strategy and making New Zealand a place where people with disabilities have equal opportunities to achieve their goals and aspirations.
National partnered with the disability sector to create the Enabling Good Lives programme.
This aims to provide people with greater choice and control over the supports they receive and the lives they lead.
We are proud of this work and our efforts to put people with disabilities at the heart of the services available to them.
You can read our Disability Issues Policy Factsheet here.
Ethnic Communities
Our country is richer for its many different ethnicities, cultures and faiths.
Whether someone is a first generation Kiwi who has recently arrived, or has a family who have lived in New Zealand for several generations, National celebrates the valuable contribution ethnic communities make to our economic, cultural and social life.
You can read our Ethnic Communities Policy Factsheet here.
New Zealand attracts some of the best and brightest talent from across the globe.
This has made our nation a thriving multicultural society where hundreds of different ethnicities work and live together.
National backs the aspiration and ambition of those who come here in pursuit of a better life.
National will:Ensure ethnic communities are part of our plan to create jobs and get the economy back on track.
Ensure ethnic communities have official channels to communicate with Government
and official agencies are responsive to the growing number of cultures, backgrounds and languages present in New Zealand.
Enhance safeguards to protect migrants against exploitation
and continue initiatives which proactively ensure the justice system accounts for our ethnic diversity.
We want to ensure everyone can participate in the workforce and reach their full potential.
National welcomes the skills, connections and new perspectives people from different cultures bring to our businesses and communities.
We will work alongside NGOs and businesses to ensure those who are new to New Zealand are provided with the tools to harness their skills and experience.
National is proud of the ethnic diversity in our caucus.
Many of our MPs have strong connections and affiliations with ethnic communities and organisations.
We will continue to engage and listen to ethnic leaders as it is vital we understand the issues they face and how we can maximise the opportunities that come from a multicultural New Zealand.
Local Government & Internal Affairs
National believes modern, efficient and high-performing public administration is essential to provide critical services to New Zealanders.
You can read our Local Government & Internal Affairs Policy Factsheet here.
Today central and local government are addressing problems of unprecedented complexity.
At the same time, the systems and tools of governance are increasingly open, digital and networked.
National will ensure that the skills and expertise in our government keep pace, and allow for the most efficient and responsive central and local government in the world.
Internal affairs is a diverse portfolio and National will ensure that all elements of it are operating at their very best.
We will continue driving forward to ensure New Zealand has the best digitally enabled public service in the world.
We will put Fire and Emergency New Zealand on a firm financial footing and support our firefighters.
And we will ensure that our Civil Defence arrangements are fit for purpose for the future.
National will:Repeal the RMA
and replace it with separate environmental
and urban development legislation.
Deliver more options for common transactions, such as driver’s license applications, to be able to be completed online.
Expedite and complete the review of funding for Fire and Emergency New Zealand and explore alternative funding models and mechanisms for the organisation.
• Amend ACC legislation to clarify cover for firefighters through an evidence-based presumptive list of cancers which arise from being a firefighter.
Supporting Kiwi Women
National backs women to pursue their aspirations and succeed in all walks of life.
You can read our Women's Policy Factsheet here.
While New Zealand has made improvements across many of the key indicators of women’s progress, we acknowledge there is still more work to do.
We want all women in New Zealand to be able to access opportunity and participate fully in our economy,
so will provide more support for new mothers
and will work to reduce barriers to women’s participation in the workforce.
The impact of the pandemic on our economy means many jobs have an uncertain future, so we will put in place significant support to help women retrain, gain new skills,
and get back into employment.
National has a proud record of increasing the number of women in leadership positions in New Zealand, and this will continue to be a key focus for a National Government.
We also need to ensure we are doing all we can as a country to protect women from sexual and physical abuse,
and to advocate and support survivors of historical abuse.
National will: Give all expecting mothers an entitlement worth up to $3000 that can be used to commission services to support their child’s first 1000 days of development.
Continue work to reduce unjustified disparities in pay between men and women doing similar work,
and identify and address barriers to women’s participation in the workforce.
Invest in retraining programmes to help unemployed women get back into the workforce, including SkillStart, which will pay training providers $4000 for every unemployed Kiwi they can retrain and get back into full time employment.
Provide targeted funding of $20 million over four years to reduce mortality rates of gynaecological cancer,
and a further $200 million to purchase drugs for the treatment of cancer.
Re-establish funding for the National Sexual Violence Survivor Advocate, the position previously held by Louise Nicholas, to advocate on behalf of survivors.
• Introduce a comprehensive programme to improve paediatric and child oral health.
Vision Statement
New Zealand, like all other countries, faces enormous challenges to recover, rebuild and move forward.
New Zealanders have shown they have one of the most critical attributes to achieve that, the ability to act together.
The pandemic has generated a sense of shared experience but social cohesion should not be taken for granted.
The present unity will be seriously challenged as we face economic stress possibly over a prolonged period.
The 2020 election should be an ‘eyes wide open’ honest look at the state of New Zealand’s economy and society.
Context of this election
Every election differs but the Coronavirus pandemic has created a new context in 2020.
Everyone has been impacted and we are all reflecting on what lies ahead, many with fear, and what it will mean individually and collectively.
There is a common mythology that New Zealand had a vibrant ‘rock star’ economy with high living standards, capable political leaders, and that we were better than our neighbour Australia and the envy of the world.
The truth is very different.
New Zealand’s history shows that in 1960 New Zealand was in the top 3 OECD countries but has continued to fall since then to the 30s
with very serious intractable economic, social and environmental problems.
New Zealand’s real growth GDP per capita is slow.
We’ve gone from being one of the richest OECD countries to one of the poorest (NZIER/Briggs).
We have refused to politically acknowledge the increasing alarm around New Zealand’s deteriorating situation and we stand at the very edge of capacity to make achievable improvements.
For example: productivity, low household incomes and living standards, exports, housing, poverty, mental health, diabetes, obesity, P/meth etc, excessive low value immigration/population growth, high welfare dependency, leaky buildings, earthquake standards, Christchurch rebuild, family violence, Auckland (economy, governance, etc), defence capability/alliances/ Australia relations, sovereign risk, foreign investment, China, water policy, pollution/waste/recycling, threatened species, Fletchers, Fonterra, the electricity supply industry, the Public Sectors, the political system and National politics, local government (especially the main Centres), excessive Govt spending/welfare/ health costs/services, border protection, environmental management/conservation, no policy strategy or workforce strategy, asset sales, leadership generally, etc.
Of alarm is the unwillingness to ‘challenge the establishment’
and to demand high performance at all levels of government and society.
There has been an erosion of capability in the public service - professional arm of government is an important factor but is tainted by a political objective - the obligation to give ‘free and frank’ advice was replaced by a former government with the ‘no surprises’ policy.
This has led to its loss of independence, capability, leadership and expertise;
and the State Services Commission is being rendered less effective.
Far too often difficulty and complexity policies - productivity, living standards, exports, population/ immigration and workforce issues which should be dealt with by ‘top of the cliff’ policies are now ‘bottom of the cliff’ wrecks.
As a result instead of improving household incomes,
recent governments have been Working For Families as a political solution to paper over the cracks of economic failure.
The very root cause of the problem is not dealt with, with the consequences getting worse
and the cost of band aids increases unproductive government spending.
The result is a downward spiral.
Immigration is a particular problem because hitherto population growth through large numbers of low value immigrants has worsened many of the countries more serious problems.
A contrast with World Values Studies is enlightening and shows that New Zealand needs
A pivot shift in the culture of work is needed to improve New Zealand’s economic prospects
equality is fairness but it must not override competition
concepts such as hard work, productivity, excellence and sacrifice must no longer be frowned upon
if New Zealand wants to seriously compete then the aforementioned values of better performing countries must be imitated.
In the last fifty years New Zealand’s performance has been much worse than the OECD average, and Australia’s.
At the heart of New Zealand’s problem has been numerous attempts to fudge and politically spin instead of finding solutions.
It explains why New Zealand politicians focus on GDP growth not GDP per capita growth.
A strong export performance and growth in tradable goods (ie. goods that are traded internationally) will result in higher GDP per capita and higher living standards.
New Zealand cannot afford a prescription that does not lower tax for business
and targeted deregulation
to grow out of COVID.
In short, we cannot revert to borrow, beg and hope
or the alternative, austerity.
No country ever gets out of a debt hole through austerity.
There is a way out and that is to grow the economy thereby relatively shrinking the debt.
Conversely a socialist public spend up portends a future disaster.
The private sector generates wealth to pay wages and taxes.
Beleaguered businesses facing mounting red tape, business rates and further taxes will fail.
In order to take a leap forward there needs to be a reduction in business taxation.
Although initially this will result in greater debt, such an environment will result in far greater wealth and the decline of debt relatively.
ACC
New Zealand First believes that the Accident Compensation Corporation is a state responsibility and should be maintained as such.
We oppose any concept of privatisation,
although private providers may be contracted in selected areas of treatment or retraining at the discretion of ACC.
We will strongly oppose any attempt to undermine the scheme.
Policy:Investigate legislative changes to free ACC from strict requirements when considering income when paying compensation for victims of serious crime
Review the operations of dispute processes at ACC to ensure that claims are client centred and resolved within a timely manner
Amend rules for victims of serious crime and those who have ongoing life debilitating injuries from having to continually supply documentation to ACC for their annual compensation and entitlements
Ensure that ACC contributes to Kiwisaver when workers are receiving weekly compensation
Amend the way backdated compensation is taxed so claimants are not subject to pay tax at a higher rate when receiving lump sum payments.
Review the changes to the work-related gradual process test for injury cover
Ensure the Dean Report recommendations regarding the cost to review are lifted to address the barriers to review for those on modest incomes
Amend legislation so that ACC claims can be challenged in the Supreme Court
Provide certainty to claimants by ensuring that review decisions are enforceable
Update and review the list of Occupational Diseases to provide financial support to those who have been exposed to carcinogens through their work and have developed cancer as a result
Require ACC to recognise occupational cancers among Firefighters
Agriculture
Agriculture continues to be one of the main pillars of the New Zealand economy.
We believe that value, not volume, is the philosophy that will keep our farmers and growers in an innovative, sustainable business environment, working for and not against New Zealand’s economic and environmental future.
New Zealand First will continue to support our agriculture sector
and ensure that the ‘New Zealand Brand’ remains prestigious on the world stage.
Policy:Build the New Zealand First Farms initiative to assist qualified new entrants towards farm ownership by leveraging Landcorp’s balance sheet
Facilitate water storage and irrigation schemes while working in tandem with local groups and Government to fund and build water storage capacity and capability, so that they meet the needs of modern aquaculture and horticulture
Provide government co-funding for primary sector ‘New Zealand Brand’ value add initiatives, such as Beef and Lamb New Zealand’s “Taste Pure Nature” or protecting the term of ‘Manuka Honey’
Increase funding and capacity for primary production research
Introduce accelerated depreciation for wintering sheds
Dedicate funding for riparian planting and fences
Update the Sharemilking Act (1937)
Investigate stock agent licencing reforms
Enable domestic testing of rye grass for methane reduction
Explore the feasibility of wool carpets and insulation in all Government funded buildings
Consider the total overhaul of strong wool marketing models
Support the National Animal Welfare Advisory Council (NAWAC)in formulating animal welfare standards
Support research into regenerative farming models
Help unify the Manuka Honey industry to add value to our export products
Support agricultural training institutions such as Telford in Balclutha
Aquaculture and Fisheries
New Zealand First regards the fisheries and aquaculture sector as an important part of our regional economy, and a key contributor to export earnings.
We favour a smart regulatory approach which recognises the critical role our primary sector will play in our post-COVID recovery.
The quota management system is at the core of a robust framework for the ongoing management of this valuable resource.
Policy:Undertake a review of recreational catch limits and how we can improve our coastal fisheries to ensure we have quality inter- generational fisheries in the future
Investigate the establishment of a separate Fisheries and Aquaculture Service to be located in regional New Zealand.
Make $100m available to provide capital to Aquacorp as a way to de¬risk ocean based marine farming
Deliver a fast-track statutory process for aquaculture consents with modest costs
Support initiatives to require all vessels fishing in New Zealand territorial and economic zone waters to be New Zealand flagged
Encourage maximum achievable crewing rates of fishing vessels through employing New Zealand citizens and permanent residents as a priority
Work towards ensuring that all fish caught in New Zealand waters are landed and processed in New Zealand.
This includes territorial waters and the EEZ, applying to both local and foreign charter vessels
Continue to work towards a respectful and fair agreement with industry leaders and stakeholders such as Te Ohu Kaimoana for the creation of a Kermadec Reserve
Work closely with industry to establish a programme for fleet renewal using a mixture of tax depreciation and other fiscal measures
Support sectoral vocational training and trades, with preference to training on the job incentives
Focus and prioritise our trade advocacy efforts in fisheries and aquaculture
Ensure that any customary permits issued are regularly published to improve decision-making processes and promote confidence in the permit system
Support more fisheries officers in isolated rural areas
Invest $25m toward a Marine Biology Facility located in Tauranga
Arts, Culture and Heritage
New Zealand already generates distinctive, powerful, and beautiful art.
However, the continued ability to utilise our capacity for creativity will rest on the support we dedicate to Arts, Culture and Heritage.
Through support and recognition, we greatly contribute to both New Zealand’s sense of self and areas of our economy that are often overlooked.
Whether it be recognising the fundamental role Maori culture plays in our national identity,
or preserving our historic sites and buildings,
New Zealand’s arts, culture and heritage must be protected.
Policy:Guarantee sustainable and transparent funding for the arts
Ensure that all New Zealanders have the opportunity to participate and to feel immersed in the arts and culture our country offers through making sure it is accessible
Uphold the protection of culturally and historically significant places, buildings and churches.
Promote and facilitate the development of New Zealand’s unique and dynamic arts industry in terms of trade and marketability.
Support the protection of intellectual property
Introduce a requirement for international streamers like Netflix and other international platforms with significant New Zealand subscriptions to contribute to the New Zealand production industry by commissioning local content production
Provide funding to establish a New Zealand Jazz Orchestra
Reduce the destructive impact of Building Legislation on New Zealand’s cultural heritage sites through developing a risk assessment approach to provide greater flexibility of compliance than is currently possible
Secure the future of the historic Christchurch Arts Centre
Provide funding support for Regional Heritage Museums
Legislate to gain an equity share of future productions in recognition of either direct subsidies or tax breaks provided to be reinvested into New Zealand’s art and film industry
Fund the New Zealand Wars Documentary Collection
Fund specialist curriculum leaders to support schools to deliver on the Arts Curriculum throughout the compulsory school sector
Work with local government to support regional art and historical spaces ensuring access to sustainable arts infrastructure
Biosecurity
Keeping our environment safe means protection at every possible avenue of risk.
Unfortunately, we have already seen how devastating pests and invasive species can be for our environment and economy meaning we cannot treat these matters lightly.
New Zealand First has and will continue to champion proactive policies that ensure our border and environmental protection agencies are well resourced to weather the storm of possible biosecurity risks.
Policy:Ensure that BiosecurityNZ and other border protection agencies have adequate resourcing
Increase offshore port capacity to prevent Brown Marmorated Stink Bug and similar invasive pests from entering the country
Conduct an independent review into the Myco-Plasma Bovis response
Ensure that the appropriate agencies are involved before and at the border as well as post-incursion
Facilitate greater international cooperation on matters regarding the control and eradication of animal and plant diseases
Provide the necessary funding and technology needed to combat biological and other threats at our border
Require effective coordination between relevant government agencies to ensure appropriate deterrents exist to the poaching and trafficking of protected species
Update instant fines and other means of providing effective deterrents against border breaches
Establish a New Zealand Border Protection Force combining functions of the New Zealand Defence Force, New Zealand Customs Service and Immigration New Zealand to coordinate the protection of our borders from pandemic and biosecurity incursions.
Broadcasting
The New Zealand media sector is under enormous stress and needs to be supported with fresh ideas, new policy and investment to ensure its ongoing viability.
The guiding principle is to develop a broad range of interconnected policies that supports a diverse, sustainable
and independent media sector that
keeps New Zealanders connected and informed;
gives people a choice of outlets and sources of information;
celebrates our unique arts, culture and languages; and
supports a strong participative democracy.
Policy:Establish a new stand-alone industry led journalism funding entity to manage a contestable “Public Good” journalism fund
Take regulatory action to require global social media platforms like Facebook / Google / YouTube who profit from New Zealand advertising revenue to pay their fair share
Examine tax deductions for domestic news subscriptions, press patron subscriptions, and large corporate sponsorships of news outlets
Facilitate collaboration of media entities through simplifying competition rules for merger activities whilst protecting national interest
Require and mandate Radio New Zealand (RNZ) to support the health of the broadcasting sector by providing shared services, facilities, content, training and staff development, and infrastructure for the wider industry
Secure and futureproof RNZ Concert as an important entity in our public broadcasting stable noting the station plays a crucial and unique role within the arts sector in New Zealand
Strengthen RNZ Pacific’s role as an international service
that connects New Zealand with our Pacific neighbours
Enable the broadcasting industry to get efficiency of scale through mandating that TVNZ and other Crown media entities work together in creating efficiencies and capabilities that provide greater value for the New Zealand public
Release TVNZ from its obligation to return a dividend to the government
Return Maori Television’s operation to Auckland CBD to enable all Crown media entities to work together and share resources, helping provide greater value for the New Zealand public
while ensuring plurality is maintained across the 4th estate and Maori media
Future proof funding to enable Iwi radio to develop its full potential as valued community radio stations and integral community hubs including as a media training pipeline for rangatahi in provincial New Zealand
Consider a funding review for Access Radio
Consider a review into extending the definition of community radio in recognition of the role these other community broadcasters play in New Zealand’s media landscape.
Child and Youth
New Zealand First knows that the health of children and young people is a predictor of their future health.
We also know that health is holistic and that wellness encompasses physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.
Too many of the issues facing families and parents directly affect our young people who of course do not live in isolation.
Policy:Continue with the reforms of the Ministry for Children - devolving where appropriate resourcing and responsibilities to Iwi, Maori organisations, and NGOs
to better support families earlier
to lower the number of children requiring the care of the State
Direct the Joint Venture to address the wider mandate of Child and Youth Wellness - with a focus on developing community prevention and early intervention programmes to address family violence and sexual violence recognising that over 90% of children in care have experienced family violence
- develop a more practical response across government agencies to address the five major areas that bring children into the care of the state
Begin a nationwide public conservation on the development of a national strategy to address Family and Sexual Violence
Develop solutions through the Community and Volunteer Sector to move from crisis intervention to prevention and early intervention
Break down the silos of funding and using the Matua Whangai model empowering local community ‘joint ventures’ to identify what success looks like and the feasibility to decide how they will achieve it
Expand on access to counselling for all school aged children and their families
Investigate the funding of nutritionist advice in GP offices for those families with extra needs
Investigate the establishment of ‘KiwiSaver at Birth’ to encourage birth registration and long term saving habits
Develop a ‘demerit point’ system as a requirement for support of young people who come to the attention of police
Review the practicality of a ‘Universal Family Benefit’
to acknowledge and support families into their first home
and to care for their children
Climate Change
New Zealand First supports the necessity for a transition to a zero carbon future where people and planet and business can all thrive.
We recognise that climate change is interconnected with many other environmental and social sustainability issues.
Responding to Climate change means responding together, across sectors, including transport, industrial heat, electricity, agriculture, forestry, waste, and water.
We will work to prioritise actions across these areas.
We want to encourage a platform in which businesses feel safe and encouraged to measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions,
assist with setting public emissions reduction,
and working within their own sectors to reduce their emissions.
This includes enabling members to measure, report on, and reduce their emissions, particularly on New Zealand’s key transition opportunities.
We also support our members to build the resilience to adapt to a changing climate.
New Zealand First recognises that a healthy planet, means restoring nature, including biodiversity, water ecosystems, forests and soil.
As Business NZ has said, “This is particularly critical in New Zealand, as so much of our economic success relies on nature, including agriculture.”
Successfully addressing these issues means NZ has a competitive advantage with its exports into the rest of the world.
Customers place a high value on sustainability, so as much as this is the right thing to do for our planet, it also makes economic sense.
As New Zealand introduces national carbon budgets, New Zealand First will work with Business to ensure it is proactively part of shaping a shared plan to transition New Zealand to a zero carbon economy.
COVID-19 Recovery Plan
New Zealand has and will continue to experience unprecedented economic and health challenges due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Already our team of five million has worked together and sacrificed to keep our country safe.
New Zealand’s COVID-19 recovery plan must not be overly politicised,
and focus on utilising our own natural resources, workforce and innovation.
To this end, New Zealand First is in a unique position where our principles and policies will drive us onto the road of recovery.
The RMA is no longer, thirty years on, fit for purpose.
Policy:Continue with business support recovery packages such as the ‘Extended Wage Subsidy, Small Business Loan scheme, and a Covid-19 Leave support scheme.
Investigate an infrastructure fund to ensure we have the long-term capital funds needed to address our infrastructure needs
and to utilise and fund the Infrastructure Pipeline to provide the industry with certainty,
create jobs
and address infrastructure shortfalls.
The Resource Management Act needs a radical urgent, overhaul to ensure that it’s fit for purpose.
The removal of unwarranted costs and delays must be at the forefront of this radical overhaul.
Cut red tape by increasing the fast-track approval process from 2 years to 5 years
and review the RMA to increase the number of shovel ready projects.
Recognise that Infrastructure projects are an important part of our recovery by supporting projects such as the expansion of Northport, development of a dry dock facility in Northland, Rangiuru Business Park, continuation of the Waltham workshops and investment in the ‘Blue Highway’ as part of our recovery efforts.
Continue to support the Provincial Growth Fund in recognition of its ability to deliver infrastructure and business investment where it is most needed
Continue to support the resourcing of apprenticeships and on-job learning to develop a skilled workforce,
redeploy those affected by COVID
and to assist the long term unemployed into jobs
Establish the New Zealand Border Protection Force combining functions of the New Zealand Defence Force, New Zealand Customs Service and Immigration New Zealand to coordinate the protection of our borders from pandemic and biosecurity incursions.
Maintain our strong Foreign Affairs links to collaborate with our partners on border policy
that is responsive to the economic and health needs of New Zealand.
Work to advance trade relationships to ensure certainty of our supply chain
and to establish agreements such as a ‘Commonwealth Connection’ trade agreement with the UK and commonwealth countries post Brexit.
Conservation
Our country has a unique ecosystem of international significance meaning it must be protected from potential threats, and be preserved for future generations.
New Zealand First advocates for conservation policies that are proactive,
create employment,
and engage with local communities.
Policy:Investigate the feasibility of a ‘New Zealand Native Tree Seed Bank’ and the greater use of ‘Native Tree Sanctuaries’
Fund the Kauri dieback response to include more monitoring, research, compliance staff, and disease control
Support threatened species recovery programmes while also protecting and restoring their natural habitat
Continue on our 2017 commitment to support scientific research into 1080 alternatives through the likes of National Science Challenges
Expand the poison free pest trapping zones
and ensure pest control on Crown land is effectively implemented
Support coordinated development of the possum fur industry
and continue to support pest eradication
and the trapping industry
Support new initiatives for community groups, iwi, and conservation groups to participate in conservation projects
Protect our waterways through supporting riparian planting, creating wetlands, and fencing off waterways to improve river quality
Enhance and protect the rights of all New Zealanders to access their cultural heritage sites through clarifying and amending legislation associated with protecting these heritage sites, buildings and objects
Require effective coordination between relevant government agencies to ensure appropriate deterrents exist to the poaching and trafficking of threatened species
Rationalise pastoral leases, where grazing of value exists, to promote ecologically sustainable land use with strong attention to special natural areas
Provide financial support and aid the development of water harvesting schemes such as storage dams where appropriate
Give the West Coast access to the Department of Conservation held stewardship land for sustainable and environmentally approved mining
Ensure the Department of Conservation survey all stewardship land within 10 years and remove those parts of it from the Conservation Estate that should not be so designated.
Defence
New Zealand First believes that our Defence Force holds an extremely important position in the longevity of our nation.
Whether it be safeguarding our territory and sovereignty, aiding our neighbours in the Pacific, or even supporting our nation during a civil emergency, our Defence Force plays a great role in keeping us safe.
That is why policy must reflect and enable this, so that our Defence Force can adapt to the changing landscape of our modern world.
Policy:Progressively increase real Defence spending by the equivalent of at least 0.1% of GDP each fiscal year over ten years, so it reaches 2% of GDP by 2030
Establish a permanent, ring-fenced Defence Capital Fund as part of the Budget process to fund defence capability and estate procurement, which would have the ability to forward purchase foreign currency
Fully implement the Coalition Government’s Defence Capability Plan 2019 and Defence Estate Regeneration Plan 2019, as minimum
Double the size of the Reserve Forces, and put the Defence Force on a growth path to reach an overall strength of 20,000 personnel
Accelerate the introduction into service of the Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles capability that was included in the Defence Capability Plan 2019
Enhance the combat effectiveness of the Defence Force by re-establishing an air combat capability, and introducing precision strike and heavy lift helicopter capabilities
Respond to the findings of the national conversation on establishment of a Kawenata, or Covenant, between service people, the Government and the people of New Zealand
Continue to pursue the objectives of the 2017 Coalition Agreement commitment regarding the Youth Education, Training and Employment initiative
Continue to support the role the New Zealand Defence Force plays in youth development
Undertake a fundamental review of military medals and honours
Establish the New Zealand Border Protection Force combining functions of the New Zealand Defence Force, New Zealand Customs Service and Immigration New Zealand to coordinate the protection of our borders from pandemic and biosecurity incursions
Introduce a 5% pay increase to all military personnel (cost $50.5 million).
Democracy and Government
Parliament must be a responsive and accountable institution that works for communities.
New Zealand First believes that the best approach to ensure this is smaller and more effective government,
coupled with direct democracy through referenda.
We also recognise the important role that local government plays in our democracy,
and believe its actions must achieve the best return for ratepayers.
Policy:Where practical timelines permit remove the use of personal votes by Members of Parliament on all conscience issues and replace them with citizens binding referenda
Continue to advocate for binding referenda in political decision making
Ensure greater contestability of policy advice
and make social impact a necessary component of the economic cost and benefit analysis in government decision-making processes
Conduct a nationwide study into the relationships between regional councils, community boards, and local councils
Review the legislative burden that central government has placed on local government to remedy the impact this has on ratepayers
Integrate emergency services into a Ministry of Emergency Services
Establish an independent firearms authority (IFA)
Continue to safeguard our state and local government assets through restricting their sale or use that is outside of New Zealand’s national interest
Ensure the future of Maori seats is a decision for the people to make
having examined the significant increase in representation numbers of Maori MPs under MMP
Bring greater value to New Zealand citizenship
through revoking the ability for non-citizens to vote in general elections
Continue to oppose the establishment of separate Maori Wards at the local and regional government level
Economic Development
Economic policy must work to improve the lives of ordinary Kiwis
and put New Zealand on a pathway to prosperity.
Our approach involves capitalizing on the natural assets, local talent, enterprise, and environment that New Zealand is endowed with.
New Zealand First believes that a new economic direction is needed now more than ever as worldwide economic uncertainty has become the norm in a post COVID-19 world.
Policy: Support the primary industries sector and help it grow sustainably by supporting value driven innovation and enterprise
Prioritise maintaining and building New Zealand’s manufacturing sector
Introduce a manufacturers tax rate of 20%
Further improve government procurement policy with an emphasis on working with New Zealand firms
Reform the Reserve Bank Act to reflect that New Zealand has an export dependent economy
while creating a sensible exchange rate regime that serves New Zealand’s economic interests
Support initiatives to grow KiwiBank’s market share to 10% by supporting lending segments such as Agri-lending
Provide assistance in the marketing of new or innovative products
and provide improved lower cost intellectual property protection for New Zealand based innovators
Continue to advocate for a comprehensive compulsory savings plan
Continue investing in regional New Zealand through the Provincial Growth Fund
Work with industry to develop strategies for productivity gains as a way to move towards improved productivity
Support and develop the ‘Buy New Zealand Made’ campaign
and where practicable place ‘Buy New Zealand’ purchasing requirements on tax-payer and rate-payer owned businesses and state owned enterprises
Education - Adult and Community
An opportunity to access second chance learning for New Zealanders of any and all ages is one of the keys to our nation’s economic recovery in a post-COVID world.
New Zealand First is committed to ensuring that quality lifelong learning opportunities are available in all communities,
are responsive to the needs, wants and interests of those communities
and include intergenerational learning.
It has never been more important, in recent history, that New Zealanders have multiple opportunities to build on the skills they have or develop new skills that not only provide greater opportunity for employment but keep communities connected.
Research shows that people engaged in learning experience greater wellbeing and remain connected to their communities.
Policy: Ensure that goals within the ACE (Adult and Community Education) Strategy have a sufficient budget attached.
Review student support systems to ensure they are fit for purpose and have adequacy for life-long learning.
Ensure that the ACE sector is constantly considered in the discussions around New Zealand’s economic recovery from Covid-19.
Work with the ACE sector to develop and implement an appropriate and affordable quality assurance process for ACE programmes and activities.
Investigate full funding for co-ordinators inside school clusters to once again open our schools facilities up for community use outside compulsory school hours.
Education - Compulsory Sector
New Zealand First believes that we have a quality public education system and acknowledges the importance of principals, teachers, support staff, parents, boards of trustees and the community in the delivery of a full and rich education for our young people.
New Zealand First is committed to a quality public education sector where the principles, values and key competencies of our New Zealand curriculum documents are at the center of all teaching and learning.
Policy:Deliver the final and full tranche of Learning Support Coordinators (1200) across New Zealand to all schools.
Build on the recent pilot of access to counsellors for primary students and progress counsellor/student ratios at secondary schools.
Review the representation on the Teachers Council in line with requests from sector representatives
and remove certain tasks that have increased costs and should be the responsibility of Government.
Review Section 156 Designated Character Schools in the Education Act 1989 to recognise schools such as Hohepa and the education they deliver for a certain number of our students.
Continue the work required to shift from the decile system to better address equity challenges and ‘outside of school’ factors that impact on student achievement.
Complete the creation of consistent School Entry Assessment tools and practices that teachers and school leaders use to identify those students with learning needs.
Continue the work with the sector to develop screening tools, funding and resourcing models to best meet the needs of children challenged by dyslexia, dyspraxia, Asperger’s and autism.
Continue to advocate for increases in the Ongoing Reviewable Resource Scheme (ORRS) to cover the 3 percent of the school population identified by the Ministry of Education as high needs.
Education - Early Childhood
New Zealand First is committed to inclusive early childhood education (ECE) that is accessible to all within safe, nurturing and stimulating environments.
We would urgently review the funding model for Playcentre and their dual role as early childhood education role models
and as centres that can make parents better parents.
New Zealand First is most concerned about the loss of access to education providers for our rural and isolated communities.
Policy:Review the adult to infant (under 2s) staffing ratio in ECE centres as an urgent health and safety matter.
Work with the sector to amend relevant criteria to ensure an increased ability of isolated rural communities to participate in early childhood education such as Playcentre and Mobile Kindergartens.
Support the HIPPY organisation in their provision of early childhood education opportunities for 4 and 5 year olds and their families.
Establish a fund for research into best practice and innovation in New Zealand early childhood education.
Work to bring more ECE Centres into the Learning Support Delivery Model so as to better support those children needing early learning support.
Build on the pilots to shift from a “refer out and wait” early intervention system for young children who need learning support to a “send in the experts and deliver” model of early intervention.
Pursue the opportunity to bring ECE Centres into local clusters or Kahui Ako to better support the transition of all students into the compulsory sector.
Work with Playcentre to recalibrate their funding model to recognise that they provide support around parental education while also teaching how children learn through play.
Seek to partner with Playcentre in rural communities so that Justice can use their facilities during weekends and after hours for supervised parent / child visits to address the lack of these facilities in small towns.
Education - Learning Support
New Zealand First’s vision for all children in education is for them to receive the support they need, as early as possible, for them to be their personal best.
It is a vision based on identifying each child’s strength in the first instance and then resourcing the support they need for their fully rounded success.
We acknowledge that success means more than just academic success - soft skills are vital in the society of the future.
We know that a flexible model of delivery is required as our children’s needs are diverse.
New Zealand First has a strong vision of the future for learning support and we intend to build on the foundation New Zealand First has established over the last three years in the years ahead.
Policy:Fully fund and implement the second and final tranche of Learning Support Coordinators across the rest of the compulsory sector, then enhance this support into the Early Childhood Education sector
Complete the nationwide implementation of the Learning Support Delivery Model and the Learning Needs Register to enhance workforce planning and network support
Recalibrate Early Intervention Support so that specialists come to the child rather than the “refer out and wait” current model.
Where there are specialist shortages we will pursue a “Specialists Without Regions” policy of sending in teams of specialists one week per month to address children’s needs
Complete and roll out the nationwide Universal Screening Tools for the early identification of neurodiverse students with dyslexic, dyscalculic and autism like traits
Pursue the concept of a workforce of “health aides” (funded from health) and “teacher aides” (funded from education) to better support both students and teachers
Look to secure sustainable funding for gifted children
and build on the provision of gifted identification and education for Maori and Pacific gifted children
Implement and resource the redesign of Alternative Education as developed by the sector in 2019
Implement and resource the redesign of the Attendance Service as per the trial in 2020
Continue to build on true choice for parents of “differently abled” students through a mix of ORS funding enhancements, learning support units inside local schools and specialist schools
Continue the roll out of the Managed Moves model of intervention for younger students with behavioural needs with a goal to have one in every school cluster over time
Education - Tertiary and Vocational
New Zealand First will implement upfront investment in post-secondary education.
This policy will remove the financial burden of student loans, particularly on our young people and replace this with a payable skill debt to the country.
The Up Front Investment Tertiary policy will reduce both the human and financial waste currently created by inadequate workforce planning and under resourced careers advice.
Our post-secondary study suite of policies, which includes a universal student allowance, will remove current lurching from skill shortage crisis to individual profession oversupply.
In a post-COVID New Zealand now more than ever we must ensure that workforce planning is done and directly linked to our education system.
Now is our opportunity to train our own for the skilled workforces needed
before we look offshore.
Policy:Implement the Up Front Investment Tertiary Policy as quickly as possible so as to remove student debt from the next generation
and to ensure that workforce planning is used to remove our dependence on the importation of skilled labour as a norm.
Move to introduce a universal living allowance which is not subject to parents means testing as a priority for all full-time students.
Immediately introduce a dollar-for-dollar debt write-off scheme so that graduates in identified areas of workforce demand may trade a year’s worth of debt for each year of paid full-time work in New Zealand in that area.
Work with the sector to reset the international student market so that when it is safe to restart this sector it is done safely
and is rebuilt to provide quality education and experiences to these students
but also provide high quality income for our nation.
International Education must not be used as a back door to immigration.
Continue to support the resourcing of apprenticeships and on-job learning to develop a skilled workforce
and address unemployment across all ages.
Work alongside the sector, including NZUSA, to establish a project to build capacity for enhancing student engagement so students have a say in how, what and why they learn.
This would be based on the implementation of the Student Voice for Quality Enhancement report
and by funding a long¬term programme to build capacity for the student voice in the sector ($2m over 5 years).
While respecting institutional autonomy and diversity, require through the external review processes that institutions can demonstrate that they have independent, autonomous and well-resourced systems of student advocacy services for genuinely engaging, through student representatives, with students.
Work with NZUSA and the sector to establish an expert reference group with a view to implement two thousand ‘First in Family’ scholarships per year.
These will create a step-change in educational aspiration by promoting fee-free education with wrap-around support from secondary, through transition and to completion for those who would be the first in their immediate family to achieve a degree.
($68m over first 3 years 2015 to 2017).
Review funding and attendance models that create barriers to achieving recognized NZQA qualifications through flexible individual training agreements and workplace internships.
(see our Business Linked Internship Policy under Small Business)
Minimise the “opportunity costs” (administration and compliance) and financial barriers for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to employ apprentices
and provide flexibility for provincial and rural New Zealand students.
Encourage strategic alliances between industry crown research institutes and tertiary institutions to increase the number of scholarships and government funded research grants available to graduates, universities and employers.
Re-establish Teachers Training Colleges to address the deficiencies in many Initial Teacher Training courses.
Employment
In post-COVID New Zealand support for Kiwis to retain or regain employment will be vital.
New Zealand First has always believed in the safety net of social welfare
but also understands the desire of all Kiwis to have the mana of honest employment.
Some members of our society will require more support than others to gain and retain employment - we need a system that acknowledges that and has the levers to provide that support locally.
New Zealand First also recognises that members of our disabled community want to work
and so we will provide better support to both the employer and employee to realise this aspiration.
Policy:Negotiate for the full reinstatement of the 90 day trial programme or at least expand its reach to more small businesses.
Re-establish Careers New Zealand as a separate entity but widen its target demographic to cover all New Zealanders regardless of age
- currently no agency has responsibility for careers advice after secondary school - Careers New Zealand would assume this responsibility
Extend funding and professional development around career advice and job transition for librarians across New Zealand so they can better support their community, regardless of age or employment status, with employment and training advice
Enhance local workforce development councils and industry workforce planning to better target financial support for on and off job training
Through greater focus on and investment in both local and nationwide skills needs
minimise the importation of labour
Streamline and target apprenticeship financial support to ensure a continual stream of skilled workers in New Zealand key industries as these change and grow
to minimise reliance on imported skilled workers
Reinstate Workbridge as the primary employment agency for Kiwis who are differently abled and resource them to provide the appropriate level of pastoral support to both the employee and employer
Ensure the support put in place for the “newly unemployed” due to COVID-19 continue in both urban and rural communities to address the change in the future of work identified pre-COVID
Actively set up a seniors employment plan
and support uptake of the employers toolkit for mature workers
Energy and Resources
New Zealand First is committed to ensuring that our energy sector is sustainable because our environment and decarbonisation must be at the forefront of our country’s thinking.
Businesses that operate within the sector must be given surety.
This includes consumers of energy.
Long term planning is required across diverse sectors and industry to ensure energy and electricity costs do not increase for all users.
It would be disingenuous of New Zealand to simply move the problem of carbon offshore.
Policy:Promote policies that actively move New Zealand towards energy sovereignty
Investigate a hedge market structure to encourage a greater number of genuinely independent retail operators in the New Zealand retail electricity market
Remove the Electricity Authority and give their operations to the Commerce Commission.
Ensuring that high electricity users are given confidence in pricing.
Ensuring that commercial and regional New Zealand are not paying more for their electricity than they should be
Conduct a national review on our natural resources, exploring their full potential and what can be done with them
Explore the option of including hydro generation within the new water storage schemes that are being developed and implemented in our regions
Continue to support and encourage options of including hydrogen as a domestic and exportable fuel source
with a focus on green hydrogen
Investigate other potential storage options for ensuring electricity supply security
in a 100% renewable electricity system
Set an aspirational goal of achieving 100% renewable electricity by 2035.
Whilst acknowledging the exponential marginal cost as we move closer to 100%
Continue to draw natural gas from New Zealand gas fields both existing and new.
New Zealand must not lock out the opportunity that is presented in the Great South Basin or Canterbury Basin, as they provide surety for future gas options in New Zealand
Continue to support domestic electricity generation policies such as “net metering”
and provide incentives for household solar panels and generators
The retention of Tiwai will require government involvement to set out the facts as to why the smelter should be able to continue with its world leading production
and the retention of thousands of jobs in Southland
and its more than $450 million contribution to the New Zealand economy
Environment
As New Zealanders, we should be proud of our natural environment and treat it with the respect it deserves.
New Zealand First believes the government must strike a fair balance between environmental stewardship
and utilizing our natural resources.
It is when this is done properly that good environmental policy becomes sound economic policy, helping New Zealanders get the most out of our environment
while ensuring its longevity.
Policy:Support an evidence based approach to complex environmental issues where it is often challenging to achieve the correct balance
Advocate that government and industry work together to achieve better environmental outcomes
Support the 1 billion trees strategy
while ensuring that native species play an important part in the planting strategy
Address pollution of streams, rivers, and beaches
Halt creation of any new landfills and urgently advance work on the development of rubbish disposal alternatives through conducting a nationwide recycling and recovery strategy
Develop a nationwide Waste-to-Energy strategy.
Develop an easy to use, uncomplicated recycling labelling regime for food and drink packaging.
Seek higher Crown levies on minerals extracted
and return 25 percent of royalties to the regions of source
Work towards ensuring that the right to take and use water is available only to New Zealand people (citizens and permanent residents) and New Zealand owned companies
Ensure developers are responsible to the community when avoiding, remedying or mitigating adverse environmental effects
Finance and Revenue
New Zealand First believes that protecting our financial interests must operate in tandem with the calculated use of our nation’s revenue.
That is why we continue to promote policies that ensure New Zealand has a level playing field against international competitors,
while investing in the areas needed to facilitate our own financial growth.
Finance and revenue policies must be stable and not focused on short term gain.
Policy:Continue to improve the penalty framework for tax evasion
Initiate a review into the double-taxation of ‘tax like’ instruments such as removing GST on rates
Explore the feasibility of introducing a lower business tax rate for exporters and import substitution manufacturers
Introduce a 100% depreciation rate for business equipment worth up to $20,000 for each item and further for approved capital outlay (exclusive of GST)
Amend Capital Limitation Rules in the Income Tax Act to treat seismic strengthening as “repairs and maintenance”
Support local procurement policies that encourage government departments, state-owned companies, and local government bodies to give weighting to domestic service providers or products
Upgrade KiwiBank’s capabilities so that it may better compete with commercial and wholesale lending competitors
Aim to increase KiwiBank’s market share
by targeting specific lending portfolios such as Agri-lending
Encourage the consolidation of sub-prime lenders including co-ops and community banking to better compete against offshore banks
Continue to promote a simple taxation system by opposing complicated tax initiatives such as a comprehensive capital gains tax
Foreign Affairs and Trade
New Zealand First believes that our country must have an active role to play in international politics.
We believe in promoting New Zealand’s interests
and facilitating cooperation and trust between other nations.
It is through our foreign policy that New Zealand gains fair free trade agreements,
cooperation on pressing issues such as climate change,
and sound representation of our citizens living abroad.
Policy:Explore the feasibility of introducing an exporters tax of 20% for new business or product lines
Remain strongly committed to New Zealand’s anti-nuclear policy
Further develop relationships within the greater Asia-Pacific region in recognition of its growing importance to New Zealand’s security and wellbeing
Continue to support the “Pacific reset” so money spent wisely now is money saved on any repairs and rebuilding in the future
Continue with the progress made on the free trade agreement with the United Kingdom
as a larger part of advocating for closer Commonwealth Economic Relations
Work to advance trade relationships to ensure certainty of our supply chain
and to establish agreements such as a ‘Commonwealth Connection’ trade agreement with the UK and commonwealth countries post Brexit
Encourage businesses to engage in import substitution
Broaden the role of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise to better enhance exporting prospects where we have a competitive advantage
Continue work towards establishing a full free trade agreement with the United States
Maintain our strong Foreign Affairs links to collaborate with our partners on border policy that is responsive to the economic and health needs of New Zealand.
Forestry
Forestry holds immense future potential and we understand its importance for our regions.
Throughout the last three years New Zealand First has championed forestry through establishing Te Uru Rakau Forestry Service and the One Billion Trees programme.
New Zealand First will continue with the right tree, right place, right time vision and ensure the forestry sector is supported as we upscale training, professional development, nursery production, planting profiles, ancillary and support industries, processing, manufacturing, and exports.
Policy:Continue to support and fund the One Billion Trees programme
Ensure that New Zealand has the appropriate amount of nurseries to promote the One Billion Tree programme
Increase the use of mapping technology so that low value, low productive land is prioritised in planting efforts
Support biodiversity by encouraging native tree planting targets through methods such as native tree nurseries
Properly fund research to counter bio-security threats such as Kauri die-back and Myrtle Rust
Investigate the feasibility of a ‘New Zealand Native Tree Seed Bank’ and the greater use of ‘Native Tree Sanctuaries’
Continue to support Wood First initiatives as a way to further encourage the use of New Zealand wood in government and local government procurement
Further promote training and pathways for careers in forestry through trades training, programmes, and scholarships
Health - PHARMAC and Medicines
New Zealand First recognizes health as a critical and essential investment that reflects how New Zealand values its people.
The existing inequalities in terms of access to healthcare, clinical outcomes and long-term care are unacceptable and the health system must ensure that all New Zealanders are treated equally.
Access to conventional, natural products and dietary supplements must be enhanced while also meeting the same clinical standards to ensure an efficient health system.
Investment into health is more important now than ever as COVID-19 has highlighted the failures in both our underfunded public health systems and profit driven private health systems in their treatment of the crisis.
A recent Medicines New Zealand report found that New Zealand ranks last out of twenty comparable OECD countries for access to modern medicines.
Too many of our medical experts have expressed concern at Pharmac having only one supplier of a medical product.
In contrast the Australian model is assessment-led, it is not based on costs, finding the cheapest supplier of one single brand, as New Zealand does.
Policy:Establish a transparent annual medicines budget that includes new investment in community and hospital medicines to meet the OECD average of up to 1. 4% of GDP by 2023.
This new investment includes establishment of a specific rare disorder medicines fund of $30 million per annum
Fund new Diabetes medicines which have been proven to reduce the negative side effects that diabetics experience
Establish a clear and transparent process with a 1-year timeline for technical review (health technology assessment) by the Pharmacology and Therapeutics Advisory Committee (PTAC) of medicines and establish a 90-day time limit for PHARMAC assessment of new medicines after a positive technical recommendation from PTAC
Increase funding for Arthritis early intervention programmes to develop awareness and education workforce programmes for treatment and management of arthritis.
Establish a $100 million rapid access scheme for innovative medicines
Major clinical conditions to be funded for further research and investment to ensure they are managed effectively include Arthritis, Crohn’s, Colitis, Diabetes, Dementia and Depression.
Establish a $50 million new medicines industry development partnership programme to match industry investment in local R&D, data analytics, manufacturing.
Support the redevelopment of a New Zealand based pharmaceutical manufacturing industry
Establish a New Zealand quality standard for New Zealand manufacturers and exporters in the Natural Health industry and other stakeholders to ensure that there is an appropriate regulatory regime for complementary medicines.
Health - Primary Care and Services
New Zealand First believes in ensuring quality healthcare for all New Zealanders.
That is why we are proposing a suite of policies that help equip communities with the resources they need to improve health standards.
Through doing this, we can address some of the longstanding health issues in our country and improve patient health.
New Zealand First believes that policies must help address problems at their root, while adequately resourcing our public health system so it can handle the stress of future health problems.
New Zealand has far too many DHBs.
Policy:Expand free dental care through a yearly free check-up, x-ray and clean for 18 - 25 year olds, Community Service Card holders and Super Gold Card Holders to halt preventable dental disease.
This would be funded and provided at community based dental facilities rather than overloading hospital services
It is a sad indictment that many animals are getting better dental care in New Zealand than humans are, that is resulting in neglect in our human capital.
New Zealand must begin by expanding free dental care to everyone under 26 years of age, parents and caregivers, pregnant women and everyone 65 years of age and older and then to everyone else.
This policy has to be because of its cost, means-tested (the total cost is estimated to be $515 million per annum)
Continue to implement certain recommendations of the Health and Disabilities System review
except that halving the number of DHBs is not an adequate response to ensure equity of access for all New Zealanders
without using poor Maori health statistics to advocate for separatism.
New Zealand needs no more than 7 DHBs
while having regard to the serious geographic isolation of the West Coast where a separate DHB is warranted.
The remaining 6 DHBs should be population-related to the remainder of the South Island and for all the North Island.
Engage with the sector stakeholders to ensure that a complete stocktake of paramedic equipment, staffing and services to ensure that they are fit for purpose across the country.
Introduce top sliced funding for paramedic equipment and infrastructure to bring it up to an agreed standard for all regions.
This includes the training and skill mixing of paramedics to provide a wider provision of first responder services across the country
Allocate funding to settle longstanding paramedic pay disputes and also encourage paramedic training
Expand the range of services delivered in general practice (including allied health and mental health services).
Incentivise DHB and hospital-based services to support community medicine and general practice, which will facilitate the move to functioning as one system
Rework the capitation model to reflect ethnicity, complexity, comorbidity, and age
Discretionary DHB funding to be bulk funded with long-term certainty so practices can plan and direct services to the needs of their unique patient population, with a focus on proactive and long- term care.
Ensure that the additional DHB funding announced in the 2020 Budget is, at a minimum, proportionally allocated to community based medical care
Fund mobile health buses to take specialists and specialist services to the people
Incentivise more General Practitioners to become Rural GPs by an adequately funded GP capitation formula that takes into account social determinants including rural isolation.
DHB’s take responsibility to provide primary care staff (rather than just fund) for rural practices with staffing shortfalls with shared urban-rural GP’s.
Fund capital development of community medical facilities
and fund new technology within practices to facilitate virtual care.
Universal vision screening by trained optometrists for year 5 and year 6 primary school students,
and, for those who need it, a follow up full eye exam and to be fitted with glasses as required
Provide mental health programme ‘Gumboot Friday’ with $10m over three years to go toward administering and delivering free counselling services for young people.
Support ASH (Action for Smokefree 2025) in their policy to divert tobacco and cigarette smokers to much safer products, as in Japan,
and stop attacking the low-incomed with exorbitant taxes ($2 billion) whilst claiming to support Smoke-Free by 2025.
Housing
Before the pandemic struck New Zealand faced an acute housing crisis marked by rapidly rising rents and house price escalation.
High immigration was fueling demand for housing.
A reduced demand for rentals and housing will alleviate housing pressures.
Those people struggling to rent or purchase a home will welcome this development.
More broadly, a rebalancing of the economy away from speculation on housing would be socially and economically beneficial.
Home ownership
and quality of housing is a fundamental component of ensuring that our nation can excel.
It is an essential tool for ensuring equality in our society.
New Zealand First believes that through direct government intervention, home ownership can become an integral part of each New Zealanders life.
That is because regardless of circumstance, all New Zealanders should be able to live in a healthy, first-world home
and have the opportunity to become home-owners.
Policy:Encourage direct and long-term government participation in the housing market
by establishing a Housing Commission to ensure a non-political approach in solving New Zealand’s housing issues
Continue to encourage the use of New Zealand expertise in prefabricated houses
Encourage private investment in high quality rental housing through options such as the tax system
Continue to build more social housing
Ensure the Resource Management Act is responsive to the needs of housing initiatives and not restricted by bureaucracy
Provide low cost government funding to local authorities for new elderly persons housing and public rental housing projects through which long term 2% loan finance would be made available
Continue to implement, develop and refine New Zealand’s Housing Plan
Align the Residential Tenancy Act 1986 with the Building Code to ensure there is one standard for installation requirements of photo¬electric smoke alarms
Investigate the option of families to capitalize on the Universal Family Benefit as a deposit on their first family home
Promote and implement innovative housing solutions on Maori title land using relocatable dwellings and appropriate changes to the Building Act
Support the retention of the 90-day ‘no cause’ eviction notices for landlords
Immigration
New Zealand First believes that everyone living in New Zealand legally should be entitled to the same legal rights no matter how long their time in New Zealand has been.
The size and suddenness of the pandemic has shaken the global economy - and as an open economy New Zealand is profoundly affected.
The end of the crisis is not in view yet but immigration, along with other aspects of the economy, will need a fundamental rethink.
New Zealand has had one of the fastest growing populations in the developed world because of high rates of immigration well above natural population increase.
There has been an immediate and dramatic drop in immigration as borders closed due to the pandemic.
But it is also becoming apparent that the scale of immigration that fed headline economic growth in both Australia and New Zealand now belongs to another era.
New Zealand First is committed to a rigorous and strictly applied immigration policy that serves New Zealand’s interests.
Immigration should not be used as a source of cheap labour
to undermine New Zealanders’ pay and conditions.
COVID-19 has presented a unique opportunity to reset New Zealand’s immigration policy settings, ensuring that they put New Zealanders first.
There will be briefly a vacuum that essential workers must fill, with overseas seasonal workers until substitute training or retraining of New Zealander’s has occurred.
Policy:Ensure that Kiwi workers are at the front of the job queue
Guarantee that immigration policy is based on New Zealand’s interests such as meeting critical skill gaps
Maintain parent category visa cap at 1000
and ensure that sponsors can adequately support and fund their family during and after migration
Continue to develop strategies that encourage regionally dispersed immigration so that it lessens the burden on already overloaded urban cities
Investigate a ‘skills of absolute shortage’ visa category to replace the incumbent skills shortage list
Ensure that regionalised skills shortage lists reflect and are consistent with COVID-19 recovery efforts
Introduce a ‘rural visa scheme’ that will apply to communities of less than 100,000 residents,
while placing into law an obligation for migrants to stay in their specified place of settlement until they have secured permanent residency
Population Plan:Have a nationwide review to set a 30 year ‘Population Plan’ to gain a majority view on the level of future population numbers.
This will enable government to plan infrastructure with consideration for natural population growth, immigration, and attrition via death or emigration
Infrastructure
New Zealand First strongly believes that investments in infrastructure must facilitate long-term benefits and be able to adapt with the fast-paced nature of our modern world.
New Zealand should not be unnecessarily restricted by a lack of Government action
or bureaucratic red tape.
That is why we have and will continue to commit to investing in infrastructure in New Zealand beyond roads and bridges.
New Zealand First will continue to support the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission to work through challenges such as skill and labour shortages, unclear regulations, and poor risk management.
We will ensure that New Zealand has a visible, coordinated pipeline of infrastructure projects well into the future.
Policy:Continue to support and resource the Infrastructure Commission
Investigate an infrastructure fund to ensure we have the long-term capital funds needed to address our infrastructure needs, especially in regional cities
Establish a ‘Defence Infrastructure’ fund
The Resource Management Act needs a radical urgent, overhaul to ensure that it’s fit for purpose.
The removal of unwarranted costs and delays must be at the forefront of this radical overhaul
Cut red tape by increasing the fast-track approval process from 2 years to 5 years
and review the RMA
to increase the number of shovel ready projects
Establish a Ministry for Works to address skill and labour shortage gaps
Continue to support the Provincial Growth Fund in recognition of its ability to deliver infrastructure investment where it is most needed
Support moving ports of Auckland’s operations to Northport
Justice, Courts and Corrections
New Zealand First proudly believes that keeping society safe should be the priority of law and order policies.
Every New Zealander deserves to feel safe, secure, and have their properties respected in the communities they live.
That is why New Zealand First has and continues to fix the flaws in our justice system,
while ensuring that victims of crime are prioritised over offenders.
Policy:Prioritise the principles of the Sentencing Act to focus on the needs of the victim, then the community, and lastly the offender
Adopt New Zealand First’s Protection for First Responders and Prison Officers Bill as a Government Bill
Introduce harsher penalties for fleeing drivers
Increase the use of mandatory minimum sentences for serious violent and sexual offenders
Introduce a degrees of murder regime that utilises ‘life for life’ for 1st Degree Murder
Review and work to increase the fines for lower level crimes such as texting while driving and shoplifting
Introduce an enforcement law for dangerous littering
Implement a ‘Youth Justice Demerits’ system to provide accountability and certainty of support for youth offenders, youth aid officers and law enforcement
Introduce a greater range of non-custodial sentences such as the confiscation of specific property, larger and long term reparation payments and fines.
Remove concurrent sentences for those who commit offences while on parole, on bail, or whilst in custody
Investigate the applicability of operational funding to equip corrections officers with body cameras and appropriate protective equipment
Provide consistency in legislation and replace the term ‘prison officer’ and ‘prison guard’ with ‘corrections officer’
Provide a minimum mandatory cumulative prison term for assaulting Corrections Officers
Police
The continued safety of our communities rest firmly on the capabilities and resourcing of our police.
New Zealand First has and continues to advocate for a police workforce that has the necessary funding, training, and personnel so that our police can meet the challenges of our growing population, and adapt to the many needs of our communities in the modern age.
Policy:Commit to recruiting a further 1000 new frontline police alongside the 2335 new frontline police we have already trained since the last election
Review Police pay and conditions with the goal of achieving parity with the Australian Police
Ensure that there is staffing available to eliminate sole charge police stations
Focus on crime prevention and working with the community
Adequately resource community policing including Maori and Pasifika wardens, and Neighbourhood Watch
Conduct an independent review on arming the police
Provide minimum mandatory prison terms for assaulting Police Officers
Double the number of Youth Aid officers
Introduce a ‘Youth Justice Demerit Points’ system to provide structure and early intervention for youth offenders.
There must be accountability, an offender needs to know there will be consequences
but also every opportunity to change their behaviours
Review fleeing driver legislation and ensure adequate resourcing to curb the exponential increase in fleeing driver incidents
Racing
The New Zealand racing industry faced an unprecedented challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning we faced the threat of losing an integral part of our Kiwi economic wealth and lifestyle.
In three short years New Zealand First has championed racing as we recognise that losing the industry would be devastating for both our economy, and the regions it actively contributes to.
If our racing industry is to go beyond COVID relief packages and remain internationally renowned, recognising that now is the time for support, planning and collaboration to be paramount.
New Zealand First is committed to supporting our racing industry
and will continue to make the contribution it brings to our country known.
Policy:Complete implementation of Racing Legislation passed in this term of Government
Complete where appropriate the recommendations of Messara Report
and continue consultation with all stakeholders
Complete the construction of the Cambridge, Awapuni and Riccarton all weather tracks
Recognise the regional economic potential of the Racing sector and support initiatives to enable its growth
Work with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise to develop export channels and opportunities
Regional Economic Development
For decades Regional New Zealand has been overlooked and neglected by successive governments.
However, during our time in government New Zealand First has delivered the greatest per capita regional investment platform - the Provincial Growth Fund.
Investing in our regions has long been a focus of our party as we look to unleash the economic potential of provincial communities and industries.
Primary Industry and the role that the regions play is an essential part of our Covid-19 recovery.
The Provincial Growth Fund will continue to be a core part of our role in government as we further address regional neglect.
Policy:Continue the $1 billion per annum Provincial Growth Fund
Relocate government agencies and functions to regional New Zealand
Support rural communities, businesses and exporters with continued investment in regional roads, rail, ports, airports and freight facilities
Continue to resource vital rural infrastructure such as schools, healthcare, reliable electricity supply, internet and mobile coverage
Commit to moving Ports of Auckland operations to Northport
Seek higher Crown levies on minerals extracted
and return 25 per cent royalties to the source regions
Support the pilot of ‘regional banking hubs’ and seek to expand their use including amalgamation with other services such as post offices
Encourage internal tourism through a ‘See New Zealand First’ campaign
Implement policies such as a ‘National Interest Test’ to keep key strategic assets and New Zealand farmland in New Zealand hands
Improve rural connectivity through funding smaller local internet service providers to fill in remote area gaps
Continue to support regional marine facilities such as Tarakohe Wharf, Sugarloaf Wharf, and the Opotiki Harbour
Ensure that there is clear reference to infrastructure continuing to back Water Storage outcomes for those areas affected by adverse weather
Commit to developing a dry dock facility for international, domestic and Defence shipping needs in Northland
Support the future of Tiwai Point by committing to a 20-year agreement
Seniors and Superannuation
When previous governments have attacked the status of our seniors only New Zealand First has steadfastly defended them.
From the surtax of the 1980s and, 1990s, or more recent attempts to increase the age of entitlement it has been New Zealand First that has championed their cause and will continue to do so.
During COVID-19 it became obvious that our seniors were only seen by Government departments as “vulnerable” and told to “go home, stay home”.
With Kiwi’s over the age of 65 expected to grow to 1. 2 million by 2034, we believe that they deserve a stronger voice in all government decisions.
Policy:Establish an independent Ministry for Seniors reporting directly to the Minister for Seniors and disestablish the under resourced Office of Seniors inside the Ministry of Social Development
Create a Seniors Commissioner with powers similar to the Children’s Commissioner to advocate for seniors independent of Government
and monitor facilities providing services to less able members of the Seniors community
Disestablish the Commissioner for Financial Capability and reallocate that budget to the newly established Seniors Commissioner’s Office
Fully resource the “Better Later Lives” Strategy to address ageism
and build on transitions for our over 65s
Shift all services for seniors out of WINZs offices to newly created ‘Seniors Hubs’ in recognition that Superannuation is an entitlement not a benefit
Ensure that the Minister for Seniors is a member of Cabinet to better recognise that they represent the interest of almost a fifth of the population by 2034
Build on the SuperGold website to incorporate “the Journal”
and fund initiatives such as “shop and chat” by the Student Army to combat isolation and loneliness
Investigate the provision of sustainable funding to local community organisations to provide support to the over 65s in their community
Overhaul the Retirement Village Act 2003 to bring greater balance to the rights of residents and the rights of Village owners
Investigate the removal of tiered Superannuation payments based on seniors living arrangements to better support communal living such as Abbey Field
Review lottery funding criteria for community transport for senior groups
and provide transport options in rural New Zealand
Implement the changes made by the “Fair Residency Bill” which will increase the age of eligibility for New Zealand Superannuation from 10 to 20 years
Small Business
New Zealand First supports all aspects of small business.
They are the backbone of growth, employment, and community in our country and New Zealand First believes that government should support them.
The COVID-19 crisis hit small businesses the hardest, making them more vulnerable than during and after the Global Financial Crisis.
That is why we believe government should be at the forefront of ensuring it is doing everything it can to support small businesses in becoming profitable once again.
Providing opportunity and incentive to grow and improve productivity.
Policy:Continue to support the nation-wide roll-out of ultra-fast broadband and support initiatives for electronic learning and upskilling of vocational skills
Redefine small to medium enterprise from 19 employees to 50 full-time equivalent staff
Negotiate for the full reinstatement of the 90 day trial programme
or at least expand its reach to more small businesses.
Provide further support for business linked internships helping bridge the gap between industry and training
Investigate the feasibility of a digital CV scheme to help employers and job-seekers during the hiring process
Continue to streamline the tax exemptions so that they are simplified
Convene a cluster to establish once and for all what the ‘red tape’ challenges are that hold all small businesses back and then work to remove them
Assist with the cost of staff training and apprenticeships in the workplace
Strengthening Communities
New Zealand First believes in the strength of family
and community.
Over the last 30 years early support for families and communities has been systematically eroded by Government policies.
We believe in sustainably resourcing those in the Community and Voluntary Sector so that they are able to offer assistance early to those in need.
New Zealand First believes that by investing in prevention and early intervention - “front end the spend” that we will be able to start to turn down some of the negative statistics we lead the world in (family violence, sexual violence and child abuse).
New Zealand First wants our nation to be a home owning nation again, we want our families to be able to purchase a home and the security that provides.
Policy:Introduce the Children and Families Package (previously known as the Universal Family Benefit)
by repurposing current spending and streamlining the system
thereby also freeing up administration costs to reinvest in families
Introduce the ability of families to capitalise on their first child’s family benefit payments for the purchase of their first home
Shift all services for seniors out of WINZs office to newly created ‘Seniors Hubs’ in recognition that Superannuation is an entitlement not a benefit
Dedicate Housing New Zealand case managers to work with those in social housing to plan their way to home ownership
Develop a Seniors Housing plan to address the increasing number of Seniors in rental accommodation and requiring Accommodation Supplement support
Fund pilot programmes such as Hokonui Huanui in Gore and the Wairoa Community Partnership Group to create resilient communities by providing prevention and early intervention services
Resource the Minister of Community and Volunteer sector so that the Office of Community and Volunteer Sector can expand resilient communities throughout New Zealand
Look to implement the recommendations of the WEAG report around increasing financial support
balanced with employment support
that incorporates incentives for employers to take on trainees, apprentices and new employees
Resource and support better initiatives with those seeking employment through Work and Income New Zealand so that they all receive a Personalised Employment and Education Plan and support to achieve it -
reducing their time on the benefit
Re-establish Workbridge as the leading employment agency for New Zealanders with a disability to provide greater support for both the employer and employee
Create a sustainable funding mechanism for “supported employment” such as Altus Enterprises ensuring that this design is led by both employers and employees in this specific employment sector
Tourism
New Zealand First believes that our tourism industry is an essential export earner and as such its ongoing survival is critical post COVID-19.
To that end, while in government New Zealand First has and will continue to ensure that resources and funding are focused on the growth of domestic tourism.
We are also committed to ensuring we can safely allow the return of international visitors.
We recognise that tourism is the livelihood of many New Zealanders and believe there is more to be done in helping Kiwi’s understand the career prospects and pathways in this exciting industry.
That is why New Zealand First will continue to support initiatives such as the ‘Go with Tourism’ programme.
New Zealanders must be put first when businesses are looking to employ.
However, as we have already said, where we need foreign labour we will make every endeavour to ensure there are clear pathways to access foreign expertise.
Some examples of this are those who work seasonally in rafting or ski fields.
It is also important to acknowledge that environmental policy and the success of our tourism industry are closely related.
It is clear that businesses benefit from our environment when it is healthy and sustainable.
New Zealand’s environment gives us a strong competitive advantage over the rest of the world.
Because of this, New Zealand First commits to ensuring that any efforts to grow the tourism industry must work in tandem with sustainable environmental policies.
Doing this will have implications on productivity, but works toward the important focus of increasing beneficial long-term revenue as opposed to only aiming to increase the number of tourists coming into the country.
New Zealand First will work with the industry
and ensure that funding remains at the levels required to maintain good industry outcomes.
Goals:Utilise tourism to support thriving and sustainable regions
Explore ways to improve productivity within the tourism industry
Help New Zealand deliver exceptional visitor experiences
Use tourism to protect, restore and champion New Zealand’s natural environment,
culture and heritage
Work towards tourism improving the lives of New Zealanders
Transport
New Zealand First supports land, air, and sea links that build an integrated transport system while improving regional connectivity.
Transport funding and planning can no longer be urban focused only, due to its importance as an enabler of economic growth in the regions.
Considerable work has already been done to ensure transport is economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable while also being fit for future use.
Policy:Utilise New Zealand’s coastal shipping capabilities through championing initiatives such as “Blue Highways” and expanding our Merchant Fleet
Build an inshore fishing vessel industry further capitalising on New Zealand as a maritime nation with emphasis on establishing these industries in our regions (Whanganui, Taranaki)
Continue to develop infrastructure and projects that help incentivise the use of electric vehicles in New Zealand
Create incentives that encourage businesses to electrify their vehicle fleets as well as depreciation measures to support a second-hand electric vehicle market in New Zealand
Not allow our roads to be privatised or corporatized
Further support policies that ensure our whole road network is properly funded so that regional New Zealand does not lose out in favour of our main centres
Ensure access to quality, affordable public transport for people in all major population centres, and in regional areas where there is a need
Continue to support regional rail initiatives and complete geotech research on re-opening the Wairoa to Gisborne rail line
Secure funding to build a rail spur from Puhinui station to Auckland airport
Build and complete the Marsden spur linking Northport to the Northland rail-line
Full rebuild and improvements to the Christchurch-Picton rail corridor
Give full priority to develop the new and dominant energy force- hydrogen
Veteran’s Affairs
New Zealand First places great value and recognition on the service and sacrifice made by our veterans.
We believe that policy must reflect this as our nation has a special obligation to our veterans, especially those who have suffered as a result of their service.
Goals:Respond to the findings of the national conversation on the establishment of a Kawenata, or Covenant, between service people, the government and the people of New Zealand
Investigate the establishment of a Ministry for Veterans, as a separate statutory entity from the New Zealand Defence Force
Establish and resource a dedicated research capability to study matters of concern to veterans and their wellbeing
Explore ways of supporting emerging, contemporary veterans support organisations
Continue to implement the recommendations of the independent report Warrant of Fitness (an independent review of the Veterans’ Support Act 2014)
Working with the Veterans community, investigate the establishment of a Veterans’ Day
Respond to the recommendations of the Veterans’ Advisory Board that the definition of a veteran be expanded so that all who have served are considered veterans
Maori Party 2020
Policy
The Māori Party believes that indigenous solutions can help unlock the wellbeing of our whānau, and our nation.
Our policies and practices are derived from kaupapa tuku iho,
and aim to provide for the wellbeing of all,
recognising that we must improve the outcomes of whānau Māori if we are to be a truly diverse, happy and well nation.
Oranga Tangata
Whānau First
Whānau First Executive Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted major racism and inequity that impacts on wellbeing and the ability to feed our whānau.
The evidence for this across the whole of government is best identified by our unemployment status in our own country.
We cannot tolerate a post-COVID environment that makes our whānau lives worse than they were pre-COVID.
There was no government Māori pandemic response plan.
Māori leadership across the country stood up and filled this gap, led out by hapū, iwi and Whānau Ora Collectives up and down the country.
Our own mana motuhake systems proved themselves.
Māori as tangata whenua demand that our right to equality and equity be applied in all post- COVID recovery programming.
Māori must be guaranteed resources for Māori recovery, we cannot go backwards to how we were living pre-COVID - that is not an option for our whānau.
The Māori Party will:Confirm that all government funding for projects over the next two years guarantee 25% Māori direct resourcing combining the delivery of a Māori workforce and the services of owned businesses and organisations.
Confirm that 25% of all projects will be Māori-led recovery projects and business recovery initiatives that partner with hapū, iwi and Māori organisations and Māori-led businesses.
Guarantee that 25% of all government projects that are prioritised through the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) legislation partner with hapū, iwi and Māori organisations and businesses.
Emphasise that all COVID-19 recovery bodies reflect the Te Tiriti relationship in their structure and membership.
Reinforce that COVID-19 recovery projects must enhance the mana o te whenua, the mana o te wai, mana o te moana and protect wāhi tapu, rights
and interests of natural environment.
Solution
Whānau First approach to COVID-19 recovery
If we are to ensure the COVID-19 recovery period improves the situation for our people rather than worsens it, then it’s essential that we stop government’s systemic racism
and put in place policies that put our Whānau First.
Oranga Tangata - Mahi
We assert that all government funding over the next two years must guarantee 25% direct resourcing towards the Māori workforce and Māori businesses and services.
Further, government projects which use the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) legislation must include 25% Māori participation in “shovel ready” projects
which will be allowed to occur, without standard RMA consenting.
Iwi/Māori Build
Providing Whānau housing is a priority and will be included in our Iwi Build policy,
which will include the removal of legal barriers to build on papakāinga
and increase the building partnerships amongst Māori, hapū and whānau collectives.
To achieve this, 25% of the total government housing budget will be allocated towards Māori and include Māori trade trainees and Māori owned businesses, providers and services.
We will guarantee all Iwi Build will be Māori-led.
We will also guarantee 25% of all government funding allocated towards environmentally friendly housing initiatives will be distributed to Iwi Build homes and Māori led housing projects,
to help lower whānau household costs.
Precedent
Our Whānau First approach is modelled off highly successful examples of affirmative action programmes in the USA and Australia that have made huge strides in reducing disadvantage in African American and Aboriginal communities.
The following requirements under-line our Whānau First policy:Firstly, the plan must have some form of timeline.
Secondly, the evidence requiring the policy must show government past failures and that Whānau First will improve our whānau lives.
Thirdly, no person can, will or should be laid off to implement the policy.
Lastly, the ongoing monitoring of the whānau transformation must be kept using a whānau cultural impact assessment.
This approach will ensure that the pandemic recovery period is used to reduce racism against Māori and stop disadvantaging the wellbeing of our whānau rather than widen and deepen it even further.
The plan will be a game changer for Māori advancement and will have significant positive flow-on effects for our whānau recovery.
In summary, the Māori Party will;Confirm that all government funding for projects over the next two years guarantee 25% Māori direct resourcing - combining the delivery of a Māori workforce and the services of owned businesses and organisations.
Confirm that 25% of all projects will be Māori-led recovery projects and business recovery initiatives - that partner with hapū, iwi and Māori organisations and Māori lead businesses.
Guarantee that 25% of all government projects that are prioritised through the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) legislation - partner with hapū, iwi and Māori organisations and businesses.
Emphasise that all COVID-19 recovery bodies reflect the Te Tiriti relationship in their structure and membership.
Reinforce that COVID 19 recovery projects must enhance the mana o te whenua, the mana o te wai, mana o te moana and protect wāhi tapu, rights
and interests of natural environment.
Implementing Te Tiriti relationships in the COVID-19 recovery
The COVID-19 recovery period presents us with an opportunity to strengthen our Māori- Crown relationships under Te Tiriti.
Not only is this policy founded on the Te Tiriti relationship, it is also legislatively supported by the Bill of Rights Act, and the Human Rights Act.
Alongside our Whānau First approach to government funding in the COVID-19 recovery period, the Māori Party also reaffirms the Crown must honour its Te Tiriti relationships with hapū and iwi Māori in the governance and management of the recovery.
Official recovery bodies, such as panels and project governance groups, must include the Te Tiriti relationship in their structure and membership.
This means guaranteed mana whenua representation in local and regional projects, and guaranteed Māori representation at a national level.
The large-scale infrastructure projects that are selected by the government must environmentally respectful
approved by relevant mana whenua groups to ensure that they do not adversely impact on whenua Māori, te mana o te wai, mana moana or wāhi tapu interests, as so many of the infrastructure projects in our history have done.
In summary, the Māori Party will;Guarantee all COVID-19 recovery bodies reflect the Te Tiriti relationship in their structure and membership
Assert the statutory obligations of local, regional, and central government to work alongside hapū and iwi and to honour their Te Tiriti commitments
States the govt must act environmentally respectful to mana whenua groups
to ensure that they do not adversely impact on whenua Māori , te mana o te wai, mana moana or wāhi tapu, rights and interests.
Context
While there were response plans prepared by national, regional and local governments in the event of a pandemic, once COVID-19 arrived it became very clear that the Crown had not developed a Māori-specific response plan in preparation for a pandemic at any of these levels.
As we so often are, our people were overlooked.
It was only through the strong lobbying and campaigning of hapū, iwi and urban Māori leaders that the Crown eventually started working alongside our people to develop response plans and invested a small amount of targeted funding to support this.
However, despite being under resourced and overstretched, our iwi and urban Māori organisations stepped up in a huge way to care for our people during this period.
From organising kai packs for kaumātua and vulnerable whānau, to fighting for increased testing in our communities, to setting up checkpoints to monitor and limit interregional travel and putting in place tikanga for restricted tangihanga - we did everything we could to protect our whakapapa and look after each other.
As we enter the recovery period and turn our focus to economic resilience, employment and social hardship, we know that our people will continue to lead our own solutions as we have always done.
But unlike what happened with the health response, we need a plan in place from the start that is supported and resourced by the Crown,
so that the recovery grows our Māori economic base, not diminishes it.
There have been projections that unemployment will likely reach record highs, and so we could see Māori unemployment rate as high as 25% - 35%.
This will drive our people into even deeper poverty and hardship than we have experienced in many decades.
To deal with this in a way that doesn’t just tread water but actually addresses the systemic drivers of Māori unemployment and poverty, then we need policies that obligate government and the private sector to employ Māori,
and that ensure we have a voice at the decision-making table.
After it was elected in 1999, the Clark government advanced a programme called Closing the Gaps, which was modelled off affirmative action programmes overseas.
This policy looked at identifying, across the whole of state, where and why Māori were lagging behind.
Once this audit was achieved, funds and policy would be directed to Māori to close the gap.
Once this policy was announced it was attacked by the National Party and by Winston Peters, who in 2000 described the program as "social apartheid".
Clark quickly abandoned the justice in the programme to appease the politics of the situation.
The pandemic recovery period gives us an opportunity to reimagine and restructure our economy in a way that works for Māori and disadvantaged communities.
However, the Crown’s RMA reforms that undermine our Te Tiriti rights to environmental decision-making show that the opposite could also be true.
The Government has spent $100bn to defend against the pandemic called COVID, and yet we still have not addressed the pandemic called racism.
Oranga Tangata
Māori Sports
Whānau Pakari - Sport and Wellbeing Policy Executive Summary
He Whānau Pakari e ora ai te tangata - Mai rā anō i te whitinga mai ki Aotearoa kuapakari te tīnana, te hinengaro me te wairua. /Me hoki anō tātau kia tū hei whānau pakari, hei whānau ora.
The Māori Party acknowledges that exercise has been a big part of who we are, how we came here and how we would traverse the lands of Aotearoa.
Māori invented many sports prior to European arrival.
Running, Swimming, Fishing, Waka, Hunting, Kī o Rahi, Taiaha/Mau rakau/Te Whare Tū Taua, to name a few - all examples of a tūpuna mindset, an ancestral way of being and acting which we call - Whānau Pakari.
The ability to exercise and strive for excellence.
Whānau Pakari is part of our Oranga Tangata policy framework.
There is much to be taught and learnt from the navigators of our past and how we can use that mātauranga to sail and paddle our way into a future frame by Whānau Pakari.
It is a known fact that Māori genetic makeup is stronger than others.
When there is commitment, dedication, and great support around Māori to achieve a high standard in sport, it is guaranteed that Māori will thrive.
Our ancestors were not just athletic they were also strategic thinkers with intentions to survive.
This all required, stamina, resilience, endurance, speed, agility, and logic.
There is great opportunity to showcase the sporting talent of Māori on the world stage.
Nurturing pathways for our mokopuna and tamariki to aspire to
and offer pathways into education opportunities.
The Māori Party will;Establish and fund a National Māori Sporting body,
targeting Māori sporting codes and sports with high Māori participation
Establish a $100M Whānau Pakari fund for 3-years to invest into Māori sporting codes
Funding Māori sporting academies that incorporate Whānau Pakari principles
Funding scholarships to ensure that barriers for Māori are eliminated and to allow their potential to shine
Funding iwi & hapū Pā Wars events
Upskilling volunteers and coaches in sporting codes with high Māori participation
Ensure that funds go directly to the regional Māori sporting codes for Māori, by Māori and not via regional sporting bodies
Ensure sporting codes with high Māori participation have Māori governing boards, allowing them to individually compete at world cup events as Aotearoa Māori
Provide a Māori Sports mentoring programme; delivering tertiary education opportunities & career pathways for life beyond the sporting field
Context
In the early 19th century, Europeans bought new sports to NZ.
Some became more popular with Māori than others.
In 1883 Māori boxer Herbert Slade fought the American heavyweight champion in New York and lost but became a celebrity.
Too often Māori have to travel to other countries to live to be recognised on the world stage.
We want them to stay in their homeland
and represent their country as tangata whenua of this country under the banner of Aotearoa Māori.
In the early 20th century, Māori formed their own teams.
Māori sporting associations were founded in various sports.
The first official national Māori rugby team was selected in 1910 prior to George Nepia playing for the All Blacks.
Rugby League and Hockey were other popular sports codes for Māori.
From the 20th century, Golf, Cricket, Tennis, Hockey, netball, Touch rugby, Waka Ama, Football, Squash, Basketball & Golden Shears saw many Māori represent on the world stage.
It is only through a coordinated Māori centred approach that we can revive collective and individual Māori success through Whānau Pakari.
Māori sporting codes have survived on pure grit and determination to keep these codes alive.
You will often find a couple of parents who are key drivers that will more than likely be pulling money out of their own wallets to ensure theirs and other tamariki in their regions get to represent their codes and eliminate the financial burden.
A specific Māori fund through Whānau Pakari will ensure those burdens are reduced heavily or eliminated.
We cannot afford to lose our place in the sporting world.
It has been quoted by some Māori that have represented on the world stage that if there was a Māori world stage team in their particular code that they would’ve wanted to represent in that team.
Our Māori boarding school pupils were high contributors to many of the sporting representation on the world stage.
As the existence of such schools has declined so too has our representation.
Nowadays, we have parents applying more than just sports to the game.
These parents hold the young tamariki accountable, set goals, offer employment to get them giving back to the sport (coach, referee), up skill them and travel opportunities because they see the potential our Māori tamariki have.
This is not exclusive to any particular Māori sporting code, you will find this in every Māori sporting code.
Too many of our tamariki miss the opportunities in sport because of the financial burden placed on their families will give up and turn to drugs and gangs.
Sport is the alternative for many keeping them busy and offering them opportunities to travel and be better, see the world and give them the confidence our tamariki rightfully deserve in their own country.
Oranga Tangata
Income Policy
Incomes Policy
Executive Summary
We have an economy and social security system that is broken, and that have never worked for Māori.
No one should suffer the injustices of poverty, inequality, and a lack of life opportunities.
Everyone should enough income to live dignified, and meaningful lives.
Lifting whānau out of poverty is impossible if they do not have adequate incomes to survive with an ever- increasing cost of living.
The Māori Party will;Immediately raise the minimum wage to $25 per hour and legislate for an annual increase to keep up with cost of living increases
Guarantee pay equity for Māori nurses and teachers
Double baseline benefit levels
Individualise benefits
Remove financial penalties, sanctions, and work-test obligations
Cancel income support related debt
and ensure that additional grants do not need to be paid back in future
Raise abatement rates for benefits and student allowances
Create a universal student allowance
and double student allowance rates
Introduce free public transport for students at all levels
Write off the living cost component of all student loans
and work towards writing off the total student loan for those who work in Aotearoa for a period of five years
Context
There are hundreds of thousands of whānau living in poverty in Aotearoa and material hardship is increasing.
Around two hundred thousand children are living in poverty.
Half a million people experience hardship in education, health, income, housing, material well-being, or employment.
Aotearoa has a social security system that is broken,
and a low-wage economy that is increasingly comprised of insecure jobs with no guarantee of hours and pay, forcing many to work two or three jobs.
Māori unemployment is double Pākehā unemployment,
while Māori disproportionately work in low-wage jobs.
In 2019 the Government’s Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) released its report, Whakamana Tāngata - Restoring Dignity to Social Security in New Zealand.
They found that evidence is overwhelming that incomes are inadequate for many people, both those receiving a benefit
and those in low-paid work.
Current levels of support fail to cover even basic costs for many people, let alone allowing them to meaningfully participate in their communities.
Due to global economic effects of Covid-19, we are also likely to be entering a significant economic recession,
and so lifting incomes will not just help ensure people can continue to survive with a rising cost of living,
but also help to stimulate the economy with increased spending.
By setting the unemployment payment for people out of work from COVID at nearly double the normal unemployment benefit, the Government was acknowledging that normal benefit levels force whānau to live in poverty and hardship.
This economic recession will also no doubt have a significant increase in unemployment,
which will be even worse for Māori.
Māori workers are already losing their jobs because of the crisis.
There is an even greater need than usual for a strong Government-led programme for creating jobs,
apprenticeships, and training opportunities.
Solution
The core principle that is the foundation of this policy is that everyone should enough income to live dignified, and meaningful lives regardless of whether they are in work or not.
No one in Aotearoa should suffer the injustices of poverty, inequality, and a lack of life opportunities.
We need to do everything we can to ensure whānau have what they need to do well.
We need to focus on lifting wages and incomes,
helping people into meaningful employment,
and recognising the value of all work in whānau, hapū, iwi and communities, regardless of whether its paid work or not.
The policy will support whānau to lift themselves out of poverty and hardship by focusing on lifting the incomes who have the least; low-wage workers, beneficiaries, and tertiary students, ensuring that they have a guaranteed minimum income that they can afford to live on.
Wages & Pay Equity
Recent increases in the minimum wage have provided some welcome relief for low-wage workers, but given the COVID-19 economic impacts, this urgently needs to go much further.
We need to put a stake in the ground and make clear that no one should be paid anything less than a living wage.
Therefore, the Māori Party position is to immediately raise the minimum wage to $25 per hour
and legislate for an annual increase to keep up with cost of living increases.
Doing this will ensure that all private sector workers and workers who are contracted by the Crown or through their procurement are paid a living wage.
We are deeply concerned by reports that current Government has not progressed negotiations to ensure that Māori nurses achieve pay equity and are paid both what they deserve, and what our counterparts earn.
The Māori Party would progress the pay negotiations and guarantee that DHB procurement policies adequately fund Māori health providers to ensure pay equity is achievable.
We would also guarantee that Māori teachers and support staff are paid fairly and in line with what are additional responsibilities that they often hold.
We know that an important way for workers to increase their wages is with union membership and collective bargaining.
The Māori Party will legislate to protect collective bargaining
and ensure that all workers are easily able to join a union.
The Māori Party will;Immediately raise the minimum wage to $25 per hour
and legislate for an annual increase to keep up with cost of living increases
Guarantee pay equity for Māori nurses and teachers
Eliminate starting-off / youth rate wages
Legislate to ensure the ability for multi-employer collective bargaining and collective bargaining for contractors
Welfare & Social Security
No one receiving income support should be living in poverty, and therefore baseline benefit levels must be above the poverty line.
Over a year ago the WEAG recommended an increase in baseline benefits levels of between 12% to 47%, but the Government declined to implement that or most of the other WEAG recommendations.
In response to the Covid-19 situation, the Government announced an increase in baseline benefit levels.
This was welcome support for low-income whānau at a time of stress and difficulty, however it only equated to a 13% increase, which is very much at the lower end of what the WEAG recommended.
It was even less for couples and sole parents, and for those on the supported living benefit.
The Māori Party will resist the Government’s attempts to entrench a two-tier welfare system and instead we would ensure that no one lives below the poverty line.
We still need further significant increases in baseline benefit levels, and wider reform of our social security system, in the effort to eliminate poverty in Aotearoa.
The Māori Party would double benefit levels, so that the combined increases reach the upper end of the WEAG recommendation.
There is little evidence in support of using obligations and sanctions to change behaviour; rather, there is research indicating that they compound social harm and disconnectedness.
The Māori Party will remove obligations, sanctions and financial penalties including:
Excessive appointment requirements
Repeated proof of disability or sickness
Relationship investigations
Work test obligations
The Māori Party will remove the youth benefit which pays a lower rate than standard benefit for 17, 18 and 19-year olds, and forces them to meet extra obligations.
Māori young people are overrepresented.
There is no reason why young people should receive a lower rate, especially when often they have to find their own two feet and may have additional income support needs.
We will also ensure that the special needs grant is culturally appropriate
including by acknowledging the extra costs of the tangihanga process, such as unveilings and a much longer process.
Recently revealed information from Work and Income NZ (WINZ) shows that 100,000 Māori owe financial debts to WINZ.
Nearly 1 in 7 Māori are indebted to state for income support needs.
The information also shows that repayment rates higher than non-Māori.
Seeking help for income support from WINZ shouldn’t put people in debt.
The Māori Party would cancel income support related debt
and ensure that additional grants do not need to be paid back in future.
The Māori Party will;Double baseline benefit levels
Remove financial penalties, sanctions and work-test obligations
Individualise benefits
Increase the amount people can earn before benefits are cut by raising abatement rates
Remove the youth benefit
Cancel income support related debt
and ensure that additional grants do not need to be paid back in future
Ensure the special needs grant recognises additional cultural costs such as with the tangihanga process
Student Support Plan
Māori are more likely to face barriers to tertiary education from the low level of income support for students to the high cost of the tuition itself.
We need a fair, liveable student allowance for all tertiary students: part-time, undergraduate, postgraduate, students of all ages and long courses.
This universal student allowance must be individualized away from parental earnings
and contain less penalties for extra income earnings.
The student allowance should cover accommodation, course related costs, living and health costs.
Getting a tertiary education should not mean a huge debt burden for students.
The Māori Party would write off the living cost component of all student loans
and work towards writing off the total student loan for those who work in Aotearoa for a period of five years.
The Māori Party will:Create a universal student allowance
and double student allowance rates, in line with benefit increases
Restore full student allowance eligibility for postgraduate, part-time, and long course students
Raise abatement rates for student allowances
Extend free public transport to tertiary students
Write off the living cost component of all student loan debt
and work towards writing off the total student loan for those who work in Aotearoa for a period of five years
Oranga Tangata
Moko Māori
Mokopuna Māori Policy
Executive Summary
“Ko te taonga o taku ngākau, ko taku mokopuna e”Māori Liberating Tamariki Māori Policy
The current treatment and experience of mokopuna Māori within the state care system is shameful.
The make-up of government ministries and the way they treat tamariki and mokopuna Māori need to be fundamentally changed.
There is so much evidence provided across reports and reviews which show that state care causes harm, more than anything, to our tamariki and mokopuna.
We cannot continue to follow and trust in a model which causes us to suffer.
The Government will not admit its own cultural incompetence and refuses to allow us as Māori to look after our own whakapapa, yet 70% of children within state care are Māori.
Instead, it continues to fund and favour large national non-Māori organisations.
Many of those organisations have increased their Māori staff quota and appointed cultural advisors to “brown up” their team, but this is only surface-level, and does not change the culture which harms our tamariki and mokopuna.
The current law of Oranga Tamariki also looks good on the surface, but is misapplied because the people in charge of that agency and other parts of the system either do not understand or do not care, and they are never held accountable to uphold all things Māori.
The Waitangi Tribunal have recently called out the leaders of Oranga Tamariki and their agency in a claim to do with the state’s removal of tamariki Māori from their whānau.
This is the ugliest side of harm and trauma which our mokopuna and tamariki suffer at the hands of the organisation so ironically called “Oranga Tamariki”.
The very system responsible for the care and protection of our mokopuna has been complicit in the inception of their intergenerational trauma.
How many more chances do we give a Pākeha Agency purporting to have the oranga of our tamariki at the centre of their work, who have failed over 14 reviews in recent years, who have failed to protect our whakapapa?
Unless a fundamental change is made in every single part of that system, by us as Māori, for us as Māori, this is only going to get worse for us and our tamariki and mokopuna.
The Maori Party say “Not One More Mokopuna!”
Nō reira, kei raro iho nei hei oranga mō tātou, otirā mō ā tātou tamariki, mokopuna anō hoki.
The Māori Party will:Establish an independent mokopuna Māori care entity.
Allocate $600 million into an independent mokopuna Māori care entity
provided by Māori, for Māori, to Māori.
This independent entity will also establish a partnership network across Māori organisations, hapū, and iwi, to ensure mokopuna Māori remain connected to their whakapapa.
Solution
To protect and maintain whakapapa Māori, the Māori Party will: Establish an independent Mokopuna Māori care entity.
The entity will assert and protect every right promised in He Whakaputanga and Te Tiriti o Waitangi;
The entity, from form to function, will be designed by Māori, for Māori;
The entity will honour the whakapapa-based rights and obligations of whānau, hapu, and iwi;
The entity will prioritise whakapapa and whanaungatanga, because whānau know what is best for their own mokopuna;
The entity will privilege te reo, tikanga, and kawa Māori to enable and empower mokopuna and their whānau to flourish and thrive as Māori.
Allocate $600 million into an independent mokopuna Māori care entity
provided by Māori, for Māori, to Māori.
The policy proclaims affirmative procurement as the funding norm;
The policy asserts nearly 70% of mokopuna Māori in state care requires $600 million to be transferred to Māori, to be used by Māori, for Māori.
The policy acknowledges that for some whānau, healing can take time, resource and a certain way of working;
The policy recognises Whānau Ora as the leading example of the ‘to Māori, by Māori, for Māori’ approach and practice;
The policy also aligns with our own Whānau First Policy and approach.
This independent entity will also establish a partnership network across Māori organisations, hapū, and iwi, to ensure mokopuna Māori remain connected to their whakapapa.
The policy recognises the importance of partnering with Māori organisations on the ground which are already well-connected with our whānau;
The policy recognises the solution lies with Māori and thereby empowers Māori organisations to investigate and assist in finding whakapapa appropriate care and protection arrangements for mokopuna Māori;
The policy emulates the effectiveness of the Whānau Ora model which already works well for whānau Māori;
The policy implements our own tikanga as to care and protection and upholds tino rangatiratanga for all Māori organisations, whānau, iwi, and hapū, who all have a deeply vested interest in the prosperity of our mokopuna.
Context
Mārangaranga mai rā, e te iwi.
Enacted in 1989, the Children Young Persons and their Families Act (CYPTFA) was made in the wake of the Puao-Te-Ata-Tu Report of 1988.
That report was produced by the Ministerial Advisory Committee on a Māori Perspective (the Committee).
It ultimately called for direct Māori involvement in the care of our tamariki, and the use of unique Māori practices and values to improve outcomes for Māori, who were significantly overrepresented in state care even at that time.
Fast-forward to today, and nothing has changed, including our demands to take back our tino rangatiratanga over our mokopuna and tamariki.
The CYPTFA did not realise the ambitions of the Committee because it did not give us back that tino rangatiratanga, nor did it make way for us as Māori to care for our own tamariki within a uniquely Māori framework.
Moreover, the more recent changes to that law and Oranga Tamariki have and will continue to fail us in the same way.
And what is worse, is the culture and standard practice of these institutions, which is to steal our tamariki and disregard whakapapa.
The Ombudsman released a report recently stating that Oranga Tamariki’s removal of new-born pēpi from their mothers under court orders without notice has become a matter of routine, rather than an exception.
Also, the report says that Oranga Tamariki has failed to follow effective processes.
On many occasions, Oranga Tamariki did not communicate with whānau what was going on, let alone discuss with them the plans for removal.
That report reveals the tragedy that is Oranga Tamariki and is backed by a considerable amount of evidence.
Most importantly, it sets out the destructive and everlasting consequences for mokopuna Māori and their whānau.
It proves as well that whānau have been ignored as if they have no place in the lives of their mokopuna.
The right to care for, love, and grow mokopuna Māori must be reclaimed for whānau Māori to see significant change in the health, wealth and mana motuhake of mokopuna Māori.
We are the ones we have been waiting for and to that we say; Not one more mokopuna!
Oranga Tangata
Te Reo Māori
Te Reo Māori
“Tōku reo, tōku ohooho. /Tōku reo, tōku māpihi maurea. / Tōku reo, tōku whakakai marihi”
Executive Summary
The Māori Language Act in 1987 declared Te Reo Māori as an official language in this country.
The only other official language in Aotearoa is Sign Language.
Estimates report that approximately 20% of the Māori population and 3% of people living in Aotearoa can speak Te Reo Māori.
The proportion of Māori able to hold an everyday conversation in the Māori language decreased by 3.7% between 1996 and 2013.
The UNESCO Languages Atlas classes Te Reo Māori as a vulnerable language.
This is a problem and it is unacceptable.
As a result of this dire classifaction, the Māori Party legislated the Te Ture o Te Reo Māori Act 2016 but, there is much more work to be done.
To date, there has been marginal resource injected into the revitalisation and protection of Te Reo Māori in comparison to the English language and little has been done to affect enduring systemic change.
The Māori Party attributes the lack of systemic influence in policy to the crown’s reluctance to acknowledge Te Reo Māori as equal to the English language.
The Māori Party asserts under Article 3 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi where we are promised the same rights as English citizens, that Te Reo Māori me ōna tikanga katoa be treated and valued exactly the same as the English language - Mana ōrite.
The Māori Party will; Change New Zealand’s name to Aotearoa by 2026.
Replace all Pākeha place names, cities and towns to their original Māori ingoa by 2026.
Invest $50m into the establishment of a Māori Standards Authority; an independent statutory entity whose role will be to audit all public service departments against cultural competency standards, including the monitoring and auditing of language plans.
• Establish Te Marama o te Reo Māori.
• Double Te Mātāwai funding ($28m)
Remunerate Primary and Secondary school’s and kaiako based on their competency of Te Reo Māori.
Ensure that Te Reo Māori and Māori History are core curriculum subjects up to Year 10 at Secondary Schools.
Invest $40m for Early childhood to Secondary School kaiako to develop their reo.
Require all Primary Schools to incorporate Te Reo Māori into 25% of their curriculum by 2026 and 50% by 2030.
Invest $20m into the development of Te Reo Māori resources.
Require all state funded broadcasters (workforce) across all mediums to have a basic fluency level of Te Reo Māori.
Context
With name changes over our landscape to force cultural oppression and the imposition of a colonial agenda in the education system in the early 1900s, Te Reo Māori fluency among our tipuna went from 90% in 1910 to 26% in 1950.
In only 40 years, Pākeha managed to successfully strip us of our language and we are still feeling the impacts of this agenda today.
The WAI 262 (2011) report, Ko Aotearoa Tēnei, highlighted that current trends for the maintenance of Te Reo Māori, “suggest that the ongoing gains being made with te reo are not offsetting the ongoing losses occurring as older speakers pass away. /Moreover, the theoretically ongoing gains are in fact beginning to turn into losses amongst the crucial younger age groups, who represent the future health of te reo”
It is the duty of the crown to do all that it can to restore the status of our Reo to where it was when they arrived on our whenua.
The Māori Party position is that Te Reo Māori is the language of Aotearoa.
As such, The Māori Party expects for the crown to actively protect and promote Te Reo Māori and encourage its use by Iwi, Māori and all citizens of Aotearoa regardless of ethnicity.
Until the crown recognises this position, they will continue to remove themselves from their duty to;ensure meaningful initiatives for the protection and promotion of Te Reo Māori are far reaching and,
implement policy that addresses systemic failure to truly promote and protect Te Reo Māori as the official language of Aotearoa
Solution
The Māori Party believes that for Te Reo Māori to be normalised in this country
and if we intend to grow the Māori language economy, we must require for Te Reo Māori to be accessible in the most obvious of places; on our televisions, on our radio stations, on road signs and maps and in our education system.
Furthermore, the Māori Party assert that in order for our aspirations to be realised, all public service departments must be held to account where cultural competency and Te Reo Māori strategies are concerned.
We understand that the education sector, the public service sector and the media/broadcasting sector serve as significant influencers in language acquisition and normalisation.
We also understand that a cultural shift towards embracing Te Reo Māori as the official indigenous language of Aotearoa requires systemic changes that are led from the leadership of our country; the NZ State Sector.
Our solutions are framed around a key recommendation offered by the Wai 262 Waitangi Tribunal Report: Ko Aotearoa Tēnei.
The report recommended that the status of Te Reo Māori could be heightened via reform that would see orgaisations like Te Taura Whiri o Te Reo Māori functioning with more power to help develop and approve of Māori language plans in central and local Government departments, State-funded schools, State-funded broadcasters.
This recommendation forms the basis of our approach and provides much needed substance to the current Maihi Karauna Strategy.
The Māori Party will;Ensure New Zealand’s name is changed to Aotearoa by 2026.
Replace all Pākeha place names, cities and towns to their original Māori ingoa by 2026.
Invest $50m into the establishment of a Māori Standards Authority; an independent statutory entity whose role will be to audit all public service departments against cultural competency standards, including the monitoring and auditing of language plans.
Establish Te Marama o te Reo Māori.
Double Te Mātāwai funding ($28m)
Remunerate Primary and Secondary school’s and kaiako based on their competency of Te Reo Māori.
Ensure that Te Reo Māori and Māori History are core curriculum subjects up to Year 10 at Secondary Schools.
Invest $40m for Early childhood to Secondary School kaiako to develop their reo.
Require all Primary Schools to incorporate Te Reo Māori into 25% of their curriculum by 2026 and 50% by 2030.
Require all state funded broadcasters (workforce) across all mediums to have a basic fluency level of Te Reo Māori.
ReferencesThe Social Report 2016 - Te Pūrongo Oranga TangataWAI 262 Report: Ko Aotearoa TēneiUNESCO Languages AtlasThe Native Language ActTe Ture mo Te Reo Māori Act 2016Maihi Karauna - Crown Strategy for Language Revitalisation Do you like this page?
OrangaTangata
Education & Training
Māori Party education & training policy
Executive Summary
Mā te huruhuru, ka rere te manu
Our education system is continuing to fail far too many Māori students.
Kaupapa Māori education is under-resourced, undervalued and remains marginalised in the education system.
The Pākehā mainstream education system is broken and institutionally racist, despite the good work of many.
Fundamental change is required to ensure that tamariki and rangatahi Māori can fulfil their potential.
The Māori Party vision for education is to ensure that all tamariki are supported to thrive and be themselves and receive high-quality education that sets them on the pathway to achieve their dreams, regardless of where they go to school.
No one can realise their aspirations unless they know who they are, where they come from, and are proud of their culture and heritage.
Our policy is centred around three pou; resourcing and valuing kaupapa Māori education,
overhauling the Pākehā mainstream system
and creating pathways for school leavers. The Māori Party will:
Resource and value kaupapa Māori education
Ensure all Māori medium education is funded equal to its mainstream equivalents through equity-based funding models
Establish a $200m fund to drive whānau, hapū and iwi education and training initiatives including the establishment of new hapū-based wānanga
Implement the Te Kōhanga Reo settlement claim (WAI 2336) including by significantly increase operational funding for kōhanga,
recognising kaiako qualifications,
and guaranteeing pay equity.
Increase and promote scholarships available for young Māori to train as teachers of Te Aho Matua
and for reo Māori speakers to train as teachers
Overhaul the mainstream education system
1. Require a minimum of 25% of the education budget be directed to Māori models of delivery and pastoral care
2. Ensure that te reo Māori and Māori history are core curriculum subjects in primary up to Year 10 at secondary schools
3. Establish an independent Māori Standards Authority to oversee Māori language funding
and audit providers to ensure they meet cultural and reo Māori competency standards
4. Fund free digital devices and free internet for all children from Yr4 - Yr13
5. Remove the power of schools to expel any student younger than the school leaving age of 16
6. Require that all schools have Māori in their staff senior leadership teams
7. Fund schools to hire additional Māori support staff
who are well-paid and centrally funded
8. Establish a Māori-led taskforce with the mandate to transform how Māori students with disabilities and learning differences are taught and supported
9. Ensure that Māori staff are hired, and existing Māori staff paid extra, to lead cultural programmes such as kapa haka, taiaha, raranga and running school-based marae
Create pathways for school leavers
1. Establish a $276m fund to ramp up the work of STEM and STEAM academies, such as the Pūhoro STEM Academy
2. Double the existing Māori and Pacific trade training and cadetships placements per annum
3. Permanently remove fees from apprenticeships
Context
A strong sense of identity and self-worth are essential components of strong growth.
As evidenced by educational performance data from the Ministry of Education, Māori medium models of education that have the culture at the centre of the delivery methods have outperformed mainstream education regarding Māori performance for decades now.
The solutions are known, they are simply ignored and that can no longer be tolerated.
As Aotearoa’s economy advances into the next five years the exiting of the baby boomer generation will be felt as they move into retirement.
This cohort of the workforce is approximately 30% and they will take with them much of the technical expertise and experience that underpins the current value setting of the economy.
This is a risk to the value of the future economy of the country.
They will subsequently be replaced by a 30% cohort of young people, primarily Māori and Pasifika.
If this cohort of young Māori and Pasifika are under skilled when they arrive at the workforce, due to a flawed education system, the value settings of the future economy are at risk.
None of this is ‘new’, it is well understood.
The ultimate failing of Aotearoa’s education system is its failure to recognize the Māori culture as an essential component of growth for Māori leaving no other option than conformity.
This overt devaluing of the Māori identity is a legacy feature of an education system born out of colonial monocultural dominance.
For the sake of our future economy and country, this must end, and Māori must be authorised to redefine and restructure the education system to better serve Māori.
It is a simple move to suit demographic shifts in Aotearoa and one that the retirement of ageing Pākehā will be dependent on.
It is also incumbent on our generation to prepare our people to be productive and highly valued participants in the future social, economic, and cultural make up on Aotearoa.
Solution
Resourcing and valuing kaupapa Māori education
We know that Māori parents want Māori environments for their tamariki as that is the only way they can be sure that their tamariki will be safe and empowered to be who they are.
The massive strides of kaupapa Māori education movements in the last four decades to educate our young people in the face of systemic inequity and injustice have led to generations of more and more successful rangatahi Māori confident in their culture and who they are.
They are using their innate knowledge and talents to carve out their own path in an often hostile and unjust society.
Māori medium education not only immerses children in te reo Māori, but in tikanga, kaupapa and wairua Māori.
It is a holistic approach that is at the foundation of the curriculum, Te Aho Matua, which provides pathways for educational, cultural, and economic excellence.
But this reality has not been recognised or resourced by the Crown.
Māori medium education has always been systemically under-resourced and undervalued.
The Māori Party will ensure that all Māori medium education from kōhanga to kura kaupapa and wharekura and whare wānanga is funded equal to their mainstream equivalents
with an immediate focus of equity-based funding models which may require higher levels of funding through the initial phases.
Equity is also expected in capital assistance for the expansion of Māori medium delivery from kōhanga to whare wānanga.
We will also establish a $200m fund to drive whānau, hapū and iwi education and training initiatives including the establishment of new hapū-based wānanga,
this initiative will localize delivery and require an across agency approach including iwi, hapū and marae and government through Whānau Ora.
The Waitangi Tribunal’s Te Kōhanga Reo settlement claim (WAI 2336) tribunal found the Crown's early childhood education system, in particular its funding formula, quality measures, and regulatory regime, had "failed to adequately sustain the specific needs of kōhanga reo as an environment for language transmission and whānau development".
We would implement the settlement including by significantly increasing operational funding for kōhanga
and recognising kaiako qualifications
and guaranteeing pay equity.
The Māori Party will:Ensure all Māori medium education from kōhanga to kura kaupapa and wharekura and whare wānanga are funded equal to their mainstream equivalents with an immediate focus of equity- based funding models
Establish a $200m fund to drive whānau, hapū and iwi education and training initiatives including the establishment of new hapū-based wānanga
Implement the Te Kōhanga Reo settlement claim (WAI 2336) including by significantly increase operational funding for kōhanga,
recognising kaiako qualifications,
and guaranteeing pay equity
Increase and promote scholarships available for young Māori to train as teachers of Te Aho Matua
and for reo Māori speakers to train as teachers
Overhauling the mainstream education system
Even though most Māori parents want their tamariki in more explicitly kaupapa Māori environments,
due a huge range of factors including availability and resourcing,
most Māori children are still in mainstream education.
It is essential that we overhaul the Pākehā education system that fails to embrace tamariki Māori for who they are
or put in place structures and policies to ensure that they succeed.
We need to implement structural and cultural change in schools,
while supporting teachers to do their best by Māori students,
and properly resourcing adequate Māori staffing levels.
The Māori Party would ensure that mainstream classrooms to speak the language of our tupuna;
to include Māori ways of knowing in the curriculum,
and to hold our tupuna up as role models of academic excellence.
We want children to learn in schools that teach them that their ancestors were great philosophers, scientists, mathematicians, entrepreneurs, and researchers.
We want all tamariki to stand tall in the knowledge that they have a rich and distinct heritage of scholarly endeavours.
Distinct tribal knowledge and role models matter
as they serve as a solid foundation for the transformational learning, innovation, and intellectual and social development of our tamariki.
In line with our Whānau First policy, the Māori Party will require that a minimum of 25% of the education budget is directed to Māori models of delivery and pastoral care
to ensure our tamariki, and all the way through to pakeke are supported through the education and training pathway
and achieve educational and training advancement as Māori.
We will introduce te reo Māori and Māori history are core curriculum subjects in primary up to Year 10 at secondary schools,
while ensuring that tuition is informed by place-based learning alongside mana whenua.
We will also fund the development of teachers’ reo Māori proficiency and new reo Māori resources,
while incentivising teachers to strive to learn te reo Māori with increased renumeration for language proficiency.
The Māori Party will:Require a minimum of 25% of the education budget is directed to Māori models of delivery and pastoral care
to ensure our tamariki, and all the way through to pakeke are supported through the education and training pathway
and achieve educational and training advancement as Māori.
Ensure that te reo Māori and Māori history are core curriculum subjects in primary up to Year 10 at secondary schools
Establish an independent Māori Standards Authority to oversee Māori language funding
and audit providers to ensure they meet cultural and reo Māori competency standards
Permanently increase funding for the Te Kotahitanga programme
and other programmes that work to address racism and inequity
Require schools to work with mana whenua to implement place-based learning and teaching of local histories and kaupapa
Ensure all primary schools will be required by 2023 to incorporate te reo Māori into 15% of their curriculum, with the view to increasing this percentage to 25% by 2026 and 50% by 2030
Ensure that primary school teacher registration will be contingent upon meeting a basic competency level of te reo Māori
and remunerate primary and secondary school teachers according to te reo Māori competency standards
Supporting Māori students and staff in mainstream education
The Māori Party will tackle inequity, racism and the digital divide in our education system head on.
Schools must be required to take their responsibilities to Māori students seriously.
That’s why the Māori Party would ensure that there are Māori staff in every school’s senior leadership team,
that all staff and board of trustee members are required to undertake periodic training in kaupapa Māori education and Te Tiriti issues,
and that they develop relationships with mana whenua.
We would also remove the ability for schools to expel students who are below the school leaving age of 16.
Māori students make up 50% of students who are excluded for school, while 55% of the exclusions for drug use were Māori.
Students with behavioural issues need wrap around support,
and those who are using drugs need health interventions.
Excluding children from school does irreparable harm - 51 per cent of all prisoners were kicked out of their schools as children.
The education system must be responsive to the needs of all students, not throw up its hands and leave young people to fend for themselves.
As we confront the COVID-19 pandemic, we now have an unique opportunity to tackle digital divide head on, and ensure that all tamariki Māori have access to the life opportunities that young people harness from technology and the digital world.
An important part of this challenge that the Māori Party is committed to is funding quality digital learning devices and internet access for all students that need them.
Māori staff in mainstream schools are doing everything they can to support tamariki Māori to achieve their potential, but they have had to fight every day and go above and beyond what anyone should be expected to.
Too often te reo Māori teachers and other teachers are expected to, or choose to, undertake many cultural programmes to support Māori students such as kapa haka, taiaha, raranga and waka ama.
They often also run school-based marae and after-hours support for students.
Our teachers need to be supported by being paid properly, and with additional staff,
to undertake and expand these programmes which often give tamariki Māori their only avenue to be who they are while at school.
The Māori Party will:Require that all schools have Māori in their staff senior leadership teams
Require that all schools seek to develop formal relationships with mana whenua
Remove the power of schools to expel any student younger than the school leaving age of 16
Require Boards of Trustees and senior staff leadership teams to undertake training in kaupapa Māori education and Te Tiriti issues
Fund schools to hire additional Māori support staff who are well-paid and centrally funded
Fund free breakfast and lunch programmes in all low-decile primary and intermediate schools
Fund free digital devices for all children from Yr 4 - Yr 13,
and free internet via Schools N4L system
Ensure that Māori staff are hired, and existing Māori staff paid extra, to lead cultural programmes such as kapa haka, taiaha, raranga and running school-based marae
Establish a fund worth $20m for teachers develop their reo
and a $10m fund for increased development of te reo Māori resources
Disability, neurodiversity and learning differences
Māori are disproportionately affected by disability, neurodiversity and learning differences.
In 2013, 26% of Māori identified as disabled.
The education system has completely failed to support tamariki who learn differently and have extra accessibility.
Four in ten disabled Māori adults had no formal educational qualifications - almost double the proportion of non-disabled Māori.
We know that there needs to be greater resource for funding support teachers and appropriate facilities and ensuring professional development for educators.
A recent select committee inquiry into these issues resulted in recommendations, most of which have not been properly implemented by Government.
That inquiry also did not properly consider the position of Māori students.
We would establish a Māori-led taskforce
with the mandate to transform how Māori students with neurodiversity and learning differences are taught and supported.
The Māori Party will:Establish a Māori-led taskforce
with the mandate to transform how Māori students with disabilities and learning differences are taught and supported
Creating pathways for school leavers
For young people leaving school and not going on to tertiary education, there are too few pathways into well-paid employment.
Tertiary education is by no means the only avenue into continued learning and success, but our education and training policy settings act as though it is.
In June 2020, 35,000 (13.5 per cent) of rangatahi Māori (between the ages of 15 and 24) were not in Employment, Education, or Training (NEET).
This is nearly twice the rate recorded for European and Asian youth, and significantly greater than the national rate of 11.6%.
Central and local government needs to play a much more active role in the direct creation of jobs,
particularly when it comes to reducing Māori unemployment.
Māori overrepresentation in unemployment, particularly among young Māori, has remained a constant feature of Aotearoa’s job market.
The current Government’s Mana in Mahi programme is an employer subsidy scheme targeting Māori men.
This is not doing enough to get our people into jobs, and it does not even guarantee a living wage or fulltime hours, thereby contributing to the problem of an overly precarious job market.
We will establish a 276 million dollar fund to ramp up the work of STEM and STEAM academies, such as the Pūhoro STEM Academy, across the country
to ensure our rangatahi are caught and supported before they drop out of secondary school to transition into tertiary education
and on to employment in high value jobs and careers.
The Māori Party will put a major focus on increasing placements in apprenticeships, training schemes, and cadetships.
We will develop advanced apprenticeships schemes in the renewable energy, agriculture, construction, digital, and engineering sectors for people wanting to upskill or retrain in another industry.
This policy works alongside our economic and environmental plans which also have specific policies aimed at job creation.
For example, we will support and fund hapū and iwi-led initiatives that support job creation,
particularly in conservation and clean energy.
The Māori Party will: Establish a $276m fund to ramp up the work of STEM and STEAM academies, such as the Pūhoro STEM Academy
Double the existing Māori and Pacific trade training and cadetships placements per annum
Permanently remove fees from apprenticeships
Create more pre-degree pathways for Māori and Pacific students who have not achieved entrance requirements to undertake tertiary education
Develop advanced apprenticeships schemes in the renewable energy, agriculture, digital, construction, and engineering sectors
Fund hapū and iwi-led initiatives that support youth employment,
particularly in conservation and clean energy
Oranga Tangata
Whānau Health
Māori Party Whānau Health
~ In Control Of Our Own Oranga
Executive Summary
The inconvenient truth is that the health system fails Māori.
The evidence for this assertion is outlined in the Health & Disability System Review - also known as the Simpson Review (2020).
There have been multiple reviews that evidence systemic racism within the health services area.
This plays out across the whole of government and therefore the whole of society.
The absolute failure of the Government over several decades in regard to ensuring Māori achieve an equality of access and then outcome is best evidenced by the health portfolio.
Health as with welfare, education, justice and housing is a mirror image of the degrading way in which Māori are treated.
Tinkering with systems across the whole of government will not achieve any positive outcome because doing the same thing, gets the same result.
As with all our policy releases, we speak our liberated truth in the land of our ancestors.
The Māori Party will;Establish A Māori Health Funding Authority ~ Māori In Control of The Health Spend For Māori
That authority will oversee the purchasing, distribution and operational delivery of our per capita budget health entitlement.
The budget for this Māori Health Funding Authority will be $5 billion, which is 20% of the 2019/2020 Health Budget.
The Māori Party will;Implement A Māori Health Card
~ Whānau In Control Of The Health Services They Need
Issued to all Māori linked to their NHI number and ensures that health funding follows the Māori patient
and not a DHB, a PHO, or a GP.
Health must be about the patient,
and funding must follow that patient’s preferences.
We can no longer have our money spent for us on a service that fails us.
The Māori Party will;Establish A Comprehensive Kaupapa Māori Mental Health Service ~ Our Mental Wellbeing Comes First
This service will be funded to the order of $500 million per annum
and this will be transferred from the existing mental health service funds voted in Budget 2020.
This will cover off mental health, alcohol and addictions.
It will focus on dropping one of the highest suicide rates amongst any people in the world.
The Maori Party will;Drop Māori Cancer Screening By 10 years ~ Ensuring We Get An Equal Right to Preventative Services
Effective immediately to ensure Māori get an equal right to preventative services because we present 10 years earlier in difficulty.
This policy alone shows how deeply ingrained racism is by knowingly assigning hundreds of Māori to a premature cancer death.
How? By denying us access to earlier screening.
Oranga Tangata
Whānau Build
Whānau Build
“Ko te whare e tū ana ki te pārae he kai nā te ahi, ko te whare e tū ana ki te pātūwatawata koina te tohu o te rangatira”
Executive Summary
Our Rights
All whānau have a right to a constant, warm, leak-free secure home.
All tāmariki have a right to a warm, safe home with the same health, welfare and support systems wrapped around them that non-Māori take for granted.
Our Injustices
New Zealanders all know there is a housing crisis, even non-Maori live in cars, garages and under hedges.
However, it is only when non-Māori also suffer in a housing crisis that the Government then decide to do something.
A Māori voice and position has never been heard, we suffer in silence as second-class citizens in our own land.
We are an afterthought, not a forethought.
The Maori Party will;1. Build 2000 houses on our ancestral lands and we will do this in the next two years.
2. Ensure fifty percent of all new social housing allocated to Māori
to give our Whānau and tamariki a fair go in education, health and welfare.
3. Ensure immigration to New Zealand is curbed until the supply side of housing meets the demand side.
4. Stop all sales of freehold land to offshore foreign interests.
5. Place a 2% tax on the capital value of a vacant or empty house if they remain unoccupied for 3 months or longer in any one year.
6. The Overseas Investment Act must apply to all residential housing purchases as many of these ghost/vacant houses are owned by foreign interests.
7. Add a Capital Gains Tax on all property set at 2% of the appreciation per annum - other than on the whānau home.
8. Ensures the Government re-enter the housing market to develop and build state housing stock.
Context
Our Māori Reality
Since 1986, the number of Māori forced to rent has increased by 88.3%.
Seventy percent of Māori cannot afford homes and are living in rentals.
One third of Māori live in a house considered damp and or overcrowded.
Māori make up 50% of the waiting list for Social Housing.
Thirty three percent of all Māori will shift residence every three years.
There were 191,646 unoccupied dwellings on census night, 2018.
Thirty-eight thousands of those ghost dwellings were in Auckland.
At the rate of Kiwi Build delivery, we will turn out the 100,000 promised new houses in 436 years.
That will make Prime Minister Jacinda Arden 476 years old when she opens the 100,000th Kiwi Build House.
Solution
The Maori Party will;1. Build 2000 houses on our ancestral lands, we will do this in the next two years.
Reconnection to our whenua
We will build 2000 houses on our ancestral lands, we will do this in the next two years.
Cost: $600 million
These houses will be funded by the state as a long-overdue investment that others have taken for granted.
It will help in resetting and reorganising Māori whānau and Māori whenua by making available land for Papakainga and ensuring that our land is used in the best possible way.
It will contribute in large part to the re-establishment of our marae-based communities that were ripped apart by urbanisation of the 1950s and 1960s.
Māori construction workers and trade trainees will spearhead these projects.
2. Ensure fifty percent of all new social housing must be allocated to Māori
to give our Whānau and tamariki a fair go in education, health and welfare.
Social Housing for Whānau
Fifty percent of all new social housing must be allocated to Māori
so to give our Whānau and tamariki a fair go in education, health and welfare.
By having certainty with long-term housing, then we can look to enduring outcomes for stronger, healthier whānau.
3. Ensure immigration to New Zealand is curbed until the supply side of housing meets the demand side.
Indigenous First
Māori must now come first, not last.
Māori must be a forethought, not an afterthought.
Too many vacant houses are owned by foreign interests
and too many social houses are given to non-Māori who have been in the country less than five years.
It is important to still manaaki our refugee and displaced whanaunga and bring in skills where required.
But for us to exercise manaaki we have to commit to indigenous first so that we can then support others later.
4. Stop all sales of freehold land to offshore foreign interests
Not One More Acre!
Stop all sales of freehold land to offshore foreign interests.
Freehold sales will be replaced by leasehold sales opportunities only.
5. A 2% tax on the capital value of a ghost house will apply to vacant residential houses if they remain unoccupied for 3 months or longer in any one year.
Vacant Housing Tax
A 2% tax on the capital value of a ghost house will apply to vacant residential houses if they remain unoccupied for 3 months or longer in any one year.
This policy is expected to free up over 50,000 houses and ensure that an asset class that people invest in but can never lose has some consequences for the greater common good of our country.
6. Capital Gains Tax
A Capital Gains Tax on all property set at 2% of the appreciation per annum - other than on the whānau home.
7. Kāinga Ora
Ensures the Government re-enters the housing market to develop and build state housing stock.
Oranga Tangata
Mana Motuhake
Māori Party Mana Motuhake Policy
Executive Summary
The Māori Party rededicate ourselves to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, a covenant entered into by our people and the Crown, starting with a meeting of our northern Māori leadership on the 6th February 1840 at Waitangi.
We distil the three clauses of a constitutional document that is the foundation of this country’s nationhood.
Te Tiriti reaffirmed our precolonial mana motuhake rights:
The first article of the covenant awarded total custodianship of Aotearoa to the Crown.
It did not award ownership.
The second article put beyond all doubt the assertion of Rangatiratanga - the right of Māori to have total control and governance of all their own domains.
The third article asserted that Māori would be treated equally with all non-Māori.
Clearly, and at huge cost to document, this covenant was breached from the day it was signed and continues to be breached 180 years later.
The Māori Party has announced a policy platform that is intergenerational and will never be retreated from.
The only way this nation can work is where Māori assert their right to self-management, self-determination, and self-governance over all their domains.
The Māori Party will:Commit all Māori to the Māori electoral roll by 2023.
Entrench all Māori electorates.
Establish a Māori Parliament.
Implement all Matike Mai recommendations for constitutional transformation
Overhaul the Te Tiriti settlement process
and end the fiscal envelope.
Insert relativity clauses into all Te Tiriti settlements, to ensure all iwi have parity with Ngāi Tahu and Waikato-Tainui.
Make Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding on the Crown,
and implement all unaddressed WAI claim recommendations.
Abolish “full and final” settlements and the “large natural groupings” approach to recognising mana whenua groups.
Return conservation land to whānau, hapū and iwi Māori.
Introduce a first right of refusal policy for mana whenua when private land of historical significance comes up for sale - like Ihumātao.
Remove the racist provision that allows for referenda to overturn council’s decisions to establish Māori wards.
Establish a Parliamentary Commissioner for Te Tiriti o Waitangi to provide oversight of the Crown.
Solution
Implementing constitutional transformation
Māori Parliament
We demand a Māori Parliament, exactly the same as has been granted to the Irish, the Scots and the Welsh.
Westminster did not work for the Scots or the Irish - Wellington definitely does not work for Māori.
Our right to self-governance and self-determination is clear.
All fiscal transfers to this Māori Parliament have been clearly identified by the Māori Party in the release of its policies.
Mainstream management of matters Māori will come to an end.
The Māori Party will:Demand a Māori Parliament
Matike Mai
Matike Mai Aotearoa, the Independent Working Group on Constitutional Transformation, was first promoted at a meeting of the Iwi Chairs’ Forum in 2010.
The Terms of Reference given to the Working Group were deliberately broad - “To develop and implement a model for an inclusive Constitution for Aotearoa
based on tikanga and kawa, He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Niu Tireni of1835, Te Tiriti o Waitangi of 1840, and other indigenous human rights instruments which enjoy a wide degree of international recognition”.
The working group, led by Moana Jackson and Margaret Mutu, undertook a significant process of engagement over several years with tangata whenua right across Aotearoa.
When Matike Mai published their report in 2016, they recommended:That during the next five years Iwi, Hapū, and other lead Māori organisations promote ongoing formal and informal discussions among Māori about the need for and possibilities of constitutional transformation.
That such discussions also be included as an annual agenda item at national hui of lead Māori organisations such as the Waitangi hui of the Iwi Chairs’ Forum.
That a Māori Constitutional Convention be called in 2021 to further the discussion and develop a comprehensive engagement strategy across the country.
That at an appropriate time during the next five years a further Working Group be appointed to begin consideration of relevant structural and procedural issues as they pertain to Māori.
That at an appropriate time during the next five years Iwi, Hapū, and lead Māori organisations initiate dialogue with other communities in their rohe about the need for and possibilities of constitutional transformation.
That at an appropriate time during the next five years Iwi, Hapū, and lead Māori organisations initiate formal dialogue with the Crown and local authorities about the need for and possibilities of constitutional transformation.
That in 2021 Iwi, Hapū, and lead Māori organisations initiate dialogue with the Crown to organise a Tiriti Convention to further discussions about the need for and possibilities of constitutional transformation.
The Māori Party commits to implementing all Matike Mai recommendations.
It is well past time that Aotearoa undertook the fundamental constitutional transformation that these recommendations prescribe.
We will always champion the introduction of constitutional guarantees of the tino Rangatiratanga and mana motuhake of whānau, hapū and iwi.
The Māori Party will:Implement all Matike Mai recommendations for constitutional transformation
Champion constitutional guarantees of tino Rangatiratanga and mana motuhake
Overhauling the Te Tiriti settlement process
The Māori Party will overhaul the Treaty settlement process, reforming it to create a new Te Tiriti reconciliation process that is fair, durable and considers new precedent.
We are clear that fundamental reform is needed to the settlement process.
The key Crown policy settings for negotiations that must change if the process is to be durable and have the confidence of tangata whenua, and we must once and for all end the “fiscal envelope” and arbitrary deadlines for settlement claims.
We should instead look to an ongoing process for Māori-Crown reconciliation and relationship-building.
The Māori Party would empower the Waitangi Tribunal by legislating to make their recommendations binding on the Crown,
and we would work to implement all of the WAI claim recommendations that have been unaddressed over the last several decades.
The Māori Party will:Overhaul the Te Tiriti settlement process
and end the fiscal envelope
Insert relativity clauses into all Te Tiriti settlements, to ensure all iwi have parity with Ngāi Tahu and Waikato-Tainui
Make Waitangi Tribunal recommendations binding on the Crown,
and implement all unaddressed WAI claim recommendations
Ending full and final settlements and large natural groupings
The Government's always had the policy of wanting to settle all the historical claims with an iwi grouping at once in one settlement.
The policy parameters that the Crown operates under, for example excluding the use of private land, mean there's never really been any discussion about how a particular piece of land might be dealt with because it was not part of the negotiations at all.
The Māori Party wants to see an end to “full and final” settlements, to allow historical claims to be revisited, and new claims brought, where situations have changed or whānau, hapū or iwi groups were shut out of the original negotiations.
Often groups are shut out of negotiations due the Crown’s large natural groupings policy, which doesn’t recognise the mandate of whānau, hapū and relatively small iwi.
Time and time again hapū with legitimate claims have been shut down in negotiations and this has caused further harm.
This divide and rule tactic has created new Te Tiriti breaches even as the Crown tries to settle historical breaches.
Hapū were the primary political unit in precolonial te ao Māori.
The Māori Party upholds hapūtanga and recognise that it was the rangatira of hapū that signed Te Tiriti, and so we would ensure that the Crown negotiates with whānau and hapū and recognises their mana whenua.
The Māori Party will:Abolish the ‘full and final’ settlements policy
Abolish the ‘large natural groupings’ policy and ensure that whānau, hapū and smaller iwi can have their rights recognised
Use of private and council land
It is time to get rid of the policy that says land that is currently in private or council ownership is unavailable for use in Treaty settlements and negotiations with hapū and iwi.
The recent Ihumātao case highlights how some of our most significant and precious land is in private ownership.
We do not think that landowners should have land forcibly purchased or taken from them, as in many cases happened to our tupuna.
But when land comes up for sale, there should be a first right of refusal for mana whenua, especially when land is of historical, cultural or spiritual value.
The Māori Party would develop and introduce a first right of refusal policy for mana whenua when private land of historical significance comes up for sale.
When the Crown reformed the Local Government Act in 2004, they introduced a provision that meant that all local government land couldn't be included in Treaty settlements.
Those who settled prior to that were able to access council land.
There is no good reason why council land shouldn’t be used for Māori-Crown reconciliation, and so the Māori would remove this provision from law.
The Māori Party will:Ensure that private and local government land can be returned to mana whenua
Introduce a first right of refusal policy for mana whenua when private land of historical significance comes up for sale
Use of conservation land
The Māori Party will return conservation land to whānau, hapū and iwi Māori.
Under successive governments, there has been resistance from the Department of Conservation (DOC) to the use of conservation land in Treaty settlements, resistance which has only increased under the current Government.
This has been a significant barrier to the return of stolen land to hapū and iwi as part of redress under the settlement process.
It is imperative that the Crown and its department, DOC, recognise that hapū and iwi are not just up to it, but that we are the ideal kaitiaki of our own whenua, awa and moana.
The return of the management of Te Ūrewera to Tūhoe, and their relationship with DOC, shows how this acknowledgement can be implemented successfully in practice.
We would also overturn the policy, implemented in 2009, of not using camping grounds in the DOC estate, for the purpose of returning land to tangata whenua.
While affording camping opportunities for New Zealanders have their importance that does not compare to the importance of reconciling the historical theft of land that is of huge significance to tangata whenua.
The Māori Party will:Return conservation land to whānau, hapū and iwi Māori
Overturn the Crown policy of not using camping grounds in the DOC estate for the purpose of returning land to tangata whenua
Ensuring effective Crown oversight
Electoral reform
It’s critical that our people are able to participate in Crown decision-making processes fairly and accessibly.
The threat of removing Māori representation is often used as a weapon against our people.
We must entrench the Māori electorates
and commit all Māori to the Māori electoral roll.
We also need to get serious about Māori representation in local government.
While the form and method of representation and relationship should be determined by mana whenua in each local area, at the very least central government must immediately amend the Electoral Act to ensure that council’s decisions to establish Māori wards can’t be overturned by the racist provision that enables binding referendums
- the same provision does not exist for general or rural wards.
The Māori Party will:Entrench the Māori electorate seats
Remove the racist provision that allows for referenda to overturn council’s decisions to establish Māori wards
Commit all Māori to the Māori electoral roll by 2023
Reduce the party vote threshold to 2.5%
Parliamentary Commissioner for Te Tiriti o Waitangi
One of the Māori Party’s priorities will be to establish a Parliamentary Commissioner for Te Tiriti o Waitangi to provide oversight and ensure that the Crown meets its obligations under the Treaty partnership.
Currently there is no oversight of legislation or Crown departments and agencies from a Te Tiriti perspective.
That’s unacceptable.
The Crown has an environmental commission, a human rights commission, a disability commission - it’s well past time to establish a Treaty commission.
The Māori Party will introduce legislation to establish a Parliamentary Commissioner for Te Tiriti o Waitangi with functions and powers to enable them to:
1. Review and investigate priority issues of concern
2. Provide advice to Parliament
3. Contribute to public debate through the provision of information and analysis
The Commissioner will be appointed for a five-year term on the recommendation of Parliament and hapū, iwi and lead Māori organisations.
Based on the budgets for other parliamentary commissioners, establishing this office would require approximately $4m in funding per annum.
The Māori Party will:• Establish a Parliamentary Commissioner for Te Tiriti o Waitangi that is jointly appointed by tangata whenua and the Crown to provide oversight of the Crown
Te Tiriti o Waitangi impact statements
Currently, Te Tiriti is only formally considered in legislation and regulation when the Government considers it relevant.
However, we know that all Crown laws and regulations have impacts on tangata whenua and on the implementation of Te Tiriti.
The Māori Party will:• Ensure that all pieces of legislation, executive regulations and cabinet papers are required to have Te Tiriti impact statements
Context
The Waitangi Tribunal was established in 1975 to consider contemporary breaches of Te Tiriti.
In 1985 the tribunal was empowered to hear historical grievances dating back to 1840.
Since then the Crown has worked to negotiate settlements with iwi groups across the country and is now nearing the completion of all historical claims that have been lodged.
The strong desire of the Crown and tangata whenua to settle historical Treaty grievances has led to a mainstream narrative that this will be led to the Treaty itself being settled, and the end of Māori-Crown reconciliation under Te Tiriti.
But as Moana Jackson has so often said, treaties are not settled, they’re honoured.
Te Tiriti is a document that is the foundation of a living, evolving relationship between tangata whenua and the Crown.
Both parties to Te Tiriti must continually strive to meet the obligations it sets out and implement the three articles in everything we do.
Successive National and Labour governments have established a bipartisan consensus on the Treaty settlement process.
These major parties have operated in lockstep over key negotiation policy settings such as full and final settlements, and only negotiating with ‘large natural groupings’.
This bipartisan consensus has prevented a truly just and durable reconciliation between tangata whenua and the Crown.
The Crown has forced its policy of ‘full and final’ settlements on all the iwi it has negotiated with under the settlement process.
It has also often caused new breaches and grievances through its negotiation policies, such as only negotiating with groups it determines and excluding the use of most land for negotiations.
In recent years tangata whenua and the Crown have negotiated new and innovate processes for Māori-Crown reconciliation and Treaty justice that sit outside of the formal Treaty settlement process.
In 2016, two sections of land from the historic Rangiriri pā site were returned to Waikato- Tainui.
This was not connected to the settlement process, but instead came about due to the support the Māori Party received for commemorating the New Zealand Land Wars.
The landmark Parihaka reconciliation agreement, signed at the He Puanga Haeata ceremony at Parihaka in 2017, also occurred under a process outside of the formal settlement process and was undertaken on the Crown side by Christopher Finlayson as Attorney General, not as Minister for Treaty Settlements.
These innovative and nation-building approaches to Māori-Crown reconciliation are welcome and should set a precedent for our how further reconciliation can occur.
The rangatahi-led mana whenua occupation at Ihumātao has also been a key signal that we are entering a new era of Te Tiriti justice.
The land was confiscated from the Kīngitanga in 1867 and has been in private ownership since.
Since the Government intervention to prevent further police escalation on the whenua, the Kīngitanga have been leading a process to negotiate for the return of the land.
This process could lead to a new precedent with a piece of land in private ownership being used for Māori-Crown reconciliation.
Oranga Tangata
Toi Māori
Toi Māori
Executive Summary
Currently, Toi Māori in all its forms; music, visual art, film and television, broadcasting and performing arts to name a few is valued so lowly in comparison to other non-indigenous art forms in this country, yet the promotion of Aotearoa is predominantly marketed by the works produced by our Māori creatives.
Access to funding and resource across the board in the Culture and Arts sector is inequitable for Māori.
An example of these disparities can be seen in the funding of Te Matatini, who receive $1.9m compared with the Royal NZ Ballet receiving $5.4m and the NZ Symphony Orchestra receiving $16.3m.
Toi Māori is our ahurea Māori.
It is not just a tourism strategy or a simple “art” strategy.
Toi Māori is our total wellbeing strategy; our mental health strategy, our physical health strategy, our Reo Māori strategy, our Educational strategy, our whakapapa strategy, our tourism strategy, our community development strategy and our cultural defense strategy and must be recognised as such.
For too long the crown has feasted off our cultural intellectual property and have used it as a means to selfishly ignite international relationships and tourism interests
without any consideration for the development of our culture here at home and the positive impact it has on our wellbeing.
We intend to begin the process of reclaiming our cultural intellectual property and taking full control of the way our culture is projected nationally and internationally.
Māori Party will:Allocate $19m to Te Matatini
Allocate $10m to Community, Hapū and Iwi development of Kapahaka and its accompanying art forms.
Establish an independent Toi Māori entity worth $57m dedicated to the protection and projection of all Toi Māori.
This entity will be funded directly by the government and will be based on a commissioning model.
Make the new Toi Māori entity a Statutory Body on the Lottery Grants Board by 2023 that receives equal funding to Creative NZ.
Establish a research fund worth $10m for the purpose of producing an evidence base for how Toi Māori contributes to oranga Māori, with the intention of Toi Māori being funded across all sectors equitably by 2023.
Context
Before colonisation, our world, our culture, our primary method of communication and our oranga sat in the realm of what Pākeha now call “art”.
Overtime, the projection of our indigenous voice has been degraded to an “art form” which has aided and abetted a colonisation agenda that has been instrumental in the depletion of the very existence of our cultural intellect.
Our culture, our “art” and our creativity are synonymous with one another.
Māori creativity in its entirety is inextricably linked to our wellbeing because it is rooted in Mātauranga Māori.
The current funding model for our entire cultural intellectual property has been relegated to the Ministry of Culture & Heritage and a portion of it sitting in the Ministry of Māori Development.
The discrimination against the value of our culture and the crowns tendency to reduce it down to just an “art form” is oppressive
and continues to stifle our ability to effectively design and implement our own solutions to our oranga.
In 2016/17 Te Matatini received a funding increase to $1.9 million, and funding for kapa haka has remained at that level since then.
By comparison, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) has been allocated $14. 6 million per annum and for this current year were given an extra overspend allocation of $1. 5 million; $16. 3 million in total.
The Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) also receives $5.4 million each year.
Of the three organisations, only Te Matatini reached its target audience of 65,000.
Te Matatini is also the only one of the three with a required online / television audience target of 1 million views.
Te Matatini will receive, in the year ahead, one-seventh of the funding provided to NZSO but is required to achieve higher audience participation rates.
Solution
Our aim is to assert the notion that Toi Māori is a total wellbeing strategy for Māori
and that we must create opportunities for Māori to be in total control of the protection and projection of our indigenous voice.
We demand to be the sole determinants of the way our cultural intellectual property is projected locally and offshore.
Our Toi Māori plan will begin the process of reimagining our world, re-writing the narrative, reinstating traditional wānanga and traditional practices, building capability and capacity in the Toi Māori sector for the purpose of oranga and for the protection and projection of our indigenous voice.
Māori Party will:Allocate $19m to Te Matatini
Allocate $10m to Community, Hapū and Iwi development of Kapahaka and its accompanying art forms.
Establish an independent Toi Māori entity
worth $57m dedicated to the protection and projection of all Toi Māori.
This entity will be funded directly by the government and will be based on a commissioning model.
Make the new Toi Māori entity a Statutory Body on the Lottery Grants Board by 2023 that receives equal funding to Creative NZ.
Establish a research fund worth $10m for the purpose of producing an evidence base for how Toi Māori contributes to oranga Māori,
with the intention of Toi Māori being funded across all sectors equitably by 2023.
Oranga Tangata
Criminal Justice
Māori Party Justice Criminal Policy
Mā te ture anō te ture e aki - Te Kooti Arikirangi
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
It is well understood that structural discrimination creates the world-wide over-representation of indigenous peoples within justice systems.
New Zealand, Canada and Australia produce high levels of offending and imprisonment amongst their indigenous populations which can be traced back to the confiscation of native wealth and the support of their colonial legal systems.
At Waitangi on the 6 February 1840, the Chiefs and tribes signed our nation’s first colonial agreement, Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The Crown not only initiated the treaty.
They wrote it, signed it and asked that it be distributed throughout the country, so it could be ratified by all Iwi.
In Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Crown agreed to protect the pre-existing sovereign rights of Iwi over their people their land and their treasures, whilst governing the land.
The Crown established the criminal justice system that we now have.
Far from protecting Iwi sovereign rights, they instead created an interlocking system of government agencies that to this day, turns their whakapapa against them from womb to tomb.
Māori are much more likely to be victims of crime, to be apprehended, arrested, prosecuted, convicted and incarcerated than other New Zealanders and ethnic groups.
They are also much less likely to be granted bail or parole.
Two years of the Criminal Justice System, two years of the Criminal Punishment System costs more than all the Treaty Settlements paid to date over the past 26 years.
WHAT MĀORI PARTY WILL DO
The Māori Party will:Establish a Māori Legal Service/Defence Legal Service with $100 million set aside to defend Māori from the State.
Establish a Te Ture Ōrite consisting of $500 million to implement a parallel restorative Māori Criminal Justice system, based on tikanga Māori
which aims to rehabilitate and reintegrate offenders and victims as contributing members of their communities
and to stamp out racism at all levels of the justice system
Ensure fair, equitable and culturally competent police force,
who are effective with Māori offenders and communities by:
Legislating the code of ethics for the Police.
Requiring Police officers to wear body cams.
Evaluation surveys of policing by high Māori population communities.
Halve the prison population by repealing the Bail Amendment Act.
Repeal the three strike rule as it doesn’t align with a restorative justice system.
Ensure gun laws reflect the responsible use of firearms to meet customary obligations.
Ensure Māori who have been wrongly convicted have their convictions removed from their police record.
Ensure Māori who’ve been publicly shamed for crimes they didn’t commit are pardoned.
CONTEXT
Māori Criminalised To Normalise Land Theft
The first NZ parliament sat in 1854.
Voting rights were extended only to men who held individual land titles.
This effectively excluded all Māori, since Māori land was communally owned.
In 1860, the Crown began waging war on to take their land.
By the 1920s only around 8% was left in Māori hands.
In 1863 parliament passed The New Zealand Settlements Act which then legalised the taking of land through confiscation.
From January 1865 - 1868, 1.5 million acres of land was confiscated in Taranaki, Waikato, Tauranga, Eastern Bay of Plenty and Mohaka-Waikare.
By the 1920s, only around 8% was left in Māori hands.
From 1865 arrests, imprisonment and executions followed for Māori considered to be rebelling against the New Zealand Settlements Act or Crown governance in general.
Women and children were raped and under a ‘scorched earth’ policy, villages were plundered and burned to the ground.
Māori leaders charged during this time included prophets Te Kooti Rikirangi no Rongowhakaata, Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi no Te Atiawa, Rua Kenana no Tuhoe and Titokowaru no Ngāti Ruanui.
In an unfathomable twist of logic, Te Whakatōhea chief Mokomoko and Ngāti Rangiwewehi religious leader Kereopa Te Rau were both hanged for a death they did not commit and 144, 000 acres of Whakatohea land was confiscated.
Māori Criminalised for Business Gain
Today, Māori imprisonment fuels a commercially sustainable prison industry in which our people are the ‘product’.
The cost of keeping a person in prison for 12 months is $91,000.
In 2001, the Corrections Department estimated that a lifetime of offending by one person costs victims and taxpayers $3 million.
As corporates like SERCO have discovered, prisons are a lucrative business.
In 2011, $370 million was approved to build the biggest prison in the country at Wiri.
$10 million was spent on internal costs before building began.
The Mt Eden Correctional Facility was a $100 million project and $750 million has been set aside for the rebuild at Waikeria Prison.
Over-representation of Māori in Prisons
In May this year, TVNZ reported that 62% of the total women’s prison population are Māori and that most of these women are between 16-29 years of age.
Corrections Department statistics for June this year show that Māori men are four times more likely than non-Māori men to be imprisoned.
Māori make up only 15% of the total population but in prison over 50% of the prisoners are Māori.
That equates to roughly one in every 142 Māori in prison right now compared to one in every 808 non- Māori.
Risk Factors: Social Inequalities
Regrettably, known risk factors, such as youth, gender, unemployment, lack of education, and substandard housing, are infrequently used to gain a more accurate picture of Māori offending.
These factors must be taken into account since they feed a vicious cycle of criminal risk which has been outlined by Simone Bull as follows.
Colonisation generated broad social inequalities leading to deprivation.
The deprivation causes crime.
Crime causes inequality.
This causes the deprivation and the cycle repeats itself.
Generalisations about Māori criminality which do not assess socio-economic factors, play a role in stereotyping Māori and perpetuating misinformation.
Biased Attitudes
Te Puni Kokiri report Addressing the Drivers of Crime for Māori points out that while there has been some support for locally designed, developed and delivered programmes in New Zealand, these have not been supported to the same extent as large scale imported programmes.
As the increasing offending rates show, for Māori, this preferential funding history has failed to address complex issues such as offending.
A 2007 report by the Department of Corrections, Over-representation of Māori in the Criminal Justice System, shows a higher likelihood for Māori offenders to have police contact, be charged, lack legal representation, not be granted bail, plead guilty, be convicted, be sentenced to non-monetary penalties, and be denied release to Home Detention.
Over-representation of Māori in the Criminal Justice System also noted that ethnic groups viewed by society as more criminally prone tend to be over-policed.
Mainstream attitudes contribute to an increase in both formal and informal profiling by Police, thereby increasing Māori arrest rates and entry into the justice system as offenders.
The Human Rights Commission reported A Fair Go for All: Rite tahi tatou katoa? Addressing Structural Discrimination in Public Services suggests that Māori are four to five times more likely to be apprehended, prosecuted and convicted than their non- Māori counterparts.
Christchurch-based research found that Māori experienced arrest at three times the rate of non- Māori users for equivalent cannabis usage.
Fergussen and his research colleagues found that young people up till the ages of 14 years of age who offend, were twice as likely to be the subject of police attention if they were Māori.
A Fair Go For All: Rite tahi tatou katoa? Addressing Structural Discrimination in Public Services indicates that the rate could be much higher than that, pointing out that Māori aged 10-13 years are almost six times more likely to be apprehended than their New Zealand European counterparts.
Violent Policing
In October 2007, the Terrorism Suppression Act was used to authorise Operation Eight raids in Ruatoki, in response to an alleged paramilitary training camp in Urewera.
On the morning of the 15th October, around 300 police, including members of the Armed Offenders Squad and Special Tactics Group set up two roadblocks near the village of Ruatoki.
At the same time, they searched homes and detained residents there.
Searches were also conducted in other parts of the country.
The viability of the operation failed to convince the Solicitor-General.
On the 8th November, he declined to press any charges under the Terrorism Suppression Act.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) review of the Operation Eight raids found police actions to be ''unlawful, unjustified and unreasonable'.
The road blocks lacked sufficient planning and preparation.
Armed Offenders Squad carrying out searches on all vehicles leaving Ruatoki were intimidating and detrimental to the community.
Photographs of 66 drivers and 15 passengers including children which were taken at the roadblocks left some feeling degraded and intimidated.
The IPCA found the photography was not part of operation planning and had not been discussed.
The searches carried out at five properties in Ruatoki and the detention of occupants there was also deemed unlawful.
IPCA Chairman Sir David Carruthers said, ''While police have the power to restrict the movement of people to prevent a search being interfered with, they cannot lead people to unreasonably believe they are being detained.
In a number of cases here they did so.”
The Operation Eight raids resulted in 17 people facing a total of 291 charges under the Arms Act.
Of that group, only four were sentenced and only for minor firearms charges.
The two Māori were sentenced to two and a half years' jail.
The two non-Māori were sentenced to nine months' home detention.
Valerie Morse, one of the Pakeha people arrested in the Operation 8 case, outside of Ruatoki, notes that for “the non-indigenous arrestees … the situation was starkly different”.
High Conviction and Sentencing Rates
Differences in convictions for Māori and non- Māori suggest structural discrimination and racial bias within the justice system sentencing process.
Over-representation of Māori.
In the Criminal Justice System found that 79 per cent of Māori were convicted compared with 70 percent of non- Māori.
Structural discrimination and racial bias is evident in sentencing too.
Over-representation of Māori.
In the Criminal Justice System found when comparing offenders with similar histories, that fewer Māori were given leave to apply for Home Detention and fewer were granted Home Detention.
Māori were also more likely to receive a prison sentence when compared to non-Māori.
Over-representation of Māori in the Criminal Justice System also discusses the effect of detainees feeling unsafe with Police.
A 1998 study found that since Māori experience Police as racist they may not be confident to follow their instructions.
The writers then speculate that this perceived lack of cooperation by the Police, may in turn may increase the likelihood that the Police officer will proceed with charges.
Pipeline to Criminal Punishment System
There is also strong evidence to support a link between correction through the Justice System and inequitable social and economic conditions.
It is estimated that 80 percent of Youth Court offenders are not formally engaged with the education system (Becroft, 2006).
Of these offenders, Māori are also particularly over-represented.
Since 1995, over half of all youth justice apprehensions concerned young Māori (Ministry of Social Development, 2008).
42 percent of Māori aged 0-14 years live in the highest socioeconomic deprivation quintile as indicated by the New Zealand Deprivation index (Ministry of Justice, 2010).
Students from the schools in the lowest socioeconomic quintile (deciles 1 and 2) have exclusion rates that are five times that of students in the highest quintile (deciles 9 and 10) (Ministry of Education, 2012; Ministry of Social Development, 2008).
Similarly, truancy rates for decile 1 and 2 students are around six times those of their peers from decile 9 and 10 schools (Ministry of Education, 2012; Ministry of Social Development, 2008).
Parallel Māori Criminal Justice System
The NZ criminal justice system is founded on the British model, in which wrongdoers take individual responsibility for their crime.
Despite initiatives to reflect Māori values, a greater sense of whānau and community responsibility and involvement in the justice system, the individualistic punitive approach nevertheless prevails.
A Fair Go For All: Rite tahi tatou katoa? Addressing Structural Discrimination in Public Services affirms that the Māori approach to offending couldn’t be more different.
In tikanga Māori, a collective group is identified as the victim and a collective group is responsible as the offender.
The whānau, hapu and iwi of both the victim and offender are affected since the offending reduces both of their contributions to the collective.
Because offending has such a community-wide impact, the community as a whole is involved in the justice process.
Justice for Māori does not mean the attempted grafting of Māori processes upon a system that retains the authority to determine the extent, applicability, and validity of the processes.
No matter how well intentioned and sincere such efforts, it is suggested that they will merely maintain the co-option and redefinition of Māori values and authorities which underpins so much of the colonial will to control.
Children’s Commissioner Judge Becroft has long supported the inclusion of tikanga, whanaungatanga and whanau into the justice process
and more importantly acknowledged that Māori should determine whether and how that happen.
Judge Becroft wrote “There are few youth offending programmes and services designed specifically by Māori for Māori.
Effective programmes should be staffed by Māori people with similar life experiences to their young charges.”
Adding on cultural elements to a dominant system does not change the fundamental inequalities that give rise to disparities within the justice system.
There also needs to be a shift in values to recognise the need for directly resourcing a parallel Māori criminal justice system.
He Whaipaanga Hou
2018 marked thirty years since the publication of Moana Jackson’s ground-breaking exploration of Māori experiences of crime control in Aotearoa New Zealand, Māori and the Criminal Justice System: He Whaipaanga Hou.
Based on research with over 3000 Māori participants, Jackson’s report highlighted a number of significant issues with the Māori- criminal justice relationship that resonate with the experiences of Indigenous people in other countries.
This policy acknowledges that work and aims to address the inequities embedded within the criminal justice system, which create and sustain a landscape of Māori offending and incarceration rates, across our history and into our future.
Oranga Whenua
Fresh Water
Māori Party freshwater policy
Executive Summary
Ko te mana o te moana, ko te mana o te wai, i ahu mai i te mana o Papatūānuku
The Māori Party has long been concerned about the degradation of freshwater and freshwater habitat, the impact this is having on the health and wellbeing of freshwater taonga species, and the effects this has on tangata whenua and communities in an era of increasing water shortages and the climate crisis.
Successive governments have failed to acknowledge the proprietary rights and interests of whānau, hapū and iwi Māori over freshwater.
Rather, they have adopted positions that extinguish those rights and have pursued policies that instead entrench the use rights of commercial industry,
who pay little or nothing for the freshwater they use.
The Māori Party will prioritise addressing the protection and restoration of freshwater
and ensuring that the rangatira and kaitiaki rights and interests of tangata whenua are honoured and implemented across freshwater management and allocation.
The Māori Party will;Overturn the Crown’s position that “everyone owns water” and instead adopt a position that acknowledges Māori proprietary, customary, and decision-making rights and interests to freshwater
Acknowledge the intrinsic whakapapa of freshwater, and support hapū and iwi to negotiate for those whakapapa rights to be acknowledged in law
Restart negotiations between the Government and hapū and iwi to develop a policy framework on how Māori rights and interests are implemented in freshwater management and allocation
Substantially increase funding to the Te Mana o te Wai fund to support the efforts of whānau, hapū and iwi to protect and restore catchments and aquifers
Put a moratorium on new consents for water bottling plants, until a new allocation system has been developed
Develop a commercial user pays policy
to help ensure fair allocation
and support with tangata whenua-led catchment restoration
Develop an allocation system and undertake significant reform of the RMA to ensure that Māori rights and interests in water are addressed in RMA processes, including decisions on water takes and discharges
Solution
Honouring Māori rights and interests
The Māori Party position is to honour the rangatira and kaitiaki rights and interests of mana whenua over freshwater.
In a Western rights framework, this can be expressed as proprietary rights, customary rights, and decision-making rights, or put more simply, ownership.
The whakapapa connection between tangata whenua and wai Māori is intrinsic and inextricable.
This position is supported by Crown obligations to He Whakaputanga, Te Tiriti, UNDRIP and by our tino rangatiratanga as tangata whenua.
We would overturn the Crown’s bottom lines and would instead adopt positions that acknowledge rangatira and kaitiaki rights and seek to be led by tangata whenua as to how those rights are expressed and implemented in law and regulation.
The Waitangi Tribunal said that the Crown should be working directly with hapū and iwi to create a standard process for addressing Māori rights and interests.
Instead, this current Government decided to stop negotiating with iwi leaders and instead has established its own Māori advisory group, the Kāhui Wai Māori.
The Crown should be negotiating with whānau, hapū and iwi directly, not just engaging with their own self-appointed Māori representatives.
The Māori Party would re-establish negotiations with the Iwi Chairs Forum and with other hapū and iwi groups.
The scope of the negotiations would be broad and address the key issues: rights and interests, allocation, and restoration.
The Crown needs to come back to the table and not try and kick the can down the road or leave these critical issues up to litigation in the courts.
Protecting and restoring freshwater - Te Mana o te Wai
Safe, healthy drinking water and clean water sources are essential for our communities and our ecosystems.
Our top priority is to ensure that as kaitiaki we can uphold our responsibilities to protect and restore our precious waterways and aquifers.
The Government’s recently proposed NPS is a good step forward, as it embeds the Te Mana o te Wai principles and obligations.
The proposed regulatory changes will have a significant impact in restoring waterways.
The Māori Party would go further by ensuring that Te Mana o te Wai is guiding all activities, and that is embedded within a reformed RMA.
We would substantially increase funding to the Te Mana o te Wai fund to support the efforts of whānau, hapū and iwi to protect and restore catchments and aquifers.
We would also put a moratorium on all new consents for water bottling plants
until a new allocation system that honours Māori rights and interests has been agreed.
It’s also important that more research is done into the impact of water extraction on the health of our waterways.
The Māori Party supports a policy of user pays for commercial consents to freshwater as part of the new regime.
It is unacceptable that industry can continue to extract as unlimited litres of water with no financial costs.
This sets up a perverse incentive to continue high-impact irrigation schemes and risky water bottling operations without considering the environmental impact.
Revenue raised from water charges should go to mana whenua given their rangatira and kaitiaki rights and interests, and specific charges and how they are distributed to mana whenua should be determined in the negotiations between tangata whenua and the Crown.
This funding could be used to support mana whenua-led restoration work.
A user pays model should be built into a new allocation system
that is based on the recognition of tangata whenua rights and interests and the principles of Te Mana o te Wai.
Ensuring fair allocation for tangata whenua
The Māori Party would push for any new water allocation system to conform with Te Mana o te Wai and iwi/hapū rights and obligations, including the recognition that each whānau/hapū/iwi maintains their own mana over their waterways.
We would not support allocation based on grandparenting and or perpetual use rights
and would ensure that the first takes and discharges provided for are to iwi/hapū, who have a customary right to access an equitable share of the allocable quantum in their area.
Existing provisions in the RMA do not provide for Māori rights and interests in water to be addressed in RMA processes, including national and regional rules and decisions on water takes and discharges.
The Māori Party would change this by undertaking significant reform of the RMA, ensuring that it is grounded in the Te Mana o te Wai framework,
and that there is an equal partnership between tangata whenua and the Crown on decisions of management and allocation of freshwater.
Acknowledging whakapapa rights of waterways
The Māori Party would acknowledge the intrinsic whakapapa and ecological rights of freshwater,
and support whānau, hapū and iwi to negotiate for the whakapapa rights of their awa and roto to be acknowledged in law.
The hapū and iwi of Whanganui have led the way internationally in terms of recognising the whakapapa of waterways in law, following Tūhoe who secured acknowledgement of Te Ūrewera as a legal entity.
The idea has found interest and support right around the world, with India following suit but giving the Ganga and Yumana Rivers human minor legal status.
There are legitimate concerns about incorporating whakapapa and tikanga into Western law in this way, and so it is crucial that this only happen when the mana whenua of that waterway wants it to happen.
It must also happen on the terms, and in the language, of that specific mana whenua group.
This acknowledgement of whakapapa and ecological rights may not always be expressed as legal personhood.
Context
The state of our freshwater in Aotearoa is now a national crisis.
Our rivers, lakes and aquifers are under immense pressure from polluting land uses, and nearly two thirds are not safe to swim in.
Nitrogen is increasing in rivers and aquifers, degrading our waterways, and putting human health at risk.
We essentially have no financial price for the commercial use of water, while there is a high cost to whānau, hapū, iwi and communities who face water restrictions, have in some places like Havelock North have not been able to drink tap water, and are unable to use their local waterways.
Swimming and gathering kai in our freshwaters have been of upmost importance for our people for centuries and for generations of New Zealand.
We want to make sure that our tamariki and future generations can continue to use it without the fear of becoming sick.
Legislative, regulatory and practical barriers have prevented many mana whenua groups from being able to fully uphold their responsibilities as kaitiaki to protect and restore water ways and turn around decades of degradation.
In the last government the Māori Party was able to win the landmark Te Mana o te Wai policy framework, which included a fund for mana whenua-led restoration projects.
However, despite our opposition, the last government also put in place five bottom lines, which sought to extinguish Māori rights to freshwater.
The Waitangi Tribunal found that that hapū and iwi Māori have rights and interests in freshwater under Article 2 of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
The Tribunal report also noted the failure of the Crown to be Treaty compliant.
The current Labour-led Government decided early on in their term to keep these bottom lines in place.
The only difference was that National said that “no one owns water” while Labour said that “everyone owns water”.
They also appointed the Kāhui Wai Māori to provide the tangata whenua perspective on restoration and management, while putting on hold any discussion with mandated hapū and iwi leaders about rights and interests.
Despite this, the Kāhui Wai Māori has successfully built on the vision of the Māori Party and the previous Government by in April 2019 presenting the Government with its report, Te mana o te Wai.
This report presents a vision for protecting and restoring freshwater and has had a significant impact on the new Draft National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management (NPS), however many of its recommendations still need to be implemented.
The status quo situation for freshwater allocation ignores the rights and interests of tangata whenua
but instead entrenches the ability of the agricultural and water bottling industries to continue to extract as much freshwater as they would like from catchments and aquifers, at no cost.
Decisions over freshwater management and allocation are predominately made at regional and local councils, where Māori are usually critically underrepresented.
There are also too few responsibilities on councils under the Resource Management Act (RMA) to meaningfully negotiate and engage with mana whenua on a catchment by catchment basis.
Climate Change ~ Pūngao Auaha
Oranga Whenua
Climate ~ Pūngao Auaha
One of the key priorities of our climate policy is to establish a new $1bn scheme, Pūngao Auaha, that will support whānau, iwi and Māori businesses to invest in community energy projects,
and fund the fit-out of solar panels and insulation for marae, kura, whānau homes and papakāinga housing developments.
The scheme will create jobs in Māori communities
and bring down energy costs for thousands of whānau.
The protection of Papatūānuku and a stable climate cannot be achieved without tangata whenua leadership.
That means we must remain at the forefront of climate action and the solutions must be our own.
Oranga Whenua
Climate Change
Māori Party climate change policy plan Executive Summary
Ko te mahi o te kaitiaki te aki i te mana o Papatūānuku, o Ranginui hoki, tae noa ki a rāua tini tamariki mokopuna e whāngai nei i a tātou o te ao mārama nei. /He mana tuku iho ki ngā iwi me ngā hapū i ēnei rā mā ngā atua me te Tiriti o Waitangi. / Mā ngā iwi me ngā hapū e whakahaere, e kai hoki kia ora ai a Papatūānuku me āna tini uri mokopuna tatū mai ki te tangata.
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges Aotearoa and Te Ao Māori will ever face.
It poses an existential threat to our culture, our whakapapa, our economy, and the natural environment that sustains us, including the taonga species that make up our unique indigenous biodiversity.
The protection of Papatūānuku and a stable global climate cannot be achieved without indigenous leadership and knowledge, or the recognition of indigenous rights.
In Aotearoa that means that whānau, hapū and iwi must remain at the forefront of climate action and the solutions must be our own.
This is an ambitious plan for climate action that recognises the size and scale of the challenges that we face, and sets out how Te Ao Māori can contribute to mitigating the worst impacts of the climate crisis while also adapting to the reality of our already-changing climate
and embracing environmental protection and restoration as an opportunity to ensure our whānau have what they need to thrive.
The Māori Party will;End new onshore oil and gas permits
and withdraw existing onshore
and offshore oil and gas permits within five years and aim to decommission sites by 2030
Ban seabed mining permits nationwide
and withdraw existing seabed mining permits
Establish dedicated $1bn Pūngao Auaha fund for Māori-owned community energy projects
and solar panel and insulation instillations on marae, kura, homes and papakāinga housing developments
Work alongside interested whānau, hapū and iwi to develop a national Māori strategy for renewable energy
and clean technology
and ensure the Crown supports Māori-led clean technology projects with R&D, start-up funding, and partnership finance
Phase out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser on farms by 2025
and bring methane emissions from agriculture into the ETS to disincentivise intensive methane-emitting agriculture
Establish $300m Mātai Ahuwhenua innovation and support fund to incentivise Māori farmers to transition to regenerative and value-add farming practises
Ensure the Crown works with whānau, hapū and iwi to establish climate change adaptation plans
and establish a fund to support whānau, hapū and iwi with adaptation
Ensure Aotearoa plays a greater role in supporting Pasifika leaders on the world stage through aggressive diplomatic efforts
Solution
He ara hou - ending fossil fuel exploration in Aotearoa
Māori have been on the frontline of resisting risky and climate-polluting fossil fuel and mineral extraction.
In 2011 Te Whānau-ā-Apanui successfully led the opposition to Petrobras’ deep-sea oil exploration in the Raukūmara Basin.
In 2013 Sir Mark Solomon led opposition to Anadarko’s arrival in Kaikōura.
In 2015 the hapū of Te Tai Tokerau resisted the deep-sea oil exploration of Statoil, while in 2016 Ngāti Kahungungu mobilised its waka hourua, Te Matau a Māui, to challenge the world’s biggest seismic blasting ship the Amazon Warrior, as it searched for oil off the Wairarapa Coast.
Following the Amazon Warrior’s arrival, over 80 coastal hapū declared their unanimous rejection of oil exploration, culminating in a resolution of the National Iwi Chairs Forum in 2017 to oppose all seismic testing and oil exploration in Aotearoa’s waters.
In 2018 the Crown amended the Crown Minerals Act (CMA) so that new offshore block offers for oil and gas exploration would not be made.
The Māori Party supported this change; however, we do not support the Crown’s policy of continuing onshore block offers in Taranaki and would ban new block offers in law.
We believe that it is critical to withdraw existing onshore and offshore oil and gas permits that are yet to be exercised and aspire to have sites decommissioned within 10 years.
Production and extraction of oil and gas should be ceased in 5 years from existing sites.
We recognise that the challenge of decommissioning sites and that it will involve significant costs and international assistance, but it is important that we begin that work now.
It is no longer acceptable for Aotearoa to support the global fossil fuel industry, and we must accept that oil and gas is already a sunset industry.
Since 2016, Ngāti Ruanui, other Taranaki iwi and the local community have been opposing a permit for Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) to undertake risky and untested seabed mining off the South Taranaki Bight.
The campaign on the streets and in the courts is ongoing, with the decision of the Court of Appeal to overturn the permit due to be appealed by TTR in the Supreme Court.
The Māori Party would ban seabed mining permits nationwide in the EEZ and withdraw existing permits, as we accept that the risks for the climate, for marine mammals and for local industries are far too great.
The Māori Party will;End new onshore oil and gas permits and withdraw existing onshore andoffshore oil and gas permits within five years
and aim to decommission sites by 2030
Ban seabed mining permits nationwide
and withdraw existing seabed mining permits
Implement the policy to end mining on conservation land
and extend thepolicy to include reserves and Significant Natural Areas under the RMA
Pūngao Auaha - renewable energy & clean technology
As Māori we need to be leading the transition to a zero-emissions economy, by reducing emissions,
while ensuring it is a just transition by supporting whānau, hapū and iwi who are engaged in emissions-producing industries in the Māori economy.
This is an economic and social opportunity for hapū, iwi and Māori businesses to be at the cutting edge of clean green technology,
which has the potential to create jobs,
lower energy costs
and ensure that the Māori economy continues to grow.
There needs to be stronger focus from the Crown on supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency at the community and grassroots level.
Government should be incentivising greater development of whānau, hapū, iwi and community renewable energy
and clean technology projects.
The Māori Party would establish a new dedicated $1bn-scheme, Pūngao Auaha, that is responsible for supporting Māori-owned community energy projects,
and for funding the complete fit-out of marae, kura and papakāinga housing developments with solar energy and insulation.
Individual whānau would also be able to apply for funding for solar and insulation instillations.
The scheme will be responsible for funding projects that create jobs in Māori communities
and bring down energy costs for thousands of whānau.
The Crown is currently reviewing its strategy for renewable energy and energy efficiency, but it has not proposed any meaningful action in terms of involving whānau, hapū and iwi Māori.
The Māori Party would establish a national Māori strategy for renewable energy and clean technology,
which would enable the negotiation of partnership agreements between the Crown and specific hapū and iwi
who are keen to lead on renewable energy and clean technology, including with significant investments in large-scale projects.
As part of a plan to achieve 100% renewable electricity and energy production, we would also ban new coal mine permits and phase out the industrial burning of coal by 2030.
Pūngao Auaha would be available for Māori businesses to innovate and phase out the use of coal.
The Māori Party will;Establish dedicated $1bn Pūngao Auaha fund for Māori-owned community energy projects
and solar panel and insulation instillations on marae, kura, homes and papakāinga housing developments
Work alongside interested whānau, hapū and iwi to develop a national Māori strategy for renewable energy
and clean technology
and ensure the Crown supports Māori-led clean technology projects with R&D, start-up funding, and partnership finance
Ban coal mine permits
and phase out the industrial burning of coal by 2030
Mātai Ahuwhenua - regenerative agriculture
Intensive dairying has become the country’s biggest river and climate polluter in Aotearoa.
The IPCC says we need significant reductions in methane in the next eight years to keep the world under 1.5C.
Aotearoa can only meet its emissions reductions obligations by significantly reducing livestock numbers
and moving away from emissions-intensive farming practices like the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, and imported feed, and towards regenerative and value-added farming.
Regenerative agriculture has its roots in indigenous farming practices that our tupuna used to produce food sustainably before European colonisation.
Regenerative farming also fits in with climate adaptation as it increases resilience against impacts from drought, flooding, and other extreme weather events,
and improves food self-sufficiency.
Since 1990 the dairy herd has nearly doubled, fuelled by a 67% increase in the use of synthetic fertiliser.
Synthetic nitrogen fertiliser is made using fossil gas and is one of the key drivers of overstocking on dairy farms.
The Māori Party would phase out the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser by 2025.
To make the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) effective in bringing down Aotearoa’s emissions, exemptions need to be reduced as fast as possible and agriculture needs to be brought into the system immediately - it has already been delayed too long.
While methane emissions, half of our domestic emissions, are excluded the ETS will never be a useful tool.
It is crucial that Māori working in agriculture, particularly in the dairy industry, are supported through these transitions.
The Māori Party will establish the $300m Mātai Ahuwhenua innovation and support fund to incentivise Māori farmers to transition to regenerative and value-add farming.
Whānau and Māori-owned businesses would be able to apply to the fund for agricultural innovation grants, and for financial support to buffer losses associated with a price on methane and the phasing out of synthetic nitrogen fertilisers.
The Māori Party will;Phase out the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser on farms by 2025
Bring methane emissions from agriculture into the ETS, and incentivise transitioning away from intensive dairying
Establish $300m Mātai Ahuwhenua innovation and support fund to incentivise Māori farmers to transition to regenerative and value-add farming practises
Ngā āhuatanga urutau - adaptation
While the priority has to remain taking action to reduce our emissions, and pushing internationally for other nations to do the same, we also have to begin to grapple with adapting to the changes that are already inventible from the warming in global temperatures that we have already seen.
We are already facing an increase in extreme weather events as a result of our changing climate, and sea levels have begun to rise.
Whānau, hapū and iwi need to begin serious planning for how we adapt our economies, societies, and cultures to the new environmental reality we find ourselves in.
This needs to include developing climate change adaptation plans and policies for issues such as managed retreat and food security.
It is likely inevitable that there will be displacement of important sites such as papakaingā and urupā, which will carry huge costs.
The Māori Party position is that the Crown should establish a fund to support whānau, hapū and iwi with the costs of the adaptation needs identified in their adaptation plans.
The Māori Party will;Provide resource for, and ensure the Crown works with, whānau, hapū and iwi to establish climate change adaptation plans
Establish a fund to support whānau, hapū and iwi with adaptation such as shifting papakāinga under managed retreat policies
Kotahitanga o Te Moana nui ā Kiwa - supporting our Pasifika whanaunga
Climate change is putting the lives and livelihoods of some of our closest neighbours in low- lying Pacific nations at extreme risk.
Pacific leaders are at the forefront of fighting for no warming above 1.5C and saving us from the worst effects of sea level rise,
but there is a growing number of people who have no choice but to consider leaving their home islands.
This problem is only going get worse if world leaders don’t immediately change direction and transform our global economy.
We need to support our Pasifika whanaunga by ensuring Aotearoa plays a greater role in supporting Pasifika leaders on the world stage through aggressive diplomatic efforts.
The Māori Party will;• Ensure Aotearoa plays a greater role in supporting Pasifika leaders on the world stage through aggressive diplomatic efforts
Context
The climate crisis threatens our culture and identity as tangata whenua.
It has been a slow- moving crisis and depictions of rising temperatures and melting glaciers means it often feels distant and abstract.
But that is beginning to change as we see the effects of a changing climate in Aotearoa.
Our responses to the climate crisis must reflect the scale and urgency of the challenge.
Despite decades of warnings, protest and discussions, the planet is continuing to warm.
Since 2016, Aotearoa has had three of its hottest years on record since recordings began in 1909.
As a result, extreme climate conditions are continuing to accelerate.
In 2018 the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a landmark report that made clear there was only 12 years to limit “climate catastrophe” by limiting global temperature rises below 1.5C.
There is no time for inaction or delay.
As indigenous peoples we have the most to lose from a failure to act on climate change, despite a relatively tiny contribution to global emissions.
Many of our Pasifika whanaunga face the prospect of losing their islands altogether due to sea level rise.
Sea level rise is already beginning to affect Aotearoa too, and it puts at risk many coastal papakaingā, marae, urupā, homes and businesses.
The scientific predictions for the speed and scale of sea level rise are constantly being revised due to the unpredictable acceleration, but we know we need to plan for what is an unfolding reality.
Here in Aotearoa and around the world, from Raukūmara to Standing Rock, we have also seen that indigenous peoples are on the frontline of resisting climate-polluting industries and pushing for transformative climate action.
We are also seeing indigenous wisdom and traditional knowledge rise to prominence as the modern world grapples with how to restore balance with the natural world, something indigenous peoples have always understood.
The hapū and iwi-led Māori economy is a major economic powerhouse in Aotearoa, particularly in the regions.
Chapman Trip’s 2017 Te Ao Māori report estimated the size of the Māori economy to be $50b, with 30 per cent of this held by Māori groups, such as land trusts and incorporations.
The 2018 TDB Iwi Investment Report values that the total assets of all post-settlement entities at around $9b.
It is therefore imperative that there is a strategy to transition the Māori economy away from fossil fuels and unsustainable energy as the country aims for a zero-emissions economy by 2050,
as part of our national commitment to combat the climate crisis.
This is an economic and social opportunity for hapū, iwi and Māori businesses to be at the cutting edge of clean green technology,
which has the potential to create jobs,
grow asset bases
and ensure that the Māori economy continues to grow.
Together we have won the right for all South Africans to vote
On 27 April, for the first time in our history, all of us will stand tall and proud as equal citizens in our common home.
South Africa`s first democratic elections are about our common yearning for freedom, peace and a better life for all.
They are about a past of oppression and despair and a future of hope and democracy.
There are those who would like us to believe that the past doesn`t exist: that decades of apartheid rule have suddenly disappeared.
But the economic and social devastation of apartheid remains.
Our country is in a mess.
To eradicate the serious problems caused by apartheid, South Africa needs a government with the political will to meet the challenge.
A government that understands the needs of the future because it understands the neglect and division of the past.
We need a government that puts people first.
Proud of Our Past - Confident of the Future
When the African National Congress set out its vision for a non-racial society on 8 January 1912, we did not know how long it would take to achieve it.
What we knew was that we would not rest until these ideals were realised.
For over 80 years, the ANC has led the struggle to bring about a South Africa that belongs to all the people.
The ANC is a home for all South Africans.
Our strength flows from our roots among the people.
That is why we inspired people`s resistance during the darkest moments.
That is why we initiated and led the negotiations process.
Our programme reflects years of people`s struggles and is informed by their aspirations.
A Clear Plan
To build a better life for all requires clear goals and a workable plan.
Any solution to the crisis of apartheid needs an approach which rises above narrow interests and harnesses all our country`s resources.
It requires: a democratic society based on equality, non-racialism and non-sexism;
a nation built by developing our different cultures, beliefs and languages as a source of our common strength;
an economy which grows through providing jobs, housing and education;
a peaceful and secure environment in which people can live without fear.
These are the principles which will guide us as we work together to build a new society.
The detailed framework is contained in our Reconstruction and Development Programme.
The ANC is ready to govern: we are ready to listen.
In developing our policies over the years, we have consulted widely, most recently in People`s Forums.
We have also discussed with role players in the economy, education and other areas.
While others throw up their hands in despair or point fingers, we want to roll up our sleeves and tackle the problems.
We are aware that eliminating the mess created over decades by the National Party will not be easy.
But we know that you can make a difference.
If we all work together, we are capable of achieving even more.
A Government of the People
One of the most urgent challenges facing South Africa is the adoption of a new democratic constitution.
In the Constitutional Assembly, whatever our majority, the ANC will strive through consultation and debate to reach national consensus.
The ANC has always stood for basic democratic principles which include: a constitution and Bill of Rights which guarantee human rights for all, including the right to a minimum standard of life;
the right of all people to elect a government of their choice in regular, free and fair elections in a multi-party democracy;
democratic government at provincial and local levels, with the powers and resources to meet people`s needs;
an independent judiciary and constitutional court protected from any government or party political interference;
freedom from discrimination on racial, gender or any other ground;
freedom of association and the right to worship.
A Good Beginning
Through negotiations and struggle, the ANC has ensured that South Africa`s new constitution will be drafted by democratically-elected representatives.
We firmly commit ourselves to the Constitutional Principles agreed to in multi-party negotiations as a basis for drafting a new democratic constitution.
The interim constitution is an important first step towards democracy.
However, the new democratic constitution and Bill of Rights need to be truly democratic.
The challenge is to make democracy a living reality.
An Open Society
The ANC will strive for an open society that encourages vigorous debate.
People must be free to express their views without fear, including criticising the government of the day.
Freedom of the media will be essential for a flourishing of democracy.
Unity in Diversity
All South African languages will have equal status.
No one culture will be promoted over another.
Traditional leaders will be accorded the status they deserve in line with the principles of democracy.
Freedom of religion and worship will be a basic right: Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews and all others - none will be discriminated against.
A New Style of Government
Government administration exists to serve the people.
It must be answerable to them.
The ANC will encourage private citizens to use the independent Public Protector to investigate corruption, dishonesty or violation of rules of conduct on the part of government officials - those found guilty will be dealt with.
Forums representing government and workers, business, education and other groups will be strengthened to help in policy formulation.
In government, the ANC will continue the tradition of People`s Forums - meetings in which ordinary people can voice their opinions.
Improving the Quality of Life
Democracy means more than just the vote.
It must be measured by the quality of life of ordinary people - men and women, young and old, rural and urban.
It means giving all South Africans the opportunity to share in the country`s wealth, to contribute to its development and to improve their own lives.
For years, our economy ran for the benefit of the minority, with opportunities and facilities limited to a few.
While all parties speak of improving the quality of life, only a government that represents the majority can be trusted to do this.
Jobs and Better Incomes
The millions of people without jobs will be at the top of the ANC government`s agenda.
In establishing a dynamic and growing economy we will employ various means to create more jobs and opportunities.
A Growing Economy
As a legitimate government, the ANC will be able to work with others to create an environment of peace and stability, boosting investor confidence.
The international community is already responding positively to our call for massive investments.
A new trade and industry policy will focus mainly on job creation, strengthening our manufacturing capacity and industries that export goods.
Our economic programmes will take into account the need for sustainable development which does not destroy our natural resources.
Tighter controls will be introduced to preserve our environment for future generations.
Public Works Programme
An ANC government will immediately start a national public works programme which will address community needs and create jobs.
Through this programme alone we will aim to provide employment and training for about 2,5-million people over the next ten years, building roads and providing water, electricity, schools, clinics, housing and meeting other needs.
Opportunities for Small Business
Our programme will create more job opportunities by making it easier for people to start their own businesses.
An ANC government will change licensing laws, provide training and access to loans, and, in particular, assist women.
The government will give the small business sector some of its contracts to help them grow.
Workers` Rights
The ANC is committed to full rights for all workers in both public and private sectors, including domestic and farm-workers, to organise, bargain collectively and be represented by trade unions.
The democratic government will: outlaw all discrimination;
protect and extend hard-won employment standards, maternity and child-care rights;
introduce Adult Basic Education and more opportunities for specialised training for workers and the unemployed, especially youth and women;
promote centralised bargaining and strong trade unions;
guarantee the right to strike;
raise and enforce standards of health and safety.
A Just Tax System
An ANC government will ensure that South Africa has an efficient tax system.
The income that ordinary people earn will not be lost through unfair taxes.
We will: end VAT on basic foods like flour, milk and sugar;
reduce income taxes on people earning under R4,000 a month;
end unfair taxation of women, married and single;
ensure through efficient collection that every business pays its fair share.
Ending Rural Poverty
In addition to opportunities which our programme will open for rural people, an ANC government will introduce a rural development programme.
Most people in the rural areas - the majority of whom are women - live in poverty.
Central in the development programme will be job-creation through industrial development and opportunities for small business, alongside land reform.
We will focus on provision of water, clinics, schools, toilet facilities, electricity, telephones and roads.
Land Reform
South Africa belongs to all who live in it.
To make this a reality, an ANC government will: guarantee women equal rights to land and special assistance;
assist small farmers to get access to training, credit and markets;
encourage large-scale farming, and ensure security of tenure and all basic rights for farm workers;
restructure development agencies and marketing boards to serve the farmers and consumers;
guarantee victims of forced removals restitution, which should be carried out fairly through a Land Claims Court;
use state land in the implementation of land reform.
Opening the Doors of Learning
An ANC government will make education a priority.
The challenge is immense, but it will not require finding more money.
We need to ensure that the R23-billion set aside is used for the benefit of all.
For too long, the NP government has denied too many people the right to education or the proper conditions for learning and teaching.
Emphasis will be placed on teacher training and upgrading and improving their conditions of service.
Above all, we will encourage a culture of learning and teaching, and introduce a new curriculum which promotes both technical quality and humane ideals.
An ANC government will: introduce one education system that provides ten years of free and compulsory education for all children;
start utilising all existing school facilities;
provide more classrooms and repair and modernise inadequate facilities;
double the number of free text-books within one year;
allow mother-tongue instruction and education in the language of choice;
provide a national bursary and loan system;
provide adult literacy programmes;
assist youths who have not been able to complete their education;
focus on ways of providing pre-school educare;
give special assistance to women.
Housing and Services for All
Having a roof over one`s head and reasonable living conditions are not a privilege.
They are a basic right for every human being
For over two decades, the National Party stopped the building of houses for Africans in the urban areas.
Influx control and a lack of urban planning have resulted in a crisis that is at the very root of many of our social problems.
Women were denied the right to own houses.
Decent family life has been denied to millions of people.
We will focus on the 7-million squatters and the homeless, and the upgrading of townships.
We will upgrade hostels to meet the needs of the residents as part of a programme to eliminate the apartheid migrant labour system
The ANC will work with building societies and other banks and financial institutions to ensure that people have the loans and means to build their own houses.
Consumers will be protected from fly-by-night building contractors and unfair lenders.
Housing plans will take into account the need for people to stay close to where they work and the need to build efficient transport systems and to provide recreational and other basic facilities
The ANC will ensure democratic, efficient and open local government which works closely with community structures in providing affordable housing and services.
We have calculated that, within five years, the new government can: build one million homes;
provide running water and flush toilets to over a million families;
electrify 2,5-million rural and urban homes.
Health: Caring for All the People
South Africa has more than enough health resources to care for all its people.
Under apartheid, these resources were used to care for a small portion of society on the basis of race and wealth.
Deaths of young babies through poverty-related diseases has reached levels that no self-respecting nation can tolerate.
The aim of the ANC`s health policy is primary and affordable health care, to ensure that all South Africans are guaranteed basic treatment.
Prevention will be the priority, and resources will be directed especially at rural areas and poverty-stricken communities.
An ANC government will, in its health programme, do the following: promote safe motherhood and play a major role in caring for the nation`s children through programmes of immunisation, nutrition and free health care for children under five;
introduce measures to make medicines more affordable;
direct major resources at combating TB, AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases, cancer and other plagues;
facilitate the integration of traditional health practice.
Welfare and Pensions
A caring approach to children, senior citizens, the disabled and victims of violence will be central to our welfare policy.
An intensive programme will be devoted to homeless children.
All people deserve to grow old in dignity and with security.
Government will assist in the provision of facilities for the aged.
Pensions and grants due to people will be assured and allocated through post offices, banks, building societies or other outlets which are easy for rural people to use.
In consultation with the disabled, the ANC will eliminate discrimination against them in the provision of services and jobs.
They will be assisted to develop their full potential.
Attention will be given to the removal of obstacles which make access to places of work and learning difficult.
Eliminating Discrimination - Affirmative Action
It is not enough to talk of equality.
Especially when the vast majority of our people have been left behind by a system that excluded them by law and deprived the country of the contribution they could have made.
Opportunities must be opened to all who were discriminated against as Africans, Coloureds and Indians, as women, the disabled and as people staying in rural areas.
This will not be done at the expense of others; nor lead to a lowering of standards.
Special emphasis will be placed on their training and upgrading so they can rise to higher levels in business, civil service, skilled jobs and other areas.
South Africa as a whole will benefit if all levels of society represent the broad spectrum of its people.
It is essential to the growth of our economy and the flourishing of our culture that more people are skilled and that they feel part of the national effort.
Making the Plan Work
We know that financing and implementing the programme of reconstruction and development will not be easy.
But it is an opportunity to set the economy on a path of sustained growth and development.
By putting people first, we will be investing in jobs, housing and education at the same time as helping our country grow.
More jobs and higher incomes will bring the government more revenue for expenditure on basic needs in future years.
An ANC government will increase public expenditure and encourage the private sector to put money in productive ventures.
We will establish a reconstruction fund and seek beneficial international aid and loans.
Our objective is to use resources more efficiently and not to increase the tax burden.
Large sums of money already go to education, health and other areas.
But the results are poor.
Money has been used on a racial basis and squandered in corruption and bureaucracy.
This will be done away with.
Peace and Security for All
Our country needs peace.
We need an end to the violence against communities and to the abuse of women and children.
We must end the culture of violence created by apartheid.
This hope and prayer of the overwhelming majority must be realised.
As the organisation that represents the victims of apartheid we understand the difference between a government that intimidates, and one that cares.
We all deserve to live in a safe environment.
Together with communities, an ANC government will ensure that criminals are dealt with to the full extent of the law.
What is required is: a government that represents all the people and implements a programme to create jobs;
a government committed to dealing firmly with violence and crime and one that does not simply point fingers;
a programme to promote political tolerance, respect for the country`s constitution and laws, and peaceful ways of handling political differences;
a gun control programme to minimise the number of guns in the hands of individuals and to eliminate gun smuggling;
a police force accountable to the communities in which it is based;
a programme which emphasizes rehabilitation instead of vengeance.
Security Forces
All security forces will be reformed to reflect the national and gender character of our country.
They will be non-partisan, professional, uphold the constitution and respect human rights.
A new volunteer army will deal with the defence of the country and not internal political matters
It will also be used for productive purposes and upgrading skills of the youth.
Criminal behaviour in these forces will not be tolerated.
Those serving today will be encouraged to continue, in line with the new culture.
Like other civil servants, security personnel will be guaranteed their pensions on retirement or resignation.
They will also enjoy fundamental human rights.
Equality Before The Law
For the anti-crime measures to succeed, it will be necessary to have a court system that broadly reflects society`s racial and gender composition and provides fairness and equality for all before the law.
Detention without trial will be done away with.
The system of justice will be made more accessible, cheap and fair to everyone.
Taking Our Rightful Place in the World
The ANC and its leaders enjoy recognition and respect worldwide as upholders of democracy and human rights.
An ANC government will take South Africa fully back into the world.
South Africa will play its part in the worldwide campaign for democracy, human rights, peace and nuclear disarmament.
It will accede to all international agreements which protect human rights, including the rights of women and children, and it will co-operate fully with human rights groups
An ANC government will work for just economic and social relations between the developed industrial nations and the developing countries
We will encourage relations between South Africans and the peoples of the world in fields such as sport, culture and tourism.
Our Region and Our Continent
Our destiny is intertwined with that of Southern Africa.
An ANC government will build closer co-operation and economic integration in the region.
We will take active part in the Southern African Development Conference and other regional institutions on the basis of equality.
An ANC government will build extensive links with countries of Africa and work with other states to ensure that the continent is not ignored by the rest of humankind.
South Africa will become a full member of the Organisation of African Unity, United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, the Commonwealth and other international bodies.
A Pledge
These policies of the ANC lay the foundation for us to work together to change South Africa for the better.
The ANC recognises the depth of our country`s crisis.
We are convinced that political will, an environment of peace and stability and a technically sound programme are the sure foundation for reconstruction and development.
The ANC pledges to spare no effort to realise these ideals.
We are ready to tackle the problems.
Above all, the ANC believes that the plan will succeed only if it is based on the active participation of all, a tradition we will carry into government.
Together as South Africans - men and women of all colours, young and old, urban and rural - we have the power to build a better life for all.
Together let`s change South Africa.
So that, once and for all, our country can know peace and security.
So that we can join the rest of humankind as a proud and united people working together for a better world.
Now is the time!
God bless South Africa!
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY VISION
Freeing people to get ahead
We believe… in the supreme worth of each individual;
that every right implies a responsibility;
that the law was made for men and women, not men and women for the law;
in creating a climate of opportunity for every citizen to get a job.
Healing our nation
We believe that all South Africans share the DP's vision of a free, democratic, non-racial and proud nation where we all work to ether to ensure a better future for our children.
Reconciliation of our divided people, rebuilding of our shattered country and equal access to opportunities to maximise potential will ensure freedom from fear and freedom from want.
A better life for all
We believe all South Africans are seeking to improve their lot in life.
We understand that only economic growth in a free market can create the wealth needed to achieve this.
We believe South Africa has the potential to take its place amongst the winning nations of the world and to become the leader in a new Africa.
The Democratic Party's policies can achieve this vision.
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY DIFFERENCE
The Democratic Party is all South African and truly independent.
It is not a party of the right or the left, but of the liberal centre.
It is a party of people who are committed to human rights;
who understand what is needed to create the growth that will improve the standard of living of all South Africans;
who have a deep sense of responsibility towards the environment;
and who know that for all South Africa to succeed we need to combine the talents and experience of all our people.
It makes no secret deals or shady alliances.
Unlike the ANC and the Nats, it believes that parties must serve people and not the other way round.
Unlike every other party on the South African scene, the DP has never taken any pan in violence or lawlessness.
There is no blood on DP hands.
The Democratic Party will continue to play the role that it has played for 35 years by opposing racism and authoritarianism, and by leading ﬁxture governments on the path of real democracy.
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY PLEDGE
We, the people of the Democratic Party, commit ourselves to representing the needs and protecting the rights of all South Africans.
To achieve this we pledge … Not just to listen, but truly to hear;
Not just to see and be seen, but truly to understand;
To reach deep into our hearts and summon the will to take action, to keep our commitment to the kind of democracy and the kind of government and constitution that never forgets its roots or responsibilities;
that remembers it was forged by the courage and the vision of the people it was meant to serve.
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: ECONOMIC SOLUTIONS
“A rising tide lifts all ships”
Economies grow when people have the freedom to take charge of their own lives and their own destiny, to use what they have to get what they want.
Government will best help the poor and the poverty-stricken of our society, not by interfering with the market, but by creating a well designed social security safety net alongside it.
This is the basis of the DPS economic policy: a free market economy with a social conscience.
South Africa requires economic policies to meet the needs of the people and not to accommodate ideological pipedreams.
Our objectives must be to eliminate poverty and provide adequate and rising standards of living for all.
A growing, job-creating economy must be market-orientated, based on free enterprise and social responsibility.
Our inward-looking economy must become an export oriented one.
Jobs are the top priority because only jobs give people the means to take care of themselves and so become participants in development rather than recipients of charity.
Large scale job creation will only take place within the private sector and in a growing economy.
Nevertheless, the State must do all it can to encourage productive job retention and business ventures big and small, formal and informal.
Essential public works programmes such as schools, clinics and roads must be initiated and community-based labour-intensive methods used except where they are much more costly.
In this way we hope to help break the vicious cycle of unemployment that leads to instability and discourages investment.
The Democratic Party's 12 point economic plan
The State must strictly control its expenditure and live within its means
Government expenditure as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product must not increase and budget deficits must move down to about 3% as rapidly as possible.
This will require a rigorous identification of priorities, and acceptance of a step by step approach.
We must also recognise that everything cannot be done all at once.
Lower taxes better spent.
South Africans are over—taxed; the system of taxation must be streamlined, in particular by increasing the efficiency of collections and reducing the myriad of deductions and exemptions.
We must reduce the nominal rates of company tax
and abolish discrimination and overtaxing against married women
and middle income earners.
Key State assets must be privatised to raise revenue, promote efﬁciency and roll back the budget deﬁcit.
Waste and corruption must be eliminated by establishing open government free from patronage and by ensuring that money is not spent paying administrators but in providing the services and capital projects for which they were intended.
Deregulation and rationalisation must be carried out to improve State expenditure efficiency, for example by reviewing - and where necessary mothballing - white elephants such as Mossgas.
The ﬁnancial rand and exchange controls must be phased out as soon as possible.
Massive labour intensive housing and development programmes must be initiated in partnership with the private sector.
Private sector developmental potential must be unlocked by creating structures and conditions under which community involvement and stability are guaranteed.
Export processing zones must be established.
We must encourage tourism, which is a labour—intensive growth industry.
We must remove import duties and surcharges on cameras, binoculars, watches and electronic goods not made in South Africa.
This will enhance the attractiveness of South Africa as a tourist destination.
Compulsory state-administered pension and medical schemes must be introduced for all salary and wage earners who do not contribute to their own pension or medical aid schemes.
Trade and investment opportunities throughout Africa must be actively pursued so that South Africa can take a leading role in the continent
The Democratic Party will oppose economic madness
We will oppose the nationalisation of privately—owned businesses and the expropriation of property for political purposes.
We will oppose economic populism as this will lead to excessive government expenditure, higher taxation and unrealistic expectations among millions of people who will become frustrated and angry when they are not met.
We will fight socialism and creeping communism and the dangerous practice of excessive government planning which inevitably leads to State direction of the economy.
We will oppose the politicisation of education, housing and social services which are suffering more from disruption and political manipulation than from a shortage of funds.
The Democratic Party's economic record
The Democratic Party continues to attract successful entrepreneurs and business people to its ranks.
This economic talent makes the DP the first choice for building a winning nation.
The DP has an excellent record in Parliament of exposing NP government corruption and mismanagement.
We will continue to act as an effective watchdog against the abuse of power and to lead the way towards a successful economy.
This will remain a vital task as the evidence mounts of ANC economic incompetence and irresponsibility.
The Democratic Party has the policies and the people with expertise and ideas to make a signiﬁcant impact on the economic policies of the next government.
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: THE NEW CONSTITUTION
The Democratic Party will ensure that the people govern and that a future South African government does not replace one form of tyranny with another.
The interim Constitution is not good enough.
Interim constitution: 1994 to 1999
The Democratic Party is determined to improve the new constitution by fighting to: Provide voters with a democratic choice by giving them a second ballot in this and all subsequent elections;
Remove detention without trial from our laws;
Ensure that the government will operate openly and subject to the scrutiny of the media and the people;
Ensure that the SABC is not controlled by any political interest, as the NP used to do and the ANC is now trying to do;
Increase the powers of the provinces;
Ensure that there will be a capable and impartial peace—keeping force in place before and after the elections;
Remove the anti-defection clauses in the interim constitution.
This will free Members of Parliament from the whims of the party bosses so that they are best able to reflect the will of the electorate;
Fight for changes to provincial boundaries that allow the Eastern Cape to become a separate province from Border/Kei; take Pretoria out of the PWV province; put Umzimkulu in Natal; and re-examine the viability of the North Cape
The final South African constitution
The Democratic Party will ensure that the ﬁnal constitution is based on the following pillars:
Individual Rights
Having fought for and ensured the protection of basic rights in a Bill of Rights, we will be doubly vigilant to ensure that these are not watered down.
Every authority and every person must respect basic human rights.
The DP achieved an independent Constitutional Court at the World Trade Centre.
We will continue to ﬁght to ensure that judges are free from pressure by any political organisations.
Property rights
The Democratic Party has always fought for all South Africans’ property rights and will continue to do so.
Property rights are about providing the people, all people, with a zone of independence and privacy into which government can intrude with only the greatest difficulty.
We say there is a direct link between private property and individual freedom.
You cannot have freedom without capital and property in the hands of the people.
Press freedom
During negotiations the Democratic Party fought for, and won, the inclusion in the interim constitution of a substantive Freedom of Information clause.
We also won agreement that where the State controls any media, those media shall be obliged to be balanced and objective.
The DP will ﬁght to have this provision included in a ﬁnal Bill of Rights.
We are also determined to ﬁght to protect the independent media from party political interference and all attempts to impose party views on the media.
Women's rights
The rights of women are inviolable, as are all human rights.
The Democratic Party also recognises that economic growth is fastest in countries where women have higher status and slowest where they face disadvantages.
Improvement in the quality of life of communities has a positive effect on everyone, but has the potential to improve the lot of women and children most of all.
In South Africa the status of women under traditional law is the furthest from the ideal of equality.
Therefore the DP is committed to ensuring that there is a rapid improvement in the status of women under customary law and that we do not return to the discrimination of the past.
Gains made in the improvement of the essential conditions of life must lead on to further development and empowerment.
Citizens‘ initiatives
The Democratic Party will support the right of citizens’ to take the initiative on issues through referenda.
The DP also believes citizens should have the right to initiate and run campaigns for the dismissal of incompetent or corrupt elected officials.
Proportional representation with constituencies
The DP has always fought for a proportional representation electoral system as it ensures that no votes are wasted
Because there is no such thing as splitting the vote under proportional representation, smaller parties are better able to gain representation and this promotes multi—party democracy
However, we are concerned that the present proportional representation system cuts voters off from their members of parliament because it makes no provision for constituency representation.
Consequently the DP will ﬁght for multi-member constituencies within a proportional representation system with provisions that ensure proportionality
Federalism
The DP has always fought for federalism because it: Brings government closer to the people by multiplying the sites of power;
Prevents tyranny and dictatorship; and
Caters for the diversity of the people.
Recognises the full weight of the worth and dignity of the individual.
Therefore, we believe in a bottom up approach to the allocation of powers and responsibilities rather than allocation from the top down;
The DP will ﬁght for the following provisions to make federalism more meaningful: The powers devolved to the provinces must be exclusive so that they are safe from central government interference;
Provincial powers must be strengthened so that it is within the provinces discretion how they implement those powers;
The constitutional principles must be interpreted in a way that maximises the devolution of power and so places as much power as possible in the hands of local governments and individuals;
Provinces must have the power to negotiate Provincial Constitutions amongst their own populations provided they are not inconsistent with the constitutional principles agreed to at the multi—party negotiation forum;
Because each Province is different, Provinces must have greater powers to decide what taxes are levied and how money is spent in their area of competence
Provinces’ rights to a fair share of the revenue collected nationally must also be more clearly entrenched
Within their areas of competence, Provinces must have the right to determine policies, priorities and how the money is spent without interference from central government;
Policing must be controlled by the Provinces, except for certain investigative functions which are best centralised
Local Government
The DP will insist on full democracy and accountability at local government level.
The Provincial Legislatures must be given the powers to determine the system of local government for their Province within the provisions of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights
Local authorities must hold fully democratic elections by the end of June 1995
The DP believes it is essential that representation at local government level includes councillors representing wards, within a proportional representation electoral system
Local government must be extended to the 50% of South Africans who live in rural areas
The Senate
The DP believes that the Senate has an important role as the voice of the provincial parliaments at central level.
Therefore, any legislation dealing with the relationship between the provinces and the central government should require a special majority in the Senate.
The Senate must act as the protector of the provinces.
Senators must not be nominated by parties represented in provincial parliaments but must be directly elected by the people.
Affordable government
The Democratic Party will ﬁght to reduce the cost of government by creating smaller legislative and executive bodies
The Democratic Party and the Government of National Unity
Every party which wins 5% of the national vote will be entitled to appoint a member to the Cabinet, or Government of National Unity.
Whether the Democratic Party will accept the invitation to serve in the Government of National Unity will depend, amongst other things, on whether participating parties have the right to criticise government decisions publicly, particularly when they conflict with Party principles and go against the public interest.
The Democratic Party's constitutional track record
The DP has always fought for a Bill of Rights, proportional representation, independent courts, federalism and a free market economy.
The National Party for decades opposed a Bill of Rights, federalism, proportional representation, independent courts and a free market.
The ANC still hedges about federalism, independent courts and a free market economy.
Because of the DP‘s arguments, these two parties have now grudgingly and imperfectly accepted many of these important principles.
It proves again that it is not the size of the dog in the fight, it is the size of the ﬁght in the dog that counts.
The Democratic Party has proved that it has the policies and the people with the expertise and ideas to make a signiﬁcant contribution to the writing of the ﬁnal constitution of South Africa.
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: CREATING PEACE AND STABILITY
Freedom also means freedom from fear
South Africans of all ages and races have the right to feel safe, whether they are in their homes, at work and at school, in trains, buses or in their cars.
They also have the right to express their opinions without fear of oppression or intimidation.
The first responsibility of any government is to provide security for its people from internal and external threats.
The National Party government has failed lamentably to do this.
The ANC's deliberate policy of making townships ungovernable has greatly aggravated the situation.
Crime thrives during times of economic depression and political instability.
Consequently, we must urgently address both these matters as part of a broader programme to provide safety for our citizens.
Because it is government's first responsibility to guarantee peace, the State must find the necessary resources for this purpose.
We must not allow people to get away with unlawful acts, whether these are evading taxes, illegally blocking streets with taxis, violently enforcing boycotts and stayaways against people's wills, or ignoring court orders and illegally occupying property.
In addition, government officials and politicians who misappropriate taxpayers’ money must face the full force of the law.
Real security requires the government and the people to obey the law.
Real security results in good relations between all South Africans and a powerful, growing economy.
The more DP members there are in parliament, the better the prospects for real security.
The Democratic Party's nine point plan for peace and stability
We will implement a tough law and order campaign which puts criminals in jail where they belong and keeps them there until they have served their proper sentences.
We will vigorously oppose politically motivated amnesties for criminals who have infringed the common law.
It is essential that the police be empowered to do their job of preventing and solving crimes.
South Africa is one of the most under-policed countries in the world and the number of police needs to be increased.
We must absorb members of the former guerrilla armies, after appropriate training, into a single police force.
We must establish and effectively equip special units to deal with child abuse, drugs and serious economic crimes.
The national peacekeeping force must be retained after the election and equipped to deal with any hot spots.
The police forces must be community-base and be responsive to community needs.
The Defence Force must not be employed in internal operations except in extraordinary circumstances, but must maintain the safety of South Africa's borders.
It has an essential role in stopping trafficking in illegal arms.
In cooperation with local leadership, the State must begin a firearms/Weapons buy-back programme to mop up the millions of unlicensed ﬁrearms.
Local communities must have more say over the location of facilities such as liquor stores, shebeens, video games arcades and escort agencies.
The Democratic Party’s achievements in working for peace and stability
In our manifesto for the 1989 election the DP pledged to abolish conscription and double the size of the police force.
Conscription has been abolished and rapid progress has been made towards increasing the size of the police force.
Our policy on peace management formed the basis of National Peace Accord structures.
Many DP members throughout the country are active in these structures and dedicated to making the Peace Accord work.
DP people were amongst those who pioneered talks with guerrilla armies which led to the integration of MK into the SADF, when the NP refused to do so.
The DP has no blood on its hands.
We have never been involved in violence except as the victims of violence.
We do not believe in retaliation but in negotiation.
The Democratic Party has the policies and the people with the expertise and ideas needed to bring reconciliation, peace and stability to our country.
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: A CARING GOVERNMENT
The cornerstones of our society are free, healthy, educated individuals with adequate accommodation and the opportunity to enjoy stable family and community life.
All South Africans have the right to control and make decisions about their lives with minimum interference from government – at whatever level.
However, the State must coordinate the provision of the education, health services, housing and security which our people need to prosper.
In particular, it must empower disadvantaged communities.
If democratic freedom and human rights are to be meaningful to all our citizens, we must recognise the urgent need for a dramatic improvement in the quality of life of those who are living in abject poverty and degradation.
The government will, in particular, need to redress the imbalances in our society caused by apartheid.
This must be done in a constructive way and not in a spirit of revenge.
South Africa faces countless demands, each legitimate.
Clear priorities will have to be agreed upon.
NINE NATIONAL PRIORITIES
Freedom from hunger
No one in South Africa should die of starvation or malnutrition.
The Democratic Party will initiate and support schemes to ensure that those in need have access to survival food relief, in particular children, the aged and pregnant women.
This will be provided, where practical, by private, non-proﬁt welfare agencies and linked to self—help schemes or primary schools.
The most urgent task of our agricultural sector is to continue feeding and clothing the nation with sufficient affordable food and clothing on a sustained yield basis.
We cannot allow unrealistic short-term policies, such as giving every peasant a plot, to destroy our agricultural resource base and to threaten our productive capacity.
Building a healthy nation
To promote healthy living and to make health care accessible to all South Africans, we will develop a comprehensive network of primary health facilities.
Clean drinking water is an essential requirement for community health.
Urgent attention must be given to providing an adequate water supply in both rural and urban areas, including squatter settlements.
Educating for the future
Access to education is a right of all children.
However, no government can ensure a successful education system: only faithful and competent teachers, hard working students and committed parents can really make an education system work.
The Democratic Party in government will ensure that every child receives at least ten years of free and compulsory basic education including 1 year of pre-primary.
The whole inefficient and discredited system of education must be radically reformed to ensure that the billions spent on education are productively spent and not wasted because of inefficiencies, boycotts and strikes.
The State must provide 45 000 new classrooms to cope with the pupil numbers.
Urgent attention will be given to finding temporary venues to bring pupils and teachers together while the classroom backlog is being overcome.
In addition, we must provide literacy programmes, adult education, special schooling, and training and retraining.
Private, business and community initiatives must be used at all levels of education.
The State must provide a broad network of repayable bursaries/loans and non-repayable scholarships to allow deserving students to further their education.
We must train more teachers as a matter of urgency to be able to meet this commitment on education.
A home for every family
South Africa has a critical housing shortage.
We need to build 350 000 housing units per year for the next 10 years to cope with the backlog while also catering for our growing population.
The State has a role in providing housing, or at least serviced sites, for those who cannot provide for themselves.
Housing needs will be met by a partnership between the individual, the community, and the public and private sectors
The State must encourage people to provide for their own housing needs wherever possible.
Links to bond repayment subsidisation schemes will help to protect people from the hardship created by rapid increases in the bond rate.
Putting the nation back to work
No government can create jobs, only people create jobs.
The DP will ensure that the interests of individuals are protected, rather than the interests of bureaucrats, pressure groups and elites.
Unemployment is a major problem which causes great personal suffering and destabilises society.
South Africa cannot presently afford unemployment beneﬁts at the level of many first world countries, but government must help the destitute to the extent possible.
All people who are working must be required to contribute to an Unemployment Insurance Fund.
The long term solution to this problem lies in the jobs created by economic growth, which also enable the State to provide additional unemployment beneﬁts.
We need to create 400 000 jobs a year to get South Africans labour force working.
The State can and must play a vital role in creating the right environment for economic growth.
In addition, essential public works programmes must use labour-intensive methods to employ, and provide skills training to as many people as possible.
Caring for the aged
Statistics show that the number of people over 65 will almost double in the next 20 years to 2,8 million, and the number of people over 85 will increase by 70%.
Adequate provision must be made for the aged if they are to enjoy any quality of life.
The aged are entitled to dignity and safety and adequate health services.
The DP as part of government will ensure that attention is given to security for the aged.
Low cost loans or subsidies for improving security at their homes, the development of community escorting services, neighbourhood patrols and telephone contact schemes will be considered.
The means test must be modiﬁed to remove the discrimination against those who have provided for their retirement.
The aged will be encouraged to stay in the community, and ﬁnancial support must be available to families caring for the aged.
In addition, accessible health care will be provided through mobile health clinics and the extension of the system of community nursing.
Service centres must be augmented.
Local government structures must help to provide affordable accommodation for the aged.
Dignity for the disabled
Any person who is disabled, or who is responsible for the care of a disabled person, should be allowed to deduct in full any expenditure arising from the disability from their income for tax purposes.
A variety of services must be provided to foster rehabilitation and provide training and job opportunities as well as support services for disabled people and their families.
Steps must be taken to redress past discrimination, including demanding accountability from companies and organisations which receive taxpayers’ money, with regard to the employment and advancement of disabled people.
Property: righting the wrongs of the past
Many aspects provided for in other sections of this manifesto will partially address apartheid injustices.
However, the issue of property deserves special attention.
Where practical, property must be returned to those who were dispossessed and forcibly removed by the NP government under the Group Areas Act and other laws.
Where this is not practical, alternative property must be made available or proper compensation paid.
No property conﬁscation may take place but the State may acquire land by paying proper compensation to" willing sellers, or through proper court proceedings.
Property acquisition and distribution must be governed by market forces, State land availability, expropriation where justifiable and leasehold.
A Property Claims Court will be established to adjudicate claims for restitution and compensation.
Protecting our environment
South Africa is a land of great natural beauty, richly endowed with natural resources.
However, with a growing population we must carefully sustain these resources to meet the challenges of the future.
To do this we must: Create a single department for environmental matters with the power to lay down environmental policy;
Keep nature conservation a provincial matter;
Take strong action against poachers, traffickers and polluters who endanger our natural heritage;
Install stronger controls over waste disposal, atmospheric and water pollution, and toxic materials;
Legally entrench protection of areas of great natural beauty;
Adhere to international agreements on environmental matters.
The Democratic Party cares about people
The Democratic Party understands that the only way we will be able to afford to meet the needs of all our people is to combine economic growth in a free market system with a well designed social security safety net.
The National Party in government has an abysmal record of providing for the needs of all South Africans citizens.
Forty-five years of National Party rule have impoverished both our community and economic life.
The ANCS promises to voters are a wish list which our country cannot afford to meet.
The Democratic Party has shown that it has the policies and the people with expertise and ideas to bring about a significant improvement in the quality of life of all our citizens by bringing caring government to South Africa.
GUARDIANS OF THE NEW DEMOCRACY
The Democratic Party speaks for all South Africans in expressing deep concern over the way the Nats and the ANC conducted the Kempton Park negotiations, especially in the ﬁnal stages.
Over and over again, these two got together behind closed doors and horse—traded in secret to produce deals which have harmed democracy in our country.
These secret deals have led to: denial of democratic choice (the notorious single ballot proposal);
retention of provisions allowing for detention without trial;
attempts to politicise the Constitutional Court;
attempts to water down the Bill of Rights;
lack of transparency in the Transitional Executive Council and its activities;
secret constitution—making.
All these proposals threaten democracy.
The people of South Africa see a real danger of undemocratic rule by a sinister, opportunistic partnership between the Nats and ANC.
The DP undertakes to fight this dangerous attack on the basic rights of the people, to check the trend towards dictatorial government, and to ensure that the new constitution will guarantee freedom, peace and prosperity to all South Africans.
The Democratic Party commits itself to protect our new freedom and guard our new democracy.
Governments cannot heal our land.
It is dedicated individuals, good neighbours, loving families and caring communities, who will do that.
We in the Democratic Party are committed to limiting the role of government: in other words, to keeping government out of our war while you, the individuals, get on with the exhilarating and exacting task of building the nation.
After years of oppression, deprivation, fear and death, the people of South Africa have earned the right to enjoy the sweetness of freedom.
The Democratic Party commits itself now and for always to protect and extend that freedom.
WHY VOTE ANC?
Because… the ANC, together with the people, brought freedom
The ANC led the fight for freedom, acting together with its alliance partners and the greater majority of South Africans.
With the overwhelming support of the people, the ANC defeated Apartheid in April 1994, so together we could build a better life for all.
A nation of equals, of proud citizens with restored dignity, is emerging.
… the ANC has ked five years of struggle for change
Since 1994, the ANC has been leading a vast process of change.
Against the odds, faced with challenges and resistance, the ANC has remained resolute in the struggle to remove the apartheid system and what remains of its processes.
Guided by the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), we have brought water, electricity and telephone lines to millions of South Africans.
Houses are being built.
Health and education are being made available to all.
… there is more to be done
It is not enough for us to have the vote.
It is not enough for equality to be written in the constitution and laws.
The fight for change has to continue, and it must be speeded up for a better life for all.
There are huge difficulties that we must address: inequality,
lack of jobs,
crime and corruption,
poverty
and the HIV/AIDS problem.
Only the ANC has the vision and determination to attack the root cause of these and other problems.
Only the ANC, working together with the people, can unite the nation in the joint effort to improve the lives of all South Africans.
Protect your future, vote ANC.
FIVE YEARS OF ANC GOVERNMENT: BUILDING THE FOUNDATION
Over the past five years the ANC has laid the foundation for a better future.
Together with the people of South Africa, the ANC has: Put into place one of the best constitutions in the world.
The rights of all citizens are enshrined in the constitution which guides us in building a united, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic society.
Swept away racist and oppressive laws.
Today, nobody is legally discriminated against because of race, or because they are women, or disabled, or because of some other difference.
Introduced laws which provide for change.
Since 1994 more than 100 laws have been passed each year to ensure equality and to improve the lives of all.
Brought equality in the treatment of all.
The ANC has changed the structure of the public service and championed the cause of affirmative action in all important social areas.
Entrenched worker rights.
Through the Constitution and many laws, we have ensured rights for all workers, including farm-workers and domestic workers.
Today, South Africa is seen, in many respects, as an example to the world.
Our country is respected on all continents;
and we have built relations with almost all nations.
FIVE YEARS OF ANC GOVERNMENT: IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE
Guided by the RDP, we are steadily but surely starting to dent the massive inequalities and poverty created by apartheid.
Since 1994, the ANC has: Housed nearly 3 million people, with 750 000 house built or under construction.
Connected 2 million households to electricity.
Improved health-care for the poor, with over 500 new clinics built or upgraded, free medical care for children under six and pregnant women.
Transferred land to communities, with 220 000 hectares of land transferred to 68 000 households.
Implemented non-racial education, with the majority of children enjoying better access to education; 10 000 new classrooms built or upgraded, and 1.5-million more children brought into the education system.
Connected telephone lines for 3 million people.
These are just some of the massive changes the ANC has brought about, in partnership with the people.
In all these efforts, we have targeted the poor and the most vulnerable: those who suffer the most from the ravages of apartheid.
It is only by overcoming the huge inequalities in our society that we shall be able to build a truly non-racial democracy.
Yes, all these things have been done, but is it enough?...
There’s unemployment, communities are still plagued by crime, many of us still live in poverty, and Local Government still has to improve service to the people.
THE ANC AGREES
We are not complacent as a result of the changes that have taken place.
We share your impatience to overcome the decades-old crisis of unemployment, crime and poverty.
WHY ARE THINGS STILL LIKE THIS?
Because we inherited a budget that cannot be increased overnight, and which must now be shared by all our people instead of a small minority during the days of apartheid.
Because the apartheid system left us with a legacy of massive poverty and underdevelopment for the majority of our people which will take time to overcome.
Because we required time to change all the apartheid policies we inherited, introduce the necessary legislature and establish a new public administration to implement the new policies.
Because there are still powerful forces blocking change.
And, yes, we have required time to inspire the public service to accept the new value system of batho pele and act in a more determined manner to serve the people of South Africa.
We will build on the foundations that have been laid, which were not there when we took over, to achieve faster progress towards a better life for all.
The ANC will be decisive in dealing with those who fail the people.
We must continue to learn together from our advances, problems and mistakes, and together, to find the right solutions.
TOGETHER, IN EVERY SECTOR, FIGHTING FOR CHANGE
Five years of freedom have brought new rights, new possibilities and new opportunities for every sector of our society – for the young and the aged, for professionals and rural people, for workers and employers.
The ANC has the policies in place for us to build a better life together.
We remain committed to the policies which are contained in the Reconstruction and Development Programme.
The next 5 years will therefore reflect continuity in our policy direction.
But the Government and each sector of our population have to do more and do it better so that we can quicken the pace of change.
How do we consolidate these policies, and what challenges face each of the sectors?
A BETTER LIFE FOR WOMEN
For the first time ever, the rights of women have been guaranteed by law.
Government institutions such as the Gender Commission have been established to continue the fight for the all-round emancipation of women.
Our programmes have resulted in a sharp increase in the numbers of women who occupy decision-making positions in spheres of society.
Pregnant mothers have been given access to free health services.
Rural infrastructure is being improved to free women from breaking-back chores.
The public housing programme and the transformation of hostels into family dwelling are beginning to foster safe environments in which to bring up families.
Increasingly, women themselves are playing a leading role in their own liberation as part of the overall transformation of our country.
A BETTER LIFE FOR THE YOUTH
Government institutions such as the Youth Commission have been established for advancing youth interests, with youth themselves serving on them.
The transformation of education includes: youth participation in the governance of educational institutions, and funding programmes to ensure opportunities for youth disadvantaged by poverty.
Job creation programmes, including public works initiatives and the Umsobomvu Fund, focus on youth.
Special measures have been introduced to rescue young offenders, caught up in crime in early years, from becoming habitual criminals.
More than any other sector, the youth of our country are threatened by the spread of HIV/AIDS.
We have introduced a major campaign focused on youth to increase awareness and to foster responsible and informed life-styles among the young people of our country.
Together, let us advance the National Youth Service programme, and let us build a vibrant youth culture of solidarity, service and patriotism.
A BETTER LIFE FOR WORKERS
The ANC believes workers are entitled to a fair share of the wealth they produce.
No longer should they be treated as objects of exploitation, to be discarded when years of labour have sapped their strength.
Over the last 5 years, in the face of opposition, the ANC has among other things ensured: Through the Constitution and such laws as the Labour Relations, Basic Conditions of Employment, Employment Equity and Skills Development Acts, that workers have been guaranteed constitutional and legal rights to organise and defend their interests; to strike; to acquire skills and to take part in decision-making at the work-place.
Organised workers are able to take part in the formulation of national policy through the National Economic, Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) and other forums.
New laws have been introduced to guarantee decent working conditions, the prohibition of child labour, and an end to all kinds of discrimination at the workplace.
Measures have been introduced to assist workers when they lose their jobs and to protect them against exploitation as casual or temporary workers; and, even more critically, new programmes have been put in place to urgently and radically reduce unemployment and retrenchments.
Steps have been taken to put in place greater control by workers over their savings accumulated in pension and provident funds.
In the public sector, radical measures have been adopted to reduce the apartheid wage gap
To strengthen their voice, workers need to join and consolidate their trade unions, and unite across race and other barriers.
Their organisations must improve the capacity to formulate and influence policy.
More of the savings that workers command should be invested in job-creation projects and in the improvement of social services.
In their mobilising activity, workers should maintain the tradition of disciplined struggle.
 
A BETTER LIFE FOR BUSINESS PEOPLE
The ANC recognises that South Africa`s business people are critical partners in the development of our country.
Over the last 5 years we have, amongst many things: Removed apartheid barriers hampering economic growth and development, and introduced better conditions for investment.
Given organised business the possibility to co-determine socio-economic policies, by participating in the National Economic Development and Labour Council, and numerous other sectoral forums.
Reduced conflict in the work-place by implementing an effective labour relations system.
Increased government assistance to business people to participate in the African and world economy.
Created conditions for the participation of black people and women in the economy as entrepreneurs and owners of wealth, and encouraged the growth of small and medium business
But sustained economic growth and opportunity require commitment from the business community as well.
They need to invest more in productive and job-creating enterprises;
and the financial sector should extend more credit to small and medium enterprises.
This requires a commitment to the RDP vision that sustainable growth, productivity and competitiveness are inextricably linked to infrastructural development, job creation and the advance of skills and training.
Business-people also need to actively counter negative tendencies - corruption, tax evasion, and anti-South African pessimism.
A BETTER LIFE FOR RURAL PEOPLE
The ANC has ended the practice of using the countryside as a dumping ground where rural people are subjected to poverty and abuse, denied their citizenship and dignity.
The ANC has made great strides in providing clean water, electricity, telephones, better rural roads, new classrooms and sports and recreation facilities.
In this process, thousands of jobs were created, including for women and young people.
We have changed radically the legal conditions of farm-workers, including working conditions and security of tenure.
Progress has been made in changing the imbalance in the ownership of land, through land restitution and redistribution, schemes of co-ownership of farms, right of ownership of communal land, and opening doors for black commercial farmers.
Opportunities have been increased for white commercial farmers to become more efficient and to enter international markets.
The challenge is to speed up these programmes.
And this requires, among others, that rural communities work together to utilise new opportunities, to protect projects and new facilities, to call their Councillors and other representatives to account, and to join local government in identifying priorities in our communities.
A BETTER LIFE FOR TRADITIONAL LEADERS
Liberation has established the possibility to restore the dignity of traditional leaders, to give meaning to the principle that they are leaders because of the people.
New national and provincial houses of traditional leaders make it possible for traditional leaders to help determine provincial and national policy.
The challenge before all of us is to continue redefining the role of traditional leaders in a democratic and developing society, to ensure that they play their role in partnership with elected institutions, for the development of communities.
We call on traditional leaders, our indigenous symbols of continuity, to be active participants in the fostering of the progressive and humanist elements of African culture and traditions.
 
A BETTER LIFE FOR CHILDREN
For the first time, the rights of all our children have been guaranteed by law.
Free access to health facilities for the very young have been provided, and infant mortality has been reduced.
A comprehensive immunisation programme, and a feeding scheme to counter malnutrition in schools have been introduced.
The child grant has been extended to African children.
Special attention is being given to the problem of street children.
Today, all of our children can grow up together, no longer separated by apartheid`s walls.
Together, let us ensure that these advances are consolidated.
A BETTER LIFE FOR THE AGED
Freedom has restored the dignity of senior citizens, and accorded them the respect they deserve.
No longer should they be humiliated in the land of their birth.
The ANC is implementing programmes which address the plight of the aged, particularly in poor communities: The extension of equal old aged pension grants to all old people,
removing the racial discrimination of the past,
and improvements in the system of payment have been introduced.
Public health care has massively improved the lives of the aged - through the building of clinics in remote areas and special health care projects like free cataract operations and distribution of wheelchairs.
Programmes have been introduced to de-racialise old age homes, and to reintegrate care of old people into communities
With the special focus in this International Year of the Aged and into the future, we all need to pay increased attention to how the aged can play an even greater role in the life of the nation.
It is critical that the aged themselves form, and improve the operations of, their organisations to give guidance on this and other matters.
 
A BETTER LIFE FOR PROFESSIONALS
Freedom has opened up many opportunities for South Africa`s professionals, NGO`s, cultural workers and sports-people.
Through policies of empowerment and consistent non-racialism, the ANC has: Made it possible for every professionally qualified person to rise to higher levels, to exercise their creativity, and to contribute to the development of the country; 
access to universities and technikons has improved, and a new qualification framework has been introduced.
Ensured that all professionals without discrimination are able to participate in the formulation of government policy, and in working with their peers to build a better world.
Made sure that sports-people have access to improved amenities and to opportunities previously denied the majority.
Today they can compete with the best in the world.
Opened up the world to our artists, and broadened access to opportunities which allow creativity free reign.
Opened up the airwaves and created conditions for media workers to undertake their work without restrictions.
But it is critical for professionals to continually improve their work, to systematically contribute to the programmes aimed at uplifting conditions of the poor, and to join hands with their peers in Africa to assist in the continent`s renewal.
Students face the challenge to use the new opportunities with responsibility.
In the professions, in sport, in the arts and music, we should improve our organisations, ensure better management of resources; and ensure that we reflect, in its rich diversity, our nation`s effort to build a better life.
 
A BETTER LIFE FOR THE DISABLED
For the first time ever, the rights of the disabled have been guaranteed by law.
A comprehensive government programme has been adopted for the empowerment of the disabled;
and legislation now prohibits discrimination at the workplace.
Today, the disabled themselves serve actively on government bodies to promote the interests of the disabled.
The ANC has made provision on our election candidates lists for representation of the disabled in our country`s legislative bodies.
Together, let us continue to fight for a life of dignity and fulfilment for all.
WITH COMMUNITIES OF FAITH - FOR A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL
For the first time ever, all faiths receive equal recognition and treatment.
The new South Africa that we are building together is founded upon the moral principles of equality, solidarity and the right to dignity for all.
The ANC`s Reconstruction and Development Programme represents a fundamental policy choice for the poor and historically downtrodden, a choice that most communities of faith have themselves made.
The struggle to build a better future for all requires, not just material transformation, but an RDP of the Soul.
The ANC calls upon all communities of faith, to be active partners in shaping our moral vision, and in fostering the moral renewal of our society.
To protect the freedoms that we have won, and to make progress in the fight for a better life requires that all sectors join hands behind a common national vision for the coming years.
What makes this vision?
THE NEXT FIVE YEARS – OUR VISION
The goal of the ANC remains the building of a united, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa.
This goal guides our day-to-day actions.
We are ready and determined to move with greater speed towards this goal.
The next 5 years will be:
5 Years of Accelerated Change
Now is the time to speed up provision of services; to build on what we have achieved; to make a bigger impact on the daily lives of the people.
Where there are blockages to change, we shall remove them.
Where there is laziness, wastage and lack of focus, we will intervene with determination.
Building on 5 years of experience, the ANC will ensure that government becomes more effective, more focused on spearheading development and delivery, and more user-friendly.
5 Years of Partnership with the People
But we cannot meet the challenges of our country with the resources of government alone.
Our country needs the mobilised energies and experience of millions of South Africans.
To fight crime, we need to stand together.
We must build partnerships to create more jobs.
Parents, teachers and students together must help to improve our schools.
5 Years of building a New Patriotism
The partnership between government and the people must be based on a common commitment to building a better life for all.
Today, it is not just the old racial divisions of the past that pose a danger
Selfishness, the weakening of social discipline among some who want rights without responsibility, and disregard for the interests of the broader community are threatening our hard-won freedom.
The spirit of Masakhane and an RDP of the Soul are an essential part of the struggle for change.
Together with all who share this vision, including communities of faith, the ANC will foster the moral renewal of our society.
5 Years of Working for a Better Africa and a Better World
Our success in SA depends on the success of our neighbours and progress on our continent.
Today, a new generation of leaders is emerging across the continent, which recognises the need to unite our efforts for rapid development.
The ANC will work together with nations of Africa to realise democracy and rapid social and economic development.
We shall work with forces across the globe who share this vision, who seek a better world of solidarity and caring.
The ANC`s programme to accelerate change focuses on five main areas: Speeding up delivery of basic needs and developing human resources;
Building the economy and creating jobs;
Combating crime and corruption;
Transforming the state;
Building a better Africa and a better world.
SPEEDING-UP DELIVERY OF BASIC NEEDS
The ANC will speed up the programme to improve the quality of life of the people.
The fight against poverty requires a co-ordinated strategy that cuts across all sectors and pays particular attention to rural and disadvantaged areas.
The ANC will ensure all government programmes work together.
Housing
In the next 5 years we will: Seek an honest agreement with the private sector and work with trade unions to channel investments into people`s housing.
Focus on developing housing on well-located land, with access to amenities, and overcoming the apartheid human settlement patterns based on Group Areas and isolation of the majority from centres of economic activity.
Improve and speed up the subsidy programme, including comprehensive programmes to uplift conditions of the urban poor in informal settlements.
Use other affordable ways of financing houses – like micro loans.
Build rental stock.
Support the People`s Housing Process, setting up Housing Support Centres to help poor people build their own houses, share resources, and purchase affordable materials.
Reduction of the number of homeless poor must become a practical measure of our success.
Social Security
The ANC remains committed to ensuring that everyone in our country is able to live above the minimum living standard.
Our social security net must target the most vulnerable - the poor, the aged, the landless, the disabled, the young.
In the next 5 years we will: Continue to improve the management of social grants;
Put systems in place to eliminate fraud and corruption;
Improve access to grants through, among others, using the post office infrastructure.
As part of a comprehensive social security system we will introduce a new Social Health Insurance programme.
Transport
The ANC will develop and promote an integrated public transport system, which will include special assistance to the disabled.
We will build and rehabilitate public transport infrastructure.
Our programme includes empowering historically disadvantaged operators and ensuring order in this sector.
Health Care
Over the next 5 years the ANC will develop a comprehensive, affordable and accessible National Public Health System, financed in part by a Social Health Insurance programme.
We will improve health care by: Improving the availability of doctors and nurses, especially in clinics and the rural areas;
Ensuring availability of affordable medicines in line with our national drugs policy;
Improving the management of hospitals and clinics - with community participation;
Act decisively to attack preventable illnesses through, amongst others, our immunisation programme, and measures to combat TB;
Developing campaigns against drug, tobacco and alcohol abuse.
In partnership with all sectors of society, we will continue to give absolute priority to HIV/AIDS programmes
The ANC will: Increase efforts to mobilise popular awareness of the seriousness of the epidemic;
Continue to fund research to find a cure for AIDS;
Review existing laws to ensure people who are HIV positive are not discriminated against.
Education
Education is not a privilege - it is a right.
The ANC is committed to moving as rapidly as possible to free, dynamic and compulsory education.
As we move towards this vision, the ANC will continue to ensure: That we foster a culture of learning, teaching and service;
No learner is excluded from a public school because a family cannot afford to pay;
Public schools remain viable, and that resources for learning are more equitably spread;
National standards increasingly lower class sizes to more manageable levels;
We press ahead with the National Schools Building Programme, with specific focus on improving infrastructure in rural areas and townships.
Our objective is to ensure that all schools have adequate buildings, electricity, water and sewerage.
To improve the quality of education, the ANC will focus on: Raising the quality of school leadership teams, strengthening administrative capacity, and ensuring parental involvement.
Integrating Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) with skills development to improve access to educational and employment opportunities, within the National Qualifications Framework.
Prioritising the development of a national plan and funding system for higher education and eliminating wastage in this sector.
In speeding up the delivery of basic needs, the ANC will accelerate and improve the delivery of many other programmes, including water and electricity, rural development, youth development, and rolling out telecommunications infrastructure and postal services.
BUILDING THE ECONOMY AND CREATING JOBS
The ANC remains staunchly committed to the RDP vision that growth and development are thoroughly inter-connected.
Without development (meeting basic needs, creating jobs, overcoming poverty) growth will mean nothing for the majority of our people.
But without growth, development will not be sustainable.
To ensure both growth and development, and to weave them together the ANC is committed to: Achieving growth with equity.
The ANC will continue to expand economic opportunities by speeding up job creation, increasing possibilities for self-employment, entrenching worker rights, advancing work-place equity programmes, and developing skills training
We seek to broaden the base of our economy, and distribute economic power more widely, including through building a co-operative and social sector.
Regulation of the financial sector will ensure greater access to affordable finance, together with the extension of public sector financial institutions.
The public sector will play a key developmental and enabling role.
Advancing Worker Rights. 
We will continue to take forward the programme of labour market transformation to protect the rights of working people.
We shall also expand opportunities for the unemployed, within an economy characterised by growth and development.
This includes consolidation of legislation to protect worker rights, and measures to ensure effective implementation.
Special attention will be given to the position of farm and domestic workers, as well as workers in small towns and small enterprises.
Legislative amendments will be introduced to ensure negotiation in cases of intended retrenchment.
Improving The Tax System 
The ANC will build on our success in broadening the tax base, cutting down on tax evasion.
At the same time we are committed to progressive taxation, that lightens the tax burden on most middle income and poor families.
There will be special tax exemption on those basic goods which poor families rely upon for survival.
Productive, job-creating investment will be encouraged and speculative investment discouraged.
Budgeting 
We will ensure transparent budgeting through detailed medium term budget planning.
We will continue to give priority to social spending and ensure the resources reach those they are aimed at.
At the same time we will continue to improve revenue collection, manage national debt at an appropriate level and ensure that we increase investment in social and economic infrastructure.
We will make sure elected representatives in national, provincial and local spheres have the appropriate powers to shape budgets and are accountable for using public money as intended.
Monetary Policy - Interest Rates and Inflation
Monetary policy must advance our development objectives, and promote productive investment by both large and small enterprises.
We will discuss and adopt options for the setting of realistic inflation targets, work towards reducing interest rates to stimulate economic activity, and help create conditions for a competitive exchange rate.
In this regard, consultation and co-ordination between government and monetary authorities will continue.
Promoting Investment
The ANC will speed up public sector investment through increased capital expenditure and through co-ordinated investment plans of parastatals (like Eskom)
The main aims of such investment will be: Job creation.
Increasing the rate of growth of our economy.
Meeting basic infrastructure needs.
Promoting development in regions where it is most needed.
Effective private sector investment will be promoted through: Working together with the private sector to mobilise greater volumes of investment by this sector.
Measures to mobilise investment from the private sector.
Improved education standards for the work-force, skills promotion and better telecommunications, transport and other infrastructure.
Incentives to encourage increased foreign and domestic investment in real, job-creating activities.
Measures to discourage over-dependence on short-term capital flows and speculative investment.
At the same time we will boost certain key sectors and industries to promote South Africa`s competitive advantage world-wide.
Exports will be promoted, at the same time as ensuring the development of our domestic market, to maintain a sound balance of payments.
…and JOBS? Can we really make a dent in the unemployment crisis?
It won’t be easy. This is a very, very serious problem. What are the roots of the problem?
We inherited a stagnant and mismanaged economy which has been destroying jobs for over 25 years.
Economic development has been too capital intensive - machinery and technologies replace people.
Insufficient investment in new factories, plant, equipment and people, and too much investment in financial speculation, instead of productive investment.
High interest rates and global economic problems deter investment.
In this environment, even while creating new jobs, our economy cannot create enough jobs for the 350 000 new work-seekers each year, let alone absorbing the current unemployed.
BUT THERE ARE GROUNDS FOR HOPE
Both public sector investment and private sector expansion have in certain sectors begun to show results.
In the past 5 years we have been able to create many new jobs - including in tourism and in infrastructure development.
Investment by the parastatals, and the creation of employment through public works programmes have also made an important contribution.
What can we learn from this? At least two things:
We need to support labour intensive investment throughout our economy, as well as promoting sectors which have large employment potential such as tourism, manufacturing, small and large-scale agriculture and labour intensive beneficiation of raw materials.
Infrastructure development programmes (like housing) meet basic needs but they can also create jobs and teach skills.
Our public sector and parastatals need to continue to play a key role in this regard.
How do we go forward?
The ANC realises that much more must be done.
A major national offensive will be launched against the scourge of unemployment,
poverty,
and inequality.
We are determined to align all government policies and programmes to achieve our objective of sustainable jobs for all at a living wage.
An important key to unlocking the jobs crisis lies in implementing the resolutions of the Presidential Jobs Summit, including: Measures to stem retrenchments.
Summits in all sectors of industry to develop jobs strategies
Mass public works programmes and Youth Brigades
Tax incentives, procurement, and monetary policy for job creation
Integrated regional development
Active labour market measures - including training and retraining
Increased opportunities for self-employment, co-operatives and small businesses
COMBATING CRIME AND CORRUPTION
The dark days of apartheid bestowed on us a legacy of crime and corruption.
We inherited a criminal justice system which itself was pervaded with the lawlessness and criminality of that era.
The ANC`s approach to combating crime and corruption is in line with our overall vision for our country.
We must be: tough on the underlying causes of crime such as poverty and inequality; 
and tough on crime and corruption themselves.
The Keys To Dealing With Crime
In the next 5 years the ANC will: Drastically reduce the number of guns in circulation, and introduce tougher gun controls.
Introduce harsher sentences for serious crimes, but alternative sentences for petty crimes, including electronic monitoring systems for some categories of those on parole and probation.
Improve conditions within the police service - reviewing working conditions, ongoing training, and emphasis on upgrading investigative capacities.
Greatly improve co-operation between all elements of the criminal-justice system - the police, the courts, the prisons, and a transformed prosecution system.
Continue to take decisive action against organised gangs, both local and international
Strengthen the role of the new Directorate of Public Prosecutions, with special integrated units to deal with serious crimes.
Pay special attention to serious and violent crimes, including abuse of women and children.
But all of this needs your help
The ANC is committed to accelerating the pace of change, to dealing decisively with crime, but this also requires popular support.
The ANC will, therefore: Strengthen community-police partnerships, encouraging Community Policing Forums, and volunteers to assist in police stations.
Develop laws allowing for community courts to administer court sentences.
What about victims of crime?
Dealing with violent crimes against women and children is priority number one.
The ANC will establish more Special Courts where cases of abuse against children and women will be heard.
As much as possible, victims will receive shelter and counselling from trained personnel.
Through the Victim Empowerment Programme, the rights of survivors of crime, traumatic incidents, abuse and disasters will be safeguarded and support provided through a range of special programmes.
What about corruption?
We will enforce strict measures, without fear or favour, to root out corruption in the public and private sectors, in our own organisation, and in society as a whole.
We have introduced special measures, including: The setting up of dedicated anti-corruption units.
The office of the Public Protector.
Increased effectiveness of the South African Revenue Service in combating tax evasion and fraud.
Measures to expedite disciplinary action against those guilty of corruption in the public sector.
More effective policing of international ports of entry to prevent smuggling of goods and people.
Other legal measures to combat corruption in the private sector.
We will strengthen all of these programmes.
 
Because of the seriousness with which we view corruption, we have initiated a major campaign against this scourge in line with government`s call for an RDP of the Soul.
We are also working together with the religious communities and other sectors to strengthen the moral fibre of our society.
Together, let us root out corruption, nepotism and bribery - regardless of who is involved.
TRANSFORMING THE STATE
The apartheid state was oppressive, unrepresentative, fragmented and unaccountable.
Over the past 5 years we have grappled with transforming the state.
We have made progress, but there is still a long way to go.
Our aim is to build a state that plays an active role in the development and transformation of our society.
The state must play a leading role in addressing the huge backlogs left by apartheid.
It must harness the resources of the public sector and work in partnership with all sectors of our society.
The ANC will: Develop efficient, user-friendly and accountable governance at national, provincial and local level.
Use the next 5 years to transform local government.
All municipalities must become centres of local democracy and participation, economic development, and service delivery.
Reorganise the public service to more effectively meet the priorities of social delivery
We will foster within the public service the ethic of Batho Pele.
Support the ongoing transformation of public institutions like the Land Bank, Industrial Development Corporation and the Development Bank of SA, to ensure their resources and skills contribute to accelerated change
Ensure the viability and independence of the SABC as a public broadcaster, playing its part in reconstruction and development
Rigorously root out corruption, nepotism and bribery in all state institutions (and broader society as a whole)
We will remove those who seek to enrich themselves by corrupt means, at the expense of the people
 
TRANSFORMING LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The new transitional local governments have faced many difficulties: the backlog of municipal services and infrastructure; transforming racially divided local government; the culture of non-payment; and resistance of ratepayers in some former white areas.
The ANC will: Restructure local government boundaries to make them financially viable.
Continue with the RDP municipal infrastructure programme.
Establish statutory ward committees so that councillors are more responsive to their constituencies.
Ensure that with fresh elections for local government in the year 2 000 democratic majority rule also becomes a local reality.
Ensure that our ANC candidates for local government are empowered and responsive to their constituencies.
BUILDING A BETTER AFRICA AND A BETTER WORLD
The time has come for Africa`s Renaissance.
Our challenge as Africans is to promote peace and development,
to foster democratic systems of government,
respect for human rights,
and an end to corruption throughout our continent.
In the last 5 years SA has become active in a wide range of leading international forums and initiatives.
We have taken a lead in nuclear disarmament, outlawing land-mines, and in the struggle for a more just world economic order.
In the next 5 years we will: Act more decisively to promote peace in the sub-continent and Africa as a whole.
Campaign for a better managed global economy, including the restructuring of international financial and trade institutions - to make them more sensitive to the needs of developing countries, especially those in Africa.
Advocate strongly for the relieving of the debt burden on the poorest countries of the world - many of them within our own sub-region.
Promote equitable trade, investment and development plans for the Southern African region - at the same time promoting a common set of democratic values, including fair labour and environmental standards.
In pursuing these goals we will strengthen our ties with all those who strive for peace, development and equity.
We will strengthen our ties with our own continent, we will build stronger relations with Latin America and Asia, and we will consolidate our relations with the developed countries
Is that all? This Manifesto covers many things the ANC will do in the next 5 years. But there are many more things that do not appear here. Why?
Because the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) outlines our broad programme for changing South African society.
It remains the only relevant detailed programme to carry SA to freedom and social justice.
Because the South African Constitution provides the broad framework within which we will carry out this programme of change.
There is no need to change this basic framework.
If improvements are needed, we shall co-operate with others to make them.
Because at this very moment, each aspect of this Manifesto is being elaborated into concrete steps.
We are consulting with our allies, communities, social movements, role-players and experts to ensure we begin to implement our programme from Day One of the new government.
The great progress we have made in the last 5 years gives us the base from which, together, we will be able to change our society and improve the lives of our people faster than ever before.
The ANC is the principal political force in South Africa with experience of democratic government and detailed plans for the transformation of our country into a non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous democracy.
These plans have been spelt out in detail and tested in practice.
MANY THINGS TO DO
To carry out all these measures requires a committed ANC and a determined government.
But our programme also requires millions of South Africans mobilised and united in our common resolve to deal with even the most difficult problems.
We need a new patriotism.
This requires communities that unite, forging partnerships to address their problems, without waiting for orders or hand-outs from elsewhere.
It requires citizens who love their country and are determined to see it succeed.
A commitment to invest in our people and in our country.
It demands discipline and a better work ethic from all of us;
morality in the handling of public resources;
humanity in relating with one another even in the private domain;
responsibility in exercising our freedoms.
 
The ANC, led by a new generation of leaders, will strive with all its strength to ensure that these programmes are realised.
We will ensure that all of us enjoy the freedoms for which many generations sacrificed so much
But we will, in these 5 years, also seek to provide the kind of firm leadership that is necessary for us to meet our objectives as a nation.
Together with you, we shall continue the fight for change.
Together with you, we shall ensure that the journey to a better South Africa is carried out with speed.
Our guiding light remains: A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL.
INTRODUCTION
Over the past ﬁve years the African National Congress's (ANC) ideas about the nature of South African society, and overcoming our problems, have dominated debate.
In 1994, we might have been able to view some of these ideas as nothing more than naive or ill-formulated.
We now know better.
Emergence of a power-hungry ANC elite
What we see today is the emergence of an ANC elite, determined to appropriate to itself material reward and political power.
All of this happens behind a smokescreen of supposed concern for ‘the poor, the marginalised, rural masses' ‘etc.
In fact the course upon which the ANC has embarked will bring about an even greater marginalisation for the truly disadvantaged in SA.
More generally, it will retard economic growth, stultify political and social initiative, freeze racially-deﬁned ways of seeing and doing things, consolidate and maintain power in the same set of hands and undermine our sense of pride in who we are and what we have achieved.
Time to fight back
It is time to fight back.
The Democratic Party (DP) has a better plan for SA.
It is a plan that challenges South Africans to see their country from a different viewpoint to that which the ANC has entrenched and turned into conventional wisdom.
It is a plan which calls upon, and is founded on, the creativity, originality and enterprise of ordinary South Africans.
This manifesto sets out the substance of the Democratic Party's proposals for a better South Africa.
It also explains the means by which we plan to advance those proposals.
It begins with the foundation - the set of clear and unambiguous principles on which the Democratic Party is grounded.
It proceeds by contrasting the ANC's race based approach to ‘transformation’ with our vision of non-racial change,
and then delineates our alternatives on the key policy challenges facing South Africa over the next ﬁve years:
managing the state,
creating growth,
curbing crime
and providing our children with quality education.
THE DP VISION: THE OPPORTUNITY SOCIETY
The Democratic Party believes in a society where:
Al people are treated with equal respect by the state.
Every individual is free to pursue personal fulﬁlment so long as he or she does not harm others.
The life chances for individuals are determined, not by arbitrary demographic criteria (such as race and sex), but by ability and the will to work.
Everyone has access to the material means with which to take advantage of the rights and freedoms granted by the Constitution.
Provision is made for those who cannot provide adequately for themselves, whether because of sickness, disability, advanced age or inability to obtain employment.
Opportunities are constantly increasing.
This kind of society is appropriately described as an Opportunity Society.
It can only be built on three pillars: Individual freedom;
Formal equality before the law;
Equality of basic opportunities.
These pillars are themselves grounded on a liberal democratic foundation: The rule of law;
An entrenched constitution and bill of individual rights;
The separation of powers;
Universal suffrage and regular elections;
A clear division between the ruling party and the state;
An independent civil society;
A free market economy.
The best way to meet SA's challenges
The principles underpinning an Opportunity Society and the policies derived from those principles open the door to the best route for dealing with the challenges facing South Africa.
In the words of Tony Leon: “We believe that South Africa must change from a race-based, undemocratic, centralised, authoritarian society into an individual-centred Opportunity Society in which everyone, including those who currently suffer disadvantage because of the discriminatory past, has the opportunity to take charge of their own lives and improve their lot”
Active citizens, not passive recipients
An Opportunity Society is the only means to the attainment of full citizenship for all South Africans.
For citizenship requires individuals be far more than passive recipients of public welfare.
It is a society in which individuals are not viewed as wards of the State, but as autonomous, freethinking citizens, able to both make up their own minds on issues that affect them and, in consequence, to act on their own initiative.
By our belief in an Opportunity Society, the Democratic Party refuses to regard individuals as juveniles, to be rewarded and disciplined as Big Daddy State sees fit.
For the moment individuals fall into the trap of accepting State patronage, they cease to be citizens and become clients.
The Opportunity Society is a better way.
The battle of ideas in South Africa
Joining the free world?
When SA inaugurated its first modern constitution in 1993 and followed this with the non-racial election of 1994, the DP hoped that we were about to join a world deﬁned by ideals of human freedom that had become universal.
In this world, even countries with racist, collectivist and authoritarian systems usually feel compelled to explain and justify their deviation from liberal-democratic standards - standards which have underpinned the DP’s approach over the last four decades.
The arrogance of ANC power
Alas, we hoped for too much too soon.
The ANC government feels no need to explain its iniquities.
It has reintroduced racial discrimination,
slipped steadily towards authoritarianism,
placed patronage before freedom,
entrenched crony capitalism under the banner of black empowerment,
allowed corruption and maladministration to ﬂourish,
neglected the unemployed,
and persistently and arbitrarily intervened in society and the economy.
It claims the right to rule as it pleases on the grounds that it is committed to the ‘transformation' of SA society and that this is a moral end superior to any other.
Real change, not phoney transformation
To respond bluntly: the DP is equally committed to transformation.
But as we explain in this manifesto, we mean something entirely different when we use the term.
The DP has demanded and will continue to demand that the ANC account for the content it gives to the term ‘transformation'.
It must explain the assumptions behind its policies and justify choosing these ahead of alternatives.
Time for accountability
The DP is one of the few voices demanding an end to the ANC’s smug silence.
That party is no longer the righteous hero of the one-dimensional passion play which passed for the international media's coverage of apartheid SA.
It is now a democratically elected ruling party and as such, has to account for its acts in government.
The DP will not allow it to dodge this fundamental democratic obligation.
It is for this reason that the DP attracts far greater vituperation than the racist former masters of the country do.
Our ideas are far more threatening to the ANC than the encumbered confusion of the NNP and the neo—racism of the FF and PAC, Our ideas represent the only view that truly threatens the ANC’s grip on the moral high ground.
The ugly face of race
The DP‘s greatest achievement in this debate so far, has been to lift the veil of silence covering the issue of race in SA.
In our recent position document The Corruption of Transformation (February 1999), we show how the ANC has placed the issues of race, representivity and reparation beyond debate.
The ANC turns all debates into questions about its opponents' motives.
Critics are bluntly accused of ‘racism’ and at that point discussion ends.
The ANC never bothers to rebut the substance, principle and empirical nature of the charges against it.
Some of the most compelling evidence against the ANC was provided by is responses to an earlier DP position document, The Death of the Rainbow Nation.
That document catalogued the creeping reintroduction of racial policies by the ANC - in tertiary education, national sports team selection and public and private job recruitment.
In three sentences the ANC’s Kader Asmal demonstrated the evasiveness of his party‘s line and the truth of the DP's assertion: “It betrays enormous insensitivity. To pretend to be ‘colour-blind’ is to continue the pattern of inequality, lack of access and exclusion. How can racial wrongs be put right without appropriate emphasis on race?"
Race is a red herring
Asmal's assertion - that SA needs racism now in order to ‘put right‘ the damage done by past racism - is typical of what passes for argument on the part of ANC hacks.
The ideas in this manifesto clearly demonstrate that this notion is simply not true.
It is possible to deal with the problems Asmal identiﬁes – inequality, lack of access and exclusion - without reference to race.
Indeed race is a red herring in this debate, for two reasons:
The ‘redress’ ruse
First, the ANC‘s approach is not about race; it's about using group identity to become rich and successful.
The combination of groupthink and ‘redress’ (as deﬁned by the ANC) boils down to a mechanism to appropriate as large a chunk of the spoils of ofﬁce as possible.
Race policies beneﬁt the elite
International studies have repeatedly demonstrated that the main beneﬁciaries of race preference policies are the already established elite within the beneﬁciary group.
In SA this is comprised of a ‘liberation elite’ made up of senior members of the ANC and their immediate families and friends.
The pattern has been repeated in India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and the USA.
Those individual members of the designated group (deﬁned in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, etc.) who already possess skills, qualiﬁcations and connections, surge ahead.
Those who do not become even less capable of getting ahead on their own.
A slap in the face of the poor
The poor and marginalised have been sent a terrible message: the rules are now slanted in their favour - and they still can't make it.
Little wonder then that they become so susceptible to, and dependent on, the blandishments of state patronage - the crumbs that are thrown to them from the elite’s lavish ‘empowerment’ feast.
The individual who has no conﬁdence in his or her ability to get ahead is ready to accept a standpipe, delivered by Kader Asmal‘s department of Water Affairs, as a substitute for full citizenship.
No redress for real victims
The ANC claims that appropriating wealth to its own members and their (already advantaged) cronies is part of ‘redressing’ past wrongs.
This is perhaps the most insidious aspect of all its sophistry.
For the ANC has no interest in compensating individuals who have suffered as a result of past discrimination.
Like the previous regime, it views SA in terms of racial groups.
It refuses to compensate those identiﬁed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as genuine victims.
The DP carries the torch
A large part of SA’s media has bought into the rules of the game as deﬁned by the ANC and its Liberation Elite associates.
Most opposition parties, wedded as they are to a history of groupthink, are in no position to be critical.
When the ANC says ‘redress’, ‘empowerment’ or ‘development', these useful idiots ﬁnd it impossible to even formulate their criticisms.
It is left to the DP and a few others outside parliament to point out that it is the welfare of individuals that matters and that the combination of groupthink and ‘redress’ is inherently inequitable and authoritarian.
All power to the party
Second, the ANC’s obsession with race serves to hide its other obsession – power.
Power has been deliberately concentrated at the apex of the executive arm of government – in the office of Deputy President Thabo Mbeki.
From this point the process of reshaping the institutions of SA - in the interests of the ANC - is well underway.
Rubber stamp MPs
Through its inaction and subordination to the party’s bosses, the ANC caucus in parliament has betrayed the principle of Separation of Powers.
It is often nothing more than a rubber stamp, conceding to the wishes of the executive at every turn.
It has become the responsibility of the ten DP members of the legislature to question legislation; ﬁght to make ministers account for themselves and to argue, in portfolio committees, for revisions (on occasion with notable success).
Grabbing ‘all the levers of power’
The ANC acts as if it is the nation.
In a discussion paper, ANC strategist Joel Netshitenze states that the ANC's deﬁnition of ‘transformation’: “entails, first and foremost, extending the power of the national liberation movement [the ANC] over all the levers of power: the army, the police, the bureaucracy, intelligence structures, the judiciary, parastatals and agencies such as regulatory bodies, the public broadcaster, the central bank and so on”
Lenin lives
These propositions, couched in language not dissimilar to that used by Lenin, would be quaint if it were not that this is clearly a programme of action, now well underway.
Party loyalists have been placed at the head of the Reserve Bank (Tito Mboweni), the SA Broadcasting Corporation, the Public Prosecution service, Denel, Armscor and other parastatals.
There has been interference in the selection of judges, provincial premiers and national sports teams.
The ANC has in fact gone so far as to establish a committee, under Mbeki’s loyal second-in-command, Jacob Zuma, to oversee ‘redeployment of party cadres’.
Interfering in the private sector
The ANC often recognises no distinction between public and private.
The Employment Equity Act, passed last year compels the private sector to move towards the use of demographic quotas in employment.
At almost every turn, the ANC limits the choices allowed private citizens.
Health and Labour legislation are simply the most high proﬁle examples.
Paper tiger provinces
The ANC in central government has emasculated the checking power of subordinate institutions.
The provinces have been reduced to virtual administrative appendages in the guise of imposing ﬁscal rectitude.
Probity and effective ﬁnancial management are of course crucial.
But these claims have been used to reduce the independence of those institutions that offer not only power bases to other parties, but also to rivals within the ANC.
Toy telephone municipalities
Local government in metropolitan areas has been centralised by 1998’s Municipal Structures Act which requires that local power be allocated to the metropolitan level.
Local substructures have been reduced to sham appendages.
In the words once used so memorably by Dr Nthato Motlana to describe apartheid Community Councils, they are ‘toy telephones‘.
In SA cities, the voices of ordinary citizens would be overwhelmed by municipal bureaucracy and stringent party control.
No to the ANC, yes to freedom
In summary, the DP's ideas part company with those of the ANC on the following points:
No to race-think, yes to individual rights.
The ANC's racial preference policies concentrate on groups, not individuals.
These policies institutionalise race consciousness and artiﬁcial group consciousness.
They categorise individuals as part of deﬁned groups and make that categorisation a primary factor in determining an individual’s life chances.
The DP recognises that the free individual is the basic building block of society, and that strong, sustainable communities exist only when they are made up freely associating individuals whose rights are protected.
No to equal outcomes, yes to equal opportunity
The ANC concentrates on equality of outcomes.
The DP believes that equality of basic opportunity is far more important.
Equality of outcome is inevitably artiﬁcial and achievable only through massive state regulation of every aspect of life.
Equality of basic opportunity, on the other hand, requires targeted public policy initiatives and is designed to unleash the inherent energy of individuals, enabling them to struggle and succeed - and in so doing bring beneﬁt to the entire society.
No to statism, yes to limited government
The ANC has a deep-seated tendency to intervene in society.
Because the real world is far more complicated than sociology textbooks, many, if not most, of the consequences of intervention will not have been anticipated.
Very often the State's action will have created far more severe problems than it has solved.
The DP believes that the State should only act after due consideration of the limits of its own understanding and predictions.
No to one-party dominance, yes to real democracy
The ANC claims to believe that opposition parties defend entrenched privilege.
The DP believes they, in combination with the constitution and civil society, provide an essential check on the over-weaning arrogance and ambition of the ruling party.
It should be pointed out that where we propose a constitutional amendment, we happily accept that this requires virtual consensus in parliament.
The ANC, by contrast, has repeatedly stated that it wants sufficient power to unilaterally amend the constitution.
The distinction between the ideas of the DP and those of the ANC is Stark.
The ANC is attempting, with considerable success so far, to implement a minimal deﬁnition of democracy.
This allows individuals the right to vote every ﬁve years.
In between, the majority party rules unfettered and in its own interests.
This is an infantile conception of democracy.
The Opportunity Society
The DP is the only party in SA with a set of ideas coherent enough to take on the ANC.
The DP's vision of an Opportunity Society, the principles underpinning the vision and the policies that flow from these principles constitute a coherent and viable alternative.
The DP stands for pluralism and checks and balances.
The more dispersed the centres of power in politics and society, the more difficult it will be for any one party to undermine the citizenship of the people of SA.
We must accept the worth of independent institutions and the importance of the distinction between State and civil society.
This, frankly, is a more grown-up deﬁnition of democracy.
Solving SA's key problems
The question is, how do we bring into being the Opportunity Society?
To do so we must solve the key problems facing South Africa: Creating jobs through economic growth;
Bringing crime under control;
Providing quality education for our children;
Tending to the health of all our citizens;
Granting land to the landless.
The DP's practical proposals
Building the Opportunity Society depends on our successfully meeting these challenges.
The DP's proposals on these issues form a powerful, integrated, practical programme that is the best way to:
Redress the effects of the past discrimination that assaulted the dignity and life chances of most South Africans.
Protect and promote the individual freedom that South Africa deserves after its long quest for democracy, but has not yet fully attained.
Advance every citizen's capacity to provide for themselves and their family, to build an ever improving quality of life, and to pursue happiness free from poverty and crime.
This is how the DP will do it
THE ROLE OF THE STATE
The DP proposes a far-reaching programme to slim down the state, focus it on its key responsibilities, and make it deliver excellent, cost-efficient services to its shareholders - every citizen of South Africa.
So many bureaucrats, so little focus
Perhaps the most important cause of government failure in South Africa is that it tries to do too much.
At all levels of government we have too many politicians and too many bureaucrats interfering in and controlling matters which are not priorities and which the private sector could manage better unimpeded.
Government must only do what it has to, minimising its interference with individuals, civil society and the private sector.
Thus its role is to make policy, prioritise expenditure, and ensure that everyone gets affordable services of acceptable quality - which does not necessarily mean operating die supply systems.
It is critical that it controls an honest, efficient, effective and streamlined public service
Facilitate opportunity, don't monopolise it
It is clear that the ANC and DP have diametrically opposed understandings of what the State is and what it should do.
The DP wants a State that facilitates opportunities for all South Africans.
The trend in ANC policy is for the State to increasingly monopolise opportunities.
The dead end of representivity
But while the ANC is expanding the role of the State, they are also undermining its capacity through implementation of ‘representivity’.
The ANC has decided to provide jobs for its supporters and to appease the powerful public sector trades unions in a context where the economy is actually contracting.
In other words, the ANC has opted for short-term expedience.
The result is that the public service wage bill has grown at an annual average of 12,2% since 1994, well in excess of the rate of inﬂation.
Representivity is a dead end.
As the Democratic Party points out: “The real problem facing the public service is not changing the demographics of its upper echelons but rather the poor skills levels of its lower management and lower income workers. This skills shortage restricts the opportunity of advancement for many individuals in the public service”
The skills shortage constrains the ability of the public service to deliver.
The Voluntary Severance packages negotiated with the unions ensures that the most skilled public servants (those who can get jobs in the private sector) are lost.
Reinventing the State
The Democratic Party supports a model of the State which:
Through outsourcing, privatisation and other forms of public private partnership delivers services as efficiently as possible while ensuring that the State is not burdened beyond its capacity.
Selects the right people, rewards them for hard work and holds them fully accountable for their actions, subjecting the quality of their work to the discipline of the marketplace.
Does not use crude demographic criteria in public service hiring policy.
It is indeed necessary that citizens feel a sense of ‘ownership’ of the public service.
But this must be based on genuinely people- (customer-) centred delivery.
It is far more important that where public employees interact with the public (as they do at all public hospitals schools, welfare offices pension pay points and police stations), service is efficient, effective and courteous.
Makes the best possible use of the training budgets that already exist in most government departments
Training should be targeted at those who genuinely wish to improve their skills levels and chances of promotion.
The initiative must come from the employee, not centrally-located monitors or demographic policemen.
A lean and clean state - The DP promises to fight back
A slim and smart state
A State that contracts out cannot be a weak State.
In fact, in designing the terms of contract, assessing bidders, binding them to appropriate conditions and standards and subsequently, enforcing compliance, often requires greater capacity (in terms of skills and efficiency) than delivering via a government bureaucracy.
This is the rationale for what the DP calls a ‘lean’ State.
Abolishing the Ministry of Cronyism
The Ministry of Public Enterprises must be abolished and replaced by a dedicated privatisation unit within the departments of either Finance or Trade and Industry.
We will closely monitor this unit’s performance in terms of both the pace at which it proceeds and the revenue it brings in.
We shall do our utmost to ensure that the considerations that have so delayed privatisation over the last five years - in particular the ‘empowerment’ (cronyism) factor - are excluded from this unit‘s brief.
A Parliament for the people
There are too many MPs and MPLs.
The number of public representatives must be reduced by at least a third – public representatives must set the example for a leaner, more efficient national and provincial parliamentary system.
Government should also take the lead and reduce the number of national ministers.
Savings and efficiency need to be made in all sectors - government is not excluded.
The DP leads the way
Where the DP holds public office - in certain local authorities and provincial departments - we will set the pace.
We will innovate and experiment with privatisation, contracting out, slimming down bureaucracy and improving both the capacity of officials and the quality of service they offer.
At the same time, where possible, we undertake to seek a public mandate every time we propose a radical change - through local referenda, for example
FIGHTING BACK AGAINST CRIME
The DP proposes an integrated strategy to greatly improve the performance of the three components of the crime-ﬁghting armoury: the police, the prosecution service and the prisons.
In the police, decision-making will be decentralised - but in return, provincial and station commissioners’ jobs will be on the line if they fail to deliver
The prosecution system will be streamlined and temporary courts established to eliminate the awaiting-trial backlog
More prisons will be built, and criminals will be kept in them to serve their sentences
Most of all, victims’ rights will be put at the centre of the criminal justice system
Despite claims to the contrary, SA's levels of crime have not abated over the last ﬁve years.
In an HSRC survey, released in March 1999, crime ranked alongside joblessness as the issue of most concern to South Africans.
Furthermore, it is a phenomenon which has caught the attention of the international investor community.
Until levels of crime decline considerably, SA's level of foreign direct investment will remain abysmal.
Flight of skilled people from SA will escalate and vigilante contempt for the rule of law will continue to compound the crime problem.
A real crime-ﬁghting strategy
Entrenched and persistent criminality will only be eliminated through a multifaceted strategy involving several government departments, the private sector and civil society.
It requires strategies to address existing deﬁciencies in the SA Police Service (SAPS), especially its detective branch, the Department of justice, including the prosecution service, the sentencing code and the Correctional Service (prisons).
Successful crime prevention requires the involvement of other government departments, including Finance (especially Inland Revenue, Customs and Excise), Home Affairs and Defence.
Most importantly, the focus of the criminal justice system must be shifted towards restoring justice for the victims of crime.
The government’s crime-ﬁghting ‘record’
The Government's National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS) was supposed to achieve such ends.
Three years after its launch, however, there still exists no mechanism to monitor the implementation of this strategy.
The Auditor-General’s performance audit of the NCPS found that: Very little was done to implement proactive crime prevention strategies;
Business plans had not been drafted to address priority crimes; and
The NCPS was not compiled on the basis of accurate information.
No mention was made of the National Crime Prevention Strategy in this year's budget speech - which is strange, given that it is the ANC‘s answer to crime.
KEY ASSUMPTION
The DP knows that the problem will not be solved by throwing money at it.
But adequate funding is an utterly necessary part of the solution.
Inadequate budget
In this light it is disturbing to see that the 1999/2000 national budget shows a decline, in real terms, in the allocation to criminal justice.
At 3, 8%, the nominal increase in funding for this sector is lower than SA's rate of inﬂation.
The inadequate budgets of previous years have led to clear breakdowns of the system.
There is no allocation in this year's budget for upgrading technology, including the much-needed automated ﬁngerprinting system.
Last year, the Department of justice found itself unable to pay public prosecutors for overtime work.
Dullah Omar, the Minister of justice, utterly mishandled the issue, requesting prosecutors to work overtime for no reason other than patriotism.
When they demurred, he threw a scandalous accusation at them - that they had happily worked long hours to put anti-apartheid activists behind bars and were now refusing to do as much for a democratic regime.
These problems, combined with an affirmative action policy which uses race rather than performance as the criterion for promotion, has led to an exodus of experienced prosecutors.
The average level of experience for the prosecutors who remain in service is now only 3 and a half years - and in the Western Cape it is a mere 6 months.
A brutal birthday present
Partly as a result of the under-funding of the public prosecution service, there are 38 000 South Africans in prison awaiting trial.
The ANC’s response, to the horror of crime-terrorised citizens, was to release 9 000 prisoners in July 1998 in commemoration of President Mandela's birthday.
This insensitive act was a slap in the face to the victims of crime, and an indication of the ANC‘s attitude of caring more for the rights of criminals than for the rights of law-abiding citizens.
Ironically, by September 1998, the prisons had already gained another 6 000 new inmates.
The DP believes it is time for law-abiding citizens and victims to fight back against crime.
We promise to ﬁght back against ANC nonchalance and ineptitude in the face of this life-threatening problem.
Restoring justice for the victims of crime
Putting victims first
Falling prey to crime is a traumatic experience, that shakes our very conﬁdence in the society in which we live.
The way the police, prosecutors and judges react to the crime can affect how the victim rebuilds this shattered confidence.
Above all, people want their cases to be taken seriously and they want to be treated in a polite and considerate manner.
Yet many crime victims complain that they are doubly victimised, first by the criminals and then by a criminal justice system which emphasises the crime as an offence against the state and seems to display little concern for the plight of victims.
They charge that the system often gives them little or no voice in the ultimate resolution of their cases.
The DP’s ﬁghtback for victims’ rights
The DP proposes the following:
Fund for Victims of Violent Crime: Such a fund should be established, into which will be deposited all fines imposed by any court, all bail money forfeited to the state, the proceeds of crime conﬁscated under the new Proceeds of Crime Act, and an amount budgeted by Parliament annually to be known as ‘grant in aid’.
Victim's Charter: The Constitution should be amended to include a Victim’s Charter, in line with the United National Declaration of Basic Principles of justice for Victims of Crime, to recognise and entrench victim’s rights.
Victim Impact Statements: ‘Victim impact statements’ should be introduced into the justice system as admissible considerations for setting the level of compensation and for sentencing purposes.
Toll-free victim’s information hot-line: Should be set up to help victims of crime ﬁnd a variety of support services quickly and easily.
‘Court Watch': Programmes should be set up, recruiting volunteers to co-ordinate day to day victim support functions in courts, hospitals and police stations.
Funds allocated to the National Crime Prevention Strategy for the co-ordination of victim support services at national level should immediately be diverted to local government level; and
Specialised courts: Should be established for victims of specific crimes.
Managing crime prevention
The DP proposes the following action steps:
Spending review: All departments involved in the National Crime Prevention Strategy need to be subjected to a rigorous spending review.
This must include a value-for-money audit.
If necessary these ﬁndings must be used to reprioritise programmes and spending priorities.
National Office for Crime Prevention: This should be established and located in the office of the president and headed by a CEO appointed under an annually renewable performance contract.
He or she should assume responsibility for co-ordinating all crime prevention policy, including oversight over the proposed National Investigative Agency and redeployment of police to trouble spots.
Fixing infrastructure: The maintenance and development of criminal justice infrastructure (police stations, prisons, etc.) is currently vested with the Department of Public Works.
This should be located in a Criminal Justice Infrastructure Development and Maintenance Agency with a speciﬁc mandate to seek public-private partnerships in the construction of criminal justice facilities.
Effective investigations: South Africa needs a national investigative agency rather like the Federal Bureau for Investigation in the USA.
It should be accountable to parliament.
One of the central tasks of this unity will be to coordinate all crime intelligence to eliminate duplication of the National Intelligence Agency's (NIA) mandate and the sort of confusion that SA saw this year over the inadvertent exposure of an NIA agent-in-place within Pagad.
Improving police management
The South African Police Service should be run like a business, with crime victims as its clients.
The accountability of private sector managers needs to be injected into the system.
The service needs the following:
Decentralisation: The DP proposes a constitutional amendment to reinvest Provincial MECs for Safety and Security with political control over provincial commissioners.
Different provinces have different safety and security priorities.
If the political head of safety and security in each province is to be accountable to die electorate, he or she must wield real power, over and above the monitoring function that prevails at present.
Local police forces: Municipal police forces should be established in each of SA's metropolitan centres, using the City of Durban Police Service as a model.
Funding should come from a tax surcharge on rates following a local referendum
Greater power for station commissioners: Station commissioners must have the power to hire, ﬁre, promote, train and reward their officers, and to decide how to allocate their budgets.
At the same time, their own jobs will be on the line if their stations fail to reduce crime.
There should be mechanisms for lateral entry of graduates and managers into the force.
Police CEOs: Management control to be vested in the newly-created post of a national CEO with provincial CEOs as managers of a totally re-engineered SA Police Agency.
These men and women should be required to sign annually renewable performance contracts.
Performance will be monitored, in part, through an independently audited Performance Assessment Index, which will compare performance across provinces and areas.
Outsource non-core activities: All non-core activities should be outsourced to private companies.
These activities include charge office reception, secretarial services, guarding police stations and public buildings such as Parliament, transportation of prisoners to and from courts, vehicle maintenance and forensics.
This will put more than 20% of the police service who currently perform administrative, maintenance and back-up duties back to active crime-ﬁghting.
Outsource infrastructure: Including police stations, courts and prisons should be constructed through build-operate-transfer concessions with the private sector.
The Department of Correctional Services has already set the pace in this area through the private construction of prisons.
Increasing prosecution, conviction and effective punishment of criminals
Bottlenecks in the system
There are serious and costly bottlenecks in the justice system.
The number of criminals convicted of crimes has fallen by more than 40% in just five years, from 373 000 in 1991/2 to 2l8 000 in 1995/6.
For every seven murders reported, only one ends in conviction and for every 50 car hijackings reported only one conviction results.
One in 13 reported rape cases results in conviction and only one in 34 armed robberies.
The clogged court system is costing the tax payer at least R3 million per day to keep around 47 000 awaiting trial prisoners in prison at a cost of R80 per prisoner per day.
These prisoners overcrowd the prisons, seriously compromising the control of prison wardens which leads to escapes.
The DP‘s ﬁghtback against ineffective prosecution and punishment
The DP proposes the following action steps:
Temporary courts: These must be set up in under-utilised office space in urban centres, to deal with less serious cases, so that the courts are free to try prisoners awaiting trial for more serious crimes.
Outsource transportation: Transportation of awaiting-trial prisoners to and from court must be outsourced to private security companies, to reduce trial delays due to prisoners arriving late at court.
Severely punish attacks on police personnel: Attacks on policemen and women should be regarded as attacks on the integrity of the State and be considered as an aggravating factor when offenders are sentenced.
Crack down on police corruption: The reverse side of the coin is that corruption or criminal activity on the part of police men and women should be treated more seriously.
There is a pressing need for new legislation to replace the toothless 1992 Corruption Act currently in force.
Appropriate sentences: Prison must be reserved for violent criminals who pose a threat to society - alternative sentences should be handed down where they are more appropriate and more likely to rehabilitate the offender and compensate the victim, than a sentence of imprisonment for less serious crimes.
Primary among these should be community service.
Leaving small—scale first time offenders in prison simply increases the likelihood that they will be ‘educated’ into a life of crime.
Outsource community service: Supervision of community service should be outsourced, particularly to NGOS which specialise in rehabilitation.
Departments at all levels of government should be encouraged to utilise community correction projects - for example to clean parks and clear alien vegetation
Keeping the prison doors closed
Overcrowding is opening the prison doors to criminals – literally.
In June 1998, Deputy Commissioner of Correctional Services, Steven Korabie, threatened to refuse intake of any more prisoners after July if steps were not taken to ease overcrowding.
The DP will ﬁght back to prevent citizens being put at risk in this way.
We propose:
More prisons: The DP proposes building more prisons by speeding up the privatisation of new prisons and using prison labour to build new prisons and extensions to existing prisons.
Break the gangs: The gangs who effectively rule inside our prisons must be broken up.
Gang leaders must be isolated in C-Max prisons and warders involved in gang activities dismissed.
Computerised central locking systems will record when cell doors are opened and for what reason, thereby limiting the ability of gangsters to bribe wardens into getting access to other prisoners in order to terrorise them into line.
Crack down on corruption: The recently established Correctional Services Anti-Corruption Unit must act proactively rather than reactively as is the case at present.
The DP recommends that outside, perhaps foreign, expertise be utilised.
Rationalise ministries: The Correctional Services ministry should be abolished, as suggested by the Presidential Review Commission, and its functions absorbed into the department of justice.
This will address the problem of a lack of coordination and communication between the department that sentences criminals and the department responsible for implementing those sentences.
Mugshots: Ridiculous as it may seem, one of the main problems in re-arresting escapees is that prison authorities do not know what they look like.
It is time to reintroduce the practise of taking mugshots, both when suspects are charged and when convicts are admitted to prison.
JOBS THROUGH ECONOMIC GROWTH
The DP proposes to free the economy by scaling back the red tape that hampers job creation and entrepreneurship, speeding up privatisation, and promoting foreign investment.
To fight back against the problem of massive youth unemployment, the DP proposes a direct hand-up to 2,5 million young work seekers in the form of an Opportunity Voucher.
A job is the key to every citizen's self-reliance and release from poverty.
The jobs crisis
Unemployment has become the primary factor in income inequality in South Africa, as inequality between the employed and the unemployed is now greater than that between whites and blacks.
South Africa has lost 500 000 jobs since 1994.
Despite high unemployment, of between 24% and 33%.
South Africa has a shortage of skilled workers.
The Global Competitiveness Report ranks this country third last in labour skills and productivity.
The Government's much-postponed job Summit, held in October 1998, was a stage-managed affair which carefully sidestepped the most critical issues affecting unemployment.
The need to revise its labour policy and reaffirm GEAR’s strategy for economic growth was sacriﬁced on the alter of the ANC's tripartite alliance with Cosatu and the SACP.
The DP‘s ﬁghtback on jobs
The DP plans to fight back against growing unemployment in three ways, through: Long-term acceleration of economic growth through sound macro-economic policy;
A short-term strategic intervention by Government to create employment and training opportunities for young South Africans; and
Unleashing small businesses from the constraints of crippling laws, regulations and taxes.
Accelerating economic growth
South Africa‘s economic prospects took a turn for the worse midway through 1998, due largely to a currency crisis in global markets.
Interest rates have shot up and net foreign reserves have fallen.
Although some of the causes of this deterioration are beyond our control, there is much the government can do to rescue the situation.
The DP will ﬁght back for a renewed and enthusiastic commitment to workable economic policies.
Practice what you preach
The Government's best economic achievement was the production of its growth, employment and redistribution strategy (GEAR) in 1996, which has laid a sound basis for ﬁscal discipline, certainty and stability.
Unfortunately, the government has not heeded its own injunction that GEAR must be implemented as an integrated package.
Backsliding in respect of labour market ﬂexibility, public sector downsizing and privatisation has already occurred.
This has caused untold damage to job creation and has condemned millions of South Africans to continue lives of poverty and degradation.
Do what you say
GEAR's resolve to reduce taxation to 25% of GDP has crumbled before pressure to increase government spending.
The revised revenue targets plan to keep tax above 26,5% of GDP for at least the next three years.
Sound macro-economic strategy which attracts foreign direct investment is essential, because without economic growth there can be no sustainable job creation;
and without a ﬂexible labour market, any growth in the economy is likely to be jobless growth.
The DP plan
These are the DP's economic policy proposals:
Get government out of the way: Government should not attempt to create jobs - public works-type schemes have marginal results and service delivery suffers when the public service becomes too large - rather it must establish a regulatory environment that is conducive to job creation.
Set work seekers free: Greater ﬂexibility within the labour market – the freedom of employers and work seekers to contract on mutually agreeable terms - is essential for job creation and economic growth.
The government, which has become a victim of its own inﬂexibility, needs to set an example in this regard.
Give the poor a hand-up: Special opportunities need to be created for the rural poor, young work-seekers, first-time entrants into the formal sector job market and in export processing zones.
Government is unfortunately doing exactly the opposite.
It fails to recognise one of the most fundamental laws of economics: if the cost goes up, demand will go down - for labour or any other goods or service.
No more privatisation delays: Half-hearted attempts at privatisation are costing South Africa dearly as we forego the enormous benefits of greater efficiency, debt reduction, technology transfers and new investments.
These interminable delays must stop.
Scrap exchange control: South Africa will not realise its full economic potential so long as we have exchange control.
The pace at which exchange controls are lifted needs to be accelerated.
Government should be moving to abolish exchange control completely as soon as possible.
Attract foreign investment: Unless South Africa is able to create the conditions which attract foreign direct investment, it will not be able to achieve its economic growth and job creation objectives.
Special teams, with high-level private sector involvement, must be formed to promote South Africa as an investment destination.
A ministerial cluster comprising the Ministers of Trade and Industry, Foreign Affairs, Finance and Land and Agriculture to promote South Africa and to co-ordinate foreign trade policy.
Boost productivity: Present levels of productivity are unacceptably low and must be raised by taking immediate and purposeful steps to improve education, particularly technical education;
increasing the budgetary allocation for the encouragement of productivity, disciplining the public sector by setting productivity standards and encouraging initiative;
and encouraging the development of all intellectual property skills, including design.
Simplify and reduce taxes: It is estimated that each year between R25 billion and R30 billion of tax is not collected.
Instead of trying to justify continued high taxation with the need to deliver on social spending, fiscal policy should concentrate on improving tax collection.
Impose ﬁscal rectitude: Fiscal discipline is imperative with the goal to reduce the budget deﬁcit as quickly as possible.
Curb corruption: Corruption must be curbed by broadening the scope of existing corruption legislation, bolstering anti-corruption agencies and introducing performance contracts into the public service at all levels.
Welfare that works: Finally, the market system should operate to achieve the goals of productivity and efficiency and give incentive within the constraints imposed by social conscience and the requirements of a healthy environment.
The state must play its role in providing for those who cannot do so for themselves.
This requires welfare that works, with payments made as directly as possible to the recipients and concentrating on the truly indigent, and the sustainable use of services.
A DP INITIATIVE TO CREATE JOBS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Unemployment affects young people more than anyone else – the majority of the jobless are under 35, and more than a million of these people have never had a job.
Worse still, some 300 000 school leavers join the job market each year, most with little prospect of ﬁnding employment.
A substantial, practical intervention must be made to deal with the problem of youth unemployment.
Based on successful policy experiments in Chile, Australia and elsewhere, the DP has proposed the introduction of the "Opportunity Voucher" to give a direct hand-up to young work seekers.
DP proposes that:
An Opportunity Voucher to the value of R3 000 be made available to each of 300 000 matriculants, and a further 200 000 young unemployed people, each year for ﬁve years.
The voucher would be funded out of the state Umsombovu Fund and other public sources.
Recipients be able to trade the Opportunity Voucher for training and education at any accredited institution, for the purposes of starting a micro-enterprise, or in exchange for wages from an accredited employer.
The principle of the Opportunity Voucher is that the recipients will be able to decide for themselves how to use the vouchers, thus maximising the effectiveness of the system and simplifying its administration.
Unleashing entrepreneurship
Given the job destruction taking place in big business and government, the best way to address unemployment is to allow a new entrepreneurial class free rein, plus the opportunities to create jobs for themselves through small business enterprises.
Small business, big impact
The DP supports every possible opportunity for small, medium and micro-enterprise (SMME) to establish themselves, thrive and expand.
This is not only the key to economic growth but also to the creation of sustainable new jobs.
In SA, there are two obstacles: A lack of basic opportunities - business training, skills, finance and information;
The burden placed on this sector by excessive regulation and taxes.
Compliance is time consuming and restrictive.
A maze of bureaucracy
The ANC government has attempted to tackle the first constraint.
Unfortunately the scarce resources at its disposal are being channelled into a maze of bureaucracy.
The institutions created (Khula, Ntsika Enterprise Promotion Agency and the National Small Business Council) are creatures of the State, more likely to scare off entrepreneurs than to open opportunities for them.
The National Small Business Council
The result has been the soaking of funds allocated to empower small businesses, by the sheer size of the Government's support programme as a whole, and by the inevitable corruption and ﬁnancial mismanagement which occurred in parts of it.
Ironically, there are several small companies struggling to survive bad debts from the National Small Business Council (NSBC) after it collapsed under mismanagement to the tune of R3 million.
Any organisation which aims to represent and lobby on behalf of small business must be entirely independent of Government, staffed by experienced entrepreneurs and funded by the private sector.
The NSBC was staffed by bureaucrats, funded by Government and, not surprisingly, ineffective in lobbying for small business interests.
Drowned in red tape
The ANC government has only exacerbated the second constraint.
It has yet to realise that the SMME's require less red-tape and regulation.
Its actions have only made matters worse, especially in the arena of labour legislation.
The Labour Relations Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act in particular inhibit the creation of jobs by SMMES.
The ANC have botched the prospects of rapid expansion of the crucial SMME sector.
The DP’s small business programme
The DP promises to fight back with a powerful programme to boost small business:
Cut red tape: SA needs legislation along the lines of the USA‘s Regulatory Flexibility Act and Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act to empower small business owners to challenge the red tape that holds them back.
Streamline state support for SMMES: The experience of NGO and private sector SMME programmes should be supported.
Plans to revive the insolvent NSBC should be scrapped and its budget redirected into providing opportunity vouchers to unemployed individuals which can be exchanged for entrepreneurial training or micro-enterprise ‘starter kits’.
Open one stop licensing shops: These are needed where would-be entrepreneurs can complete all the formalities of starting a business.
Allow freedom of contract: Employees should be allowed to enter into contracts where they give up their rights under certain sections of the Labour Relations Act and Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
The department of labour should mediate.
Further, all SMMES should be exempted from collective bargaining agreements — which regulate wages and other employment conditions, to which they were not party
Relax employment conditions: All SMMEs should be granted relaxations from chapter two of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (which regulated hours of work, overtime hours, overtime pay and restricts night and Sunday work).
Extend Small Claims court: The ambit of the Small Claims Court should be extended to include companies and other juristic persons.
Tax exempt SMMES: New SMMEs should be allowed a tax exemption for the first three years, subject to certain restrictions to contain calculated tax avoidance.
SMMEs with an annual turnover of less than R250 000 should be exempted from Regional Services Council levies.
Change accounting system: SMMEs should be allowed to calculate their taxable incomes by means of a cash accounting system, as an alternative to the accrual method.
This will lower their cash requirements significantly; the number of forms SMMEs need to fill out should be reduced; VAT forms should be completed quarterly and RSC and UIF contributions paid annually.
Companies, close corporations and trusts with a turnover of less than R2,5m/year should once again be allowed to account for VAT on a payments basis.
Other means of countering abuse should be investigated by the SARS.
Outsource: Government should outsource all services which can be more cheaply provided by SMMEs.
Big business should be encouraged to outsource non-core activities to SMMEs and to initiate training or ﬁnancing schemes for micro-entrepreneurs.
EDUCATION
The DP proposes a total overhaul of the education system to ensure that the quality of teaching improves dramatically.
To fight back against the very low pass in many schools, the DP proposes a pilot programme to give parent the power to move their children out of bad schools - and take their state subsidy with them.
The crisis in the SA education system has deepened under the ANC government.
Pupils at schools in South Africa are seriously deﬁcient in the skills that their education should have equipped them with - and they are falling further and further behind the rest of the world.
International comparisons repeatedly place South Africa at the bottom of the rankings in terms of educational achievements.
A sorry situation
These are the dimensions of the crisis:
Plunging pass rates: The national matric pass rate plunged from 58% in 1994 to 47% in 1997.
In 1998, at l% of SA schools, no pupil passed matric.
At one-fifth of the country’s schools, less than 20% of candidates passed.
67% of Grade 1 pupils have to repeat their first year.
A Read Educational Trust study into real education levels at SA’s disadvantaged schools discovered that the average pupil entering Grade 6 has the reading age of a (Grade 1) seven year old.
Bad budgeting: The national education budget cannot pay for the number of school teachers in SA.
But the lack of money is far less problematic than poor management.
The average province spends 92% of its budget on teachers’ salaries.
In some provinces the proportion dedicated to this budget item exceeds 100%.
This squeezes out expenditure on other essential teaching inputs, including text books, classroom, laboratory and sports facilities as well as physical infrastructure (like classrooms).
Special interests: The excessive cost of the education system's salary bill must be laid squarely at the door of ANC education minister Sibusiso Bengu.
It is his department which followed the well-rutted road of caving in to the demands of a special interest group - in this case the SA Democratic Teachers Union - to the detriment of the system as a whole.
The department has refused to retrench temporary teachers although this is clearly a pressing necessity under the present financial constraints.
It entirely mismanaged the implementation of teacher:pupil ratios (35:1 in primary schools and 40:1 in secondary schools).
Ratios like these are both desirable and possible if there is a match between budget allocations, advance planning, top management and teacher complements.
It is his department which followed the well-rutted road of caving in to the demands of a special interest group - in this case the SA Democratic Teachers Union - to the detriment of the system as a whole.
The voluntary severance debacle: The only downsizing in education was through Voluntary Severance Packages (VSPs) which ensured that the best teachers were lost to the public education system.
This blunder has also been expensive in outright ﬁnancial terms.
The average cost of a VSP is R376 000.
In the first year the State paid over R1 bn to get rid of 15 54l teachers, including some of the best available.
The DP ﬁghtback on education
The DP believes it is time to fight back against ANC blunders in education.
SA has made giant strides towards equalising expenditure per pupil in education.
But the process has been inappropriately focused and poorly managed.
The DP proposes a total overhaul of the education system, focused on systematically upgrading teaching skills.
But this kind of change would take some time to implement, so the DP also proposes an innovative scheme to deliver immediate help to the schoolchildren and their parents who are most severely disadvantaged by the education crisis.
Overhauling the education system
Doing more with less
The DP proposes an approach which will reduce the education system's salary expenditure while substantially improving its capacity of the education system to deliver quality schooling.
Pupil:teacher ratios of 35:1 in primary schools and 40:1 in secondary schools are workable - provided that teachers are dedicated and well trained.
International examples demonstrate that large classes and limited resources do not necessarily prevent children from receiving a good education.
Low spending countries like South Korea outperform not only South Africa, but also high spending countries like the USA.
Prerequisites for success
But there are a few prerequisites.
Studies have been conducted in several countries into schools located in poor areas, supplied with limited resources, but which nevertheless produce outstanding results.
The studies reveal that these schools share some common characteristics - in particular, staff stability, school-wide recognition of academic success and purposeful leadership by teachers.
Teachers are the key
An environment which contains these elements demands teachers with initiative, dedication and knowledge.
Yet this is one of the weakest points in South Africa's education system.
The ability of the country to educate its children adequately is hampered by a number of factors, but most crucial of these is the fact that there are too many teachers who either lack commitment to their profession or who lack the training and skills to be truly effective.
The DP acknowledges the dedicated work being done by thousands of committed and competent teachers.
But they, and the nation's children and parents, are being woefully let down by the thousands of teachers who are either unwilling or unable to deliver quality education.
The DP’s proposals for quality teaching
The DP proposes:
Deliver or depart: Non-performing teachers, not competent personnel, as is currently the case, should be removed from the system.
For this to happen, the government must stand up to SADTU, who have assumed the mantle of protectors of the incompetent.
Rational retrenchments: Retrenchments should be based partly on qualifications and partly on performance appraisals.
Almost one-fifth of SA teachers have only a matric or less.
Estimates are that 70% of SA teachers are underqualified and 19% totally unqualified
Some of these individuals are committed to competent teaching - hence the need for performance appraisals before final decisions are made.
Nevertheless qualiﬁcations are a useful broad indicator because most competent and dedicated teachers have made some effort to improve their qualifications.
Performance appraisals: Appraisals should be carried out by a team consisting of a principal, a board of governors and an inspector, working in conjunction with the provincial education department.
There is a dire need to overhaul the inconsistent ramshackle and sometimes corrupt teacher appraisal systems currently in use.
Teach the teachers: Support must be given to the dedicated efforts of those NGOs involved in on-the-job training for teachers.
This need not be money - regulation to eliminate ﬂy-by-night operators is needed.
It is also important that such upgrading be officially recognised.
The present system takes teachers out of the classroom for their training upgrade periods.
It is also, in the minds of many teachers, little more than a paper chase because certain tertiary certiﬁcates automatically push them into higher salary brackets.
Real upgrading must replace the ritual of rewarding impressive pieces of paper.
Special help for needy schools: Special support must be given to particularly needy schools, especially in poor rural areas.
Such schools need to be identiﬁed - not a difficult task given the database available as a result of the School Register of Needs survey, published in l996
The DP suggests the special allowances (provided for under the Educators Employment Act 1995) be extended to teachers who volunteer to work in these schools.
Trainee teachers, working to pay back State bursaries, should be required to work in the high priority school of their choice.
They might be regarded as similar to medical interns who volunteer to work in especially overburdened hospitals in order to enhance their professional skills.
But like those interns, they will require special support - from the provincial departments - if they are not to simply ﬂounder.
Priority schools should be allowed slightly lower teacher:pupil ratios.
This will permit a form of redress whereby wealthier schools will be obliged to pay out of their own funds for the additional teachers to meet the same ratios as priority schools
Immediate help for the most disadvantaged pupils - the DP’s proposal for Education Enterprise Zones
The EEZE solution to bad schooling
For pupils trapped in the ‘zero zone’ of schools with low or nonexistent pass rates, something must be done very fast to improve their life chances.
As a rapid, practical ﬁrst step to rescue these children’s education, the DP proposes to establish Education Enterprise Zones (EEZEs) in parts of the country where pupils are most severely affected by the education crisis; as the zones begin to deliver results in these ultra-deprived areas, they will be steadily rolled out to other parts of country.
Within these zones, prescribed teacher:pupil ratios and zoning regulations will be scrapped, and procedures involved in setting up new schools relaxed.
The EEZE concept has been tested with considerable success in several poor, inner-city areas in the USA, where it has rescued thousands of pupils from low quality public schooling systems.
Fund the pupil, not the school
State Funding within these zones will be linked to the pupil rather than the school.
Pupils will be allocated an amount roughly equal to the current State subsidy, weighted according to the economic circumstance of the pupil.
The pupil's parents will be able to use this to send him or her to any registered public or private school, in or outside the pupil’s own EEZE.
This system will give parents value for money by putting a greater degree of direct control over schooling into their hands.
Funding for each school in an EEZE will be directly tied to the number of pupils it is able to attract.
Under-performing schools will be compelled to offer a better service.
If, however, a school fails to fill a prescribed proportion of its capacity, it will be closed down.
An incentive to pull up your socks
Education Enterprise Zones will expand the educational options available to poor children, thereby creating the potential for an invigorated school system which gives more children ﬂexibility in their choice of schools.
It will also give schools a compelling incentive to raise their standards.
A registering authority, failing under the Department of Education, will administer the zones.
Kick-starting Project EEZE
These are the action steps which must be taken to kick-start the Education Enterprise Zone project.
The Department of Education should select a few urban areas with very poor matric results as potential pilots for the project.
Parents in the potential pilot zones will vote on whether to go ahead with the project in their areas.
If a majority votes yes, the zone will be launched.
A Parent Information Centre, administered by the registering authority, should be set up to provide information on all the schools in the area.
As the project is implemented, schools will be required to provide details on exam results and attendance figures, as well as statistics on the number of scholars who have found employment or went on to higher education, and any other relevant information.
TENDING TO THE HEALTH OF CITIZENS
To end the current crisis in state hospitals and curb the AIDS explosion, the DP propose a focussed, pragmatic approach to health care that cuts bureaucracy, encourages private health care to grow alongside state services, and empowers communities and NGOs to play a much greater role in prevention.
The government's priority has been to change the focus from secondary to primary health care.
But the change was badly planned and implemented too fast, so primary facilities have not improved and tertiary facilities have suffered.
Specialised tertiary services such as transplants have almost ceased, while patients often queue for hours for even basic medical attention.
The crisis in state hospitals
State hospitals are overcrowded, under-maintained and under-resourced.
There is an R8bn maintenance backlog for State hospitals, and 30% are so dilapidated that they will be unusable in ten years.
Staff are poorly paid and overworked and equipment is outdated.
Poor working conditions and pay has caused a steady stream of doctors and nurses out of the public sector.
These posts are generally frozen, putting greater pressure on remaining staff and risking patients’ lives.
Insufficient attention is given to control measures, so theft is endemic: 53% of medicines allocated to State hospitals will get stolen
Patients are sometimes required to supply their own food and bedding.
Dr Zuma has also tried to improve staffing levels by introducing a year of compulsory community service for graduating medical students.
But provinces often lack the funds to pay salaries for these doctors.
So other highly skilled and experienced doctors are retrenched to make way for newly qualiﬁed and inexperienced doctors.
The virtual collapse of public health care means that effective treatment of life-threatening diseases like cancer and heart disease, as well as AIDS and TB, is severely curbed.
TB in particular is an easily curable disease and eradication has been successful in many other much poorer countries, but failure to devote sufficient resources to it means that in South Africa it is still a serious problem.
Private health care offers better facilities and equipment, and staff are less overworked, but the cost puts it out of reach of the majority of the population.
Zuma’s antagonism to private health care
Dr Zuma has been antagonistic towards private hospitals, although patients do not use State money and they support State hospitals though their taxes without making use of their services.
The Medical Schemes Act was passed in 1998, its stated aim is to expand access to private care by forcing medical aids to charge uniform rates and admit all applicants, irrespective of risk.
But these steps may well affect the financial viability of medical aids and thus have the opposite effect.
The DP promises to ﬁght back to ensure adequate health care
The DP proposes the following action steps:
Decentralisation : DP policy focuses on decentralising services by creating independent management units and by reviewing the tangle of bureaucracy governing public health.
This will allow for closer control and more direct accountability.
User fees: These should be charged for those who can pay.
However, some services, like preventative care, will be free.
Contracting out: Academic health centres will be funded from contracted services bought for patients by both the public and private sectors.
Contracting out services to the private sector in competition with the public sector will promote efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Proper incentives: Medical students should not be forced into community service, but should rather be offered incentives such as bursaries and higher salaries in poor areas.
Health care staff salaries must be flexible according to circumstances so that unattractive regions can offer incentives.
Curb interference in private health care: The private sector should be regulated only to the extent necessary to curb excesses.
AIDS
The AIDS explosion
Hope that South Africa would stem the AIDS epidemic at an early stage has been dashed by ﬁgures showing that about 1 500 people are infected with HIV every day.
The rate of HIV infection among teenage girls rocketed 65,4% last year, and the overall increase for women was 33, 8%.
Our position as the world's leader in the rate of new AIDS infections is now virtually unchallengeable.
Experts believe the epidemic has not yet peaked and life expectancy in South Africa is likely to fall from 60 years to 40 years by 2010 as a result of AIDS.
A tardy response from government
The government's response to the AIDS epidemic has been slow and inadequate.
There are few visible signs of an AIDS strategy.
Publicity campaigns (shown in other countries to be the most effective weapon) have been poorly organised and ineffective.
The department has preoccupied itself with ‘miracle’ solutions, like the AIDS play Sarafina and the widely discredited drug Virodene, rather than concentrating on developing a consistent and practicable policy.
For example, treatment for AIDS takes place in an indiscriminate and ad hoc manner.
At some hospitals, up to 40% of patients are AIDS victims but the health department has not negotiated guidelines as to who to treat and how.
The DP's ﬁghtback against AIDS
The DP believes that poor management of primary health care, largely due to over-centralisation and the implementation of plans which were popular rather than pragmatic, means that disease control is severely compromised.
But the extent of the AIDS epidemic means that it unlikely that even well managed and resourced public hospitals would be able to cope, and affordable alternatives must be found.
This requires re-orienting the community to cope with AIDS through home-based care and local prevention efforts.
Particularly important in this regard is the role of non-government organisations.
NGOs have been sidelined by the government, and their funding has been seriously curtailed, but they have years of direct experience in AIDS prevention and care for patients, and they tend to be less clogged up with bureaucracy, more efﬁcient and more cost-effective than the government.
HOUSING
The Democratic Party supports a dynamic housing policy that explores workable options for the many challenges facing the low-cost housing delivery process in the new South Africa.
The role of government should be to address the many problems that have arisen and to provide workable alternatives to the many difficulties that face this sector.
The DP believes it can offer realistic, workable solutions for housing delivery in South Africa, and challenges the sincerity of the present government in its stated commitment to address the housing backlog, and in meeting its stated goals as enshrined in the Housing Accord and Housing White Paper of 1994.
The DP supports an incremental approach to housing policy, which will ensure delivery to as many homeless people in South Africa as possible.
There are two current constraints: Fiscal constraint of government to deliver at scale;
The growing number of households dependent on the state for some form of shelter.
The DP believes that what resources are available must be shared equitably between as many disadvantaged people as possible, in order for the impact of this assistance to be widely felt.
While the smaller subsidy available to beneﬁciaries does not go far, it can provide people with ownership of their land, essential rudimentary services, and assistance in building a house.
The success of this incremental approach depends on the will of beneﬁciary communities to contribute their skills and whatever savings they have to the housing process.
In this regard the DP is committed to a people-centred housing development process, aimed at equipping and empowering people through the transfer of skills to drive their own economic empowerment, the development of their physical environment, and the satisfaction of their basic needs.
People-centred development results in employment, skills transfer, capacity building and upward mobility for both skilled and unskilled labour in the housing field.
It also creates huge commercial and development opportunities for small, medium and large business enterprises.
Thus, housing development can be seen as a driving force for economic growth.
The DP firmly believes that only people in real need of state subsidisation benefit from the state housing subsidy scheme, while comparable value must be received by beneﬁciaries with the same eligibility proﬁles.
Government must accept its responsibility to disadvantaged South Africans, because no matter how poor, each family has the right, with commensurate responsibilities, to basic shelter to protect them from the elements, as well as access to portable water and adequate and healthy sanitary facilities.
However, the manner in which government addresses the housing backlog in South Africa in the medium to long term, should aim to reduce levels of dependency and increase levels of independency from state ﬁnancial assistance and support.
The DP believes housing delivery must be administered in a transparent and equitable manner.
Government at all levels must be held accountable for its performance in housing delivery against agreed standards, and it is essential that appropriate monitoring mechanisms are implemented for all key interventions by government.
Without accountability and effective monitoring mechanisms, transparency of government will not be guaranteed, and nor will the just and equitable distribution of the limited state resources to South Africa's disadvantaged population.
National Government must provide an equitable allocation of adequate budgetary resources to both provincial and local government, without which these spheres of government will not be in a position to fulﬁl its functions and responsibilities with regard to housing delivery.
Sustainability in housing development
With the small subsidy available, a balance must be struck between what is spent on land and services, to what is left over for the construction of a house.
This principle is particularly important to households earning less than R1500 a month that ﬁnd it impossible to secure additional housing ﬁnance outside the subsidy allocation.
Appropriate housing is affordable housing.
In this regard communities should not be encouraged to choose the best available, but what is affordable and sustainable, yet still enhances the quality of life and has a market value.
The affordability of end-users is measured according to the cost of the purchase, access to and payment of long-term ﬁnance charges, rates and service payments, and long-term maintenance and other costs.
Sustainable housing development involves the creation of viable, socially and economically integrated communities.
Location is the key issue.
The geographic segmentation of living areas according to race and class, urban sprawl, and the disparate levels of access to amenities in different areas, render South African cities inequitable, inefﬁcient and relatively expensive to manage and maintain.
The DP acknowledges the critical need to assess the locational viability of housing delivery, with the aim of creating sustainable residential communities that can be fully integrated into wider society, and that houses poor families close to employment opportunities, and cultural and recreational facilities.
A change in expectations
People are going to have to learn to pay for the services they demand and use.
Government can no longer sustain non-paying communities and tough action must be taken against service payment boycotters, because for every family that has access to, yet refuses to budget for, water, electricity and rates, is money that is lost to the development of those areas where there are no services at all.
The DP believes a tough line must be taken against local authorities which insist on high levels of services that communities cannot afford.
Delivery options must be limited to those that are affordable and sustainable.
In conclusion, the detrimental effect of the AIDS virus is going to impact dramatically on South Africa's economically active population and, hence, on potential beneficiaries of the state housing subsidy scheme.
In some areas of South Africa, one in every three people is infected by the AIDS virus, with millions of people expected to die from this fatal disease in the next 20 years.
The DP believes it is now of crucial importance to develop alternative housing delivery programmes which aim to support the poorest families affected by the loss of a breadwinner, and which deals with the problems of orphans.
Thus, social housing in a form that is economically sustainable to the government, must receive top priority in both urban and rural areas.
GRANTING LAND TO THE LANDLESS
The DP proposes the wholesale distribution of underused state land to the landless South Africans, as a key step in helping them build their economic self-sufficiency.
Studies on international competitiveness and economic growth have shown that the freedom and opportunity to own land is a key ingredient in poor people’s capacity to improve their lives.
In South Africa, a long history of racist, restrictive land laws has severely restricted citizens’ ability to exercise this basic right.
The ANC government's land policies have done far too little to undo this legacy.
The security of landholding
The DP proposes a far-reaching programme to provide many dispossessed families with land.
This programme will provide those families not only with the security of which apartheid deprived them, but will also give them immediate freehold or leasehold title to property which they could use to develop their economic muscle: An inventory of all state-owned land should be drawn up for each province;
A statutory body set up for the purpose should then divide and allocate it according to the principles that only landless people should qualify for the scheme, and an appropriate instrument of ownership should be available for each allocation;
Appropriate instruments include freehold through purchase, long-term lease (with option to purchase) and a quitrent system speciﬁcally applicable to agricultural land;
Under this system the land would be leased (at an appropriate cost) for a predetermined period, whereafter the lease would lapse and the land be transferred into the full ownership of the person concerned;
A land distribution committee would be set up in each local government area that contained suitable land, and be responsible for the allocation of land, determination of price and administration;
Monies raised would be held in a special trust account to be administered for the beneﬁt of the communities.
ENVIROMENTAL IMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY
The quality of life of every person in the South Africa is dependent on the quality of the natural and the built environment.
Every person has the right to live and work in and enjoy a productive life in a safe and healthy environment.
Fight for the environment
Introduce a Department of National Heritage to replace the Department of Environmental Affairs.
This would incorporate all cherished locations including national parks, wilderness areas, archives and libraries.
Appoint a Protector of National Heritage, similar to the public protector, who would act as an advocate of these resources
Introduce a national strategy, including a revision of statutes, ordinances and regulations, in order to consolidate and integrate legislation dealing with resource management, across the country.
All authorities making decisions under resource management legislation should be required to provide a written statement explaining the basis of their decisions.
Controversial matters should be subject to public hearings.
All authorities would be required to notify the public in plain words, and with appropriate prominence, of all resource use matters coming before them.
Make environmental evaluations of proposals for resource use mandatory.
If decisions are appealed they should be heard by the appropriate provincial resource tribunal, which would have power to overturn the original decision.
Water for all
All citizens should have access to sufﬁcient water supplies as a minimum basic requirement, in a water-scarce country like South Africa, the question of whom has ownership and control over water supplies is particularly crucial.
We recognise the need to address the issue of water conservation and, in particular, the major users such as the agriculture sector.
The DP has accepted a policy of subsidiarity and devolution of power as a cornerstone of its resource management policy and rejects the centralised regulatory system of the new Water Act.
CONCLUSION
The DP is committed to opportunities for all.
We believe that an Opportunity Society offers the best possible way of dealing with the issues of poverty, marginality and stagnant economic growth.
The DP believes the largest obstacle to the realisation of an Opportunity Society is the arrogance and over-centralisation of power under the ANC government.
The system allows only for accountability upward, to the ANC party bosses.
This means that all manner of bad administration and corruption is tolerated so long as the perpetrators are proven party loyalists.
The DP undertakes to fight back in the interests of all South Africans outside the liberation elite.
We will continue to call under-performing or corrupt ministers and civil servants to account.
We will argue long and hard in the various legislatures of the country for laws, amendments to laws or the repeal of laws, in the interests of maximising freedom of opportunity.
We will propose constitutional amendments and legislation in order to have our policies implemented.
We will not do this merely to stir resentment against the ANC government but to improve the prospects of all South Africans.
When it comes to having policies implemented we will bargain, lobby and even compromise (if that is necessary) to extend freedom of opportunity.
Where we have the chance we will implement our ideas, mostly as pilot projects which we will use to demonstrate their soundness.
SA is at fork in the road.
Down one path lies a one party dominant system, characterised by stagnation and creeping authoritarianism.
Down the other lie the opportunities of a society with a vibrant, muscular political opposition and a thriving economy.
The Democratic fight back clearly signposts the second route.
How the IFP will make South Africa governable?
Message from Mangosuthu Buthelezi, IFP president
We live in a potentially great country.
Not only is it beautiful, exciting and dynamic, but it's a land in which we need to come together to confront the numerous challenges facing us as we build a better country for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren.
But South Africa is far from perfect.
It is also deeply troubled.
By unemployment.
By crime.
By poverty.
By disease.
By corruption.
By a breakdown in the social fabric.
By a lack of discipline.
By a lack of respect for others.
By indolence.
In key respects, South Africa is not being governed properly and is becoming, and has at times already become, ungovernable.
It should worry all of us, that just ﬁve years after our epoch-breaking 1994 elections, the people of our country are increasingly questioning the ability of our new democracy to deliver in so many key areas.
Jobs have been shed at an alarming rate and this trend is continuing.
With crime completely out of hand, South Africa is now notorious as a crime capital of the world.
Moreover, of great concern is the fact that one cannot truly solve the crisis in crime without addressing the jobs crisis.
Corruption in every sector of society is an insidious evil and it is spreading its wings at an alarming rate.
In many respects, life is getting rougher and tougher for all South Africans.
This must be as unacceptable to you as it is to me and to the party I lead.
While we appreciate that many current problems originated in and may legitimately be blamed on the past, there comes a time when we have to stop justifying present failure to deliver on problems inherited from the past.
There comes a time when we need to judge government on its success and failure during its term in office.
That time of judgement is now.
If the government of the day can't cope, then it is time to change the government.
It's time for a government that will make South Africa governable.
It's time for the IFP.
When we're elected the majority party in the government of South Africa, we'll make a real difference because first and foremost, we'll make the country governable
When we succeed, the country succeeds and you win.
We must make the country governable.
We have to succeed.
It's time for tough choices.
And it's time for tough leadership.
I urge you to cast your vote for governability.
Vote IFP.
JOBS
When many millions of hungry citizens can't ﬁnd employment because there is no work, the country is not being governed properly.
It is not only the unemployed who have to confront this as a major crisis - it affects the stability of the entire country and the legitimacy of government.
In making South Africa governable, we will: Restructure the public service in order to increase expenditure on actual service delivery;
Outsource many present functions of the public service where this results in greater efficiency without the loss of jobs;
Ruthlessly target those abusing their public positions to enrich themselves;
Require performance auditing of all government activities;
Place all senior public servants on performance contracts;
Empower governments at the local and provincial spheres to better deliver to the people, reducing the scope, size and resources of the central government;
Oblige all levels of government to establish proper revenue collecting mechanisms for all services provided;
Speed up the housing programme, making affordable housing available to more people than at present;
and prioritise poverty alleviation programmes in both urban and rural areas.
CRIME
The first responsibility of any government is to protect its citizens — but when 25,000 citizens are murdered every year and most of the killers are not apprehended, let alone convicted, the country is not being governed properly.
When tens of thousands of women and girls are raped and don't bother to report it because they know it is futile, government is failing the people.
In making South Africa governable, we will: throw every available resource into the ﬁght against crime;
improve the pay, conditions of service and training of the SAPS, while reducing absenteeism and internal inefficiencies;
prioritise the rights of victims of crime over those of criminals;
get very tough on criminals, including the imposition of mandatory sentencing for certain crimes against children, women and the police;
substantially strengthen the ability and capacity of provincial and local government to direct policing in the provinces;
depoliticise policing;
and hold a referendum on the death penalty.
GOVERNMENT OF DELIVERY
When government governs badly, this sets a poor example and inhibits effective delivery.
Government has indeed been transformed over the past ﬁve years, but this has not been without major problems.
Good governance is clean governance, efficient governance and above all, is delivery oriented.
In making South Africa governable, we will: restructure the public service in order to increase expenditure on actual service delivery;
outsource many present functions of the public service where this results in greater efficiency without the loss of jobs;
ruthlessly target those abusing their public positions to enrich themselves;
require performance auditing of all government activities;
place all senior public servants on performance contracts;
empower governments at the local and provincial spheres to better deliver to the people, reducing the scope, size and resources of the central government;
oblige all levels of government to establish proper revenue collecting mechanisms for all services provided;
speed up the housing programme, making affordable housing available to more people than at present;
and prioritise poverty alleviation programmes in both urban and rural areas.
EDUCATION
Education is in crisis, but throwing money at it is not the key to solving the problem.
Indeed, as results often prove, the most important element in generating good results is often the attitude of educators and learners rather than mere resource allocation.
In making South Africa governable, we will: reintroduce discipline into education, putting an end to anarchy whenever it rears its ugly head’
oblige educators to obey a strict code of conduct;
speed up the upgrading of teacher qualifications;
redirect the curricula towards that which is economically useful;
strengthen community and parent involvement in school governance;
and incentivise the management of education to make it more results oriented.
VALUES
In many ways, South Africa is on a slippery moral slope.
We are increasingly being portrayed as a country characterised by lax values, self-indulgence, public and private sector corruption, a culture of entitlement, cronyism and nepotism, none of which augurs well for the future.
In making South Africa governable, we will: engage with religious and cultural organisations to promote the moral regeneration of society, especially among the young and among the public and private sectors;
introduce civic studies and ubuntu into our school curricula;
demand the highest standards of honesty and diligence in the public sector and protect whistle blowers;
encourage self-discipline, self-help and self-reliance;
and introduce measures to protect women and children against abuse.
THE WAY FORWARD
Despite our many difficulties, we, together with all other South Africans of goodwill, still have hope and pride in what has been accomplished.
But while we all acknowledge this, by the same token we must recognise that there is still so much to be done.
First and foremost, what South Africa needs is a plan to bridge the wide gap that exists between hope and reality.
Hope doesn't provide jobs.
Hope doesn't feed a hungry family.
Hope doesn't protect one against crime.
What was once a paradise for a few must now become a paradise for all those who are willing to contribute towards building the country.
We want an economically prosperous and socially stable society, in which present islands of progress, affluence and development are expanded to cover the entire sea of basic unfulﬁlled needs and wants still submerging the majority of our population.
But this can't be achieved without a plan of action, a plan moreover, which will have to reflect hard measures and perhaps unpopular decisions if it is to successfully redress the problems we face
The next government of South Africa must focus less on theory and abstract laws and more on implementation and delivery
When elected the majority party in Parliament, we will concentrate on three key aspects of delivery - government efﬁciency,
economic productivity,
and stability at the community level.
These are the three cornerstones of our plan of action.
Attending to these will lay the foundations of a great South Africa in the new millennium.
But only tough and committed leadership in government can implement the plan, and only the IFP under its president, is tough enough and committed enough to do what has to be done.
It is time for all South Africans of goodwill to join hands together in this long-term effort.
Join our Revolution of Goodwill and make South Africa a better place for all.
INTRODUCTION
Throughout its 92 years of existence, the African National Congress has put the interests of all the people of South Africa at the top of its agenda.
Having united the overwhelming majority of South Africans in struggle, the possibility was created in 1994 for us to work together practically to construct a society that cares.
Democracy and equality before the law are entrenched in our constitution.
Women, workers, youth, professionals, people with disabilities, traditional leaders, religious communities, business people and rural communities, all have the right to utilise opportunities that have come with freedom.
Our First Ten Years of Freedom have been ten years of growing unity in action;
ten years of peace and stability;
ten years of increasingly making resources in the hands of the state available to uplift disadvantaged South Africans;
ten years of expanding opportunities to build a better life for all.
What should we work to achieve in the Second Decade of our Freedom?
We must intensify our efforts to provide services and opportunities such as water and sanitation, health, electricity, housing and education to those South Africans who still do not have them.
While expanding our economic base, we must ensure that the country’s wealth, business opportunities, skills training and other opportunities are more equitably shared by all our people, irrespective of race, gender, disability and age differences.
We must radically reduce the levels of unemployment and poverty, by combining the resources of the public and private sectors in building an economy that benefits all.
We must improve the security of all South Africans and make life more and more difficult for criminals as well as crooks in private companies and government structures who steal and cheat.
We must build a healthier nation, with programmes to defeat malnutrition, TB, malaria and other diseases and turn the tide against HIV and AIDS.
CELEBRATING FREEDOM, CELEBRATING SOUTH AFRICA
On 27 April 2004, we celebrate a South Africa that belongs to all who live in it.
The change that has happened 10 years ago was as a result of struggles and sacrifices led by the ANC.
It was change that created an opportunity for us to chart our future together.
We can now do more, united in a people’s contract to create work and fight poverty.
Today, South Africa is a democratic country with a government based on the will of all the people.
It has South Africa has a growing economy, managed with skill by the ANC government.
It has a caring government, with housing programmes for the poor;
with social security grants for pensioners, young children, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups;
with programmes to redistribute land;
with quality education open to all and other new opportunities for the youth;
with clinics being built close to where people live; with households being connected to water and electricity;
with more people having access to telecommunications;
and with laws to deal with the cancer of racism.
Today, South Africa is a country with a justice system that serves the people, guided by the Constitution and laws which are intended to prevent abuse.
It is a partner among countries of Africa, working together to bring peace and development to our continent.
Social services to the people have improved.
Government equitably distributes R34-billion in social grants to more than 7-million beneficiaries: the aged, young children in poor households, people with disabilities and others.
Our Constitution and laws guarantee equal rights for all South Africans.
The programme to provide housing, electricity, water and health care has been expanded to more South Africans.
The police, justice and other security agencies have been changed to serve all South Africans, and they are making progress against crime.
South Africa has become a full and active member of the global family of nations.
We have made massive progress.
However much, much more still needs to be done.
At the heart of our challenges are two linked concerns – we must create work and roll back poverty.
These two core objectives are the major focus of our programmes for the Second Decade of Freedom.
To achieve this we need stronger partnership among all South Africans, A people’s contract for a better South Africa.
WHY A PEOPLE’S CONTRACT?
Many of the things that need to be done cannot be carried out by government acting alone.
Government can promote the values of the Constitution and create laws to protect citizens’ rights.
It can call for respect and better treatment of people by civil servants.
But individual citizens, communities, trade unions and other organisations need to help monitor and report violation of rights.
We need as citizens to claim our rights and demand better treatment in government offices.
Government can create an environment for higher rates of investment.
It can create some employment in the public service and public works programmes;
and it can encourage labour intensive methods in parts of the economy.
But long-term employment depends largely on higher rates of private investment;
it depends on strategies for growth in key sectors of the economy;
it depends on joint skills development and learnerships in both the public and private sectors to provide work experience.
The ANC commits itself, working within communities and within government, to play its part in forging this people’s contract for a better South Africa, inspired by its commitment to democratic consultation, mass participation and volunteerism, moral regeneration as well as people-centred and people-driven development.
VISION 2014
We aim, during the second decade of democracy, to work together with the people to: Reduce unemployment by half through new jobs,
skills development,
assistance to small businesses,
opportunities for self-employment and sustainable community livelihoods,
reduce poverty by half through economic development,
comprehensive social security,
land reform and improved household and community assets.
Provide the skills required by the economy,
build capacity and provide resources across society to encourage self-employment with an education system that is geared for productive work, good citizenship and a caring society.
Ensure that all South Africans, including especially the poor and those at risk – children, youth, women, the aged, and people with disabilities – are able fully to exercise their constitutional rights and enjoy the full dignity of freedom.
Compassionate government service to the people;
national, provincial and local public representatives who are accessible;
and citizens who know their rights and insist on fair treatment and efficient service.
Position South Africa strategically as an effective force in global relations, with vibrant and balanced trade and other relations with countries of the South and the North, and in an Africa that is growing, prospering and benefiting all Africans, especially the poor.
THE NEXT FIVE YEARS
In the next five years, the ANC government will pay particular attention to the following programmes:
A Growing Economy
Ensure low interest and low inflation rates, as well as low government debt so that more resources are spent on attacking poverty, building economic infrastructure and creating work opportunities.
Take more and more young people through learnerships so they can gain skills and work experience for them to access jobs;
and intervene to ensure proper functioning of skills development authorities.
Create 1 million job opportunities through the Expanded Public Works Programme.
Spend over R15-billion to facilitate broad-based Black Economic Empowerment, which benefits communities.
Intensify assistance to youth agencies such as Umsobomvu Fund to provide skills training for employment and self-employment, ensure implementation of the National Youth Service and assist unemployed graduates to get work skills.
Ensure involvement of communities in local economic development initiatives to provide work, build community infrastructure and ensure access to local opportunities, and encourage the emergence of co-operatives.
Access to services
Speed up programmes to provide water and sanitation, electricity and telephone services to those who are not yet connected.
Build more subsidised housing, introduce medium density housing closer to places of work, and provide serviced stands to those who have not yet received houses.
Improve health services, and promote awareness on, and provide comprehensive care, management and treatment of HIV and AIDS.
Ensure all children have decent classrooms and improve spending in favour of students from poor households.
Realise Batho Pele principles and improve services in government offices, through electronic means and by working with citizens to monitor those who work in these offices.
Comprehensive Social Security
Ensure that all who are eligible for social grants, including poor children up to 14 years of age, receive these grants, which keep pace with inflation.
Introduce a national health insurance system so that all citizens are covered by both the public and private health system which they can afford.
Speed up the programme to provide free basic water and electricity.
Speed up the extension of free health services to persons with disabilities.
Crime and Corruption
Deploy more than 150,000 police in active duty, with better training, better management and more effect community liaison.
Strengthen the prosecution system and the Scorpions, improve coordination among all law enforcement agencies and set up additional special courts,
Ensure efficient functioning of all anti-corruption structures and systems.
Constitutional rights and governance
Improve interaction between government and the people through accountable public representatives, one-stop government centres, izimbizo and use of electronic government services.
Improve access to government information so that citizens are aware of their rights and take advantage of opportunities provided by democracy, and ensure progressive realisation of rights of persons with disabilities.
Africa and the world
Improve co-operation among countries of the South, in terms of economic relations, socio-political programmes and efforts to ensure peace and equitable global relations.
We will strengthen cooperation among economic partners – government, business, trade unions and community organisations – to implement agreements of the Growth and Development Summit which are aimed at creating work and fighting poverty.
Strengthen South Africa’s Early Warning Mechanism on Africa and dedicate more resources to ensure that we contribute more effectively to the efforts on our continent to prevent and urgently resolve conflict.
Over the past ten years, working together, we have built South Africa into a land of peace and harmony, a land of expanding opportunities.
Working with you in People’s Contract to Create Work and Fight Poverty, we are confident of success.
A BETTER SOUTH AFRICA
Dear Voter, The Democratic Alliance believes in the power and potential of the South African people.
We believe in our nation’s future.
We are proudly South African.
We marvel at the miracle of our country as it renews and heals itself after centuries of strife and struggle and discrimination.
While we acknowledge the past, we cannot live in it.
We are not offering you, the people of South Africa, “a better yesterday”.
Our prospectus is for the future.
The Democratic Alliance, together with the people of South Africa, can create an open, opportunity society in which every South African enjoys freedom and security and prosperity.
No one must be left behind: every man, woman and child must be given a chance to fulfil his potential and to reach her destination.
Our profound belief is that each individual South African is precious.
It is from this core value that all our policies and programmes flow.
We also believe that the individual can be strengthened by bonds of family and a supportive community.
We acknowledge that South Africa is a nation of communities and we celebrate the rich diversity of language and culture and religion which we both respect and wish to strengthen.
This is our vision.
It inspires and motivates the Democratic Alliance.
It is in pursuit of this vision that we offer our election manifesto and our Party in the service of the people of South Africa in the 2004 election.
South Africa has made significant and impressive progress as a nation over the past ten years.
We have established a functioning democracy;
we have a Constitution with an entrenched Bill of Rights that protects individuals and communities;
our economy is underpinned by a responsible fiscal policy that has achieved important reductions in debt and inflation;
certain basic services are now in the hands of many of the people.
Once again, we are proud members of the international family of nations.
We rejoice in these achievements – and we are very proud to have played a full role in helping to achieve them.
But for millions of South Africans, these successes have been overshadowed by the ANC government’s broken contract with the people of South Africa: its failure to deliver the better life it promised in 1994.
Because government has failed to achieve meaningful gross domestic product growth and to break the cycle of unemployment and bring down levels of violent crime, it has, in a very real sense, failed the people.
Since this government has been in office, at least one million jobs have been lost;
a quarter of a million South Africans have been murdered;
and violent crimes like rape and child abuse have increased dramatically and disastrously.
The disposable income of the poorest South Africans has fallen whilst a staggering 21 million South Africans still live in poverty.
Although the ANC has accumulated more and more power unto itself, the people of South Africa have been left behind, outside the winners’ circle – reserved for the ANC party elite – when it comes to jobs and safety and real delivery.
The apocalypse of death from AIDS has raged across our country unchecked for more than a decade.
We now face the spectre of five million of our fellow South Africans diagnosed HIV positive.
It is estimated that nearly 500 000 of them will die of AIDS before this year is out.
South Africa deserves better.
And South African can have better!
That is the core of our campaign and the crux of our message.
That is why the Democratic Alliance has spent two years drafting this manifesto – in discussion with the people of South Africa and some of our country’s top thinkers.
It is a programme for real change that will deliver to the people of our great country, proper security and lasting prosperity;
and bring opportunity and hope to their lives and justice into their midst.
Ten key pledges in our manifesto include: Creating the conditions for one million new, sustainable jobs within five years, by promoting policies and conditions that will lead to at least 6% GDP growth per annum;
by reforming labour market laws;
and by creating new opportunities for skills development
Deploying 150 000 trained and equipped police officers on the streets by 2007 and bolstering and prioritising the fight against crime;
Providing free anti-retroviral drugs to every person living with AIDS.
By making greater use of generic drugs, we  can easily do this within the existing health budget.
Safeguarding our democracy and reviving the rainbow nation.
Preventing further ANC encroachment upon the Constitution,
and guaranteeing South Africa against the perils of a one-party state and the creeping authoritarianism  of the ANC;
restoring the link to the voter.
Introducing a basic income grant of R110 per month for every person living in poverty without access to another welfare grant, to be funded through a mix of savings, a fractional increase in the budget deficit and related measures.
South Africa remains one of the most unequal societies in the world, and the humanitarian, social and economic costs of not providing for the destitute are unacceptable.
Dealing swiftly and decisively with corruption in both the public sector and the private sector.
Ensuring that all South African children emerge from school literate and numerate at internationally benchmarked levels, and fully prepared for the modern economy.
Giving poor people more choice in housing, and creating living communities, not slums.
Building confidence in our economy by rapid privatisation, by freeing the labour market, by removing the crutches holding up inefficient state monopolies and by sending out an unambiguous welcome message to potential investors.
Striving for democracy, restoring respect for human rights to the centre of our international relations – and in particular, addressing the crisis in Zimbabwe with a Road Map to Democracy – and ending South Africa’s association with rogue regimes and autocratic rulers.
The Democratic Alliance has grown to become South Africa’s only serious alternative to the ANC.
We are committed to, and motivated by, the people’s cause.
Our support has grown among voters from all communities, from all races and backgrounds.
Other than the governing party, we are the only political organisation in South Africa to have political reach in every province, capable of forming the central pillar of a democratic alternative.
As a nation, we have faced serious challenges together.
In this election, we face a choice: carrying on with the failed policies and old divisions of the past – or going forward united with a prospectus for change.
It is in this spirit – and with great hope and optimism – that I introduce the Democratic Alliance manifesto for the 2004 general election.
WHY SOUTH AFRICA DESERVES BETTER: THE ANC’S FAILURE TO DELIVER: 1994 - 2004
In every key area, the ANC has failed to deliver on the promises made in its 1994 and 1999 election manifestos.
The ANC goes into this election with a serious credibility problem.
For ten years, it has made promises to the South African people;
and for ten years, it has failed to deliver on them.
Crime
In the ten years since the ANC came to power, crime has increased in all the key areas.
Significantly, violent crime has increased across the board.
At the same time, the South African Police Service has shrunk.
There are fewer police officers on the street and the SAPS is under-resourced.
Courts are overloaded and prosecutions have declined.
Unemployment
The ANC’s failure to make the tough calls which would bolster growth and increase jobs means that there are more unemployed people now than there have ever been in South African history.
Jobcrushing labour legislation, over-regulation of the economy and a tax regime which makes us internationally uncompetitive have driven down growth and driven up unemployment.
The economy
During the past ten years the South African economy has failed to attract significant foreign direct investment; investment has in fact declined.
South Africa ranks below comparable developing countries when it comes to competitiveness and economic freedom, and it remains defined by inequality.
HIV/AIDS
Some seven million people are currently infected with HIV/AIDS.
AIDS remains the highest single cause of death in our country.
It has caused life expectancy to drop dramatically.
After five years of relentless pressure, including a judgement against it by the Constitutional Court, the ANC government finally conceded and agreed to implement an anti-retroviral roll-out plan.
But it has yet to be properly implemented.
Health care
Under the ANC, the South African health system has fallen into decline.
The ANC has treated the concerns of our doctors and nurses with contempt, and it has refused to address their horrifying working conditions.
As a result, it has driven many of our desperately needed medical professionals out of the public sector and out of the country.
Poor planning means that our hospitals have become more and more dilapidated and illequipped, and patients have to queue for longer and longer.
Poverty
A third of South African households, or 21 million people, live in poverty.
A large number of poverty relief programmes have failed, and the ANC has failed to deliver basic services to a large majority of rural households.
Over ten years, billions of welfare rands went unspent by the ANC government.
Education
South African education is characterised by gross shortages in staff and facilities.
Few children reach matric, and of those who do, only 15% pass maths and science.
The number of teachers is declining.
The physical standard of schools is declining.
There has been no significant increase in adult literacy.
The number of learners writing matric has fallen, and although we spend more money on education than any other country in Africa, South African learners have the worst numeric skills on the continent.
Housing
70 % of houses built by the government are of an unacceptable standard.
Cost-cutting has produced hundreds of thousands of uninhabitable houses, which in turn has precipitated rent boycotts.
1. 8 million South Africans still live in shacks.
30% are forced to use paraffin or candles for heat and light, and only 32% of South African homes have piped water.
Zimbabwe
In Zimbabwe, the ANC has ignored human rights abuses,
an illegal election,
the plundering of an economy
and the tyrannical reign of a dictator;
it has supported illegal land invasions and turned a blind eye to the systematic destruction of a once prosperous country.
The ANC’s failure to act has damaged the South African economy and choked off investment to the entire SADC region.
It has also severely dented our country’s standing in the international community and sabotaged the implementation of NEPAD.
Government extravagance
Too often, the ANC government has turned its back on those in real need, and instead devoted precious resources to pampering its own politicians – with a personal jet for the President and lavish expenditure on overseas trips and consultants.
Instead of confronting poverty with a Basic Income Grant, it has spent billions of rands on new weapons.
Further billions are piling up unspent because provincial governments can’t or won’t spend the money allocated towards social development.
Democracy
Our young constitutional order is threatened by the ANC government’s increasing willingness to undermine the principles and practice of democracy.
Supposedly independent organisations, including the SABC and the SAPS, are headed by  ANC loyalists;
the watchdogs which are supposed to hold the Executive to account have been transformed into powerless lapdogs;
and provinces have too often become mere extensions of the will of the national government.
INTRODUCTION
Creating opportunity
The DA’s top priority, along with fighting crime, will be to create opportunities for South Africans to use their talents and better their lives.
We will fire up our economy so that it will generate one million new, sustainable jobs within five years.
We will give all children the chance to pursue their dreams by making schools work better,
and we will empower the marginalised and poor with a broad-based programme of economic empowerment and an accelerated land reform programme.
Fighting crime
Ordinary South Africans deserve a revamped criminal justice system that works for them, not for criminals.
The DA will ensure that the fight against crime is restored to the top of the government’s agenda.
We will put 36 000 new police officers on the street, and properly train and equip them so they can do their jobs.
We will ensure justice for the victims of crime with a tough sentencing policy, a fund for victims of crime and emergency measures to create more courts.
We will keep prisoners where they belong by using boot camps and by breaking up gangs.
We will ensure that the fight against corruption starts at the top, by reopening the investigation into the arms deal.
Improving living conditions
The DA recognises that progress is impossible without dramatic improvements in the living conditions of impoverished South Africans.
Policies aimed at stimulating economic growth and job creation will bring this about in the medium and long term.
But the reality of the present is that millions of South Africans are destitute.
The DA will ensure that no South African is without food, water and other basic requirements of survival by introducing a Basic Income Grant.
At the same time, we will create an affordable, effective and patient-centred health system and take action against HIV/AIDS with credible treatment and prevention programmes.
Building communities
The DA recognises that real change for the better also depends on building stable and healthy communities in which families can grow and thrive.
We will act decisively to make local governments both financially accountable and community-focused.
We will eliminate the housing backlog with creative partnerships between the government and the people.
We will deliver a transport system which is safe, reliable and affordable.
We will preserve our natural resources, for ourselves and for future generations, in a responsible and sustainable way,
and we will protect the cultural identities and languages of our diverse population.
Safeguarding democracy
The 1994 election was a social and political miracle.
A nation which had been torn apart by conflict was brought together peacefully under a democratically elected government.
But unless we fiercely guard our fledgling democracy and our newfound peace, we risk losing everything we have worked so hard to gain.
The DA will be vigilant in ensuring that South Africa lives up to the democratic values of accountability, responsiveness and openness reflected in our Constitution.
CREATING OPPORTUNITY
It’s all about jobs!
Without a single-minded commitment to creating jobs, real change for the better in South Africa will be impossible.
The shackles on growth and job creation must be removed, and all South Africans must be given access to the opportunities they need to prosper.
The DA will make increasing employment a top priority, and it will make faster economic growth non-negotiable, in order to create the conditions for the generation of one million new, real and sustainable jobs over the next five years.
What the DA will do
If South Africa continues on its present track, economic models forecast that our growth rate is unlikely to exceed 1.5% a year.
At this rate of growth, rather than creating jobs, we will lose another one million jobs over the next five years.
On the other hand, if we put in place measures to fire up our economy sufficiently that it expands at a rate of at least 6% a year, we will see the creation of at least one million proper new jobs within five years.
A 6% growth rate is not outside the bounds of possibility.
But it requires the introduction of a comprehensive package of measures to reform our economy into one that is growth-friendly and jobs-friendly.
More investment,
less regulation
and one million jobs.
To create the conditions for one million new jobs, South Africa must build confidence in our economy and stimulate investment.
The DA will do this by: Accelerating privatisation.
This will create more opportunities for investors;
improve the efficiency and profitability of industries, such as telecommunications, which are critical to our economic growth prospects;
and ease fiscal pressures by reducing government debt
Reducing the tax burden to a level which makes us more internationally competitive.
The DA will abolish capital gains tax, estate duties, donations taxes and secondary tax on companies;
it will halve the tax on retirement funds;
and it will eliminate fiscal drag and keep tax on the income of individuals and companies to a minimum.
Removing unnecessary regulatory barriers.
High regulatory costs are associated with more poverty, higher unemployment, longer delays and more corruption.
The DA will scrap those regulations which are not essential for health, safety or the protection of the environment, and it will subject all new laws to a Regulatory Impact Assessment.
Developing a system of incentives, including, for example, reimbursement of certain start-up costs, to encourage foreign businesses to locate in South Africa.
Creating certainty and transparency around black economic empowerment,
and taking the cost of implementing BEE into account in reviewing legislation.
Lobbying for the removal of trade barriers and the extension of free trade agreements.
Introducing a sunset clause into the Employment Equity Act.
Making property ownership more affordable by, for example, abolishing all tax on property transfers to first-time property owners.
Cutting telephone and Internet costs through privatisation and competition.
Removing all exchange controls within five years.
A jobs-friendly environment
Pro-poor policies must go hand-in-hand with pro-jobs policies.
It is crucial that we halt the growing trend towards mechanisation of jobs and the phenomenon of “jobless growth”.
The DA will stimulate job creation by: Radically amending labour laws to create more flexibility and make it easier for employers to take on new workers.
As a result of rigid labour laws, an estimated 40% of South African companies have taken specific measures to cut jobs.
Reviewing minimum wage legislation to make it more appropriate to our economic environment.
Introducing a two-tier labour market system.
The first tier would be the formal economy, where labour law requirements can be implemented with a relatively small impact on jobs.
The second tier would be the entry level, labour-intensive sector, which would be freed from compliance with legislation which discourages low-skilled employment, and where the minimum wage would be set at a level equivalent to the state old-age pension.
Creating Export Processing Zones in labour-intensive industries in which minimum wages will not apply.
Enhancing South Africa’s position as a world-class tourist destination.
Tourism is a fertile source of low-skilled jobs.
Allowing businesses to deduct 150% of the first R2 000 per month of new employees’ salaries for tax purposes.
Letting households deduct domestic workers’ salaries from their taxable income.
Making available Opportunity Vouchers of R3 000 each to about 300 000 matriculants and 200 000 young unemployed people per year, to be used either for further education, for subsidisation of their employment or to start a small business.
Funds will be obtained from various currently under-utilised job-creation funds, including the Umsobumvu Fund.
Recipients will be able to decide for themselves how to use the vouchers, thus maximising the effectiveness of the system and simplifying its administration.
Skills for a booming economy
The South African economy is starved of skilled professionals.
There are about 500 000 vacancies around the country for people with particular skills, and until we rectify this shortage, our economic growth rate will be constrained to below 3%.
The DA will raise skills levels and make our economy more productive by: Abolishing immigration quotas and other unnecessary restrictions on skilled immigrants, and actively encouraging the immigration of skilled people.
Scrapping the existing ineffective SETA system, and instead introducing a programme of incentives to businesses to encourage the development of an extensive, private sector-driven skills training programme.
Safeguarding the academic freedom of universities and technikons.
Only by allowing these institutions to judge for themselves the needs of the market can they properly meet the skills requirements of our economy.
Opening up the tertiary education sector to new entrants by welcoming the presence of quality foreign institutions and supporting low-cost, high-quality tertiary education initiatives.
Ensuring that there are enough good quality technical colleges to meet the country’s needs.
A PARTNERSHIP FOR EMPOWERMENT
There are unacceptable income, opportunity and skills gaps in our society.
The prosperity of all South Africans hinges on closing these gaps.
But all too often, economic empowerment has come to mean racial quotas and crony enrichment, with opportunities available only to a small elite.
Real change for the better will happen only when bold, accelerated steps are taken to improve the lives of all South Africans who are disadvantaged as a consequence of South Africa’s past, not just a privileged few.
The DA will put in place policies and programmes that will ensure equal opportunity for all, and that focus on merit, not race.
Equal opportunity for all
The main focus of empowerment should be on empowering South Africans who at present do not have the skills to take advantage of opportunities to improve the quality of their lives.
People are empowered when they are able to take control of their own lives and destinies.
Deracialising ownership of large, listed companies is desirable, but it is no substitute for broad-based empowerment, which must address the urgent needs of ordinary people at grassroots level.
Providing opportunities to work is the surest way of empowering the marginalised and the poor.
The DA will ensure that the economy grows in such a way as to create as many opportunities as possible for those whose previous disadvantage is denying them opportunities now.
The DA will: Accelerate economic growth so that our economy can create more jobs.
Introduce skills development programmes to boost skills levels.
Make property ownership easier and cheaper, particularly for first-time property owners.
Formal ownership of land is a ticket out of poverty.
Small and medium businesses are critical to empowerment.
The DA will use Business Support Centres to help entrepreneurs set up and run their own businesses, and it will remove unnecessary regulations and improve access to finance by incentivising venture capital.
Lower the barriers to entry into the jobs market by amending burdensome labour legislation.
Build a high-quality education system so that children are prepared for the knowledge economy of the 21st century.
Introduce effective poverty alleviation programmes to ensure that the weak and vulnerable, and those for whom there is simply no place in South Africa’s economy, are able to survive.
An end to quotas
Our challenge is to redress inequalities based on race without defining our future as being race-based, entrenching entitlement, or undermining democracy because of a lack of delivery and unfulfilled promises.
Proactive steps need to be taken to overcome historical disadvantage and right the wrongs of the past.
But these steps must not help those who are no longer in need of help, or exclude from the economy those who are not defined as disadvantaged.
By interpreting affirmative action as discriminatory quotas, pure and simple, the ANC government has failed to meet this challenge.
It has sown seeds of new bitterness in our diverse society;
excluded many skilled and capable people;
and placed severe constraints on economic growth.
It has also compromised the delivery of critical services like housing, water and protection, thereby punishing many of the people its empowerment policies are intended to help.
The DA will strive to eliminate racial imbalances in our economy with measures that focus on individual merit, not race, and which strive for equality of opportunity.
We will not allow empowerment to become a form of window-dressing and elite empowerment which leaves most of the people no better off than before.
The public sector
The DA will strive to eliminate racial imbalances in the public sector through carefully managed programmes.
With regard to appointments, race will not automatically take precedence over talent and skills, but will be considered along with other relevant factors.
The DA will consider the need to promote diversity only when two candidates are otherwise found to be of equal merit.
The DA will balance diversity with excellence.
Programmes to correct imbalances will not be reduced to simplistic head-counting exercises.
With regard to procurement, the DA will give preference to small and medium businesses which are not firmly established, but can show they are able to do the job, irrespective of the race of the owners.
But it will set a ceiling on the value of tenders for which preferential treatment can be given.
The private sector
The private sector and civil society should be encouraged to implement empowerment programmes, and the government should help whenever asked to do so.
In addition, the DA will: Increase the number of stakeholders in the private sector by encouraging imaginative employee share option schemes through the tax regime.
Amend the Employment Equity Act to make it more attractive to employers.
The DA will, for example, exclude small businesses from its provisions and emphasise incentives rather than coercion.
Incorporate sunset clauses into affirmative action laws, so that they automatically expire in 2010.
LIBERATION THROUGH EDUCATION
All children deserve the chance to pursue their dreams and develop their talents.
Education is the key.
But too many South African schools cannot provide pupils with even the basic fundamentals of learning.
The DA will ensure that all South African children emerge from school literate and numerate at internationally benchmarked levels, and that their education has fully prepared them for the modern economy.
The key to achieving this will be to take control of schooling away from the state and give it back to parents and teachers.
WHAT THE DA WILL DO
Harder-working schools
Where schools are already performing well, the DA will give them the freedom to manage themselves.
Schools that are delivering quality education must not be subjected to unnecessary interference, centralisation and stultifying uniformity.
The DA pledges to repeal all laws which have taken control over children’s education away from schools and governing bodies and placed it in the hands of the state.
Where schools are not performing, the DA will: Use targeted intervention programmes to address specific problems.
Establish “Whole School Development Teams” to work directly with the weakest schools.
Give principals of poorly performing schools three years to meet set performance targets or face removal from office.
The DA will introduce a voucher system whereby pupils can take their education vouchers to any registered school of their choice.
The state will monitor standards and withdraw registration if it is not providing education of an acceptable quality.
South Africa needs to mobilise all available resources to provide pupils and teachers with well-constructed and properly equipped schools.
The DA will eliminate the backlog in schools and classrooms within five years through a massive local and international fund-raising and construction effort.
It will also: institute a nation-wide bursary voucher programme to give the brightest 350 000 children from poor families the chance of a better education.
The programme will cost R1.2 billion per year when it has been fully implemented, which is easily budgeted for within the scope of the current education budget.
Guarantee a “core minimum” of resources for each school, including electricity and running water.
Fund schools on the basis of the income levels of the communities they serve, so that schools in poor areas receive more state funding.
Increase the range of options available to poor parents by requiring every school to accept a minimum percentage of non fee-paying pupils.
Teachers
The DA will encourage more people to become teachers, and allow teachers already employed to teach more effectively, by: Immediately putting a stop to centralised teacher appointments and redeployments.
It must be left entirely up to schools to decide whom to employ.
Letting schools use their own funds to retain hard-to-replace teachers.
Introducing programmes to encourage talented people to see teaching as an exciting career, including bursaries for quality candidates.
Tying teacher evaluation to real consequences.
The DA will reward teachers on the basis of performance, not years of service.
Allowing Master Teachers with scarce skills to rove between schools to share their knowledge more widely.
Introducing regulations to support the authority of principals, including codes of conduct and disciplinary procedures.
Curriculum
The DA will reverse the damage caused by the ill-conceived Curriculum 2005 by introducing a syllabus containing specific guidelines and clearly defined outcomes.
It will also: Give all children an email address and Internet access through their schools within five years.
The DA will enforce a 50% reduction on telephone and Internet costs for schools and run a programme to re-use donated outdated computers.
Conduct national exams in key subjects at Grades 3, 6, 9 and 12.
Allow governing bodies to decide on the language of instruction.
Higher education
The South African economy is dependent on a steady supply of well-qualified graduates, which can only be produced by well-functioning tertiary institutions
The DA commits itself to: Safeguarding the academic freedom of universities and technikons.
Providing tax rebates for tertiary education.
Supporting low-cost, high-quality tertiary education initiatives.
orrecting the imbalance between university and technikon student numbers.
Welcoming the presence of quality foreign institutions.
LAND FOR ALL
More effective land reform
The DA will increase the budget for land reform from R1.6 billion to R3 billion, to allow the Land Claims Commission to do its job more effectively.
The small increase in the size of the budget, in comparison to the national budget as a whole (R331.5 billion), means that the increase can easily be accommodated.
Change for the better requires altering South Africa’s skewed patterns of land ownership.
Access to productive land will open up enormous new opportunities to South Africa’s poor.
The DA will ensure that rural land reform is not about simply filling numerical quotas: our land reform programme will be carried out with the very clear objectives of making life better for the beneficiaries of land reform and increasing the prosperity of South Africa as a whole.
The slow and cumbersome processes involved in releasing land will be tackled.
The DA will: Separate beneficiary selection from land acquisition, so that land can be acquired without having to first identify a beneficiary.
Devolve the job of finding and acquiring land to the private sector.
Refer land tenure cases to ordinary courts, to take the pressure off the Land Claims Court.
Review procedures to ensure that land reform does not interfere unreasonably with the use of land while negotiations are taking place.
Meaningful post-settlement support
Successful farming requires access to agricultural extension services and training.
The ANC government has sorely neglected this.
To improve access to support, the DA will: Offer rebates on loans to established farmers taking part in mentorship schemes.
Ensure that agricultural research bodies are properly funded, and are left to manage themselves without political interference.
Permit no land restitution to take place without a prior, negotiated agreement on post-settlement development.
Tenure reform
The DA will conduct a land rights inquiry as part of a review of communal land ownership rights.
On the basis of this inquiry, we will introduce legislation for a fair and just communal land rights system.
To make property ownership easier for all South Africans, the DA will: Abolish all tax on property transfers for first-time property owners.
Develop a simple, low-cost form of registration, and definition of land boundaries by description.
High standard and costly land surveys should not be a precondition for the granting of secure ownership rights if they are going to cause long delays.
The DA will put in place strong measures to prohibit the unlawful invasion of any portion of land for occupation, farming, grazing, mining or prospecting.
FIGHTING CRIME
According to Interpol statistics, South Africa still ranks as one of the most violent countries in the world among those not at war.
Few people feel secure in their homes or on the streets.
Crime goes undetected and criminals go unpunished.
Rising levels of crime are threatening everything South Africans have achieved, and everything our future holds for us.
The DA views crime as a national crisis.
South Africans deserve a criminal justice system that will guarantee their safety, restore their confidence in society and show would-be criminals that crime does not pay.
We will ensure that such a system is put in place.
A police force that means business
Crime is a national crisis, but the SAPS is in disarray.
The DA will win the war on crime with a fundamental overhaul of the SAPS, aimed at transforming it into an efficient and effective force which can be held properly accountable for its performance.
To do its job properly, the SAPS must be properly staffed, trained and equipped.
The DA will: Increase the number of police officers on the beat to 150 000 by recruiting 36 000 new police officers, who will serve in areas most directly affected by crime.
The DA will recruit and train 12 000 entry-level constables each year for three years, at a total cost of R4,5 billion.
A real increase of approximately 4% in the current Safety and Security budget will be necessary.
The bulk of the expenditure will fall in year three, by which time the rationalisation of the SAPS’ civilian component, as well as outsourcing, will have generated considerable savings.
Free police officers for active crime-prevention by outsourcing non-core activities, such as vehicle maintenance and secretarial services
Create a committed and skilled police service by introducing a comprehensive programme of in-service training adhering to a world-class syllabus.
The public has a right to demand certain minimum levels of service.
Members of the SAPS should have to meet quantifiable performance targets, and failure to meet these targets should have consequences.
The DA will: Conclude performance-based contracts with SAPS employees at all levels, from the National Commissioner to Station Commissioners.
Require each Station Commissioner to make a promise on the level of service that his or her station will provide.
His or her job will be forfeited if targets are not met.
Negotiate a set of minimum performance indicators with unions, with which all SAPS members must comply.
It is not acceptable, for example, to have cops who cannot write or drive a car, or who have a criminal record.
A simple exam on basic police principles will identify officers who can no longer be accommodated in the SAPS, and these officers will be encouraged to retire.
Clarify the law on use of force, so that police officers know where they stand.
The law must take account of the situations of high stress and danger in which officers frequently find themselves.
Policing must become smarter by using and collecting crime intelligence information better
The DA will: Create an information-sharing network linking up the Criminal Records Centre, the Integrated Ballistics Identification Centre, the DNA database, the Forensic Science Laboratory and international agencies.
Carry out regular victim surveys to assess real crime levels rather than reported levels, which are often underestimates.
The DA will establish Municipal Police Forces in municipalities it controls.
These will be funded from council funds and will be responsible for protecting people living or working within the municipality’s borders.
The DA has already proved the worth of this policy in Cape Town.
The Cape Town municipal police force has been responsible for a 60% reduction in crime in the central city, and crime statistics are now on a par with most international cities, and better than London and New York.
People in rural areas are in need of special protection.
The DA will create a new specialized rural protection service division in the SAPS, which will be professionally trained and properly equipped to carry out border controls and rural policing.
Tackling corruption
Corruption in all forms must be dealt with swiftly and decisively.
The DA will: Co-ordinate corruption-fighting agencies better by introducing legislation to reduce overlapping mandates.
Drastically increase the capacity of the forensic auditing division in the office of the Auditor-General.
The multi-billion rand arms deal was riddled with corruption and driven by vested interests.
It has saddled South Africa with a debt that we will be paying off for decades – in return for weapons which are often inappropriate and even useless.
The DA will reopen the investigation into arms deal contracts, and take every possible legal step to cancel the remaining components.
Justice for victims and punishment for the violent
South Africans deserve a criminal justice system that works for the victims of crime, not the criminals.
The key to restoring faith in the justice system lies in ensuring the competence of those working in the system; providing them with the resources and skills they need; and ensuring that those who transgress are appropriately punished.
Criminals must know that crime does not pay.
Appropriate prison sentences must be used to keep dangerous and repeat offenders behind bars.
The DA will apply the following principles: No bail for anyone facing a violent crime charge who has previously been convicted of a violent crime.
“Double time” for criminals preying on children and the elderly, and for crimes using guns.
No more automatic parole credits for repeat offenders.
No early release or parole for prisoners who are not drug free.
A mandatory life sentence for the murder of a judicial or police officer.
The DA will provide real protection to victims of crime by: Creating a Fund for Victims of Crime, to be funded by the confiscation of property by the Asset Forfeiture Unit and other fines.
Including a chapter on the rights of victims of crime in the Criminal Procedures Act
This will include the right of victims to have full information on the criminal and the crime;
to have proper protection against intimidation;
and to be heard in court before sentence is passed.
Incorporating a Victim’s Charter into the Constitution.
Establishing a toll-free hotline for crime victims.
Drawing up a register of convicted sex offenders, which will be made available to police stations and to schools, crèches and other places where children are likely to be found.
Justice delayed is justice denied.
The DA will eliminate inordinate delays in the justice system by: Renting empty premises in metropolitan areas to set up temporary courts to process less serious cases.
Encouraging private sector attorneys to provide help on a pro bono basis.
Rewarding prosecutors on the basis of competency, not years of service, to retain accumulated skills without keeping the dead wood.
The DA will also permit regional variations in pay to maintain optimum staffing levels.
Outsourcing a large proportion of the prosecution services to the bar and side bar, to cut costs, reduce corruption and speed up the processing of cases.
Increasing the number of courts by using temporary courts and weekend courts.
Increasing the jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court to R10 000, and allowing Magistrate’s Courts to be used as Small Claims Courts in areas where there are no Small Claims Courts.
Keeping the prison doors closed
Ordinary South Africans will not feel safe until prisoners can be kept where they belong – in prison.
But our prisons system is in a crisis.
Cells are overcrowded; dangerous prisoners escape and there seems to be as much crime in prisons as outside.
The DA will tighten prison security, keep prisoners inside and keep prisons crime-free by:  Using foreign and non-governmental expertise to root out corruption.
Breaking up gangs by isolating gang leaders and dismissing warders involved in gang activities.
Allowing prisoners to be employed by private firms, under prescribed conditions, to help pay for their keep and learn skills.
Enforcing a stricter Code of Conduct than is currently in place.
Ensuring that prison staff are motivated and competent by rewarding outstanding service and using merit as the only criterion for promotion.
The DA will not permit abnormally early releases of convicted prisoners simply to reduce overcrowding.
But overcrowding makes proper management of prisons impossible.
To address the problem, the DA will: Use “boot camps”, patterned after military basic training, for young adults.
Successful completion of the programme will allow offenders to be released to community supervision, while failure will mean re-sentencing.
Use more diversion programmes for first-time minor offenders.
Immediately implement an electronic monitoring system to keep track of prisoners on parole.
The DA will put a stop to mass Presidential pardons, and introduce legislation to ensure that transparency and sensitivity prevail in granting such pardons.
IMPROVING LIVING CONDITIONS
Alleviating poverty
Change for the better must include alleviating the grinding poverty which is the continuing reality for millions of South Africans.
This is not just a matter of humanitarian concern, but also a critical part of ensuring South Africa’s stability and prosperity.
The DA has developed a poverty alleviation package that will provide for the basic needs of the destitute, including the chronically unemployed.
The DA will put in place a comprehensive range of policies that will deliver a “survival package” to everyone in South Africa who cannot support him– or herself.
Access to water
Too many South Africans get sick, and even die, as a result of drinking poor-quality water.
The DA will: Provide six kilolitres of free water per household in urban areas.
Develop alternative means of water delivery, such as river water purification systems, in rural areas.
Access to food
Food is essential for survival and good health.
The DA will: Introduce a Basic Income Grant.
Experience has shown that a direct grant is more cost-effective than food parcels or food stamps.
Make room for subsistence farming – not just commercial farming – in land reform policies and provide these farmers with adequate support.
Encourage vegetable gardens by, for example, subsidising training programmes and start-up packs.
Access to shelter
The state’s intensive low-cost housing delivery effort has met only a small part of the need, because the emphasis has been on provision by the state, and the state lacks the capacity to meet the enormous need.
The DA will involve beneficiaries more directly in housing delivery by giving them the chance to choose site-and-service only, and to build their own dwelling on the serviced site with some assistance from the state.
Selfbuild options have been shown not only to be significantly cheaper and easier to manage, but to provide a much higher level of satisfaction to the beneficiary.
The DA will also provide rates exemptions to poor households, based on property value.
Access to health services
Good health care is out of reach of many poor South Africans.
The DA will: Widen the delivery net by giving NGOs and community organisations more state support.
Set clear targets for improving access to services such as immunisation.
Spread primary health care funds more evenly across the country by, for example, setting norms and standards for provinces.
Use Medical Enterprise Zones, where special incentives apply, to attract health workers back to underserviced areas.
Access to welfare grants
Many people still face enormous problems in getting hold of their grants.
The DA will: Negotiate with banks to develop “no-frills” bank accounts into which grants can be paid easily and cheaply.
In rural areas, where banks are scarce, use community banks as rural agencies for commercial banks.
Access to a basic income
A Basic Income Grant will allow millions of South Africans, who do not qualify for welfare grants, but for whom there is no room in South Africa’s economy, to survive.
It is estimated that between ten million and 12 million people would currently be eligible for the BIG – requiring an amount of approximately R15 billion per year, if and when everyone eligible actually applied for the grant.
The grant would not be available to people who already receive another state grant.
The DA will introduce a BIG of R110 a month, aimed at benefiting all South Africans earning less than R625 a month.
The BIG would be financed by a mix of savings on other programmes (hundreds of millions remain unspent each year), increasing the budget deficit by 0,5%, absorbing some of the overrun on personal tax receipts, and increasing VAT by 1% if required.
This grant will nearly completely eliminate extreme poverty and reduce the number of destitute South Africans by about 10,2 million.
BETTER HEALTHCARE
South Africa’s health care system is failing the sick.
Public hospitals are overwhelmed by a multitude of problems, including deteriorating facilities and equipment, too few beds for the number of patients, and a “brain drain” of doctors and nurses.
The private sector offers world-class care, but at a cost which can be met only by a handful of South Africans.
The DA will create the affordable, effective and patient-centred health system that South Africans deserve by: Putting more control over healthcare into the hands of providers and users.
Devolving decision-making to those best placed to make the decisions.
Bridging the divide between the public and private sectors, so that all South Africans can benefit from the successful elements of each.
Giving the HIV/AIDS pandemic the attention it deserves.
A new framework for healthcare
The DA will sharpen the focus of the health care system to direct resources to where they are needed most urgently
It will: Create a small, central health ministry which will determine national policy, set targets and ensure a fair distribution of resources and skills
Establish Provincial Health Services to contract with various private and public-sector providers to provide health services.
Devolve direct provision of healthcare to whichever public or private body is best placed and best qualified to do the job.
Create a Medical Ombudsman to entrench patients’ rights to good medical care, to information and to make their own decisions.
The DA will set up a simple, practical system to allow community organisations and NGOs to voluntarily incorporate their services into a single national structure.
Hospitals: Public hospitals
The DA will run state hospitals as semi-autonomous units, equivalent to parastatals, which will be funded on the basis of the number of patients they treat.
Hospitals will keep any surpluses they generate through savings, but will be bound by strict quality control stipulations.
They will be obliged to accept all patients and they will not be entitled to charge indigent patients for basic health care.
The DA will rebuild dilapidated hospitals through public-private partnerships.
The DA will get more medical aid members to use public hospitals by: Promoting partnerships between the public and private sectors.
Giving private doctors access to public hospitals for in-patient care.
Negotiating with the medical aid industry to develop packages designed for the public health sector.
Allowing private hospitals to apply for contracts to treat indigent patients.
Private hospitals
Private hospitals are a major national asset.
But to serve South Africans more effectively, they must become more affordable.
The DA will reduce private hospital costs by: Promoting risk-sharing between medical schemes and hospitals.
Medical schemes currently carry all the risk, and medical service providers are incentivised to over-service.
Encouraging a move away from the fee-for-service model, and replacing it with a capitation fee where health care providers charge a monthly fee for primary health care.
Medical aid schemes
Medical aid schemes must become accessible to more people.
The two key priorities are to provide a variety of funding packages to suit different needs, and to ensure that all schemes offer value for money.
The DA will do this by: Stimulating consumer pressure for lower prices.
The government, as the largest employer in the country, must take the lead.
Opening up the market to more participants by permitting profit-taking companies to offer medical aid services.
Supporting measures which prohibit medical aids from “dumping” elderly or sickly members, and requiring them to offer minimum benefits.
Imposing penalties on schemes that allow administration and overhead costs to exceed 10% of contribution income.
Establishing a medical aid fraud task team.
Making Medical Individual Retirement Annuities (MIRAs) tax-deductible, to encourage saving for post-retirement health costs.
Human resources
The health care system depends on the skills and motivation of our doctors and nurses.
The DA will improve working conditions for public health professionals by: Tackling the problem of inadequate remuneration.
Permitting public sector doctors to treat some private patients to compensate for what they could otherwise be earning.
Treating health staff with respect and attending to their legitimate grievances promptly.
Obliging all hospitals to meet minimum criteria, including adequate accommodation for staff, proper security and reasonable workloads.
The DA will adopt a voluntary, user-friendly community service scheme, which will include only hospitals which are willing and able to use student doctors effectively.
It will also use Medical Enterprise Zones (defined by area) and Medical Enterprise Programmes (defined by the market served), where special conditions apply, to attract health workers back to underserviced areas.
Medicines
Reining in the cost of drugs and medical equipment is an urgent priority.
The DA will reduce drug costs by: Conducting a detailed review of incentives and bonuses in the medicine pricing structure, and discouraging those that cannot be justified.
Stimulating competition through generic drug policies.
Exempting medicines on the Essential Drugs list from VAT.
Protecting consumers by insisting on clear labelling and pricing and requiring that patients be given full information about the range of treatment options open to them.
COMBATING HIV/AIDS
South Africa is beginning to feel the full force of the devastation wrought by HIV/AIDS
The DA’s programme to deal with the AIDS emergency will: Prevent new infections by convincing South Africans of the real threat of AIDS.
Make effective treatment available to those who are already infected.
Find solutions to the crisis of HIV/AIDS orphans.
Prevention
The DA will establish a separate Ministry of HIV/AIDS in the Cabinet under the control of someone who is capable of communicating directly, clearly and candidly, and who enjoys the wide respect which such a job requires.
It will also: Integrate the country’s leadership fully into the national prevention programme, including obliging every public representative to refer to AIDS in every public address.
Emphasise community-based, face-to-face interaction over electronic and print communication by, for example, using community radio stations.
Get to grips with the roots of the epidemic by entrenching tolerance and promoting gender equality.
Make drugs to prevent HIV-transmission in babies and sexual assault victims freely available in every public hospital and clinic.
Anti-retroviral treatment
A comprehensive anti-retroviral treatment programme is a key part of South Africa’s onslaught on AIDS.
The DA will provide life-extending drugs to HIV-positive South Africans who need them, without placing a financial burden on taxpayers or compromising other programmes.
It will do this in terms of a five-year plan which will ultimately treat 500 000 AIDS-infected South Africans.
Funding
The cost of the programme, including drugs, monitoring the progression of the virus in patients and salaries for counsellors, will increase from R333m in year one to R1,72 billion in year five.
The cost of anti-retroviral drugs, test kits and monitoring equipment is easily met within the scope of the existing HIV/AIDS budget.
The cost of training and employing AIDS counsellors will be reclaimed from other sources; either by using a small portion of the money saved from cancelling the third tranche of the arms deal, or by accessing funds from one of a multitude of donor funds set up to care for AIDS patients in developing countries.
Implementation
The DA will establish a Central Anti-retroviral Treatment Centre, with a branch in each province, to monitor the implementation of the programme and report on results.
The DA will also: Set up a panel of experts to develop guidelines for treating HIV/AIDS in South Africa and, in particular, to develop treatment guidelines based on observation of patients rather than expensive laboratory tests.
Create a national Internet-based anti-retroviral expert advice service.