The one thing virtually every New Zealander agrees upon is that the country is headed in the wrong direction. The question is "What are we going to do about it?" Here's National Party Leader Jim Bolger's answer:  ENTERPRISE THE PATH TO PROSPERITY.  National enters this election with a message of hope for the people of New Zealand. My Party has a programme of positive action to put our nation firmly back on the path to prosperity and security. My team is well prepared to meet the challenge, and eager to start cleaning up the mess that Labour will leave behind. For six years, New Zealand has waited for the Labour Party to honour its promises. That's long enough. Their time is up. They have failed and they must go. Six years of hard Labour have left a cruel mark on the people of our nation. More than 180000 New Zealanders are now looking for the jobs that Labour promised, but could not deliver. The number of people forced to live on the dole has more than 'trebled under Labour. Nearly 300000 New Zealanders are living on welfare benefits that were designed to provide temporary relief. A quarter of all our children are being raised in homes where the only income is a social welfare payment. The hospitals are in need of critical care. The schools are in turmoil. The police are losing the war against crime. New Zealand society has been bitterly divided by Labour's careless and insensitive approach to race relations. National's programme of positive action addresses each one of these crucial issues. We do more than talk about the problems. We have solutions. National will stop smothering enterprise, and ease the burden of taxes, duties, fees, charges, and red tape that discourages the growth of business and the creation of new jobs. In every workplace, we will give people the power to negotiate their own conditions of employment ... the freedom to choose if they want to join a union ... the right to work that new shift, work that new machine, develop new skills, and make the changes that lift both pay and profits. National will redesign the Welfare system so that it helps people back to work and self-sufficiency as fast as possible - instead of locking them into a lifestyle of dependence on the dole. We will invest more in education and training, so young school-leavers and those who are unemployed will be able to gain the skills that New Zealand needs to support our drive to create a fast growing, modern economy. We will encourage the research and development activity that will enhance the international competitiveness of New Zealand enterprise, and we will help new, businesses through the difficult start-up phase with information services, professional advice, and other forms of assistance. We will get New Zealand working again - so we can have the Decent Society where we are able to give generous help to those in genuine need or distress. We will get New Zealand working again - so we can give our children a healthy, happy headstart in life, and we can guarantee the dignity and security of our senior citizens. In the past, the State has been New Zealand's major developer - of lands, of forests, of energy resources, heavy industry, transport and communications. Labour's six year selling spree has put an end to that forever. Many of the major State enterprises and assets have been sold - the proceeds used to repay debt or squandered in Labour's pre-election spending splurge. No government in future will have the capacity to use those assets and enterprises to generate funds to support State spending and borrowing. The next phase of New Zealand's development has to be driven by the private sector and influenced by the State - not the other way round. The government taking office in 1990 must create conditions in which private enterprise can increase profits, productivity, and wages, while paying the taxes required to fund the essential operations of the State. My team is ready for the task. National is the Party of private enterprise. We know how it works. We know how to make it happen. We will take the lead by running the most creative, hard working and enterprising government New Zealand has ever seen. In the pages that follow you will find the details of key elements in our programme of positive action. We start with a summary of National's Economic Vision. Next, we deal with the key social issues - Employment, Health, Social Welfare, and Superannuation. Then, we address three important issues which relate to the sense of identity and security of every New Zealander - law and order, the environment, and Maori Affairs. Finally, we come to our blueprint for the Enterprise Nation - our policies for Education, Industry, Agriculture, Industrial Relations and Tourism. After six years of stagnation, New Zealand needs a government that will get our country working again ... a government with answers to the problems Labour leaves behind ... a government that understands and supports the aspirations of New Zealanders in all walks of life. National's vision for New Zealand is clear. We are going to build the Decent Society where people enjoy the opportunity of worthwhile work ... the chance to enjoy the rewards of hard work and initiative ... access to a good education, quality healthcare, and a clean environment ... a sense of safety in the street and in your home ... a real measure of dignity and security in old age.  National's New Zealand is a country where people are proud to call themselves New Zealanders, where people have confidence in their future and a government they can trust. After six years of hard labour, it's time to move on. National is ready to go to work. We have the policies and the team that can transform New Zealand into a land where there is real opportunity - to learn, to save, to invest, to grow, to work and prosper.  WE CA DO IT.  Hon J.B. Bolger.  To succeed we have to get growth back into the New Zealand economy. To do this we have developed an "Economic Vision" which provides a single, clear direction to all the policies that follow: A GROWING ECONOMY.  National's challenge is to achieve a growing economy. Our strategy for economic excellence relies on balanced policies and decisive Government leadership.  Immediately after the election we will reform workplace practices - a key to employment.  In our first budget we will repeal the superannuation surcharge to encourage people to save for retirement. Raising educational standards will be a priority for a new National Government. We will invest in tertiary opportunities for all school leavers. National understands the need to return independence to New Zealanders and restore integrity to the welfare state. Early in our first term we will redesign the training and benefit system to give people the skills, the will, the incentive and the opportunity to work. Our economic strategy is not just for three years, but for a decade. Our principal first term economic targets are:  - Economic growth of at least 3% per annum.  - The halving of unemployment levels.  - An inflation rate of 0-2%.  - Interest rates below 10%.  - A balanced budget.  - Reduced government spending and taxation as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product.  To achieve a growing economy National will undertake major reforms in the crucial areas of the economy.  National's economic strategy is guided by the following key principles. We will:  - Maintain an economic strategy that is consistent, comprehensive and credible.  - Introduce policies that return resources poorly managed by the State to the private sector.  - Act as a catalyst to increased competition.  - Encourage companies to raise their performance, to innovate and to upgrade.  - Give New Zealanders greater control over their own lives by removing government-imposed barriers to employment and enterprise.  - Operate a stable monetary' policy alongside a balanced mix of policies to achieve sustainable non-inflationary economic growth.  - Not mortgage our children's future by spending irresponsibly.  We will increase New Zealand's skill levels by developing an active immigration programme. We will introduce a study right for tertiary education and will support research and development. We will re-introduce Voluntary Unionism, giving New Zealanders the chance to negotiate their own working hours and pay. We will promote employment by reducing costs on business. National will redesign and reduce dependency on the welfare system. However, those in need will have our guaranteed support. We will also halt the tax grab, while simplifying tax compliance, and will progressively repeal discriminatory taxes, such as land tax, estate and gift duties and diesel tax. Each of these is dealt with in greater detail later in this document. A National Government will transform New Zealand's no-growth economy by adopting a strategy for economic excellence. The end result will be a high income, high productivity, high employment society. National is committed to an economy where New Zealanders can enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world.  The number one problem we face is unemployment and the social ills it produces. Labour has produced many so-called answers - none of which have worked. Here's how National will tackle the problem.  GETTING NEW ZEALAND WORKING.  Today around 183000 New Zealanders are out of work, a figure higher than the combined populations of Invercargill, Wanganui and New Plymouth.  Worst of all, the number of long-term unemployed, those out of work for six months or more, is approaching 45% of the total. These statistics represent a tragic waste of our human potential and are a major drain on the community in the form of welfare payments. They are the hidden factor behind the rise in violent crime, many marriage break-ups and much other misery in our society.  The challenge is simply to get the maximum number of out-of-work New Zealanders  back into productive, permanent employment as swiftly as possible. The shift from welfare to work will improve not only their own lives, but also the well-being of our entire community. The problem of the jobless can be solved. With the right policies we can make a big difference to the numbers of unemployed. National has those policies and is determined to implement them.  To achieve these things National will:  - Commit itself to an economic strategy which has 3% growth and the halving of unemployment as principal objectives.  - Equip young people for the workforce through a new National Certificate and a new Traineeship programme.  - Radically reform industrial relations legislation so that the workplace offers more employment opportunities to New Zealanders.  - Provide a climate for growth through lower taxes, reduced costs, stable prices and low interest rates.  - Launch "Taskforce Green" - an environment-enhancing programme providing employment for environmentally concerned New Zealanders.  - Introduce a new Initiative Scheme under which unemployed people will be trained for and supported in their own enterprise.  - Assess all those who have been out of work for six months or longer to identify the problems which prevent them obtaining employment.  - Invest up to $200 million of extra funding to provide worthwhile community work and skill building programmes for the long-term unemployed.  We will pursue a wide ranging programme of reform designed to remove the road-blocks which too often come between the individual and employment. Young people will be equipped with the skills they need for the workforce. A programme which gives them the option of working in a new conservation task force will be introduced. Industrial legislation that destroys jobs will be rewritten. An internationally competitive business climate will be promoted. A major effort will be made to prepare the long-term unemployed for the workforce. We'll also apply stricter work tests for the unemployment benefit and ensure that those claiming it do not turn down reasonable job offers. The unemployment benefit will be only for those who are genuinely seeking work. National's blueprint for Getting New Zealand Working lays the groundwork for a blitz on the problem which research shows New Zealanders consider to be the Number One issue facing the Government today. National's Employment Policy carefully avoids applying short-term palliatives to what is a fundamental structural problem. It aims to tackle that structural problem directly, and thus establish the best possible environment for the ongoing creation of private sector jobs. Workplace reform and economic growth will result in new work opportunities... a revamped education and training system will impart skills... and tighter benefit eligibility will provide incentives for workforce participation.  We won't be paying out the unemployment benefit indefinitely with no questions asked. The human casualties of the current system will not be neglected. The long-term unemployed will get a helping hand through programmes individually tailored to prepare them for the workforce.  All New Zealanders are concerned about their health and the health of their families. Here's how National plans to give the country a world-class health service.  A HEALTHIER NEW ZEALAND.  New Zealand once had access to a health service of which they could be proud. This is no longer the case. Today there are 60000 people on hospital waiting lists - 50% more than when Labour came to power. For these people the wait is a cause of suffering, frustration and fear. For society it is a waste of human resources. Families with young children, the elderly and the chronically ill - often those in greatest need - are going without treatment because the cost of treatment is simply too high. The challenge is to provide a far more efficient hospital system, targeting assistance more accurately and providing new health  care options. To make our hospitals more efficient we're going to fund them through a combination of bulk grants and payments based on the service they provide. This will be the first step towards a situation where public hospitals will compete with private hospitals for public, Accident Compensation and private funding. To make health care affordable and accessible, we must strike a realistic balance between the responsibilities of Government and those of the individual. As far as Accident Compensation is concerned, we must move towards a system where the sick and the injured are treated equally. National is going to develop a health system under which every New Zealander will be able to obtain medical care when needed, regardless of where they may live or their income. We will make the reduction of hospital waiting lists a first priority, inviting private hospitals to tender for public health work, granting public hospitals greater autonomy, and introducing a new funding policy which will lead to greater efficiency.  We are also going to redefine the responsibilities of both the state and the individual and move to eliminate the differences in the way invalids are treated, depending upon whether their problems are the result of sickness or injury. National not only wants to achieve "Health by the Year 2000", but to restore health care in New Zealand so that it will once again be the envy of the world.  Under the new National Government:  - Private hospitals will be invited to tender for public health work.  - Hospitals will be granted autonomy in the conduct of their affairs.  - Funding for hospitals will be based in part on the value of units of service produced.  - A new Technology advisory group will be established to set priorities for 'high technology' medicine.  - Area Health Boards will be expected to effectively represent both the tax payer and the consumer.  - Health care and income maintenance entitlements in respect of sickness and accidents will be brought into line with one another.  - State-funded contracts for doctors will be re-examined to ensure primary medical services are not split into different categories for rich and poor.  - The safety net system for prescription charges will be improved so that people in need will have ready access to pharmaceuticals.  - Community health care services will be reviewed to ensure that they meet the needs of the elderly, disabled, mentally ill, disadvantaged and those released from hospital.  Virtually nobody is happy with the present welfare system. It does not serve the needs of those who genuinely require assistance. While its escalating cost is a source of real frustration to all tax payers.  WELFARE THAT WORKS.  National is committed to a welfare system that works. The future of this system is dependent on our becoming a more enterprising nation. A responsible and farsighted government knows social and economic policy cannot be separated; good social policy demands good economic performance. Many New Zealanders have doubts about the way in which the current welfare structure is managed. A National Government will ensure that, wherever possible, welfare payments pave the way to self sufficiency and do not encourage continuing dependency. National's Social Welfare policy will help those in need of short-term support; we will provide temporary income and social services to assist them back to independence. National believes that those New Zealanders who are disadvantaged by disability are entitled to long-term security and certainty from our welfare system. Our challenge is to create an environment that enables men, women and their families to take responsibility for themselves. There can be no open cheque book for welfare spending in New Zealand. Social Welfare-will be administered on the basis of need - not race or gender. We will introduce legislation that states clearly the criteria for benefit entitlement; this will be administered consistently throughout the country.  We will achieve a more effective administration system by introducing modern technology which will improve delivery, while limiting administrative errors and benefit abuse. National will provide certainty for those people who are entitled to long-term support, such as those with disabilities. The unemployed, or families who need help, will get support and skills training to equip them for self-sufficiency and independence. National will ensure that a range of well-planned and carefully-managed social services are available to support New Zealanders with special needs. National is committed to achieving a welfare system that is fair and just. We will contain the expanding cost of welfare. We will encourage people to take responsibility for themselves and their families. Our range of education, employment, economic and industrial relations policies will produce an enterprising nation while reducing the demand for welfare.  National is determined to have a welfare system that works.  National will:  - Provide income support and a wide range of social services to allow those in need to live in dignity.  - Introduce new administration systems in the Department of Social Welfare that will dramatically reduce benefit abuse and administrative error.  - Administer the benefit system to encourage people to look to the workforce before they look to Social Welfare.  - Introduce legislation which clearly defines when people are entitled to benefits.  - Support, encourage and prompt parents to take responsibility for their children.  - Provide support and services those people with disabilities.  - Remove Fringe Benefit tax on charities.  - Not tax genuine charitable organisations.  Everybody agrees that our senior citizens deserve a guaranteed income in retirement. The problem is that unless we get growth back into the economy the state will not be able to provide the protection they deserve.  INCOME IN RETIREMENT.  New Zealanders need a stable, sustainable environment in which to plan for retirement. Those who have retired must be provided with a cast-iron guarantee that their living standards in retirement will be protected; those who are still working must be able to prepare for their retirement in the certain knowledge that they will be able to enjoy the fruits of their savings. The challenge is to bring about a long-term partnership, between taxpayers and savers, which guarantees income in retirement. National believes that government has two critical roles to perform in assisting New Zealanders to plan for retirement: First, Government has a responsibility to create a climate which encourages ongoing, rapid rates of economic growth. Only in a fast growth environment will the economy be able to support the retirement income aspirations of New Zealanders. Second, National believes that the provision of retirement income should be a partnership between the public sector and the private sector. We take the view that New Zealanders are exposed to too much risk if they entrust the provision of their retirement income to just one sector. We believe that New Zealanders have the best prospects of achieving an adequate retirement income by spreading the risk between the private and public sectors.  National will avoid the possibility of New Zealanders facing poverty or increased state dependency on retirement. We will reinstate National Superannuation, and will also offer tax concessions to those who plan for their retirement through private superannuation schemes. National's policies will ensure a comfortable retirement for all New Zealanders through partnership between state provision and private investment.  National views the provision of income in retirement a partnership between taxpayer-funded pensions and private savings. Clear, sustainable arrangements must be put in place quickly. To end we will:  - Return to National Superannuation by removing the superannuitants' surcharge. National Superannuation should be part of the social contract available to every New Zealander- not a welfare benefit.  - Fully inflation-proof National Superannuation by adjusting payments according to the movement in prices recorded by the. Consumers Price Index.  - Increase the level of payment to single superannuitants who are living alone and aged 65 and over.  - Raise the age of entitlement to National Superannuation over a twenty year period from 60 to 65 years of age, providing income-tested support from age 60 for those who have no other means of support.  - Encourage the private provision of retirement income by offering income earners and non-income earners a tax rebate of 24c in the dollar on the first $1000 paid each year into approved retirement savings plans.  Never have so many people been afraid to walk the streets at night. We need tougher penalties, and stricter bail conditions. We also need enough police to ensure that law breakers are caught.  RESTORING LAW AND ORDER.  The challenge is to establish in New Zealand a system of justice that is firm and fair for all New Zealanders. One that does not leave the majority of our population, specifically women and the aged, afraid to be alone at night, even behind locked doors. We must not permit the white collar criminal to skim off huge sums with apparent impunity. We must break the cycle of failure that consigns a disproportionate number of Maori to almost continuous imprisonment. If we are going to have a decent society in New Zealand, then we need to have a far better system for maintaining law and order than we have at the present time. This will not be achieved by good intentions alone. We are going to have to make fundamental changes to the manner in which we administer justice and enforce the law. The first way in which National's approach will vary from that of the present Government is that we will begin by admitting that the problems exist, and that they are serious. Ignoring them has not made them disappear. They will only get worse, unless we tackle the underlying causes. Thus we will launch a major offensive on unemployment, the cause of so much crime and anti-social behaviour. We'll revamp the education system to ensure that it equips all young New Zealanders for a productive life. We'll make sure that every New Zealander has a fair chance to live life on the right side of the law; and we will provide real opportunities for the rehabilitation of young offenders. But, at the same time, we are going to get very tough on those who refuse that chance. We're going to put a lot more police on the streets. People who commit rape, and other violent offences, will face a stern justice system. Bail will be restricted. Prison sentences are going to be stiffer. We're also going to get much tougher on white-collar criminals, particularly those who satisfy their greed at the expense of the elderly and vulnerable. Under National all offenders will be treated equally before the courts, whether the crimes are committed in fortified gang headquarters, or in a glitzy high-rise tower. The new National Government will face up squarely to the many problems of justice, law and order that now plague New Zealand. In tackling criminals we will take a two-pronged approach. First, for those who belong to the `at risk' groups in our society, we will provide a great deal of assistance to help ensure that they never see the inside of a court room or a prison cell. Second, for those who avoid this assistance and insist on involving themselves in criminal activity and other anti-social behaviour, we will see that their efforts are also appropriately dealt with. In the decent society, the decent citizen will not live his or her life in fear.  National's Policy on Law and Order will:  - Introduce specific programmes to deal with the educational, economic, employment, health and alienation problems that lie behind so much crime.  - Increase police numbers by 900 officers in our first three years as Government.  - Provide alternative sentences for young offenders where they will take part in community-based programmes, gaining education, training and self-respect.  - Ensure that the punishment fits the crime by raising maximum sentences and introducing minimum sentences.  - Deal severely with the gang problem with new laws preventing convicted gang members from consorting in public and intimidating law-abiding citizens.  - Deter white-collar and professional crime and protect the rights of small shareholders though effective laws on insider trading and fraudulent accounting.  - Require prisoners to work productively, contributing to the cost of their rehabilitation, and to earn any privileges.  - Introduce far tougher guidelines for bail and parole.  - Prevent the release of psychiatric offenders likely to pose a threat to society.  In recent times "Green" issues have become a major focus of concern, and with good reason. Here's how National plans to protect our environment for the New Zealanders of tomorrow.  KEEPING NEW ZEALAND GREEN.  Over recent years New Zealanders have become increasingly aware of the vital need to protect and enhance our environment and of the need to conserve our precious natural resources. This awareness has come in the wake of the massive pollution found in industrial societies... the destruction of huge areas of the world's remaining rainforests... the plundering of the sea to a point where many once plentiful species are now endangered... and the climatic consequences and health dangers of the depletion of the ozone layer. The days when we thought that all of these problems were somebody else's have gone. We now understand that we have our own pollution problems... that we have destroyed most of our own rainforest... that some of the worst fishing excesses are taking place off our shore ... and that the Greenhouse Effect, with its potential impact on sea levels and food production would have dramatic consequences for New Zealand, as would the continued depletion of the ozone layer. The challenge is to play our part vigorously in the world-wide effort to save and protect our planet. The government has recently sought to be identified with various green causes by seeking international forums to tell others what they should be doing about environmental issues. It has attempted to camouflage its own inaction on issues which can no longer be ignored. While the new National Government will ensure that our voice is heard internationally, we will be even more concerned with taking positive action at home. We accept and will observe the environmental slogan, "Think Global - Act Local". We live in an age where `green issues' rightly occupy an increasingly significant role in political debate. The danger is that the rhetoric may convince the community something is happening, when in fact valuable time is slipping away. The National Party's policies are geared to tackle the environmental problems now. We will introduce legislation to protect our natural resources and we will champion the cause of conservation in the face of exploitation. We will fight for the environment both at home and in international forums. We will also introduce an exciting new idea which we call "Task Force Green".  This scheme will provide the framework in which we will be able to engage the unemployed, especially the young, in the worthwhile work of protecting and enhancing the environment. In doing so it will give them the opportunity to convert their concern for local environmental issues into co-operative action to overcome them. They will also gain valuable new skills.  National will:  - Harness the energies and abilities of environmentally concerned members of the community and unemployed New Zealanders together in Task Force Green to undertake programmes that will enhance our environment.  - Promote a wide-ranging programme of school-based environmental education.  - Promote environmental health with new legislation covering unleaded petrol and ensure that legislation covering CFC leakage and other ozone depleting substances is enforced.  - Encourage industry, consumers and local authorities to develop and support wide-ranging recycling programmes.  - Promote research into the development of alternative, non-chemical pest controls.  - Oppose the mineral exploitation of Antarctica and support the World Park concept.  - Continue its total opposition to the commercial exploitation of all marine mammals.  - Ban driftnet fishing.  - Ensure adequate funding for the Department of Conservation to protect and preserve our rare endangered species.  - Upgrade the National Historic Places Trust legislation to enable it to more effectively protect buildings and sites a historic importance.  - Encourage replanting and retention of multi-purpose forests to preserve the habitat of many endangered species, and arrest land erosion.  Today many New Zealanders are confused about the relationship between Maori and Pakeha. They want to see all people treated fairly and equally. But there is also a growing awareness of past injustices.  FACING THE FUTURE TOGETHER.  As we enter the 1990s the challenge for Maori is to reflect the dignity, integrity and mana of the Maori in the modern world - honouring the taonga, respecting the past, but looking forward with confidence to a full role in the development of the nation. The challenge for other New Zealanders, is to recognise the real benefits to the nation that Maori offer, and to seek solutions to historical problems. In this way, harmony will come and all New Zealanders will stand tall together. National will give priority to the settlement of outstanding grievances where this is justified. We are determined that Maori children achieve greater success in education so that they will be able to face a competitive environment with confidence in themselves and an ability to compete equally. Under National the Maori language and culture, which are unique to this land, will be respected and promoted. National's aim is not to treat the Maori as a race apart, needing special programmes and assistance, but rather, where there is a need for help it will be given because of that need and not on account of race. The future of the Maori people is dependent upon competing successfully against their peer group in the modern, international community. National will design and develop policies and programmes to address key deficiencies and gaps in current structures. The unique heritage that  is the Maori language and culture will be nourished with strength and understanding. The role of Maori in New Zealand will be one of equal participation in the development of our nation. National's Maori Affairs policy is designed to enhance the nature and quality of that participation.  National will:  - Regard the Treaty of Waitangi as the founding document of New Zealand.  - Resolve misunderstandings relating to the Treaty.  - Establish a national consensus of the future role of the Treaty.  - Ensure that the unique language and culture of Maori is sustained.  - Quickly resolve outstanding Maori grievances that are genuine and proven.  - Retain Maori as an official language of New Zealand. Encourage the learning of Maori on a voluntary basis. Upgrade the Ministry of Maori Affairs to better serve Maori needs.  - Recognise that some Maori children have special educational needs which must be met as a matter of urgency.  - Integrate MACCESS with National’s post school education and training structures.  - Assist Te Kohanga Reo movement with their quality controls with more effective monitoring and accountability.  - Respect proven common law rights to specific fisheries.  - Encourage Maori to play a complete part in local and national politics.  One of the major problems vie face is that we simply aren't competitive in international terms. We simply don't have a sufficiently skilled workforce. To build it we must invest.  INVESTING IN ACHIEVEMENT.  There are two major challenges in the field of Education:  1. We must break the cycle of failure which condemns too many of our young people to a life of dependence on the State.  2. We must ensure that every student progresses to some form of tertiary education, creating the pool of competitive skills New Zealand desperately needs. To achieve these objectives we must build a world-class education system which will engender a new spirit of enterprise, while reinforcing the standards of a decent, multi-cultural society. The manner in which we will meet this challenge is based on three simple beliefs:  1. The standard of living all New Zealanders enjoy in the future will be determined, to a significant degree, by our willingness to invest in education today.  2. This investment will only be effective if it is channelled into satisfying the needs of pupils and their schools, rather than those of the bureaucracies that now stifle both.  3. We will only reap the full benefit of this investment if students gain the tertiary skills which will enable them to contribute to a new environment of enterprise. We can no longer tolerate a situation where New Zealand ranks 18th, out of 19 OECD countries, in terms of school-leavers' progress to tertiary education. The challenge is to produce a world-class education system. We intend to do this by investing in education as part of our economic strategy and by placing the needs of pupils before all else. We'll start right at the beginning, in the first three years of a child's life - the years when the young are most receptive to the learning experience. We'll do it with a revolutionary scheme known as "Parents As First Teachers". First piloted in the USA, this programme can give every child a real head start in life. In the early years at school we will refocus learning on the core subjects of English, Mathematics and Science/Technology. These are the skills the individual needs to succeed. They are also the essential skills our nation needs. To get more New Zealanders into tertiary education we will get rid of the $1,250 tertiary education fee. We will establish a new bridge between secondary and tertiary education and guarantee all school leavers access to tertiary education. In doing so we will not only attack the root cause of so many of New Zealand's social problems, but also take the first steps towards creating the pool of skills required to drive the enterprise society.  National's Education Policy will introduce many bold new concepts, with supporting moves, designed to provide us with that world-class system. They are:  - A new parent education and support programme to be known as "Parents as first Teachers', designed to assist them in fulfilling their vital role as the child's first teachers.  - An "Achievement Initiative" policy that will clearly focus early school education on the core subjects: English, Mathematics and Science /Technology.  - A new vocationally-orientated option for Sixth and Seventh at students to be known as National Certificate, which may be studied in part at school, polytechnics and/or approved workplaces.  - A Study Right scheme which will guarantee all school-leavers access to tertiary education and training, according to their needs.  - An examination system that gauges true achievement and rewards the efforts of both students and teachers.  - The elimination of the quota system that currently restricts access to teacher training.  - The raising of the school leaving age to 16 as soon as the relevant training programmes are in place.  - A programme to clear up the problems created by "Tomorrow’s Schools" and its attendant social agenda.  To get New Zealand moving we need a new spirit of enterprise. This must flow through our entire life as a nation. And nowhere is it going to be more important than in industry.  THE FUTURE OF INDUSTRY.  There is just one way for New Zealand to regain its standard of living and join the growth economies of the world - by once again becoming competitive in the international marketplace. To an important degree, this competitiveness depends upon the skills, innovation and energy of our New Zealand-based manufacturing industries. National's aim is to rebuild our manufacturing base to develop a diversified, growing economy. We are committed to a fast growing, internationally-competitive economy. We must become an Enterprise Nation, where business will prosper, create well-paid jobs, earn overseas funds and contribute, through the payment of taxes, to the maintenance of a healthy society. To ensure that this happens we are committed to building a skilled pool of workers through the education system ... removing the tax burdens that discourage investment ... and also removing the restrictive industrial legislation which has much the same effect. All of these moves will benefit manufacturing. We recognise the differences between small and large businesses; expecting small businesses to comply with the same regulations as large corporations, as the present government does, is to impose a crippling burden on them. National will eliminate punitive tax requirements and see that people who run small businesses work for themselves, not the government. Under National, enterprise will not only be more free - it will be encouraged to be more enterprising. If New Zealand is to have a better future, every section of the community is going to have to work with new vigour. National's plans for the Enterprise Nation recognise the vital importance of manufacturing and industry. We will spare no effort to provide the environment required for growth. National's manufacturing policies will ensure manufacturing growth which will contribute to a diversified and growing economy, offering more jobs and greater prosperity for New Zealanders.  National's policy on Trade and industry will:  - Produce a more competitive market by tackling restrictive practices and anti-competitive behaviour.  - Pursue balanced monetary, fiscal and labour market policies to achieve non-inflationary growth with low interest rates.  - Secure an expanding and modern business sector by improving the provision of information to business about new methods and opportunities, and providing the appropriate advice and guidance.  - Increase confidence in the working of the capital markets by achieving effective, fair and well enforced law to protect investors and borrowers.  - Seek to develop overseas markets through the expansion of CER type agreements with other countries.  - Support multilateral initiatives, including the current Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations, to reduce barriers to international trade.  - Abolish the taxes and other aspects of the present system that stifle small businesses.  - Create an economic environment that leads to investment in small business.  - Give New Zealanders the chance to negotiate their own pay and conditions, including redundancy.  - Introduce a Business Information Network, Business Advice Grants and a Business Initiative Scheme.  - Revise and update Government purchasing policies.  In the heady days before the crash Labour acted as though our primary industries no longer mattered. Now we know they are still vital. But they are now badly battered.  GROWTH FROM THE LAND.  The challenge for all New Zealanders is to use and sustain our unique primary resource base to improve our standard of living and safeguard our most crucial assets: our land and people, horticulture, crops and grasslands, plants and livestock. Agriculture, with its wide diversity of markets and products, has the capacity to close the gap in our balance of payments and repay overseas debt. In addition to direct exports, agriculture provides the resources for half of our manufactured goods and accounts for sixty percent of our export income. A ten percent increase in the export value of agricultural and horticultural products could earn the country approximately another $850 million per year. The massive pine forest plantings undertaken by previous National Governments will lead to a dramatic increase in wood production from the mid-1990s. By the year 2020, our forest industries will be producing nearly three times current timber volumes. But this nowhere near exhausts the potential of the industry. National believes that the future of New Zealand's agriculture and forestry industries is not only dependent on expanding the volume of exports, but also on producing a wide range of top quality, high value products. With the world trend to non-polluted, clean, "green" products, New Zealand agriculture has the opportunity to capture an increasing share of the inter national food and fibre market. However, unless rapid action is taken to restore profitability and investment in agriculture, New Zealand's present standard of living cannot be sustained.  To stay in business, all sectors must perform even more efficiently than before, with a commitment to excellence. National's integrated policies in agriculture and forestry will rebuild the rural economy by restoring confidence, profitability and investment in the land. In doing so, we will promote the best possible, sustainable use of our natural resources for the benefit of all New Zealanders.  National will:  - Review agricultural taxes to remove disincentives and anomalies.  - Reform the Livestock Valuation Scheme make it simple and fair.  - Make normal farm maintenance costs tax deductible. Specifically subdivision fencing, erosion and flood control and shelter bell costs will be 100% tax deductible in the year of expenditure.  - Give the highest priority to improving, international trading opportunities.  - Reform tariffs and remove discriminatory taxes such diesel tax and death and gift duties.  - Provide fair access for rural New Zealanders to education, health services, telecommunication, mail services, police and roads.  - Ensure effective measures animal diseases.  - Implement a new tax regime for forest establishment. Planting, pruning and thinning costs will be 100% tax deductible in the year of expenditure.  - Create an internationally-competitive environment to encourage investment in processing increased wood flows.  - Oversee the careful management and utilisation of Crown forests to ensure that they are a renewable resource contributing to the greatest extent possible to the economic development of New Zealand.  - Allow timber production from indigenous forests only when in accordance with approved plans providing for sustainable: yield through recognised management schemes.  - Introduce research and development policies to export industries ahead of the competition.  We have already seen that the Number One problem is unemployment. What few people understand is that our current industrial laws are actually destroying jobs. National will change all that.  NEW CHOICES IN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS.  The challenge New Zealand faces in industrial relations is to create an environment that delivers high productivity, high income and high employment; three areas in which the present Government's economic restructuring has failed miserably. The economy cannot be brought back to health by reforming every market except the labour market. A consistent approach is essential. Yet we have seen the present Labour Government deliberately dismantle National's earlier reforms, thus sabotaging its own economic strategy. To provide dramatically improved productivity, income and employment, we must bring a far more flexible structure into industrial relations. The Labour Relations Act must not be permitted to stifle initiatives. We must throw open the windows and let in some fresh air. The common factor among the powerhouse economies of the world is flexibility in the labour market. International studies show that, on average, nations with such policies achieve growth rates that are significantly above those which are without them. National is determined to see New Zealand join those progressive nations. Thus we intend to liberalise the current structure, remove existing constraints, and bring true democracy to the workplace with a wide range of choices. Employers and employees will be free to decide for themselves how they wish to negotiate wages, conditions  of employment and resolve disputes. The National Party's policy on Industrial Relations will bring new flexibility to the New Zealand workplace. By introducing voluntary unionism and changing bargaining procedures it will increase productivity, enhance employment and encourage the sharing of benefit that flow from increased output. There will be substantial benefit to both employer and employee as a result of these reforms. We will also create an environment which rewards co-operation between employer and employee for their mutual benefit. Such improvements will lead to a far rate of growth and with it a higher standard of living for all New Zealanders.  National will:  - Reintroduce voluntary unionism.  - Encourage more flexible bargaining arrangements between employers and employees.  - Allow employees to choose their own bargaining agents.  - Give industrial agreements the status of binding contracts.  - Give workers greater flexibility to decide who will represent them in dispute procedures.  - Introduce a minimum code of wages and conditions.