Written By: - Date published: 12:14 pm, November 11th, 2008 - 86 comments
Categories: national/act government -
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A few months ago I asked National supporters who comment here what they wanted to see in terms of hard policy from National. What I got was a lot of Labour bashing but not much else.
Now National is in government there’s a lot of sentiment about how great it is that Labour is gone but nobody has said in any detail what they expect from the National/ACT government.
Interestingly neither have any of the right-wing blogs.
Prior to the election I had been thinking about what I would post on the first day of a Labour/Green victory if it eventuated and I decided it would be a list of what I would like to see done including:
Raising benefit entitlements
Universal student allowances
Strengthening workers’ rights with greater MECA protections and a commitment to a $15 minimum wage
More rehabilitation for criminals and a move away from the punitive model that’s filling up our prisons
Changing the Reserve Bank Act to focus on employment and economic growth
More state housing
Entrenchment of the Maori seats
Greater participatory democracy (including use of citizen juries)
Strengthening the EFA to remove anonymous donations
There were many more but, of course, this is now a hypothetical argument. My point is that we on the Left knew what we wanted and we were ready to push for it. Supporters of the Right don’t seem to know what they want. National talked a lot about ambition and vision during their campaign but never actually declared what that entailed.
Once again I invite those of you who voted National or ACT to explain what change you want.
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Scoopit!
killing in the name of
I dont give a stuff about your car or any other car for that matter
Ijust want the streets to be quiet and any noisy little shits get their bums kicked
HARD!
if keys is the PM then let him show his stuff
fix this up immediately
Lets see
15% Income Tax – no deductions
15% GST
15% Business Tax – no deductions
ALL drugs available over the same counter as the Alcohol and tobacco drugs, with similar tax regimes
Welfare and a health system that provide life, not life-style, continuation
A carbon tax that goes both ways (debit and credit)
Education standards for every year that have to be PASSED to progress to the next year
12 years of general education to achieve ‘school graduation’
4 year degrees, with the first year common to all students as a means to weed out the wasters and ensure the true students are following courses that are appropriate for them
Free university tuition for a predefined number of places for all courses based on national need; fees at the same rate as for foreign students to be paid by students who do not qualify set
A zero tolerance approach to policing
Three Grievous Personal Harm convictions, or four Serious Crime convictions and you’re in for 35 years before any consideration of parole
Personal transport fuel tax of $2.00 per litre with no tax-offset as a business expense.
Police out of cars and back in the neighborhoods, bikes if transport is needed
$1 billion a year venture and $250 million a year angel capital funds for start-ups that create products (including software) , with a team of businessmen and women making the allocations independently of government employees.
Get that lot done and we can then start the move towards the top quartile of the world.
“Lampie said:
“”Making the Education system more transparent.’
Ha, what a joke, elaborate please’
It might involve replacing the walls of classrooms with glass?”
Haha I like it, be padded walls I feel after three years lol
I know I don’t tolerate policing
“That’s the trouble with not having any actual policy on the table for the election campaign – the mouth-breathing nutbars in your support base will simply Make Shit Upâ„¢, so it should be highly entertaining watching them go feral when it’s apparent John Key has no intention of following through with the policy assumptions from loopy-land.”
like your point, I don’t feel there will be too much change and those who jumped up and down about the ETS might be disappointed
Education, primary kiddies thinking, hmmmm thought they did already and why test them every five minutes??? test is a recall memory ability, my wife is a high school teacher and she encourages her students to think.
Here’s an indication of the flip flops in policy delivery from National already. Apparently Pansy Wong has been reported as informing school Principals that the much vaunted National Standards Testing and reporting in “plain English” to parents has been consigned to the scrap heap of impractical ideas best used as a beat up in election campaigns. Apparently, Pansy has informed people, the National Party have discovered that the asTTle program developed by John Hattie and used in many NZ schools already exists and does the job perfectly adequately.
So the stripping away of policies begins to reveal the true face of National & Pansy Wong has begun to reveal the leaks in National’s shonky ship of state.
That Irascible, had my wife laughing, very simple solution. Parents, just ask.
There, done, simple.
I agree Lampie. The problem for the Nats & Pansy is that they kept trotting out the mantra – National Standards Testing would improve the out comes from the education system and reduce “failure” – now they have begun tossing the policy out as being impractical and (more than likely ) buying trouble with all the sectors involved with education – students, parents, teachers, administrators, community…
Your solution has been around for ever. It’s a pity a few more parents didn’t do as your wife suggests.
Ijust want the streets to be quiet
Why don’t you just take the hearing aid out when you go to bed after Coro, you old coot?
Yeah, that’s most of the problem with education today Irascible, the parents.
I think I’ll have a punt. Here’s what I want from a National Government:
A big to boost business confidence. Businesses keep moaning about Labour, so here’s hoping they quit bitching. Maybe everyone will get a bit happier and spend a bit more. Almost a placebo effect but hey, it would be good. Especially if National can make the right noises to make it happen.
Some intelligent work around PPPs. They seem to be a fairly universal failure, perhaps these guys can make them work if they choose the right areas. A PPP that delivers a good end product, with a proper level of maintenance so we don’t get left with a dog. In truth I don’t see how this can hapen, our tendering process is good, but given the economy, there might not be the money to build stuff – bringing it forward with these might mean growth, a reduced effect of recession. Could outweigh the costs of a PPP in profits paid privately. Marginal though – need some very good work so save us from the disasters seen overseas.
Efficiency in the public sector (hear me out): Labour’s focus was on growth and rebuilding, and it sure was needed. After all this, we’re back to the 90′s. Sometimes there can be inefficiencies after long periods of growth. Some reorganisation can be worthwhile, as well as checking for duplications, and getting rid of areas where that growth wasn’t very effective. Given they said they’re going to do this, here’s hoping they do it intelligently, unstead of using a slash-and-brun method. Still, you scope’s got to be limited when this ‘huge growth in bureaucracy’ has merely got us back to levels we have a couple of decades ago.
After all this, vacating the premises by 2011 would be nice, they’ll be done by then.
Observer: So I guess you voted Libertarianz too, then?
L
Observer – I’m guessing Lew is right because none of that is National party policy. Again the question is for those who actually voted for National/Act, what change did you vote for?
“Education standards for every year that have to be PASSED to progress to the next year”
Your not thinking that every student is suited to an academic path do you?
To be honest most of the essay length responses have been from ACT supporters spouting out Flat tax policy wishes…. you strange lot. The Nats are mysteriously quiet on the western front…
I’ll highlight what I’ve heard of the change they want on behalf of all those gagged righties:
Repeal of S59 – Step back in time, reduce the culture change that I believe it tries to achieve.
Repeal the ETS – The nats have always said they want one anyway.
Tough on Crime – Pretty sure under Labour prisoner numbers have skyrocketed, You can view that as a job well done (Nats should considering their only solution to crime is ‘lockin em up’). On a personal note I think locking up people is a poor indictment on our society.
Tax Cuts – Thatll reduce your hospital waiting lists, for sure. It’ll certainly cut government spending …. in education, health and infrastructure… oh wait, the roads will be covered by PPPs, they will get paid for by Tolls, Great.
Cut Bureaucracy and spending – We will do that by creating a Ministry of Infrastructure (Minister to be named this week isnt it?) and there was some other fantastic venture that John Boy said, cant recall off the top of my head.. someone will tell me.
I have never heard any other reasons from Nat supporters and thats gods honest truth… I tell a fib… I naturally excluded the misogynistic, chauvinistic and at times racist (No not all of you are, I know that) views of what Change they wanted.
Yep Chris and they’re going to cut Bureaucracy without firing anyone. They’re a bunch of cards that lot.