David Cunliffe’s speech to the Labour Party congress
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3:41 pm, July 6th, 2014 - 109 comments
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The text of David Cunliffe’s speech to the 2014 Labour Party congress.
Tena tatou e te whanau o te Roopu Reipa i tenei ra.
Tenei te mihi kia koutou katoa.
It’s 2014. It’s election year. And we are going to win.
President Moira Coatsworth, ALP Leader Bill Shorten, Deputy Leader David Parker and colleagues, delegates, invited guests, ladies and gentlemen, New Zealanders.
I’m standing in front of you today and I’m asking New Zealanders to make us the next government of New Zealand because we believe in the Kiwi dream.
I believe that New Zealand can be the fairest, most decent society in the world.
I believe that New Zealand can be a country where everyone who wants to work can find a job with decent pay and fair conditions.
I believe all our families can live in homes that are warm, safe, and affordable.
I believe New Zealand can be a country where child poverty is a story about the bad old days, not a daily scourge on too many of our families.
I’m a great believer in hard work, and making the most of the opportunities available to us.
These are the values the Labour Party was founded on.
These are the values that ordinary Kiwis like me grew up with.
They are the values I want to pass on to my own children. They speak to the opportunities that all our children should have.
Over the past months, I have been around the country, talking with people about their lives – their concerns, their successes, and their hopes for the future.
Two weeks ago I was in Northland. I was talking to an exporter who was in danger of losing his business.
His job, and the jobs of all the people who work with him, are under threat because the high dollar is making it too difficult for Kiwi businesses to compete, no matter how hard they work.
We are seeing New Zealanders lose their jobs and factories shut their gates all the time, with a devastating impact on families and communities.
The point is there are still too many New Zealanders who are doing everything right – they work hard and they make sacrifices – but they just can’t seem to get ahead.
The odds are stacked against them.
Challenging the Status Quo
On September 20th we will change that. Because New Zealanders deserve more. They deserve better.
The current government has no plan for a better future for hard working New Zealanders.
This year alone, they’ve said no to raising the minimum wage to $15. No to fair pay. Instead they tried to steal your smoko breaks and your lunch breaks, the protections you deserve for the fair day’s work you put in every single day.
An economy can’t succeed for all if it is run just to benefit the wealthy few.
As Kiwis know, an economy doesn’t grow from the top-down – it grows from the hard work of the middle and from the grassroots up.
We all do better when we put people first. When there is a fair go for all.
That’s the New Zealand way.
That’s what I believe in.
That’s what Labour believes in.
That’s what we’re all fighting for.
And that’s why on September 20 we will win.
This election campaign should not be about dirty tricks or dodgy deals; smear campaigns or a personality cult.
Let me be clear what it is about.
It is about you. It’s about your families. It’s about your friends and your communities.
These are the kinds of things your Labour team fight for every day in Parliament.
It’s what all politicians should be working together for, because these are the things that matter.
Election 2014 is about challenging politics as usual.
It’s about restoring New Zealand to being the fairest, most decent society in the world.
Today too many of our kids are living in poverty.
Too few of our families have decent housing.
And too many of our people can’t find secure work.
Let’s look at the facts:
- 285,000 children in poverty,
- 42,000 more Kiwis out of a job since National took office,
- 46% of Kiwis haven’t had a pay rise in a year – and I’ve met some who haven’t had a pay rise since the last time Labour was in government.
- Median incomes are going backwards after inflation in 13 out of 16 regions since 2008, because regional New Zealand is ignored.
- One in three women will suffer domestic violence, and 20,000 mums and kids needed refuge shelters last year. It’s disgraceful and it has to stop.
New Zealand was founded on the idea that everyone – no matter where they came from, poor or rich, city or country, older or younger, new New Zealander or Kiwi of many generations – that each and every one of us would have the opportunities to get ahead and make the most of our lives.
But today our society is more unequal than it has ever been.
The top 10% own more than the other 90%.
Between 1984 and 2011 the incomes of the top 1% rose nearly 10 times as fast as the bottom 10%.
I have said it before and I say it again: trickle-down economics – neoliberalism – does not work.
It has failed around the world. It has failed New Zealanders. And the government I lead will close that chapter for good.
Investing in our future
What we must do is build a better, fairer and more prosperous future.
One where every New Zealander matters, not just the privileged few.
The Sixth Labour Government will be true to New Zealand’s core values.
We will build a fair and just society.
We will transform our economy to create better jobs with higher wages.
We will protect and preserve our beautiful environment.
We will nurture a diverse, creative, exciting culture.
We will not tolerate tax dodgers or greedy monopolies or racism or unsafe streets.
And it is possible to do all of this and to balance the books… David Parker.
A positive vision, smart policies, driven by decent values will mean the public – including business – will have confidence in our shared success.
Investing in work
Only Labour has a powerful strategic plan to forge a path for New Zealand’s future econmy.
We will build new partnerships with our regions, businesses and communities to deliver.
You know the last Labour Government paid down net debt to zero, increased savings, and rejected the short-sighted clamour for unaffordable tax cuts.
We saved for a rainy day. It came, and we were ready.
And we ran nine fiscal surpluses out of nine.
National won’t tell you that all that is propping up the so-called recovery is Canterbury rebuild insurance cheques and dairy exports from the deal Labour cut with China.
Exports that have been falling in price for nearly six months now.
That’s their plan right there – milk and disaster.
But just ask most New Zealanders: Where is your recovery?
Are you really feeling better off?
Or are rising housing costs, power bills and school donations making it harder for your family to get ahead?
Labour will make sure our economy works for all New Zealanders.
Jobs
We know that secure, skilled, well-paid jobs are at the core of a decent society. Without jobs our progressive vision remains just that – a vision.
Labour has a long term plan to upgrade this economy from low value commodities to focus on high value goods and services.
Labour will create an economy where the best way to make money is to innovate and invest for productive growth, rather than speculating on houses and locking young families out of owning a home.
We will boost investment through universal Kiwisaver, pro-growth tax reform, and channelling foreign investment into productive business where it can do the most good.
We will lift Innovation through R&D tax credits, centres of research excellence, and boosting small business growth.
We will drive Industry development in all of our regions, and support businesses’ journey from volume to value.
We will support this Economic Upgrade with modern monetary policy that uses saving rates as well as interest rates to stabilise prices with lower mortgages.
And we’ll do it on firm fiscal foundations that deliver budget surpluses – and pay off National’s record debt by the end of our second term.
We will make taxation fair by cracking down on avoidance, and asking trusts and those earning over $150,000 to pay an extra 3%.
And will crack down on multinationals and others that have been avoiding tax.
If we want a fair society we need to make sure that everyone pays their fair share.
The result of these transformational changes will be better jobs and higher wages.
In our first 100 days we’ll raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, and we will lift it again in April 2015.
And it’s why we’ll also be changing employment law to make sure that the Kiwi workers who generate the wealth get their fair share of it.
The next Labour Government won’t just work for New Zealanders. We’ll work with them, because we’re not going to change our nation for the better unless we do it together.
Investing in housing
Our homes are the foundation of our lives: and not just the buildings, but the earth they stand on, and the communities they’re part of.
Housing is a huge issue for New Zealand. Indeed, for many young Kiwis the idea of owning a home has become an impossible dream.
That’s not good enough.
Home ownership is a cornerstone of strong communities, strong families, and for making sure all our kids can get ahead.
But it has fallen to its lowest level in over 50 years. And as that’s happened we’ve seen communities fragment, we’ve seen kids’ education suffer.
How are kids supposed to learn when they shift from school to school or live in cold, damp rentals?
Since 2008, more than 40,000 children have been hospitalised due to poverty related illnesses. That is not acceptable.
That’s why we’ll build 100,000 affordable homes with our KiwiBuild policy.
Our Capital Gains Tax will reduce speculation on homes.
We won’t let offshore speculators drive up prices.
And for those that still rent, we’ll introduce the healthy homes guarantee so that rental properties must be warm and dry.
We want Kiwi families to have a healthy and secure home to grow up in.
Investing in learning
Nelson Mandela wasn’t speaking lightly when he described education as “the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
I know the power of education in my own life. I am only here because of the opportunities created by great state schools and high quality teaching.
That’s not just my story. It’s the story of my colleagues and many other New Zealanders who have succeeded because of the opportunities given to them by our education system.
I passionately believe that the same opportunities must be available now for every Kiwi kid.
I commit to you today that the Labour Government I lead will restore strong, first class state education to maximise the opportunities for every Kiwi kid.
Labour will reinvigorate education by:
Throwing out national standards – that are neither national nor standardised – and we’ll replace them with flexible, reliable, appropriate information for parents.
We will end the nonsense of charter schools and ensure that all schools using public money teach the curriculum with fully qualified teachers.
We will resist the drive for league tables and performance pay that is set to rip the heart out of the state education system.
Instead of these internationally discredited ideas, Labour will ensure schools are able to equip our kids for the future.
That every child, no matter what their background, can benefit from a 21st century education.
That’s why part of our plan to balance the budget includes putting aside a billion dollars a year, every year, to ensure that the real value of education and health services is maintained.
That’s why Labour will make it a strategic priority to upgrade our schools over the next 15 years so that they are all modern, healthy and warm places to learn.
And that’s why yesterday I announced that we will ensure every child from Year 5 upwards has access to a portable digital device in the form of a laptop, tablet, or similar.
And Labour will make sure that these tools will be affordable for all.
We will end the digital divide in our schools.
Alongside this, we will provide professional training for all teachers so that they can do the very best for our kids.
Labour will not only fix the digital divide, we will fix the other major divide in schools, the one between haves and have nots.
Too many of our schools are having to put pressure on parents for donations that they cannot afford to make.
No public school should have to ask parents for help to keep the lights on and no child should be stigmatised because their parents can’t afford to pay. It’s wrong and were going to stop it.
So this week we’ve announced we will offer $100 per student per year to schools that drop donation demands to parents.
And today, I’m making a further firm to commitment to our children’s education.
The current government’s policy of taking good teachers out of their schools and creating a competitive, part-time bonus-driven teaching environment will not help New Zealand’s children.
We are going to put that money to better use.
Today, I am proud to announce that Labour will reduce class sizes by employing 2,000 more teachers. This will help all our kids get a world-class education.
This policy will reduce secondary school class sizes from 26 students or more per class to just 23. Year 4-8 classes will shrink from 29 students down to 26.
It is a far better use of our education resource to increase the number of educators we have and make sure they receive the best training possible, that more money for performance pay and part-time principals.
That’s backed up by a wealth of academic evidence and it’s something parents know instinctively. One of the best things we can give our kids is more one to one time with their teachers.
A Labour government will mean smaller classes, up to date equipment, modern schools, and a better education for all our children.
Our promise to all New Zealanders
In a couple of years, our Labour Party reaches its centenary.
It was formed with a single, united purpose: To fight for and realise the dreams and aspirations of New Zealanders. Labour was formed by ordinary Kiwis and it remains the party dedicated to the values that all New Zealanders share.
The theme of this Congress is that people matter most. That’s the reason we are all here today.
As I look out across this auditorium I am immensely heartened by the strength, the dedication, the common purpose and the raw talent of the whole Labour movement.
We’ve got the best ground game the Labour Party has ever had. Our voter outreach has massively increased over 2011, and our party is the biggest it’s been in decades.
We often say that National campaigns with money and Labour campaigns with people – well this year our campaigning power has doubled.
And I back our thousands of people against their millions of dollars any time.
We reckon we can increase our result by two to three percent just through the work of ordinary Labour members on the ground.
In a tight campaign, that’s the difference between being able to make the changes that our country needs or watching the New Zealand we love slip away.
It will be a tight campaign. That’s something both sides agree on. In the last two elections National has shed six percent in the three months running into the election.
National are nervous. And they should be.
They are tired, they lack vision and ideas.
Labour is fresh and growing in membership.
We have strong and focused affiliates.
We have support from decent, progressively-minded New Zealanders across the country, and of course, our staunch and immensely capable caucus and candidates.
We are ready to win. We are ready to govern.
I am so privileged to lead this team of brilliant, innovative, passionate New Zealanders.
And even though our opponents will fight to divide and distract us with ads and attacks from now till September, I truly believe that we have the power to win and to change this country for the better.
We’re going to run a positive campaign because people matter most. We will campaign on decent work and better wages. On a strong, smart economy.
We will campaign on warm, dry homes for all.
And a country we can once again be proud to live in.
We will campaign for our families, lifted today by progressive education policies that will restore our world-class public education system.
Let’s make this election about what matters. This election is about people. This election is about New Zealanders’ hopes and dreams, and their right to live in a society where they are valued and respected. This election is about our children and your future.
This is what we are fighting for in these next 76 days.
For New Zealand to be the fairest, most decent society in the world.
To dare to dream the Kiwi dream.
That’s why this election we will be asking New Zealanders to vote positive; to vote Labour.
Let’s do this for a better New Zealand.
And let’s do it together.
lprent updated: This is the final delivered version of the speech.
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Race hatred cannot stop usThis one thing we knowYour poll tax and Donald TrumpGreed has got to go!You’re bound to loseYou fascists bound to lose.Original Lyrics: Woody GuthrieThere are a lot of things this government doesn’t like. Te Reo - got to go, they said, it’s too confusing for our ...5 days ago - Sumbission: Have Your Say on Work Health and Safety
Health and safety is core union mahi. Unions recognise that health and safety is a fundamental aspect of good work, and that every worker has the right to work that is safe and healthy, and to have a voice on the operation of their work. In this submission on MBIE’s ...5 days ago
- The hidden health toll of hurricanes
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Neha Pathak Disasters can disrupt medical care both during and long after the event. (Photo credit: U.S. Air National Guard / Sgt. Jorge Intriago) Weeks after Hurricanes Milton and Helene tore paths of destruction across the Southeast, pictures of communities ...5 days ago
- First section of Te Ha Noa Opens
Something definitely worth celebrating is the opening of the first section of Te Hā Noa, the Victoria St Linear Park. As we highlighted eight years ago, this project is vital for helping move the thousands of people that will pour out of the Te Waihorotiu station once the CRL opens. ...5 days ago
- Boldness be my friend
When Nicola Willis gave the annual Finance Minister’s speech to the country’s top public servants last week, what she said must have landed like a bomb. “Now is the time for your best and boldest ideas,” she said at the Institute of Public Administration (IPANZ) event. Coming from a minister ...5 days ago
- Wednesday 30 October 2024
The NZCTU has joined with Business NZ and health and safety groups to call on the Government to drop its plans to reform health and safety law. The Postal Workers Union is opposing a plan to reduce rural postal deliveries from five to three days a week. The Government has ...6 days ago
- Yer doin it all wrong mate
Reader Jeff Howell is the best kind of social media friend to have. When there's outrage and denunciation needed he’s in there dishing it with verve; and when those storms pass you get happy Jeff, sharing his projects. His projects are awesome.Until a week or so ago it was a ...6 days ago - Out Of Sympathy.
6 days ago
- Two States – But No Solutions.
My Enemy’s Enemy Is My Friend: Mohammad Amin al-Husseini, the former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, at the opening of the Islamic Central Institute in Berlin, December 19, 1942. The elimination of the Jewish state has been the unwavering ambition of successive generations of Palestinian leaders.AMIDST ALL THE HORROR of the Israel-Hamas War, ...6 days ago
- NZ For Sale: Chris Luxon Is Concierge To The Wealthy
Watching a Christopher Luxon press conference is a masterclass in gaslighting. You just know what he’s saying is disingenuous - if not outright deceptive and lies - but out he comes - with confidence and vigour - telling me black is white, and white is red.According to the Prime Minister, ...6 days ago
- Will banks & insurers back self-consented homes?
Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, October 30: The Government’s move to allow qualified builders, plumbers and drainlayers to self-consent their work faces potential hurdles from reluctant insurers and bankers wanting protection against ...6 days ago
- Ātahu from Moana Maniapoto
We are blessed in Aotearoa with certain people that you might call National Treasures—those with great talents and a strong affinity for this place they are the custodians of. It’s not an official list; the people you think of might differ from those I think of.What are the attributes of ...6 days ago - Henderson Station Upgrade but will it Improve Customer Experience
Over the long weekend rail shutdown a new project got underway, an upgrade to Henderson station but the plans highlight that improving the customer experience by making it easier to use public transport is not a part of Auckland Transport’s agenda.
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6 days ago - Climate Adam: Is climate change fuelling mega hurricanes?
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). From hurricanes like Helene and Milton, to typhoons like Gaemi, vast storms are causing devastation: destroying cities and tearing up lives. ...6 days ago
- Get in the sea, old mate
For the State Highway One traveller, some sights remain dramatic no matter how many times you see them: Wellington harbour opening out at the bottom of Ngauranga Gorge; the first glimpse of Ruapehu; three quarters of the South Island. Also: the moment when you reach the top of the Brynderwyns and ...7 days ago - Taking the piss again
Remember Casey Costello? The government's most ignorant Minister? First she was referred to the Chief Archivist after claiming that key advice on her cancer promotion policy had simply magically appeared on her desk one day, and that she had no idea where it came from. Then, when the Ministry of ...7 days ago
- Monthly Employment Data shows weakness in economy
Monthly employment data released today by Statistics New Zealand showed our continuing labour market weakness, and particularly challenging conditions for young working people, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “There are 21,000 fewer filled jobs than this time last year, and the fall has been led by those ...7 days ago
- Copy of Rwanda’s Kagame: from Saviour to Tyrant?
Is Rwanda turning into a country that seeks regional dominance and exterminates its rivals? This is a contention examined by Dr Michela Wrong, and Dr Maria Armoudian Dr Wrong is a journalist who has written best-selling books on Africa. Her latest, Do Not Disturb. The story of a political murder ...1 week ago
- We’ve got issues
1 week ago - ‘Happy to watch your grandkids grow up in Australia via WhatsApp?’
Globally, NZ has the second-highest share of its population living overseas permanently, many of them now permanently in Australia. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, October 29: A ...1 week ago
- October-24 AT Board Meeting
Today the Auckland Transport board meet again as a whole for the first time in two months. AT note: Members of the public are welcome to join the meeting via Teams. Please note, due to technical difficulties, the video feed will be unavailable. However, attendees will still be able to view ...1 week ago
- The fourth article of the Treaty
While Parliament struggles with David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill, a Christian scholar and some heavyweight mainstream church leaders have developed a different perspective on the Treaty of Waitangi. Theologian Alistair Reese presented a petition to Parliament’s Petitions Committee on Thursday asking Parliament to legislate to recognise the oral agreement “4th ...1 week ago
- Gordon Campbell on why so many young males like Donald Trump
To foreigners, the fact that so many millions of Americans are buying the used and poisonous goods that Donald Trump is selling is an unfathomable mystery. However, some clues to the allure of Trumpism can be found in the gender gap of unprecedented size that has opened up between those ...1 week ago
- Building a Safer Future for Every Worker
Every New Zealander deserves a workplace that puts safety and wellbeing first. Too often, we’ve seen the real cost of a system that doesn’t fully protect workers. Lives are lost, families grieving, and communities bearing the burden of preventable tragedies. That’s why, alongside Business New Zealand, the New Zealand Institute ...1 week ago
- Not all authoritarians are fascists.
A few days ago I responded to a post about Trump being a fascist on one of my friend’s social media page, then made a few comments on the consultancy social media page by way of follow up. Given the … Continue reading ...1 week ago
- Keep the Vampires From Your Door
I'll protect you from the hooded clawKeep the vampires from your doorWhen the chips are down I'll be aroundWith my undying, death-defying love for youEnvy will hurt itselfLet yourself be beautifulSparkling love, flowersAnd pearls and pretty girlsLove is like an energyRushin' an' rushin' inside of me, ehSongwriters: Brian Philip Nash ...1 week ago
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- Release: Government’s disgrace for Christchurch homeowners
The Government is backtracking on existing commitments to do the right thing by homeowners let down by EQC (now the Natural Hazards Commission). ...23 hours ago - Release: National’s FamilyBoost a colossal flop
Nicola Willis continues to over promise and under deliver, with most families receiving only $30 a week from National’s flagship FamilyBoost flop. ...1 day ago
- Ngarewa-Packer Demands Support for Palestine Ceasefire from New Plymouth Mayor
Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader and MP for Te Tai Hauāuru, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer is calling on the Mayor for New Plymouth, Neil Holdom, to do the right thing. “I am shocked at his decision to disregard the petition presented by Palestine Solidarity Taranaki calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire”, said ...1 day ago
- Release: Trade deal with Gulf states welcomed
Labour welcomes the conclusion of a trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that was restarted under a Labour government after languishing for many years. ...1 day ago
- Release: Labour welcomes OAG fast track inquiry
The Government should consider the outcome of an Auditor-General report into conflicts of interest before progressing the Fast track Approvals Bill through Parliament. ...1 day ago
- Greens reignite call for free dental
A new report detailing the enormous social and economic costs of our dental system has reignited the Greens' call for free dental care. ...1 day ago - Greens call for bottom trawling ban and call out Minister for lacklustre response
The Green Party is urgently calling on the Government to ban bottom trawling, following news a New Zealand bottom trawler caught 37kg of coral in international waters, prompting the suspension of all fishing in the area until 2026. ...4 days ago
- Mark Patterson: Farmers understand we have their backs
Spring is here which means the start of the A&P show season. Those treasured community days where town meets country. There's no rural-urban divide here, just a chance to meet up with family and old friends and celebrate all things that make rural New Zealand so special. I'm embarking on ...5 days ago - Release: Funding for Gumboot Friday should pause
The National Government should review its support for Gumboot Friday after unacceptable comments by its leader and champion Mike King. ...5 days ago
- Louise Upston cherry-picks data to punch down on the poor
The Government has very conveniently cherry-picked data from the latest MSD projections to justify its cruel agenda and punch-down policy when it comes to people living in poverty. ...5 days ago
- Luxon needs to address the cow in the room
The Green Party was appalled to hear Prime Minister Christopher Luxon claim we are “doing everything we can” on climate change, while his government does nothing to address emissions in our most polluting sector. ...7 days ago
- Govt Must Clean Up ‘Its Shit’ From Sunken HMNZS Manawanui
Te Pāti Māori is calling out the Government and New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) for their inaction and disgraceful downplaying of the impact caused by the sunken HMNZS Manawanui in Samoa. “We demand the Government move without further delay to clean up its shit from the sunken HMNZS Manawanui in Samoa,” said co-leader Debbie ...1 week ago
- Jamie Arbuckle: Inquiry into Banking Competition
This week was the start of the bank inquiry hearings into banking competition. The inquiry was confirmed in the NZ First/National Coalition agreement. 140 submissions were received on the inquiry, and we will hear from over 60 submitters including all the major banks. ANZ, New Zealand's largest bank, was first ...1 week ago
- Tanya Unkovich: It’s time to start the debate on palliative care as a ‘right’
There is one topic that is the great human leveller, and that is of death and dying. One day, we will all have to face it, and I am of the belief that being able to pass away with grace and dignity is a vital, basic, human right. How we ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour backs Christchurch City Council sanctions on Israel
Labour is backing Christchurch City Council’s decision not to do business with firms involved in Israel’s illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Government driving away offshore wind industry
The Government has created a hostile environment for companies seeking to build offshore wind farms. ...2 weeks ago
- Another step towards Pasifika justice
The Green Party acknowledges the historical importance of MP Teanau Tuiono’s Member’s Bill, Restoring Citizenship Removed By Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill, passing its second reading in Parliament today. ...2 weeks ago
- Sanctions Soar, Jobs Vanish – National’s Cruelty Exposed
Te Pāti Māori is enraged at the National government’s ruthless punishment of beneficiaries, all while jobs are disappearing. MSD data shows a 133% increase in sanctions over the past year, with over 14,000 sanctions in just three months. The kicker? The jobs this government insists people should find are nowhere ...2 weeks ago
- Police Perpetuate Siege on Ōpōtiki
Te Pāti Māori MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi, says today’s police-sponsored terrorism in Ōpōtiki is a continuation of the State’s predatory behaviour towards the iwi of Te Whakatōhea. "Ōpōtiki is once again being intentionally targeted and is the direct byproduct of this Government’s 'tough on crime' legislative changes,” said MP ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Govt cuts school lunches even further
The Government has gone back on its word and cut the full school lunch programme in primary schools after saying it wouldn’t. ...2 weeks ago
- Time to shut down failed Youth Justice Residences
The Green Party is calling for Youth Justice Residences to close, following a protest in which a group of young people spent the night on the roof of an Oranga Tamariki justice facility. ...2 weeks ago
- Tell Luxon to Kill the Treaty Principles Bill
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown – and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Appalling process on three strikes law
The Government is subverting parliamentary process on laws the evidence already shows don’t work. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour calls for investigation into tobacco tax cut
The Government’s decision to award a $216 million tax break for Philip Morris’ heated tobacco products reeks of tobacco industry interference and needs to be thoroughly investigated. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Delay to retirement village review won’t help residents
The National Government is treading water on a much-needed review of the Retirement Villages Act, kicking any amendments down the road till the next parliamentary term in 2027. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Serious concerns ignored in Govt’s fast track bill
National’s fast track bill enables the most radical and unbalanced consenting regime in living memory. ...3 weeks ago
- Fast-Track, off the rails: Submitters show strong opposition to Bill
Despite resounding public opposition, the fast-track legislation is being pushed through Parliament with provisions that could have real consequences for people and planet. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Labour supports continuing fight for dairy access
Labour welcomes the National Government’s decision to further pursue our access to the Canadian dairy market under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Job losses devastating for Timaru
Confirmed news that the Smithfield meatworks will close is devastating for the hundreds of people who work there, Timaru and the wider region. ...3 weeks ago
- New Zealand First Member’s Bill to Improve Access to Palliative Care
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill which aims to improve access to palliative care for all New Zealanders, ensuring kiwis have better access to the compassionate palliative support they may need. The ‘Improving Access to Palliative Care Bill’ seeks to guarantee that every New Zealander has the right ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Further uncertainty for Kiwirail as jobs set to go
KiwiRail offering voluntary redundancy to all its staff is hugely concerning given the future of New Zealand’s rail system is under threat. ...3 weeks ago
- ASA Declares Hobson’s Pledge Advertising Misleading and Socially Irresponsible
Te Pāti Māori Co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer welcome today’s ruling from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which found that a Hobson's Pledge advertisement regarding customary marine titles was misleading and socially irresponsible. The two-page wraparound ad, published in The New Zealand Herald, suggested that nearly the entire coastline ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Benefit numbers continue to soar under National
National’s all pain approach to beneficiaries has yielded no gain as benefit numbers continue to surge past projected figures. ...3 weeks ago
- Casey Costello: What Once Was…
Entering politics is a privilege afforded to very few and, as the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. Being an MP is a call to service. Whatever your politics you have a duty to show up. Whatever your party's policy, you have made a promise to those who ...3 weeks ago
- Soaring benefit sanctions push more into poverty
Sanctions on beneficiaries have sky-rocketed since the Coalition Government came to power, pushing more families into poverty. ...3 weeks ago
- International Energy Agency issues wake-up call on climate action
Today’s report from the International Energy Agency highlights how far this Government’s actions are dragging us backwards in the fight against climate change. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Lack of funding puts pressure on frontline Police
News that 173 roles are being cut at Police will only put more pressure on the frontline. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Bipartisan agreement on outdated marriage law
Changes to outdated relationships legislation has passed its third reading giving family violence survivors the power to quickly dissolve abusive marriages. ...3 weeks ago
- Appointments strengthen Conservation Boards
The latest Conservation Board appointments will help to strengthen environmental efforts across Aotearoa New Zealand, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. Mr Potaka today announced 64 appointments to the country’s 14 Conservation Boards. “Conservation Boards play a vital role as liaison between DOC with their regions, making their community’s voice heard ...1 hour ago - First steps towards National Infrastructure Plan
Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has welcomed the first steps from the Infrastructure Commission in developing New Zealand’s 30-year National Infrastructure Plan. The Commission today released a discussion document which outlines the Commission’s thinking in developing the 30-year plan, including looking at what’s needed over the next 30 years, what our ...2 hours ago
- Stats show Medsafe accelerates approval assessments
Associate Health Minister David Seymour says that Medsafe’s annual performance statistics released today show that Medsafe are accelerating their approval process. “The data produced in Medsafe’s annual statistics show that in 2023/2024 Medsafe expedited their assessment process for almost every category of medicine,” says Mr Seymour. For innovative new medicines ...3 hours ago
- New rules mean faster payment times for small businesses
New requirements for government agencies to pay their invoices faster and adopt labour-saving technology are an important part of our plan to rebuild the economy and support small businesses, Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Andrew Bayly and Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee say. “The Government is ambitious about lifting New ...3 hours ago
- Speech – Diwali 2024
Namaste. Namaskar. Namaskaram. Vanakkam. Sat Sri Akal. Kem chho. Greetings to you all. It is my great privilege, as Minister for Ethnic Communities, to host this year’s Diwali Celebration at Parliament. I am truly excited to be with you all for Diwali as your Minister, and I warmly welcome each ...19 hours ago
- Accelerating maths achievement for Kiwi kids
The Government is continuing to transform maths education, by trialling a targeted maths acceleration programme to give more Kiwi kids confidence in mathematics. “After discovering just 22 per cent of Year 8 students are at the expected standard for maths, we launched our Make it Count Action Plan to give our ...20 hours ago
- Government’s creative sector strategy released
The Government’s creative sector strategy is designed to increase Kiwis’ engagement with culture and creativity and to boost its economic contribution, Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Amplify has been released for public consultation and I encourage people to read the strategy and to share their feedback. “There’s an opportunity to ...1 day ago
- On-sold programme changes bring resolution to homeowners and taxpayers
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has asked the Natural Hazards Commission (NHC) to make changes to how it delivers the On-sold support package to prevent a cost blowout while helping eligible homeowners repair their homes in a timely manner. The On-sold programme was set up by the Government in 2019 ...1 day ago
- Todd McClay to lead large trade mission to China
Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay will lead a large trade delegation to the 7th annual China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai next week, followed by a visit to Guangzhou. This year, almost 70 New Zealand companies will participate in CIIE, to interact with over 3,400 exhibitors and 410,000 visitors. “This ...2 days ago
- New Charter to guarantee better access for hunting and fishing
Minister for Hunting and Fishing Todd McClay has today launched an Access Charter (the Charter) to ensure better access for recreational hunting and fishing on public conservation land (PCL) across New Zealand. “This Charter establishes guiding principles for the Department of Conservation (DOC) to provide clear and transparent decisions on ...3 days ago
- Pou Whenua blessing honours Tongariro
A beautiful new Pou Whenua at the beginning of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing will introduce visitors to the sacred landscape they are entering, says Conservation Minister Tama Potaka. Mr Potaka attended a blessing for the specially carved Pou Whenua at Mangatepopo, at the start of the track on 1 November. ...4 days ago
- New members appointed to the NZTA Board
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today announced two new appointments to the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) Board. Mary-Anne Macleod and Mike Rudge have both been appointed as members for three-year terms commencing 1 November 2024 and ending 31 October 2027. “Transport is a critical part of our Government’s plan ...4 days ago
- Welcome relief from new oestradiol gel funding
Associate Health Minister David Seymour is welcoming Pharmac’s funding of oestradiol gel, following global shortages of oestradiol patches earlier this year. “I’m well aware of the stress caused by the global shortage earlier this year. At the time I said I was confident Pharmac was working hard to find a ...4 days ago
- Deputy Prime Minister visit to Australia
Foreign Minister and Racing Minister Winston Peters will visit Australia next week. “Australia is New Zealand’s closest partner, and we are pleased to make this second official visit there for 2024 following the first ever Foreign and Defence Ministers 2+2 Meeting between our two countries in Melbourne in January,” ...4 days ago
- Applications now open for new training pathway
Applications have now opened for tertiary education organisations to seek Government funding to develop New Zealand’s first postgraduate diploma programme for associate psychologists, Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey announced today. “Investment in this new training pathway supports the Government’s target to grow our mental health and addiction workforce and ...4 days ago
- Increased medicines access continues following budget boost
Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour is pleased to see further increased availability of medicines for Kiwis following the Government’s increased investment in Pharmac. “Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the Government,” says Mr Seymour. “When this Government assumed office, ...4 days ago
- New Zealand concludes high quality trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
New Zealand and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have concluded negotiations on a trade agreement that will open up significant opportunities for New Zealand exporters in the Gulf region, Minister for Trade and Agriculture Todd McClay announced from Doha today. Today’s announcement follows significant reengagement with the GCC following meetings ...5 days ago
- Government seeks views on remote court attendance
The Government is exploring how to modernise the law around people attending court remotely, to support access to justice and enhance court performance. Courts Minister Nicole McKee says the current law has not kept up with evolving court practices and public attitudes to the use of remote technology, nor been ...5 days ago
- Breast screening age extension begins in Nelson Marlborough
Free breast screening has been extended for 70 to 74-year-old women living in the Nelson Marlborough district, ahead of a national roll-out late next year, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “Breast cancer is the most common cancer in New Zealand with about 3,400 women diagnosed with the disease ...5 days ago
- Te Māori Manaaki Taonga Trust Board strengthened
He toi whakairo, he mana tangata. The reappointment of one trustee and the appointment of four new trustees to the Te Māori Manaaki Taonga Trust Board will enable the legacy of Te Māori to be carried forward into the future, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka and Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith ...5 days ago
- Affordable housing project supporting home ownership
Up to 300 affordable, healthy, community-tailored homes helping to support home ownership are set to be built in eastern Porirua, supported by Government funding for Our Whare Our Fale through the Building Homes for Pacific in Porirua initiative, Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti and Associate Housing Minister Tama ...5 days ago
- Dire benefit forecasts show the need for Welfare that Works
A new report that forecasts young people on benefits will spend an average of 20 more years relying on welfare underscores the need for the Government’s reforms, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. MSD’s latest Benefit System Insights report, released today, which estimates how many future years different ...5 days ago
- Trade Minister travels to Doha for GCC trade discussions
Trade Minister Todd McClay will hold trade discussions with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) trade ministers in Doha this week. Minister McClay will meet with all six GCC Trade Ministers, as well as the GCC Secretary General. “This will be my seventh visit to the region this year including two Ministerial ...6 days ago
- Podiatry prescribers will boost patient care
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and Associate Minister David Seymour say it’s great news that podiatrists will soon be able to prescribe medicines, meaning patients with painful foot and leg conditions don’t have to make a separate trip to the doctor. “This simple step means a big change for people ...6 days ago
- Historic redress inequities finally resolved for Lake Alice Unit survivors
The Government is addressing historic redress inequities for some survivors abused at the Lake Alice Child and Adolescent Unit. In 2001, the Crown reached a $6.5 million group settlement with 95 survivors subjected to abuse at the Lake Alice Unit. Law firm Grant Cameron & Associates (now GCA Lawyers) represented ...6 days ago
- ERO report shows Government’s truancy emphasis is vital
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that the Education Review Office’s (ERO) timely report on chronic school absence released today is further evidence of a truancy crisis. “Chronic absence has doubled since 2015. This report reinforces that action is needed to ensure this generation reaches its full potential,” says Associate ...6 days ago
- Minister welcomes business view on AML
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee welcomes BusinessNZ’s report which addresses reducing the compliance burden on small businesses. “The challenges outlined in the report released today echo many of the concerns I have heard from businesses, which have informed my Anti Money Laundering/Countering Financing Terrorism (AML/CFT) priorities,” she says. “I have ...7 days ago
- Mangamuka Gorge opening in time for Christmas
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge will be open for Christmas, with critical work currently underway to clear the large slips and dropouts that have caused significant disruption for Northlanders trying to get where they want to go quickly and safely, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The Mangamuka Gorge ...7 days ago
- Trusted building professionals able to self-certify
The Government is proposing further significant action to reform the building and construction sector to support more affordable homes and a stronger economy, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “If we want to grow the economy, lift incomes, create jobs and build more affordable, quality homes we need a ...7 days ago
- New appointments to the TEC board
Dr Alan Bollard CNZM and Mr Bharat Guha have been appointed to the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) board, Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds says. “I would like to welcome the two new members joining the TEC board,” Ms Simmonds says. “Dr Alan Bollard CNZM is an experienced public ...7 days ago
- Move to fast-track overseas doctors welcomed
Fast tracking applications for registration by eligible specialist doctors wanting to practice in New Zealand is in line with the Government’s push to improve the health outcomes for New Zealanders, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. This fast-track pathway applies to specialists trained in anaesthesia, dermatology, emergency medicine, general practice, ...1 week ago
- Address to Western Sydney University: Constitutional and Rule of Law challenges in current global en...
Tēnā koutou Nau mai haere mai ki tenei hui Thank you to Vice Chancellor Williams, and the University of Western Sydney, for inviting me to speak today. I speak to you today in my capacity as Attorney-General – the New Zealand Crown’s Senior Law Officer. In this capacity, I serve ...1 week ago
- Security advice for start-ups welcomed
Minister responsible for the security and intelligence agencies Judith Collins has welcomed new guidance that aims to protect New Zealand’s start-up and emerging technology sector from the threat of economic espionage. “We are a nation well-known for our ingenuity, and our willingness to openly collaborate in the spirit of enterprise ...1 week ago
- Funding support to strengthen frontline volunteer service organisations
The Government has approved $23.1 million for four critical frontline volunteer service organisations to replace storm-damaged assets and provide training and equipment to improve New Zealand’s response to future emergency events, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey says. $14.6 million for Surf Life Saving New ...1 week ago
- Jones heads to international mining conference
Resources Minister Shane Jones will speak at Australia's largest annual mining event in Sydney this week to mark New Zealand’s return to the international industry stage. Mr Jones will attend the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) where he will update the sector’s most influential players on the work the ...1 week ago
- NZ investing in Pacific disaster preparedness & climate resilience
New Zealand will contribute $20 million to the Pacific Resilience Facility, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters have announced. “The Pacific Islands region faces severe challenges from natural disasters and climate change impacts and New Zealand is committed to doing its part to help meet them,” ...1 week ago
- Police to increase presence on Auckland public transport
Aucklanders will see a greater Police presence on public transport services to boost safety and reassure public transport workers and passengers, Police Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Auckland Minister Simeon Brown say. “Minister Brown and I are working together, alongside Police and Auckland Transport in response to the horrific ...1 week ago
- Government funds helicopter replacements
The Government is investing in eight new emergency helicopters to replace some of New Zealand’s ageing air ambulance fleet, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello and ACC Minister Matt Doocey announced today. “Our air ambulance helicopters play a vital role in saving lives around New Zealand,” Casey Costello says. “This is ...2 weeks ago
- China and New Zealand strengthen organic trade
An uplift to New Zealand’s organic product trade is expected through a new upgraded arrangement with China, Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard says.“The upgraded Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) for organic products will deliver opportunities for our organic export sector.”The upgraded MRA was signed in Central Otago today by Andrew Hoggard ...2 weeks ago
- Judicial appointments announced
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced two Court of Appeal and two High Court appointments. The four appointments will take effect on 21 November 2024 and are: Justice Christine French Justice French, who has been appointed President of the Court of Appeal, graduated with an LLB (Honours) from the University of Otago ...2 weeks ago
- ‘I didn’t get the HRC job’: Stephen Rainbow’s human rights commission appointment just got w...
New messages released under the OIA show Rainbow acknowledged he ‘didn’t get the HRC job’ – then suddenly he did. Madeleine Chapman reports. “I didn’t get the HRC role but still very keen to help out,” wrote Stephen Rainbow to Act Party chief of staff Andrew Ketels in a text ...16 mins ago - West Papuan outcry over Prabowo’s plan to revive transmigration
By Victor Mambor in Jayapura Just one day after President Prabowo Subianto’s inauguration, a minister announced plans to resume the transmigration programme in eastern Indonesia, particularly in Papua, saying it was needed for enhancing unity and providing locals with welfare. Transmigration is the process of moving people from densely populated ...57 mins ago - Police minister denies claims children left on their own following police raids in Ōpōtiki
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It was fantastic to be there. It was an inspiring speech. Great policies. We have to win!
“We have to win!”
Just quietly, I think we will. I feel it in my waters……….
And this time, unlike 2011 I’m not suffering pre election depression.
Watched it online. A couple of minutes into the speech DC started enjoying himself and then it was a little ripper.
Yep he really enjoyed the speech. Good to see and he is at his best when he is enjoying things.
“People matter most”, is the theme of the congress says DC. This could be a slogan for the campaign!
The other side to that coin of course is National’s slogan “Multi nationals matter most”
Wow – I think it’s safe to go back to the Labour fold!
+100 Wow yes great speech! …yes agreed…safe to go back to Labour !…or at least support a Labour /Green/Left coalition
…am still hoping for more on tertiary education and more financial relief for tertiary students however..maybe closer to the Election?…this would clinch it for me
DC is the right Leader for Labour. But the members and the Left in general have to put continuous pressure upon Labour and its caucus to keep left, to do the right thing by the most disadvantaged in society and push back hard against neoliberalism.
CV..agreed
+1
I listened to the speech online and was very impressed and have just listened to the interview that appeared on Q & A (I can’t bear to watch the programme itself) and was again, very impressed. Well done David.
This is the Q & A interview
http://tvnz.co.nz/politics-news/labour-would-look-buying-back-state-assets-cunliffe-6020104
I watched Q+A, which was before the speech was held. What a hopeless panel, except that dark haired woman from the university (I am not sure whether she is from Victoria Uni or AUT).
This was a rather poor standard kind of edition of Q+A.
The media really stir up so much about Cunliffe’s comments on the other day, saying he felt sorry to be a man (taken out of context).
The media are the biggest challenge for Labour and the left of centre parties in this election, a a bigger one than National and their ridiculous small allies.
Awesome. I have been waiting to hear something like this from a Labour leader for some time now. David Cunliffe demonstrates here that he truly gets what it’s all about and he will fight for it. If this message gets through to the people then we will win.
Lets hope the MSM don’t starve it of oxygen, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they do.
A positively Prime Ministerial speech from David, well done.
Do you know, for the first time in a long time I am really, really angry about what those sorry excuses for humans who are now cooling their heels in the Act Party while they await their fate in the hereafter did to us. How dare they!!!!1 If they’d had a shred of decency they would have left Labour to do their dirty work not hijacked us all without any scruples whatsoever.
It’s been along journey back
Jan M @8 100+
Spot on in education policy. Well done Labour.
I listened to the speech and on that sentence the last part about the grassroots sounded like an afterthought. It’s disturbing hearing a political party famous for its classlessness dividing the workers into classes.
And I still haven’t heard anything about what they’re going to do with the changes that National did to tertiary education. Seems like they’re going to leave them in place.
Well DTB – here’s hoping you are aren’t asked to write anything important if that is how you interpret a very straightforward statement.
It wasn’t actually dividing up anything….but then again you seem to be looking for an opportunity to criticise or complain.
You are doing exactly what the various RWNJs do when responding to statements from the left…..picking out some words, twisting them out of context, and then basing some self-serving criticism on the result.
When you read a book do you determine whether you like it on just one part?
But it did – it excluded those at the bottom. That’s generally what happens when someone only talks about the middle.
What about this part of the speech?
“I have said it before and I say it again: trickle-down economics – neoliberalism – does not work.
It has failed around the world. It has failed New Zealanders. And the government I lead will close that chapter for good.”
With a $6 rise in taxes for the rich?
Sounds nice – where’s the 80% tax bracket and the dropping of GST?
Or, at least the same as Australia.
Can hardly claim that people are leaving for lower taxes, then.
Well, it’s certainly up to us to get the 6th Labour govt into power, and then hold them to account when they are in there.
Is there a video of it? I really can’t be assed reading but would happily watch/listen.
Also I like to hear Cunliffes’ delivery.
Yep. The video is at http://new.livestream.com/nzlabourlive/davidlive
The LiveStream has the video up now.
Thanks guys 🙂
I’d suggest adding that to the OP.
Thats a good speech, great to see education featuring so highly.
There are 2,000 excellent trained teachers currently unemployed ready to start on September 21st. Yeah Right. Totally unbelievable.
The evidence clearly shows that better teachers are far more important than more teachers. The difference is clear. National wants quality in education. Labour wants quantity at the expense of quality. The speech certainly revved up the true believers but let’s see what the next poll shows. Given the confidence alleged above then the Labour figure will surely start with a 3. My pick would be 25%. This is the flagship speech. The turning point. The rallying call. BUT what lingers in the public perception is the man ban, the tree ban, the moa hunt and the shame of being a man. If I am wrong then surely the polls will show support for Labour growing sharply. I am , as always, not wrong.
If National really wanted quality there is no way they would have introduced national standards – hard to know whether you are cynical or duped, fisiani
fizzyanus is a liar to boot according to what Labour is actually saying about increasing the number of teachers. The implementation date is staggered over several years, not to be achieved the day after National loses the election.
Plenty of highly capable Kiwi teachers from within NZ and overseas would gladly take up full time permanent positions around the country when they open up.
What a weird argument even for you Fisi? Where did Labour promise that the positions would be immediately filled? Something like this takes time.
I think the TV3 graphic suggested staggered drops in class sizes through to 2018.
Your lies and spin are totally unbelievable.
@fisciani….National doesnt want trained teachers…what are you talking about? National has done everything possible to undermine teachers as professionals in their own right and as educators
There are probably close to that. Teacher unemployment is quite high. Many would like full time positions, and can’t get them. An old friend of mine was doing relief work for ages.
Part of it is that the saggy old boomers won’t retire.
The National Party doesn’t understand education, just like it doesn’t understand economics, social policy or basic human decency. Conservatives are like the weird uncle you have to accommodate every Xmas who can’t stop going on about the gay agenda and fractional reserve banking.
The way to ensure you have better teachers is to keep training all teachers. To enable continuing education of teachers you have to have lower pupil-teacher ratios to allow a school to juggle class-time and teacher training time. Just paying the “better” teachers more money won’t raise the level of training throughout the education system. In my view the Nats also seem to have designed a programme that will remove those ‘better’ teachers from in front of pupils and leave the rest of the teachers with even less time in which to be trained. It does not seem to have any logic.
David has improved his delivery. It’s less shouty, high octane throughout, and more nuanced.
It was a very measured speech that sounded from the heart – about values of a fair and decent society.
It certainly seemed to rally the troops. Strikes a great note going into the election.
hope there will be follow through to maintain the momentum, and live up to those values.
His wife probably had a word in his ear.
Yes it was generally toned down and less 98 octane the whole way through. He does the US style from the pulpit damn well when he needs to though.
Certainly a comprehensive set of policies being presented this year by Labour, including increasing the minimum wage to $16, according to TV3. Exciting times to be a Labour member, I cant see how any lefty can say that these policies don’t strongly underpin Labour principles. Hoardings going up this week, if the MSM are fair and these policies are communicated widely then there is no reason why Labour wont get well into the 30’s percentage wise in September.
It’s pretty good now…the single fly in the appointment is the Super age…a technical fly in the appointment is this damn insistence to get back to surplus (which typically drains money and services from poorer households).
I’ve got my fingers crossed that Labour will have 2 or 3 more killer policies to bring out: I would love to see some solid detail on ASAP transitioning to a low carbon economy (because that is as much time as we have).
+1
On one of the TV news shows on Sunday, the reported asked Cunliffe about asset sale buy-backs and he said that they’d do it as the opportunities arose, but that we’d definitely hear more about it between now and the election.
neolibralism dead thank god !
polls fuck the polls i door knocked a lady yesterday i had her information from 2011 election with one differance the land line had gone she was off the grid these polls are fiction very few people we talk to have land lines, we finding plenty unregiserted voters so to any green or labouer nz first
we must talk to people to a green, nz first if there no activity in area join the labour volenteers and vice versa boots on the ground we need to dig out every vote every street ,bus stops, laudry matts ,taxi stands ,outside super markets in the homes
Ipredict uses real money. It is really accurate. More accurate than the polls and it reacts instantly to new information and insider trading. If The Cunliffes speech was a game changer then the price would change substantially. It is stuck at 18.5%
🙄
What rich idiots with money to waste waste their money on is irrelevant.
Spending real money on Cunliffe is indeed wasting money, I agree but Ipredict is not for the rich. Twenty dollars is sufficient. You just have to be knowledgeable. That’s why the Left are jealous.
burning money is still for the rich idiots, no matter what the denomination.
Mugs like you are fodder for the bookmakers.
I gather you clearly do not understand the difference between a prediction market and a bookmaker. A prediction market makes you put your money where your mouth/laptop is. You obviously have no courage to invest actual money so just pontificate here.
PS Why does the picture show Te Cunliffe trying to thumb a lift?
LOL
fucking semantics. A thousand folks like you, convinced they have the necessary knowledge to make a “prediction”, walk into the TAB offices every day.
See, the funny thing is that you seem to think that money is the only measure of commitment. Which makes me speculate as to why you bother coming here every day just to tell outlandish, demonstrably false lies. Or are you so stupid you think people actually believe your shit?
Im sorry but Ipredict (and bookmakers) are emperically proven to be the best predictor of election outcomes. Much better so than the polls and as such fisiani is correct.
any actual evidence of that? Or are you just making stuff up?
Prediction markets are insanely bad at predicting election outcomes. Why? Because players in a prediction market suffer from all the same biases that affect the general punditry but are actually worse because market/herd mentality also applies.
Nassim Taleb cuts through all the crap around prediction markets very well. You should read his stuff.
Also your statement that iPredict and Bookmakers are similar is BS. Bookmakers are NOT prediction markets and operate completely differently.
Bollocks, Ipredict decisions are largely based on polling data, comparing it to a single data-point of a poll and and saying it’s somehow ‘more accurate’ is disingenuous because it essentially averages out the data provided by multiple polls.
There’s nothing ‘more accurate’ about Ipredict because it’s a false equivalence… Without the polls for data Ipredict wouldn’t be able to function because people wouldn’t have enough information about ‘the market’ to base decisions, it would just be random guessing.
Compare it to a ‘poll of polls’ or bias corrected poll and see how it goes for accuracy…
IMO iPredict is actually very bad at predicting elections because of the very right-wing bias on the site.
Labour to win the 2011 election was around 10%, despite the fact that the current government only just scraped in by 1 seat for their right-wing agenda. The ‘true’ prediction for NZFirst was around 3%, ignoring the last-minute market manipulation that occurred.
Of course it’s possible that MP would have sided with National anyway, but I suspect they would rather have gone with Labour (and they’ll be paying the price at this election).
An example of how a market-based poll like iPredict is open to self-interested manipulation:
This is a good example of why the ‘signals’ iPredict sends out are stuffed for predicting this year’s election.
Ipredict is best used as a measure of the right-wing’s irrational and manipulative exuberance – which appears to be running pretty high-as-a-kite currently.
Compare FiveThirtyEight 2012 US election prediction to bookmakers and prediction markets and I think you’ll find that FiveThirtyEight was more accurate.
I seem to recall that when hoots was wanking about ipredict’s so-call accuracy a while back, QoT pointed out that the result he’d cherry-picked from six months out of the 2011 election was more accurate than the bets placed just prior to the election.
i.e. as it got closer to the event, the predictions became more inaccurate – indicating random bullshit rather than anything but the most tenuous connection to reality (if at all).
I think it is going to be less accurate this year … although I wasn’t that convinced of the claims of accuracy after the last election anyway….it will be worse this year…vested interests are manipulating the numbers as the example I provide above shows.
I got thinking about the USA guy who was supposed to be good at predicting elections.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/grrlscientist/2012/nov/08/nate-sliver-predict-us-election (November 2012)
and
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2229790/US-Election-2012-Statistician-Nate-Silver-correctly-predicts-50-states.html
Nate Silver, 34, used an elaborate series of calculations to correctly call the outcome in all 50 states
He ran thousands of computer calculations based on innumerable factors such as polling results and voting outcomes in previous elections
Gave Barack Obama a 90.9 per cent chance of success, attracting widespread ridicule from traditional pundits in what was regarded as the closest race in years
His achievement opens the door for a more statistics-based approach to polling, say experts
And just an extra – an elephant that was freed after 50 years of bondage. Humans do bad but also good and thoughtful things. Lets do more of them.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2682388/Incredible-sight-elephant-cried-Raju-held-chains-beaten-abused-fifty-years-day-released-tears-rolled-face.html
All great stuff but what about the climate?
Not a single mention.
Even a utopia without a climate is a hell.
Maybe he is reserving this topic for a speech of its own.
Perhaps, later in the campaign we will get to hear David Cunliffe’s speech on the climate.
Let us hope so.
On the other hand could we be seeing a repeat of THIS?
Mr Cunliffe is making good and sure those at the bottom of the heap are absolutely clear Labour does not want their vote.
Devastating critique, lefty. I’m convinced.
What else can you say when he misses the reality of the lives of the poor by so much.
They have heard the soaring rhetoric combined with austerity economics before.
Nothing about how those who are struggling most are going to be better off right away, like setting benefits at a reasonable rate and pulling Work and Income into line.
We have heard all that bullshit about jobs through regional development at some time in the distant future over and over again. All that eventuates is more handouts to the rich to build businesses they sell off to overseas owners.
A detailed critique is a waste of time because it would be recycled just like Cunliffe’s speech. I have heard it dozens of times from different parties over the last thirty years.
No wonder people are turning to the dotcom cargo cult in desperation.
Lefty, I think you are misreading TIP if you think it’s a KDC ‘cargo cult’. For many on the left, the attraction of TIP is Laila’s record and the team she can build, and the party’s position on spying and independence.
“Nothing about how those who are struggling most are going to be better off right away, like setting benefits at a reasonable rate and pulling Work and Income into line.”
You certainly have a valid point made re that!
Labour have 75 days to prove they also care for the ones at the very bottom, not just those “deserving” a pay rise as workers on the minimum wage. Their silence in welfare is very worrying indeed.
On 29th June 2014 David Cunliffe did a Q & A here on The Standard in which he said…
“I’m not going to announce our welfare policy here. But what I can tell you is that the systematic victimisation and demonisation of beneficiaries we’ve seen under National has absolutely no place in Labour’s values or a Labour Government.”
From the policies that Labour have put out thus far, feel extremely confident that they have that one covered very well too, and will no doubt announce it when the time is right.
“Nothing about how those who are struggling most are going to be better off right away, like setting benefits at a reasonable rate and pulling Work and Income into line.”
Because with the MSM and National’s popularity as it is, such policies are anathema to the electorate and would ensure Labour wouldn’t win the election. Why bother promising a policy, no matter how valid it is, if you wouldn’t be able to implement it?
Much better to focus on something like a UBI.
Um Lefty did you read the speech? And did you understand it?
I dont think lefty did either, and I don’t think lefty is a real lefty at all.
Yep, I read it. I have read all the other speeches from the other Labour leaders over the years saying the same things too.
Fine words and an austerity programme only fool those who want to be fooled.
Please describe what parts of Labour policies so far amount to an “austerity programme”, because at the moment I must “want to be fooled”.
David Cunliffe outlines the three specific things that Labour will be fighting this electoral campaign over.
All very worthy, but this list leaves out one thing, and it is a glaring omission, being only the biggest challenge that humanity, and the most dire and pressing problem that humanity has ever had to face.
Bigger than war, bigger even than famine, or global pandemic, though it will trigger and be a cause for all three of those dread horsemen to stride the world stage in its wake.
It’s climate change and for any leader who seeks high office not to directly address this threat is a dereliction of duty.
Patience Jenny.
+.5
Yes Poem there is always hope.
In the unfunny comedy movie “Clockwise” 1986, John Cleese character is desperately late but sees that his mental agony is caused by the fact that he still has an outside chance of being on time:
“It’s not the despair Laura. I can handle the despair. It’s the hope!”
Sorry for my impatience Poem. I agree, there is still time for Labour and Mr Cunliffe personally to face up to this issue. It is this hope that is killing me.
You are quite right and climate change could emerge as an issue at the elcction. A plus in this speech is that he only mentions economic growth, the main threat to the environment, twice. labour at last are clearly focused on REDISTRIBUTION, the answer to all this inequality and unfairness which Cunliffe is quite good on. However, the most heartening thing David says is “Trickle-down economics – neoliberalism – does not work. It has failed round the world. It has failed New Zealanders. And the government I lead will close that chapter for good.” Since it was introduced by Labour and never rolled back by Clark “A rising tide lifts all boats.” Labour needed to state fair and square where it now stands. Cunliffe is the right man to say it.
There is still a need to go from “redistribution” to “pre-distribution.” That is, to recognise that “redistribution” in our current political economy is needed because of how unfairly wealth gets generated and distributed in the first instance – primarily to shareholders and owners, and not to those who do the bulk of the productive work.
“We will campaign on decent work and better wages”.
While David Cunliffe delivers his inaugural electoral campaign speech carefully and deliberately not letting the two words “climate change” escape his lips. HOT TOPIC NZ issues a “call to arms”
Case in point:
That was 2 years ago.
Yes that was two years ago. And Labour have been deliberately avoiding the issue ever since. Just as David Cunliffe is doing now with this speech.
Jenny, there has been no “deliberate avoiding” of the issue. Look at David Parker’s speech to Congress from Saturday. Maybe you’re the one deliberately avoiding any information which clashes with your “Labour denies climate change” worldview.
https://www.labour.org.nz/media/speech-david-parkers-speech-new-zealand-labour-party-congress-2014
+1
You are right Stephanie, in guessing that I couldn’t bring myself to read David Parker’s speech. I imagined that it would be full of generalities, vague platitudes and none of the bluntness that characterised the talk he gave at the breakfast for the Mood of the Boardroom chief executives.
Am I wrong?
Is there something in this speech to indicate that David Parker has reversed his previously expressed support for the government’s fossil fuel extraction policies?
Is there a reverse of his position that Labour’s “policies on oil, gas and mineral extraction are close to those of the Government”?
Is there any acceptance by David Parker, of HOT TOPIC’s assertion that, “being hell-bent on further fossil fuel discovery and exploitation is hardly compatible with action to rein in climate change….?
So what is it Stephanie, what exactly do you want me to look at in David Parker’s speech which indicates that he has turned a new leaf and is now honestly concerned about climate change and intends to something concrete about it?
What part of David Parker’s speech do you want me to look at that tells us that “The tepid and ambiguous climate concern which characterises governments such as our own in New Zealand” will be over under his watch?
Christ, you’re as irrational as the average climate change denialist. And this faux martyr shit is really tiring. Just read the speech and if you don’t like it, tell us why.
You could have read the speech in less time than it took to write that!
So Lynn, tell me what I should be looking for in this speech by David Parker?
Does he utter the phrase “climate change” once but not twice just to get it out of the way?
Is there even one single concrete pragmatic policy to cut back on our Green House Gas emissions?
Is there an honest acknowledgement that his previous support for unconventional oil exploration and new coal mines, is in the words of HOT TOPIC, hardly compatible with action to rein in climate change?
The shocking thing is that this is the government’s weakest performing portfolio. It is where the opposition could garner many votes. It could be the issue that clearly demarcates between the two political blocks. Labour/Greens and National/ACT
What is going wrong?
David Cunliffe did say in his speech…
“We will protect and preserve our beautiful environment.”
Hopefully more details will be released on labour’s stance on climate change when the election proper is under way.
This is a deliberate evasion of the issue, as Naomi Klein and other leading activists have pointed out, climate change is not an environmental issue. Sure just like nuclear war, climate change will impact the environment. But you wouldn’t call nuclear war an environmental issue, that would be deliberately understating the case.
“CLIMATE CHANGE IS NOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE
This is my hope too. Maybe David Cunliffe deliberately left mentioning climate change out of his speech because he intends to fully address this issue at a later time. and give climate change tthe full attention it deserves in a dedicated address.
Put another way.
Ask your self just for argument’s sake:
“What if climate change is not an environmental issue?”
“This is a deliberate evasion of the issue, as Naomi Klein and other leading activists have pointed out, climate change is not an environmental issue. ”
This is the first time I’ve come across this framing, and actually it makes a hell of a lot of sense to me, Jenny. It’s all very easy to ‘other’ climate change and dump it under the environmental banner, but it really isn’t an environmental issue and shouldn’t be treated as such.
I think the sooner climate change is divorced from environmental discussion, and thereby no longer seen as an issue only for the greens, but for everyone to engage with, the better.
If Cunliffe saved a baby who had crawled on the road, Corrinn Dan would probably attack him for disrupting traffic.
Reminds me of an oooollllllddd joke I shall update for our current environment:
John Key and David Cunliffe are on the Interislander.
John Key falls overboard and starts to drown.
David Cunliffe immediately jumps over the side, walks on the water over to John Key, picks him up and carries him back to the ferry.
Herald headline the next day: “David Cunliffe Can’t Swim”.
Well thats it in a nutshell isn’t it Papa Tuanuku and McFlock, to the likes of nats/msm etc, David Cunliffe is damned if he does, and damned if he doesnt.
He has found his stride, and it was a joy to be there.
I had wondered how he could possibly manage the intense negative publicity, and still inspire, galvanise and set the movement on a forward roll, but he did.
Marvellous!!
+100000000 Wondered that myself, just shows what a truely strong leader David Cunliffe is.
Great speech David. Great vision and the team to implement it. Come September we shall have a Labour led govt and DC as PM! I feel sure of it and I welcome it.
Is it any wonder people don’t trust politicians. I’m hearing a lot of generalities but where is the “how” in all of this. Given how bad things are “blue sky speeches” have little impact and I’m a New Zealand voter so I’ll wager I’m not the only one with this perspective.
What I’d like to hear and see is a lot more about how all these wonderful things are going to be achieved by Labour. I’d like to see concrete policy, I’d like Labour to stop being complacent and make more of a “conspicuous” effort to stay in touch with their voter base.
No doubt I’ll be criticized for these comments but that’s the feeling of at least one left leaning voter. I’d also like to know why Labour seems so adverse to enter into alliance with other political parties. This is MMP after all….
My prediction and I’m loathe to admit it, because I believe the current National government are a disloyal disgrace, is they will be back in office after September.
Details of policies that have been released by Labour here:
https://www.labour.org.nz/policy
Mr Cunliffe’s Q & A thread conducted on The Standard about a week ago:
http://thestandard.org.nz/david-cunliffe-qa/
xox
Has Labour ever apologized to the public of NZ for its betrayal by its Neolabs from within? Once bitten!
Good speach. My electorate vote for the Labour candidate is now a definite. That’s based on Cunliffe’s education announcement and neo-liberalism.
Now to earn the party vote, there’ll need to be:
– a commitment to SUBSTANTIAL investment in public service broadcasting as today’s public sphere (I’ve just heard the latest RNZ news bulletin in which Labour Party policy is framed from the perspective of John Key, rather than Labour is going to do this – #TeamJonky disagrees)
– A shakeup of the public service senior and middle management fiefdoms
– A more sympathetic/empathetic attitude to the plight of the ‘unpeople’ (aka beneficiaries not playing the system – of which there are VERY few)
– Cleanup of the environment, and charging costs to those responsible
– Ceasing any and all corporate welfare except where it clearly has benefit to a public rather than a corporation
– Reform of banking systems, unregulated privately owned monopolies and duopolies
That should be enough for a first term (given the manner in which urgency has been abused over the past 6 years).
Oh, and to progress things mid to longer term:
Aside from the requirement for referenda and 2/3rds, 3/4s majorities – I think there is a way (I’m not a constitutional lawyer – but it would involve Madge or a President’s mandate should we ever decide to give the Trough of Windsor the flick)