David Shearer has just made his opening speech of the year at the Labour Party Summer School.
There’s no new policy to give the speech real heft, but (given the significant policies already out there, the stage of the electoral cycle, and the lack of teaser hints) I think that was never likely. As such it’s about values and vision, and a solid restatement of Labour’s plans. For me the main content is the promise of active government:
NEW ERA – HANDS ON GOVERNMENT
We desperately need real leadership now more than ever.
The Global Financial Crisis has exposed the frailties of the old economic wisdom. The National Party believes the financial crisis is just a blip to get over. Their solution is to apply their failed ideas of the past over and over. They are wrong. The hands-off, simply leave it to the market approach has failed all over the world. …
We need a government that recognises times have changed. We need a Government that finds the courage to act, not better excuses for why we can’t. We need a government prepared to stand up for hardworking forgotten Kiwis. We need a smart, hands-on Government. A government that is prepared to be a player, not a spectator. That will be a Labour Government, and the Government I will lead. …
Labour’s plans are out there. I’d be delighted if this government picked them up and ran with them. For example:
We’ll pay employers the equivalent of the dole to take on apprentices.
We’ll back Kiwi businesses to get their slice of the $30 billion dollars the Government contracts out every year – but we will require them to take on apprentices and trainees in return.
We’ll give tax breaks to companies doing world-leading research and development, so the innovations – and the jobs – they create stay right here in New Zealand. …
Since we announced KiwiBuild last year, excitement is growing. Architects, construction companies and designers around NZ have been in touch. They see an opportunity to build affordable, energy-efficient – even energy generating – houses. Houses that use home grown sustainable materials. Houses that families will be proud to call home. This is an idea the country is embracing. More than 70 per cent of Kiwis support our KiwiBuild programme to build 100,000 first homes.
New Zealanders are also behind our other new ideas and those numbers are growing. Most people see the need for a Capital Gains Tax on investment properties. Nearly six in every ten New Zealanders support our idea to make KiwiSaver universal. And nearly two-thirds of you back our pledge to protect universal superannuation for future generations by gradually lifting the age of eligibility. …
HANDS ON – A GLOBAL TREND
Labour isn’t alone in knowing the time has come for active government. A movement of leaders and people across the world have realised the old hands-off solutions take us nowhere. It’s a new way of thinking and it’s evolving. New Zealanders are looking to a government that will roll up its sleeves and back them. You do your part, and we the government will do ours. In 2014 that’s the Government I will lead.
The speech goes on to set out an “agenda for 2013” – check it out.
I’d be hard pressed to call it an exciting speech, but it describes the kind of government that I want. Active, involved, doing things. Leaving everything to the market has had it’s turn and the (lack of) results speak for themselves. Time for a change…
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