Phil Goff has just delivered his first major speech of the year to state what Labour stands for and where it is going.
I have to say, I’m impressed. You really should read it.
It sets out a clear agenda for Labour and that agenda is firmly rooted in Labour’s deepest principles – decent pay for a fair day’s work, good public services, a more equal society, community responsibility, and saving children from the conditions of deprivation and poverty that lead to lives of crime and underachievement. We’ll do some analysis later but, first, here are some of the better quotes (there are heaps more I wanted to add):
today I’m here to say the recovery has to benefit hard working New Zealanders and kiwi families… 2010 needs to be a recovery for the many, not the few.
If you do an honest weeks work, you deserve a living wage. That’s why Labour will introduce a bill to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour from next year.
the gap between those at the top and most New Zealanders has grown too large. If we’re going to tip the balance back towards Kiwis who are doing the hard work; in favour of the many, not the few, then the one place the government could show leadership is the public sector….Under Labour no public service chief executive should be able to be paid more than the base salary for the Prime Minister.
Too many people on good incomes avoid and evade paying taxes. It’s not right that some top earners pay a lower percentage of their income in tax than those on the average wage. Some of them move to live as tax exiles, avoiding their responsibility to the country that gave them an education and a start in life – while still expecting and getting their knighthoods.
No child should fail to reach his or her potential because a parent fell on hard times. So we have a community responsibility to provide the means for every child to prosper
Labour believes we need to reform monetary policy to better help the productive sector.
All New Zealanders need to share the benefit of tax changes – not just the privileged few at the top.
The Government is not going to make a difference to New Zealand’s long term future by sitting on the sidelines
It’s no secret that I’m a Labour supporter. My party is back and it’s not pulling its punches.
It feels damn good.
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