National 1990 TV launch Music: “It has been so long, but work is hard to find. And queuing for the doctor, it leaves no peace of mind. The children have a right to a decent education, and that operation waiting list stretches down the line. We’ll be planting in the forest, cleaning up the beach. Working New Zealand it is not out of reach. We can teach the young and make it safe on the street. Nine hundred new bobbies will be bopping to the beat. We will fix the fighting factions it is time to take effective action (Text Positive Action). Come on, let’s do it, New Zealand we know how. Together we can show the whole world how. Yes, we can do it, the time to move is now. Positive action, New Zealand we know how. We can do it.” Text: The following programme was recorded live at the official opening of the New Zealand National Party’s 1990 election campaign at Wellington’s Michael Fowler Centre on Sunday afternoon. At this meeting Jim Bolger outlined his plan of Positive Action for New Zealand’s future. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the leader of the New Zealand National Party, Mr Jim Bolger and Mrs Joan Bolger. Bolger: “Thank you ladies and gentlemen. My friends, thank you for coming. The time to move is now. We are setting out, on the last leg of our journey, to bring the National Party to victory. That is the first step on a longer journey to turn that win into a victory for all New Zealanders. The people are ready to move on from these days of pessimism and gloom. They are looking for a new beacon of hope in New Zealand. That is what the people need. Some light, some hope, some vision and some action. So let’s light that beacon of hope, take stock of the damage, pick up the pieces, heal the divisions, and start building again. Let’s get New Zealand working. I say New Zealand must make a change. We need new leadership, with a clear view of the path to prosperity. There have been too many casualties in six years of hard labour. The retired folk, who were told that a Labour government would not change their national superannuation; the young students, who were told a Labour government wouldn’t introduce user pays education; the sick, who were told a Labour government would give them public health care, where and when they needed it; the unemployed, who were promised jobs year after year; everyone of those promises broken, everyone of those people cheated, every broken promise another reason to make a change. Labour leaders came to the people in 1984 with a promise of full employment. Remember it, there were just over 65,000 people on the unemployment register then. Three years ago, when registered unemployment was now up to 88,000 they came back with another promise of full employment. Now it is 1990, and there are more than 180,000 people out looking for a job. The rest of the world has been booming, but 80% of New Zealanders are now worse off than they were six years ago. Labour’s current leadership, shared everyone of those bad decisions that cost so much and hurt so many. What is their latest solution to the problems they have created? Another pay-cut. That is it, your cost of living is expected to rise five percent, and Mr Moore says take a two percent pay rise. Really it is a three percent pay cut. It is a deal that will let inflation cut six hundred and fifty dollars out of the family budget next year in every home of every worker who is on an average wage. That is Mr Moore’s best shot for New Zealand. After six years, the best he can do for you is to ask you to take a pay cut. We can’t take him seriously, so we won’t. Tonight, I want to introduce you to Sir Henry. He is the sort of perfect public servant who makes the kind of points they don’t want to hear. So, what has Sir Henry got to say about Labour’s pay deal. Video clip that mimics Yes Minister: “Truly extraordinary agreement Minister.” “You think so Sir Henry.” “Quite, in six years you have reduced real wages for four out of five wage earners, and now you’ve persuaded the CTU to accelerate the process. Why?” “Because mortgage rates will fall, won’t they?” “They haven’t done so far, Minister.” “Interest rates?” “Perhaps a little.” “But surely something must fall when wages fall?” “Inevitably.” “What Henry?” “I’d rather not say what Minister.” Bolger: “Well ladies and gentlemen, we know what must fall- the Government. The Government that cuts your pay to correct the problems created by its own budget. They must fall. The budget that took 13 months of GST into one year. It took two years dividends from the Reserve Bank into one year. Took thirty years of forestry revenue into one year. And left New Zealand lurching down the path to a two point two billion dollar plus deficit next year. Interest rates were starting to rise even before the Finance Minister had finished reading his budget. Once upon a time Labour’s leaders said they would only sell state assets to repay government debt. What happened to that promise? And what happened to the debt? Perhaps those Labour leaders would like some advice from Sir Henry to answer those questions too.” Video: “The Prime Minister beside himself Sir Henry.” “I’m not surprised with an overseas debt of nearly $50 billion.” “But we sold the family silver.” “Indeed, Minister, NZ Steel, Petrocorp, Post Bank, Air New Zealand, Rural Bank, Telecom, THC, Maui gas rights and the forests, but not the land.” “How much did that fetch?” “Around ten billion.” “But then how do we explain we owe twice as much as when we started.” “It might be advisable not to try, Minister.” “Oh.” Bolger: “Good advice from Sir Henry. The Labour government won’t explain because they can’t explain. But it gets worse. There is no provision in the last Labour budget for the three hundred and forty million they have now agreed to pay Electricorp to accept liability for the massive cost overruns on the Clyde dam. There is no provision in the budget for the hundred million cash they proposed to pay to the creditors of the DFC, the bank we no longer own, that somehow keeps on costing us money. Labour is prepared to risk up to nine hundred million dollars of your money on a rescue deal to fix a bank that failed after they’d sold it. Even Sir Henry doesn’t know why they are doing that. Video: “Minister I understand we are going to pay out nine hundred million to clean up the DFC mess.” “Up to nine hundred.” “May I ask why?” “Because they lost it.” “That was after we sold it.” “It was? We’ve sold so much.” “Indeed.” “Still it seems the decent thing to do.” “With nine hundred million you could wipe out all the hospital waiting lists.” “We could?” “Oh yes.” “But what about the foreign millionaires?” “Aah, oh yes, quite. Then I suppose you better do the decent thing.” Bolger: “Now I want to talk about how we will go to work to get New Zealand working again. National will not cut your weekly pay, your weekend pay, or the pay you receive for your overtime, that is the Labour government’s policy, not ours. That is a policy that didn’t work in the thirties, and it won’t work in the 1990s. We have set ourselves, tough targets for our first term. (With text summarizing words): We want to see sustained economic growth, and unemployment halved. We want inflation under 2% per annum, interest rates under 10%, a balanced government budget, a state that makes less demand on the resources of the nation. Three years from now, that is what we want to achieve. Those are our targets. Everyone of them is important, and I’m not shifting them before we even get started.” “We must set ourselves tough targets and go after them with every ounce of energy that we have. New Zealand won’t make progress if the government of New Zealand buckles in the face of challenge. There is no shortcut to prosperity. It will be achieved through education and enterprise. We have to lay some solid foundations for real growth. They say, to plan for another decade, plant a tree. But to plan for a century, teach the children. In our first term we will introduce and trial bold new early childhood education programme called parents as first teachers. Under this programme, young parents will be helped to bring out the best in their children in those vital years from birth to age three. The parents will have access to expert professional advisors in their own homes. People trained in the techniques parents can use to help their children develop their learning skills. They’ll be involved in a programme that aims to identify physical problems in the baby, that could become a life-long handicap left undetected. In our schools, instead of giving priority to administration, we’ll give priority to education. There’ll be a new focus on achievement in the core subjects, in English, maths, science, and technology. We’ll introduce clear targets for achievement, and frequent monitoring of progress to find the pupils who need extra help before they reach the point of despair. So I acknowledge that the challenges facing today’s young generation are as great, but more complex, than those faced by any previous generation. But I have faith in our young New Zealanders. I must have, I have a house full of them. To succeed we must equip them with the knowledge and skills needed for the task ahead. That is why I am not going to see young New Zealanders slip out of the school gate and straight onto the dole. There is no future in that. A job or more education and training to get a job, that is the way we have to go. That is why we are going to eliminate the $1300 tertiary fee. Out it will go. I want to help young New Zealanders lift their skills so we will get rid of the new tuition fees and instead we’ll introduce a new study right that will give every school leaver access to higher education or vocational training. These young New Zealanders must have the opportunity to gain the skills they will need to succeed in the internationally competitive global economy of the twenty-first century. I have set New Zealand a challenge for the decade ahead. In this decade we must take the steps that will transform the welfare state into the enterprise nation. Without enterprise there can be no guarantee of welfare for those in genuine need. Today, today as we gather here, there are 300,000 New Zealanders living on welfare benefits designed to provide temporary relief. A quarter of all our children are being raised in homes where the only income is a social welfare benefit. All these people need an opportunity to break out of the poverty trap, break out of the welfare trap. Only through enterprise can we create that opportunity to escape that trap. We need savings to fund enterprise, so we will take steps the Labour government will not take. We will encourage savings with a small tax break to help working people put money by for their retirement. We will eliminate the immoral surcharge the Labour government imposed on National superannuitants who saved in the past so that they could have a nest egg today. Thrift should be rewarded not penalized. We will also abolish gift and estate duties that encourage some New Zealanders to cash up their investments and move their funds offshore. We want those funds to stay here, so there will be more jobs for New Zealanders. We will remove unfair elements of the tax regime, that hinder farm and forestry development. In short, we will clean up and streamline the tax system so it encourages New Zealand enterprise to start growing and hiring again. We intend to give power back to the people. We will conduct a referendum, in our first term, on the structure of government and the manner in which we elect our Parliamentary representatives. Bolger to pro-PR heckler: “Patience and you might even succeed.” Where a clear majority favours an option for change, it will be binding on my government. To heckler: “Oh, you missed out did you. Are you on the roll? Oh good, then you’ll have a vote. I hope you use it wisely.” “Our commitment is to fair, even-handed government. A government that owes nothing to any special interest group, and everything to the people of New Zealand. There will be no exclusive, secret backroom deals between trade union leaders and the next National government. The best deals are the ones made in the workplace willingly and cooperatively between management and staff. In times of stress the people in the workplace are the people who know best how to protect their income, keep a business alive, so it starts growing and hiring again. That is why we are going to give people in the workplace the freedom to choose to join a union, the freedom to make their own bargains on wages and conditions. Local people will be free to make local arrangements to suit local circumstances, without a host of third parties breathing down their necks. We will achieve, we will achieve more employment and more equity for women in the workplace by creating a climate for growth in the workplace, instead of growth in the bureaucracy. There is no equity in unemployment. And that is what 60,000 women suffer from today. Under our policies people will be free to work new shifts, work new machines, develop new skills, make the changes that lift productivity, pay and profits. Then there’ll be more savings, more investment, more development, and more jobs. That is how we can get New Zealand working to provide opportunities for the 180,000 people who can’t find jobs today. Unemployment is our number one concern. Number one concern. We’ll provide opportunities for the long-term unemployed to do some positive work in their communities. I know they want to become involved. The genuine unemployed want to work. There is plenty to do: New Zealand’s environment needs some protective care, we’ll take some positive action and introduce a new concept: Taskforce Green. With Taskforce Green we will target the problems of the unemployed and the environment in a single project. We will be planting in the forests and cleaning up the beach, as the song says, but the work won’t stop there. There are endangered species to be protected, pests to be eradicated, valuable waste materials to be collected and recycled, historic buildings and landmarks to be preserved. It is necessary work, adventurous work, dignified work, sir, skill building work. Our message, our message, to those who exploit our welfare system, the people who don’t want to work, refuse to look for work, and won’t take the opportunity to train for work, is blunt. Shape up and start pulling your weight. That is our message. If you don’t you can’t expect to get the same support as those who do. We are going to be firm with the freeloaders, so we can be fair to those in genuine need or distress. In government, we must concentrate our effort where it really counts. On employment, education, health, the environment, on meeting genuine need for welfare, and on the maintenance of law and order. We are going to cut out the abuse, cut out the frills, cut out the excess and the waste, but we won’t cut out the essentials. So, let me kill one lie in this campaign. We will not cut six hundred million from the public health budget. We won’t cut one dollar off that budget, we are. We are going to make your dollars work harder for you. We’ve got to take action to cut the hospital waiting lists, that Labour has allowed to grow 50% since they took office. My goal, National’s goal is to put patients first. With 60,000 people waiting for treatment let’s not argue about who owns the hospitals. Put the patients first: that is our message. “We also accept our responsibility to do more to protect people and property. There is a limit to what community self-help can achieve, particularly against organized crime. The overall crime clearance rate is still not improving. The odds are still stacked heavily in favour of the criminal. So we will put 900 extra police officers on the beat in our first term. And we will support them properly.” Interjection: “They’ll all be riding pushbikes.” Bolger: “There is someone in training up there.” “The bail and parole systems will be changed so that violent offenders have less chance to get back into the community to commit more mayhem. The police are entitled to that support; you are entitled to that protection. We are going to wage war on crime and we are going to win. We are also going to win our campaign to create a fair and just society. A society that treats all New Zealanders as equals. I have no time for people who betray their contempt for that ideal enshrined in the Treaty of Waitangi. I have no tolerance for the extremists who want to divide our nation along racial lines. One hundred and fifty years ago, we agreed to walk together with equal rights and equal responsibilities as citizens under the law of the Crown. Today, we are not yet walking together as equals in health, education and employment. These problems can and will be addressed on the basis of need, rather than race. The next National government therefore will provide fair, fast and affordable redress for the proven injustices of the past for the iwi and the hapu. To those who exploit genuine grievance to promote separatism, however, I say a firm no. We are not going to walk down the path to apartheid in New Zealand. We are going to find our destiny together as New Zealanders. Just as our forebears survived hardship, we will come through these hard times together. Just as they had the conviction they could succeed, we must have it now. Just as they set themselves tough targets, we must set ours, and pursue them with strength and determination. So, let us set new targets, new objectives, apply our policies and work to make our dream of progress and prosperity a reality. My party’s first objective is to lead New Zealand out of Labour’s wasteland of broken promises. You say what is our policy? Our policy is to build the enterprise nation, where there is opportunity to learn, to save, to invest, to grow, to work, and to prosper. What is our dream? It is the dream of a decent society, where every New Zealander enjoys the opportunity to have a worthwhile job, a good school for the children, high quality public health services, a clean, unpolluted environment, safety in our homes and in our streets. Dignity in our old age. That is our dream. So tonight, let us take the first step, make the change, light the beacon, repair the damage, heal the wounds, start the work. Next month, we can begin to build a better New Zealand. We can do it, together we will do it. Thank you very much, thank you very much. List of Jim Bolger rallies this week in different locations. Music: “We’ll be planting in the forest, cleaning up the beach. Working New Zealand, it is not out of reach. We can teach the young and make it safe on the street. Nine hundred new bobbies will be bopping to the beat. Come on, let’s do it, New Zealand we know how. Yes, we can do it, the time to move is now. Positive action, New Zealand we know how. We can do it. Text: National: Creating a decent society.