2002 Labour Opening (0.24-12.20) Helen Clark: “At the dawn of the twenty-first century New Zealand has so many opportunities before it. Working together, sharing a vision, we are unbeatable as a nation. It’s about being ambitious for our country, and its future, and moving along a path which will bring greater opportunity and security for all our people. These last few years Labour in government has led New Zealand along that path. The economy is growing, unemployment’s down and we’re investing more than ever before in health and education services. But there’s still so much more to do.” “On July 27, you have a very important decision to make. I’m asking you to make it in favour of Labour, continuing to build a more prosperous, confident and decent nation. By giving Labour your party vote you will give us that mandate.” Text: Labour’s vision for tomorrow “In Labour’s vision for tomorrow’s economy there will be many more businesses like this one. Here at Navman they’ve developed a $30 million-dollar annual export trade specialising in navigation products. Navman’s innovation and development have helped it gain a world class reputation and grow a world class business. There are pockets of excellence like Navman throughout the economy. The challenge for our country is to grow many more of them, to secure our prosperity. This year, Trade New Zealand’s supreme export award went to Navman. That makes it a role model for other kiwi companies. As a government, we’ve developed partnerships and programmes to help businesses like this grow and export more. We’ve invested more than $300 million dollars in economic development programmes. With your support, we can do more to back the innovative businesses which are key to our future. The first of our seven commitments for the next three years is to work with all sectors to grow an innovative economy with more jobs. Text: Work with all sectors to grow an innovative economy with more jobs “A large part of creating economic growth is about developing the right skills and training for industry. To succeed we need a highly skilled and trained workforce. That’s why these last few years we’ve worked so hard with industry and business to develop the modern apprenticeship scheme, and build up skills training in general. There are now many more people in work-based training than ever before. Here at the Electrical Training Company, young people are training as apprentices for the electrical and telecommunications industries. The Labour-led government’s modern apprenticeship scheme has been an outstanding success story. That’s why we’re going to double the number of modern apprenticeships to 6,000. Text: Double the number of modern apprenticeships We’re also pledging not to increase the rates of income tax, GST or company tax. Text: No increase in rates of income tax, GST or company tax. But as you know, healthy economic growth is about more than innovation and skills training. It’s also about sustainability, economic, social, cultural and environmental. It’s about preserving our future options, caring for our environment, and investing in core services like the transport infrastructure. As a government, we’re investing heavily in preserving our environment and our unique bio-diversity. We’ve opened a new national park on Stewart Island, put much more native forest into the conservation estate, and we’re improving the huts and tracks in our parks for all those who love the outdoors. We’re also part of the international solution to the climate change problem, and on gene technology we’re following the Royal Commission’s advice, to take a precautionary approach with very strict controls, while we preserve our options for the future. Building for the future is also about investing in health and education. Labour’s record on health and education is very strong. We won’t privatise our health and education systems, nor ever allow them to get so run down again. We put people before profit, and we foster cooperation not competition in these critical social areas. We’ll keep investing as much as we can in health and education, so that all New Zealanders can reach their full potential. We know that in health prevention’s always better than cure. That’s why I’m making a commitment to you to ensure better access to primary health care, so problems can be tackled early. Text: Better access to primary health care so problems can be tacked early Without decent housing, people can’t be healthy. That’s why we’ve launched the healthy housing programme, to make a real difference to the health of families. Better living conditions mean better health. Health and education go together too. If children are healthy they are better able to learn, and a good education is the key to a good future. That’s why Labour is committed to lifting standards and improving quality in education. We’re introducing the latest digital technology to schools. We’re funding more early childhood education and we aim to improve the chances of all our children, regardless of family background. Our commitment to education goes way beyond the school grounds. That’s why Labour’s tackled that old unfair student loan scheme. Now, no full-time student, and no part-timer on a low income, pays interest on their loan while they’re studying. We’ve also frozen tertiary fees these past two years, and our commitment is to keeping tertiary education affordable, and to getting more teachers into schools. Text: Keep tertiary education affordable. Get more teachers into schools. Like you, I’ve been distressed by the spate of violent crimes in our community. They’ve touched us all, from the victims and their families to their friends, their communities and the country as a whole. Labour believes that we should all be able to feel safe and protected in our homes, at work, on our streets and in our communities. We’ve been working hard to make New Zealand a safer place to live. We’ve increased police numbers. We’ve passed tough new laws to keep the worst offenders in jail, and we’ve increased the non-parole period from ten to seventeen years in jail for aggravated murder. We’ve kept our word on cracking down on burglary, with fewer burglaries every week, and a quicker police response time. And we’re doing more than that. Labour believes that with crime, as with health, prevention’s always better than cure. Sure, we can lock up the hardened criminals for longer, but that doesn’t stop them committing the crime in the first place. So, we’re focusing on the young people committing crimes in order to break the crime cycle. That’s the best opportunity society’s got to stop a new generation of hardened criminals emerging. It’s no easy task, but we’re working with communities throughout New Zealand to teach young offenders new life skills, and real alternatives to a future of crime. One young life turned around is often two lives saved. And that’s why we’re pledging not only tougher sentences on the most violent offenders but also more support for proven programmes which cut crime. Text: Tougher sentences for the most violent offenders. More support for proven programmes which cut youth crime. You know when I was 21, 50 seemed pretty old. Now 65 seems very young. Soon many more kiwis are going to be retiring, and as a country we’ve got to be prepared for that. Labour in government has looked after older citizens by reversing those 1999 superannuation cuts. Now Labour’s planning for the future by setting up the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. Whether you’re 21 or 51 now, that guarantees there’ll be superannuation there for you when you retire. Only a Labour-led government will have a decent superannuation policy for the long term. That’s because we believe in looking after the many, not just the few. We are the best party to look after the needs of the old, the young, the sick and the disabled. Over the last few years we’ve all celebrated the success of New Zealanders on the international scene. The America’s Cup, our music success, and of course, the Lord of the Rings. Across our film and television, our dance, our music, our fashion and design, there’s a new sense of optimism and of energy. For Labour, supporting the arts is more than just good business, it’s good sense. Through our creativity we define ourselves as a nation. We tell our stories, assert our uniqueness, we show our talent. An innovative nation is a creative nation. A creative nation is a confident nation, and a confident nation knows what it can contribute to the wider world in which we live. And we’re doing that in so many ways. Our peacekeepers have helped bring peace to East Timor. Our customs officials, prison officers and police have helped that new nation too. Man: “Viva Timore.” We’ve worked for an overwhelmingly positive relationship with the United States, one of our oldest friends. We work hard in the international arena through the UN and the Commonwealth to promote stability, justice and development. We’ve earned a reputation as a model member of the United Nations, signing up to conventions and treaties where the world community must move together. When Labour came into government in 1999, New Zealanders were looking for change. The last government had come unstuck. It had taken its hands off the economic tiller, and no-one knew where the good ship New Zealand was sailing, except very close to the rocks. New Zealanders were looking for steady, progressive government, and that’s what we’ve committed ourselves to. We put aside the old model of conflict and worked in partnership with others to get things done. We kept our election commitments, and through all the ups and downs the world’s been through since, we’ve managed the country well. This election is all about who you want to lead New Zealand. Leading New Zealand isn’t a right, it’s a privilege you have to earn every day. Every day of this government’s term I’ve been proud to be Prime Minister. Through good times and bad it’s been a privilege to lead New Zealand, and with your party vote Labour will lead New Zealand into the future. Colin Powell: “Very, very, very close friend.” Clark: “The twenty first century is going to be about growth, knowledge, innovation.” Man: “What government is doing is being a serious partner”. Clark: “We believe in looking after the many, not just the few. Officers we really appreciate you, treating our flag with respect. We are going to fight like hell to keep that cup. We are not going to run because things get hot, we can take pride in having been part of making that happen. [army photos]” Text: When the country needed leadership we led. And with your support we’ll lead New Zealand into the future. Party vote Labour. Working for tomorrow, today. 2002 National Opening (15.55-27.55) V/O: This is a party-political broadcast by Bill English on behalf of the New Zealand National Party. Bill English: “That’s alright, we’re just part of the solution, not part of the problem” “OK. We off are we?” (Images from English in boxing match). “This feels like walking out of the dressing room at Fight for Life” “Good evening. Tonight I want to tell you what this next election is about. It’s about our families’ concerns. It’s about our country’s future. It’s not about the deals and the manoeuvres. It’s about the right to an education, about the opportunity for a decent income, and a fulfilling job. I believe in personal safety, I believe in a strong economy, and a high standard of education, and getting our Treaty claims settled. Personal safety is important to my family, and anyone’s family, and so is a strong economy. In New Zealand our problem isn’t too many rich people, it’s too many poor people. Too many people whose incomes are low, who face the grinding reality every week of paying the bills. Their best hope is the opportunity for a better job and a better income, and that’s why we need to be ambitious about our economy, not complacent. Now you might think things are OK at the moment, but interest rates are going up. Our run of luck with commodity prices and the dollar is coming to an end. If this is as good as it gets, then it’s not good enough. We owe it to thousands of New Zealanders to do everything we can to improve their prospects. And the time to fix the roof is when the sun’s shining. [claps] And that’s why we’ve got a plan to get behind business. I’ve visited hundreds of them, I’ve run one myself. And if you haven’t done that you have no idea how much hard work it is. I’ve got a mate who told me the other day about a boat ramp that was worth around $20,000, and it cost about $75,000 to get permission to put it in. Now we have set out a list of legislation to reduce the costs and reduce the rules, and stop making more of them. [Claps] And we’re going to reduce taxes. Look we have a choice in this country, we can run it on envy, or we can run it on aspiration and achievement. And when we lower their taxes they can reinvest that money back in their business. That’s what New Zealanders do. We’re owner-operators. We’re totally committed to our small businesses, and to the people who work in those small businesses. Another obligation this country has is to provide an education for its young people, and a high standard of education. If you’d been watching education lately, you’d think that the politicians didn’t care about it. Well I do. I’ve been a parent of school children for ten years, along with my wife Mary, and we’ve got at least another fifteen years to go, so we’ve got a stake in the schools working for children. That’s years of standing in the queues at parent-teacher interviews, standing on the sidelines at the games, talking to the parents. And there’s one thing I’ve learned from that, that matters more than anything, and that is an inspired teacher, and an enthusiastic student, are at the heart of our education system. And all our policy on education is there to support what happens in the classroom with the teacher and the student. We want high standards and achievement recognised. We know that to get them to do a hard job, but an inspiring job, we have to make the pay and conditions attractive. So, we would be willing to pay more, but we want quality, we want performance, we want excellence, we want standards. That’s what we owe to the next generation of young New Zealanders. [Claps] I want to tell you this - I’m here for the children, and the students. They are more important than the system, and we will change whatever we have to, to give our young people an excellent education. [Claps] A couple of weeks ago I spent a night out with the police in one of just five cars covering an area with three or four hundred thousand New Zealanders. By half past eight at night, they were having trouble finding a car to go to a house where there was a woman upstairs on the phone and an intruder downstairs. That’s why I’ve committed to 500 more police. I want a police force you can see, and criminals know they’ll get caught. Because I want a country where my children can walk to school and I know they’ll return unharmed, where a woman can go for a walk in the weekend and know that she will return unharmed, where older women, like my mother, feel safe in their beds at night. That’s a right of New Zealand citizens. [claps] Back in the last election, 92% of us voted for action on crime. That was the clearest message the new government had, but they haven’t heard the message. And I’ll tell you what they have done. They’ve changed our parole laws so that a violent criminal can be back out on the streets after one third of their sentence. A rapist who gets nine years can be back out on the street after three, just three years, and that’s wrong. We will change it. I believe every violent criminal should serve at least two-thirds of their sentence, to make that sentence meaningful, before they can be eligible for parole. And increase the minimum sentence for murder, from ten years to fifteen years, because the senseless, reckless, taking of life is utterly unacceptable to this community. You know who else depends on a strong economy? Our superannuitants. Because their wages are tied to the wages paid in the workplaces. I know that for superannuitants their income has to be secure. I couldn’t go and tell my Mum that it’s going to change, and National’s not going to change it. I’ll repeat that. National’s not going to change national superannuation. It’s called national supperannuation for a reason, and under National it’s here to stay. I want to tell you though that we are opposed to Dr Cullen’s fund. And I want to tell you what they are doing with our money. This is a government scheme that is going to take billions of dollars over the next thirty years, from our families and our businesses, put it into a fund, and then billions of dollars are going to be invested overseas. And I say that’s wrong. We should be investing in our children, we should be investing in our businesses, in our future here in New Zealand, not letting them use your money to fatten the wallets of the bankers of Wall Street. Now if a big company was doing this we’d all be up in arms, sending billions of dollars of our precious capital to the rest of the world. Well it’s not Michael Fay doing it, it’s Michael Cullen. Older people are also concerned about health. I’ve been the Minister of Health and I know it’s a hard job, but we have to do better. The hospital system is sick and the government has prescribed health cuts. In the budget, the government directed our district health boards to cut their services. And that’s because the boards have run up overdrafts, just like you and I do sometimes. Now Labour says the patients should repay the overdraft. I say the government should pay it off so the hospital can get on with providing the services for those people on the waiting lists, for the cancer patients, for our children, for our elderly. That’s an obligation the government has to New Zealanders. [Claps] Another issue that matters so much for our future is the Treaty of Waitangi. I believe in one standard of citizenship for all of us. I believe that we have a common set of rights and obligations which we can adhere to regardless of our race, our culture, or where we come from. Imagine New Zealand with the past Treaty claims settled. Wouldn’t it be great! Of course it will be hard, but we’ve already taken the hardest step and that is to set out on the journey, and along that journey we can turn what have been our stumbling blocks into stepping stones to a united New Zealand, so we can move on with a sense of unity. That’s what I want to leave to my children - a country united in a common understanding of citizenship rather than a country divided by its history. [Claps] Today I’ve talked about law and order, I’ve talked about education, about the need for a strong economy, about getting our health system back on its feet. These are the issues that concern our families. These are the issues that will shape the future of our country. There’s all this chatter about tactical voting. Well I’ll tell you about tactical voting. It goes like this. Vote for what you believe in, vote for what you stand for, vote for the policies you support. And when you come to use your vote, I just ask this of you. Use it with a warm heart and with a large purpose. Text: Get the future you deserve V/O: Authorised by Allan Johnston for the New Zealand National Party, PO Box 1155, Wellington 2002 Greens Opening (31.20-) Newsreader: “SonnyCorp captain Francisco Centre joked “we’ve no ice for our drinks, victory seems foregone”. In other news AgriMinister Brown again reassured worried shoppers “everything’s fine”, he says, as fears grow. Since most products are not labeled, shopping has slowed down. Farmers ordered to destroy their crops have been unable to claim insurance for soil contamination. And that’s the news.” V/O: We are the news, you’d better believe it. Always sunny at SunnyCorp, blah blah. Today it’s worth coming down to MonstaCo for BionInc strawfruit. Bion strawfruit, any better and they’d be natural. And now, free, Bion strawfruit shower gel with added fish genes to soften skin and fend off weather. BionInc, making nature work. Do not use while pregnant, if swallowed see your doctor. Grime’s the Crime. So get down to Eddie’s Wash ‘n’ Wipe. Hah hah. Wipe free wiping, cars so clean you’d think you’d been to New Zealand. Only at Eddie’s Wash ‘n’ Wipe. Log Train, a movie tale packed with no drama, no spills. Girl: “Can I Mum, can I?” Singing: Today, all of the people, living their lives. Today, beautiful people open your eyes... Jeanette Fitzsimons: “In this polluted, uncertain and anxious world a green economy is our only secure future, the sort of future we would want to hand on to our children. There’s a lot to do, to clean up our streams, restore our forests, farm more sustainably and reduce our dependence on cars. Our food is still produced with poisons, but at least it’s still bred naturally. Consumers around the world know that gene juggled plants and animals can be unstable and unpredictable. They want GE free food, and they’re prepared to pay for it. New Zealand, unlike many countries, can still produce it. But next year that could all change. Helen Clark says we’d be a laughing stock to reject GE crops. We say, we’d be a seed stock, the envy and the premium produce supplier for the world.” Rod Donald V/O: “One hundred percent pure (Text: 100% Pure, ticks down to 20%), that’s how Tourism New Zealand sells us to the world. A Ministry for the Environment report reckons our clean, green image is worth around a billion dollars a year to our economy. Instead of undermining our image we should be living up to it. Lose it, we lose our opportunity to be outstanding.” Jeanette Fitzsimons: “This is the Waiwhetu. In Maori that means sparkling water, reflecting the stars. It used to be the most polluted stream in the country. The restoration work has started now, thanks to some dedicated locals, but it’ll be years before it lives up to its name.” Jeanette V/O: “Mapua. Thirty thousand cubic metres of soil poisoned by an AgriChemical company for over 50 years. It’s costing $8 million to clean up.” Rod V/O: “It’s not your mess, but we’re all paying for it.” Jeanette: “We want to shift tax off income and enterprise and onto waste, pollution and scarce resources. That would pay to remove income tax off the first $5000 of everyone’s income. Text: Make polluters pay. V/O: The other week Shane did something real good for his country. He crashed his car. It’s good for the number crunchers, not so good for Shane. Every disaster adds to our economy, which is an attitude that encourages disaster. Think and thrive. Text: Think and thrive. Metiria Turei: “Ko mate...The commercial release of GE into te tai ao is a modern day colonisation at work and we must not let that happen again to our whenua and whakapapa.” Text: Our single issue is the future of New Zealand. Keith Locke: “You can count on us to stick to our principles. We said that going to war was not the answer to the horror of September the 11th. Text: War on terror. 5,000+ innocent Afghans. We were the only party to call for restraint while our government offered up our troops and begged for a trade deal with America. For everybody’s sake, speak out for peace.” Text: For everybody’s sake. Sue Kedgley: “When a softdrink with eight spoonfuls of sugar in an 11-ounce glass is sold to our kids through a football team, what chance do we have of keeping their attention, never mind their teeth. Our children see so much violence and commercialism on television, are these the teachers we want our kids to learn from?” Text: Keep violence of kids’ TV. V/O: What are you, stupid? Ay, stupid, useless, ay Now what have you got to say for yourself, Useless, ay Sue Bradford: “When will Labour stop listening to child poverty, and start acting. It’s time to break the cycle of poverty and violence, the habits of abuse. We can change the story and heal the wounds. If you’re with us, now is the time to speak. Text: For all those who can’t vote Party Vote: Green Text: As many people die from vehicle emissions as are killed each year on the roads. Sue Kedgley’s V/O: “We’ll push for cleaner fuel, for vehicle emissions testing and more bus lanes.” Text: Change lanes, Party Vote: Green. To have a nicer day. Nandor Tanczos: “Tell me if this is crazy. You spend a heap of money to get our young people educated, give them a bunch of skills, and then as soon as they’re ready to work we drive them overseas. For example, someone trains to be a nurse or a teacher. We saddle them with a massive debt, we only pay them enough to clear the interest. We are exiling our most valuable resource. The Greens say – let people repay their debt with work, here, in Aotearoa.” Text: For universal student allowances Party Vote: Green. V/O: We call for a universal student living allowance at the rate of the unemployment benefit and a grown-up approach to education. Ian Ewen-Street: “Shoppers everywhere are voting green with their wallets. Export sales of organic produce have risen from $5 million in 1996, to about a hundred million dollars right now, and it’s projected to rise to about half a billion dollars by 2006. Natural, or pesticide, which would you choose. At the moment there is absolutely zero, zero demand for genetically engineered food. In fact, consumers are going out of their way to avoid it. Right now, organics is a market made in heaven. Text: GE. Keep it in the lab. Jeanette: “When the Greens walked out of the House we were called unreasonable.” Rod: “In our opinion rushing in to release GE is unreasonable, and foolhardy, and economically stupid.” Jeanette: “Because four separate polls have shown the majority of New Zealanders want GE kept in the lab. That’s just one reason why we need fresh political thinking.” Rod: “We’ve proved our worth in the last three years. Now the Greens are ready for the responsibility of government. We’ll put the brakes on Labour where we need to, strengthen their resolve where it counts, and steer Labour in the right direction on crucial issues.” Jeanette: “That’s why your party vote has just got to be Green.” Text: Why settle for less than a whole world. V/O “Open your eyes.” V/O: Authorised by Craig Palmer, General Secretary of the Green Party, 16 Cambridge Terrace, Wellington. 2002 New Zealand First Opening (42.50-50.50) V/O: The following is a party-political broadcast by Winston Peters on behalf of New Zealand First. Winston Peters: “This winter election is about the sort of government you want for the next three years. It’s about whether you want a party of extremists to hold the balance of power. It’s about whether you want one party to have absolute power, or whether you want someone to keep an eye on things. It’s about your rights, the right to walk our streets and live in our homes safely, the right to stop being swamped by a flood of immigrants, and the rights of all New Zealanders to stand together as equals. Three key issues in three years. Violent crime must stop, the flood of immigrants must stop and racially based policies creating two New Zealands must stop. Last election you sent a clear message to the government - crack down on crime. They didn’t hear. They play with words on crime levels, clearance rates, percentages and perceptions, but nothing has changed. Why should the criminal minority threaten you? Why should victims be treated worse than offenders? They have tried all the soft options and it’s now time for some tough love, time for some tough discipline, time to address the underlying causes of delinquency, time to instill self-discipline in our young, time to bring back into line those who have gone off the rails. The police must have the power and the equipment and the numbers to be back on the streets where they can be seen, and not just in a police car in the distance. The worst and most violent offenders will be locked up and kept locked up. The safety of our citizens comes first. We cannot create another generation growing up without discipline, creating even more young offenders. Which is why we won’t allow a mis-placed belief that repeat family group conferences and expressions of sorrow will instill in young repeat offenders discipline and a sense of responsibility. Schools, social agencies and the Police can identify at an early stage those on their way to creating chaos, but the system is failing to deal with them. 97% of teenagers who have been jailed are reconvicted within five years. What we’re doing is simply not working. New Zealand First will require repeat youth offenders to undergo military-like disciplinary training. There’ll be no more soft options. The government ignored your message last time. We won’t. Can we fix it? Yes, we can. We’ll also fix the flood of immigration to New Zealand, and defend our way of life and our values. We’re not anti-immigrant but we are against the style of immigration unparalleled anywhere else on earth. Look, the floodgates are open. This year 53,000 will gain permanent residence in New Zealand. Half the population of Dunedin. Almost as many immigrants are being granted residency as babies born here each year. No first world country lets this happen. Our first duty is to New Zealanders, and the character, shape and values of our country are in danger of being lost, forever. Immigration is out of control. With no mandate from the people Labour and National have been giving our country away. They’ve handed out citizenship like lotto tickets. They’ve done nothing to stop the immigration scams and marriages of convenience. Our laws are a joke. Today almost a sixth of our HIV virus or AIDs sufferers are African immigrants, and sadly we’ll pay for this for the rest of their lives. Economists warn that we’ll pay for the government’s soft immigration policies in other ways, like soaring house prices, high interest rates, higher health and education costs, and traffic gridlock on Auckland streets. We now have third world diseases, born of poverty among our own people and yet still we bring in tens of thousands of immigrants from third world countries to add to the burden. Compare this to Australia. Australia is not a soft touch. Seven times our size, do they take 380,000 a year? No, they take in about 83,000 a year. Their immigration policy is designed to suit Australia, and so should our policy be designed to suit New Zealand. Australians make no apology for that, and neither will New Zealand First make any apology for our policy. We’re going to take action, and we’re going to fix it. We’ll cut back on immigration, and allow in only those who bring benefits to New Zealand. We will put all immigrants on probation, and if they commit crimes during the probationary period they will be sent home. It will be as simple as that. Can we fix it? Yes, we can. 162 years ago, Maori and European gathered to sign the Treaty of Waitangi. They did this with the very best of intentions, so two peoples could live together in harmony. Today the Treaty has been hijacked, and it is now dividing us. It should have been our Magna Carta, but it has become a multi-million dollar industry that works to the advantage of a few. If other New Zealand industries had expanded like the Treaty industry we would be at the very top of the OECD. Over the past fifteen years the Treaty has become a gravy train for a lucky few. A gravy train built by Labour, and with extra carriages added on by National. And now government is bogged down in a mire of Treaty claims and policies. Generations of New Zealand taxpayers will have to pay, and some of us will have the devil’s job sorting out which part of us compensates the other part. And the real tragedy of the Treaty industry is that it rides on the back of a genuine issue, the economic plight of Maori. Anyone with the slightest of concern for Maori can see that the Treaty industry has bought most Maori absolutely nothing. It has diverted attention from the real issues: educational, employment, housing and health status of Maori. The state spends on average $23,000 a year per Maori, but most of it isn’t reaching Maori at all, certainly not those who need it. Some local councils are setting up special seats for Maori. In South Africa this was called the politics of apartheid. Maori don’t need this, New Zealand doesn’t need this. For many years my critics have called me a Maori basher and a racist. Well if standing up for ordinary New Zealanders, no matter what race, is Maori bashing and racist, I plead guilty. If standing up for our society, our values and traditions, and a united country is Maori bashing and racist, I plead guilty. If saying that the Treaty industry has to stop is Maori bashing and racist, again I plead guilty. For the road that New Zealand First is taking goes in the opposite direction to the prevailing political correctness, and we make no apology for that. It’s not a time for apologies, it’s not a time for cringing in front of the world, but it is time to hold our heads up as one people and make New Zealand a better place. New Zealand First can be trusted with that task. Over the past three years we’ve backed those policies that we’ve felt would benefit most New Zealanders and we will do so again. We’re only interested in helping to build a stable and fair government, a government that can be trusted to make your streets and homes safe, that does not divide the country, and a government that keeps New Zealand for New Zealanders. Can we fix it? Yes we can, and we will. Text: Give us your party vote. Keep New Zealand First. Act opening statement 2002 (54.30-1.02.29) Text: Act New Zealand. Promoting freedom, choice and responsibility. Richard Prebble: “This is a fantastic country. Whenever I come to a beach like this I’m just so proud to be a New Zealander. Where else in the world can you get a beach like this. Wouldn’t it be good if we could have policies to match it? What we need is a New Zealand where we are not only looking after our environment, but wouldn’t it be great to have an education system, a health system, a welfare system, an economy that is as good as our view. And we can do that. That is why this election is so important. The Act party has selected men and women, all successful in their chosen careers, who’ve come to Parliament to serve the nation.” Prebble in Parliament: “How can we say to taxpayers, that it is okay to lose two hundred million dollars, and yet this report is deficient.” Prebble: “We’ve gone out to select men and women of real ability and all parliamentarians agree the Act party, man for man, woman for woman, is the most able in Parliament. It has given us enormous credibility. Stephen Franks: “We are all practical hard-working people who have come to Parliament from doing something else. I grew up in Taihape, we could go free, we could wander across anybody’s farm because the farmer wasn’t worried he would be liable if we fell into the creek that had been there for a hundred years. I became an ACT MP because although I found the law satisfying, I liked making sure clients got a fair outcome, now the whole country is the client, and it is very satisfying. You can ask the question whenever some law comes up, is this treating everyone equally? Is this making sure we are not encouraging people to see themselves as victims? You think about it, an employer is now liable for an employee who feels stressed. Once upon a time if you felt stressed in a job you took responsibility and you went and found another job.” Worker: “I wouldn’t mind taxes, fair taxes, but this is the thing it is getting out of hand.” Rodney Hide: “The key to doing better is to get the economy going stronger, to get more jobs, to get more wealth in people’s pockets. And the way we believe we have to do that is to unshackle working people. And that means lower taxes, so that when you are earning you get to keep more; you like taxes? Worker: “Too right.” Hide: “In fact, for someone on 40,000 per year we are saying a tax cut, put an extra $600 in their pocket a year, just like that. These are the people who are the backbone of New Zealand (film of builders). Here they are, they create everything we have. It is not politicians, not bureaucrats, it is actually working New Zealanders who work hard and create. What we do as a government and a society is to hammer them. Take all the money out of their pocket, so we can spend it on crazy courses, and then we make them fill out forms every night after work till late. So what Act is saying, is we are going to let you keep more of your money in your pocket, we are going to reward hard work and thrift, and we are going to have a bonfire of regulations.” Ken Shirley: “Health is a concern to all New Zealanders because it is actually about people’s lives and their dignity. What we say is you actually engage the resources of the private sector. We have the capacity there to provide the treatment, to look after people, to meet their health needs. But instead we leave them languishing on waiting lists in the public sector. It doesn’t actually matter who owns the hospital, who owns the clinic, what matters is that people with health needs get treated, get the operation they require, get the treatment they require, in a safe time-frame.” Muriel Newman: “I came to New Zealand in the 1950s because it was the land of opportunity, third highest standard of living in the world, now we are number 27th in terms of our standard of living, and our kids are leaving, it is just ridiculous and we’ve got to do something about it. Students have to know someone is going to run the country in a way that gives them opportunity, and gives them a bright future. But so many of these kids are going overseas to look for that opportunity; they can’t stay in this country because our standard of living is so low. So, we need a plan to turn New Zealand back to being a prosperous nation like it was a generation ago. New Zealand is becoming increasingly unsafe isn’t it? I mean I don’t know about you but I’m afraid to go for a run in the morning, before daylight now.” Young woman: “I used to go for a run in the morning, and mum got me a running machine because she didn’t want me going out. In Epsom.” Newman: “Is that right? You see it is hopeless isn’t it.” Deborah Coddington: “As a woman and I mother I’m concerned about the large number of children in New Zealand society who are abused and neglected. Children who are failing at school, children who are succeeding at school but are having to go offshore to pursue a meaningful career, and not come home. Violent crime in the community, especially against women. Now other women are concerned about those things for their own children and for their children’s future too. And Act is the only party with meaningful solutions to those problems. And that is why I’m standing for Act.” Student: “The exams yeah, it is like we are studying the whole time, right throughout the year.” Another student: “Studying in the weekend, it sort of leaves you no time to do sport.” Third student: “You’d like to know how well you are doing.” Fourth student: “More work for the teachers marking the whole time.” Donna Awatere Huata: “These kids know exactly what is wrong with NCEA. They are saying they want a return to good exams, they want a return to having a life, being able to do sports on the weekend, and actually enjoy themselves while they are still really children. What we are saying to voters is this: if you want a system where good teachers are paid well; where we have an exam system that doesn’t burden teachers down; and where students have a life; and we have high standards; and every child reaches their potential; then give Act your party vote because we will go into Parliament and fight for you. We will make it happen.” Dick Quax: “We’ve achieved excellence in business, we’ve achieved excellence in the arts, we’ve achieved excellence on the sporting fields all around the world. And the thing that Act is committed to is allowing all New Zealanders to achieve their dreams, just like I did.” Alex Wang: “I want my boys to be happy, I want them to have a good start in life, I want them to live in a safe society, without the threat of crime everywhere, and I want them to live in a tolerant, liberal society. I don’t want to be treated as an ethnic minority, I don’t want to be treated as a privileged sub class. I just want the same opportunities and the same rights as everyone else.” Stephen Franks: “I believe there are things the government wouldn’t even risk suggesting now because they know we’ll be standing there saying is this equality before the law.” Rodney Hide: “And that is why we are going around saying party vote for Act. And, you know what, it is your choice.” Stephen Franks: “And if people don’t give their party vote to Act then that voice may not be there.” Richard Prebble: “Why don’t we have a tax cut for every worker. Why don’t we make our neighbourhoods safe. Why don’t we have higher standards of education. Why don’t we have a better Parliament. And you can have that by voting Act with your party vote this election.” Text: Opportunities for the next generation. Tax cuts for every worker. Zero tolerance for crime. Choice in healthcare and prompt, world-class treatment. Power for parents, world-class success for our children. A hand up, not a hand out. One law for all. Give Act your party vote. Act New Zealand. Promoting freedom, choice and responsibility.