Being Different Is The Name of the Game in MMP

The news this week featured United Future's decision to go with National. This alignment with one major party pre-election is risky but it helps clarify the position for voters.

During the six years it has worked with Labour United Future can chalk up at least six key policy gains:

a government Discussion Paper on Income Splitting;

central government funding for Transmission Gully;

an extension of daylight saving;

tax cuts for companies;

removing the cap on tax rebates for donations to charities; and

ensuring that people in Kiwisaver can divert 50% of their contributions to their mortgage.

These are significant policy wins for a small centre party which won only 3 seats in Parliament at the 2005 election. In 2008 United Future could be expected to highlight those aspects of its policy programme which distinguish it from the other parties. Otherwise liberal/centrist National-leaning voters will have no reason to vote United when they could vote directly for National (or Labour).

Policies such as support for parents of children with disabilities, extending ECE funding to Playcentres, Income Splitting, respect for the Treaty of Waitangi partnership, ensuring that National sticks to its policies on issues such as a nuclear-free NZ and blocking any backtracks on asset sales, in the first term of any new centre-right government, could all form part of a core policy offering that demonstrates extra value not available from other parties.

In 2008, at a time when small parties have a declining share of the political market, voters are unlikely to vote for a minor party unless they think it adds value to what their preferred major party would otherwise do. In opting to align with National United Future must figure out what distinct policy positions it will highlight to draw centrist voters that might otherwise sit on the Right of Labour or on the Left of National. It's called differentiation and in MMP it's the name of the game.


Disclaimer: In a personal capacity the writer was a former Board member of United Future from late 2003 until early 2006.

Time to provide rates relief to kiwi battlers

The Report of the Local Government Rates Inquiry last year “identified affordability problems for rates for some sections of the community which will increase over the next ten years.” In other words councils are pushing up rates so fast that low income households can’t afford to pay and its going to get worse over the next ten years.

Senior citizens and others on fixed incomes face a constant struggle trying to budget in the face of local authorities which seem to have an insatiable appetite for ratepayer dollars.

It is not acceptable for local authorities to demand rates rises above the rate of inflation and population growth. Rates rises should be capped at the inflation rate plus an allowance for population growth. This will inevitably mean that Councils have to prioritise like the rest of us. Pet projects might have to be delayed or scrapped until they can be afforded.

Vodafone Wellington Lions triumph over Southland

The Wellington Lions carved out a hard fought win over the Southland stags tonight at the Westpac Trust Stadium. There are many lessons to be learned for the final.

Time to face the truth of global financial markets

World share markets are trending downwards. Governments in democracies are desperately trying to hold back the tide of recession by throwing ever- increasing amounts of taxpayers’ money at banks and financial institutions without lasting success. In open competitive markets some businesses rise and others fall – they don’t all rise and rise or rise and plateau.

The sooner shady financial practices based on greedy manipulation of financial products is cleaned out of the financial system – the better. Covering the patient with billions or trillions of band aids will not deal with the underlying problem. The fact is that too many people borrowed too much money and then couldn't afford the repayments when circumstances changed. The banks and finance companies that shovelled out so much debt share the responsibility. Recovering from this will take a while. Yes it will be painful – and not just for the money traders but also for the ordinary wage worker and homeowner battling rising prices for groceries, rates and clothing. As we discovered in the 1970s and 1980s government’s cannot control everything – especially not technological changes, migration patterns or cross-border capital flows. They should not pretend they can. At the same token there is no need for despair. Economic cycles include periods of growth and periods of contraction. This phase will pass.

The wisest thing households and businesses can do right now is to adopt some old-fashioned advice and cut spending on unnecessary items, reduce debt, and look for new household income opportunities. Governments at local and central levels might usefully adopt the same advice.

Prime Minister visits Vodafone Call centre

The Prime Minister, Helen Clark, visited the Vodafone Call centre at Manukau this month. She was there to have morning tea with three competition winners who won a "Morning Tea with the Prime Minister" as a charitable fundraising prize.

The event was covered by a range of media including Prime TV and Radio NZ. The Prime Minister was welcomed to the Call centre by Vodafone CEO- Russell Stanners and the Vodafone Maori Cultural Group by way of a powhiri.

Ms Clark spoke to staff and answered questions from the competition winners on a range of topics.

Playcentres Are Grossly Underfunded

Playcentres are being grossly underfunded. That's the finding of a new report released last week. The report, prepared by Woodhams Research Associates, found that government funding was substantially lower than required for Playcentre to be sustainable due to a systematic discounting on Playcentre costs. It also found that parents are frustrated by the need to waste their time on Ministry of Education red tape rather than providing the programme for their children.

The New Zealand Playcentre Federation said the report highlighted how the government has undermined parents wanting to educate their own children.

Political reaction has been swift with National promising to incorporate Playcentre within the free early childhood funding model and United Future urging action to support Playcentre http://www.unitedfuture.org.nz/default,995,playcentres_being_systematically_under-funded.sm

"We have been trying for years to get the government to recognise the stress they have been putting Playcentre under. Now we have documented evidence of their systematic underfunding" said Playcentre Federation President, Marion Pilkington.

Key findings in the report include:

* The Ministry of Education appears to have ignored 31% of Playcentre costs when calculating funding rates;

* There is no adequate argument for excluding Playcentre from the 20 hours free ECE policy;

* Playcentre members, at centre and association level, have to volunteer for over 2000 hours per year for each centre on activities other than running the educational programme.

* Government policies have discriminated against parent provision of ECE.

"We have always known that Playcentre provides high quality education for our children" said Mrs Pilkington. "The report shows how the Playcentre model of education matches the best international research on high quality outcomes for children and their families as well."

Rural Playcentres often form community hubs and meeting points, especially after the closure of small schools and services such as post offices. It is in the interest of all communities to see that the Playcentre model remains healthy and viable.

"Playcentre calls on all political parties to support our drive for fair funding, effective structural support and reduced bureaucratic red tape" said Marion Pilkington.

The full report is published at www.playcentre.org.nz