Jim's E-News, October 2011
09/11/11 12:58 Filed in: Newsletters
A farewell to Parliament
This has been something of a special month for me, and there could not have been a better highlight than to have been joined by my family and friends as I gave my final or valedictory speech to Parliament on Tuesday 4 October.
It is hard to believe it is 27 years ago since I was elected as the Member of Parliament for the former seat of Sydenham, and even harder to believe the incredible passage of events that have occurred in the intervening years. Not the least among these was that I represented four different political parties in two electorates, and surviving the turbulent period of the 1980s in which I left the Labour Party as a result of its adherence to the philosophies of what became known as Rogernomics. Leaving the Labour Party when I did risked almost certain political oblivion, but instead I created political history by being the first MP to leave his parliamentary party, stand against it and win.
I have no doubt that I made the right decision to leave the Labour Party to form New Labour when I did, then taking it into the Alliance with other parties, and later by forming the Progressives as a coalition partner for Labour. I have no regrets about any of those decisions and under the same circumstances I would do exactly the same again.
Later, with the Clark-led Labour Government, we made a number of social and economic advancements of which I am particularly proud. As Minister of Economic, Industry and Regional Development, I oversaw 23 consecutive quarters of positive growth in every region of New Zealand, while unemployment fell to record low levels. Similarly, my term as Minister of Agriculture as well as Minister of Economic
Development demonstrated over and over again how the real strength of the New Zealand economy lies in innovation. The establishment of KiwiBank was a particular highlight and, while I had to fight long and hard to get it established, it was worth every ounce of effort and the bank has been roaring success.
There are some fights still to be won, namely suicide prevention and dealing with drug and alcohol abuse. These issues are sometimes side-lined because they are complex and hard to solve. Progress can be frustrating, but we have an overriding obligation to care for all of our citizens, many of whom who have reached the depths of despair and are no longer able to make good judgements for themselves.
Finally, the greatest satisfaction I’ve had in politics is to have been able to help thousands of individuals and hundreds of communities in ways almost no other occupation can make possible. That is an opportunity that you, as members of your communities, have given me and I thank you all for that.
My valedictory speech can be found here.
To view the interview on The Nation with Sean Plunket go here.
To hear the Focus on Politics podcast, go here.
To see the TV3 news clip, go here.
MMP: A better system than before
In a little over a month voters will get to have a say in the future of New Zealand’s electoral system with a referendum on representation systems being held in conjunction with the general election.
Broken election promises by previous governments coupled with the blatant unfairness of the First-Past-the-Post electoral system led to the introduction of the current MMP system in 1996, and it has resulted in some pretty important changes.
I remember 93 percent of the population was against the sale of Telecom in 1990, and Richard Prebble told parliament at the time that “New Zealand was lucky to have a government of such courage that it would stand up to a lobby group like that.” It was no wonder that people rebelled against an electoral system that delivered such outcomes, and in choosing MMP they made the right decision.
Consider this. Between 1853 and 1984 there were 1102 MPs elected to parliament. Only 25 of them were women. Currently there are 38 women in this parliament; more than were elected in the previous 131 years. There are also more young, Maori, Asian and representatives of different religious persuasions.
Another breakthrough has been the power and scrutiny of select committees. Almost every piece of legislation now goes to select committee, the most democratic process of all Commonwealth Parliament as far as I know. Select committees are also now often chaired by opposition MPs, so it is much more difficult for the government to control them.
Importantly, MMP has broken the back of the old two-party stranglehold and nowadays political parties are required to work with each other more constructively. There is no doubt that the old adversarial nature of politics has lessened.
If I was to offer one piece of advice, it would be to vote to retain MMP in this year’s referendum. Believe me, it has certainly improved parliamentary representation and it would be a real backwards move to go back to the old system.
And as I leave parliament, here is a final note of encouragement to you all. I have always believed that every citizen should stand for public office in their lifetime because it would create a much better understanding of the democratic process and a much healthier respect for politics and parliament.
The culture of success
Throughout my years in politics I’ve been driven by the desire to make sure every New Zealander has the opportunity and security that a well-paid, satisfying job brings, that everyone has access to the essentials of a strong community such as health care, education, affordable quality housing and a decent standard of living in retirement.
If we want these things, however, we need a strong economy capable of sustaining them, and my message is that it is our agricultural and horticultural industries have the potential to create jobs and prosperity throughout the regions of New Zealand.
Over the last four decades, our economy has been struggling to pay for what we want, and we’ve been slipping behind the rest of the developed world. Although our markets and our exports have changed, we still haven’t created enough of the high-value, high-skill innovation-led businesses we need. The main reason for this is that we don’t have enough investment in science and innovation to lift the productivity of our economy.
Agriculture is probably the most scientifically advanced of all our industries. Our primary industries have the scale, sophistication and the underlying science advantage to be a springboard for much greater things.
Everywhere you look around the world where economies have been successfully transformed to the benefit of their people and their communities, the pattern has been the same. It has been, without exception, where the government has worked alongside industry.
Yet, uncomfortable as it is for many people, especially in business, support for innovation in New Zealand has become a fault line between differing political philosophies. The current government wiped out a two billion public-private partnership in scientific research as soon as it got elected. A tax credit for research and development worth a billion dollars over three years was cancelled, and all this took place without much of a squeak, specifically from the business community itself.
This was nonsensical. We need innovation, talent and a culture that embeds innovation into the boardroom. And so we need a culture of creativity and success that celebrates and inspires the creation of new industry.
This was part of a speech given to the Conference of the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Science at Te Papa on 04 October 2011.
The good, bad and ugly of parliamentary politics – with Jim Anderton and Simon Power
The ASPG Seminar in Parliament
The Good
The MMP environment has meant a far more diverse group of representatives. Between 1853 and 1984 there were 1102 MPs elected to the NZ House of Representatives. Only 25 of them were women. Currently there are 38 women in this parliament, - more than were elected in a total of 131 years and there are also more Maori, as well as Asian, and Pacific MPs. Parliament now, is more like New Zealand now.
So MMP was the right choice for New Zealand.
Another breakthrough has been the power and scrutiny of select committees. Almost every piece of legislation goes to select committee – the most democratic process of all Commonwealth Parliament as far as I know. Even the video surveillance legislation this month went to select committee at the very end of this term, when the Government wanted the Bill passed within days. The consultation process involved produced a bill that much better protected some ancient civil liberties; even though I’m sure it frustrated the Government. Select Committees are now often chaired by opposition MPs, so it is much more difficult for the government to control them.
When I chaired the sub-committee of the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee in 1984 we started an inquiry into the post-election devaluation. The government called it off after pressure from Treasury and the Reserve Bank by ordering the government members of the committee, to vote to cancel the enquiry. Ironically, the minister who gave that order was the same person who had written the book ‘Unbridled Power’ about the excessive use of political power by the executive over parliament. That couldn’t happen now.
The Bad
We have lobbying of minor parties by vested interests, who play each off against the others. One example - in 2008, as Minister of Fisheries I needed to amend the Fisheries Act following a court decision which put at risk the sustainability of our fisheries and to make it clear that the fishery should not be depleted by the way it was fished. Vested commercial interests spent a lot of time and resource lobbying first the Maori Party, then NZ First, and other parties. None wanted to be out-flanked by the Maori Party.
So we ended up with a law no one could intellectually defend because of the influence a few commercial interests had over minor parties.
So no system of government is perfect!
The Ugly
The defections of list MPs from the parties they were elected to represent have largely diminished now, but waka jumping gave MMP a very bad reputation. It was made too easy and even encouraged.
The adversarial nature of politics in the debating chamber is the ugly face of parliamentary politics most often displayed by the media to the people of New Zealand. It is not the reality of the overwhelming majority of the work of politicians at electorate, select committee, caucus or ministerial level in New Zealand politics.
New Zealanders would be better informed and have a different view of politics and politicians in their country if they were presented with a more balanced view of this reality.
Being elected as an MP to the Parliament of New Zealand is hard to do and happens to very few of our citizens. Since 1853 when our first parliament met with 36 MPs and the population of New Zealand was approximately 92,000, there have only been 1,365 MPs elected up until 2011 (158 years), with our population standing now at 4,416,324.
I have always believed that every citizen should stand for public office in their lifetime because it would create a much better understanding of the democratic process and a much healthier respect for politics and Parliament. But I’m not holding my breath!
This has been something of a special month for me, and there could not have been a better highlight than to have been joined by my family and friends as I gave my final or valedictory speech to Parliament on Tuesday 4 October.
It is hard to believe it is 27 years ago since I was elected as the Member of Parliament for the former seat of Sydenham, and even harder to believe the incredible passage of events that have occurred in the intervening years. Not the least among these was that I represented four different political parties in two electorates, and surviving the turbulent period of the 1980s in which I left the Labour Party as a result of its adherence to the philosophies of what became known as Rogernomics. Leaving the Labour Party when I did risked almost certain political oblivion, but instead I created political history by being the first MP to leave his parliamentary party, stand against it and win.
I have no doubt that I made the right decision to leave the Labour Party to form New Labour when I did, then taking it into the Alliance with other parties, and later by forming the Progressives as a coalition partner for Labour. I have no regrets about any of those decisions and under the same circumstances I would do exactly the same again.
Later, with the Clark-led Labour Government, we made a number of social and economic advancements of which I am particularly proud. As Minister of Economic, Industry and Regional Development, I oversaw 23 consecutive quarters of positive growth in every region of New Zealand, while unemployment fell to record low levels. Similarly, my term as Minister of Agriculture as well as Minister of Economic
Development demonstrated over and over again how the real strength of the New Zealand economy lies in innovation. The establishment of KiwiBank was a particular highlight and, while I had to fight long and hard to get it established, it was worth every ounce of effort and the bank has been roaring success.
There are some fights still to be won, namely suicide prevention and dealing with drug and alcohol abuse. These issues are sometimes side-lined because they are complex and hard to solve. Progress can be frustrating, but we have an overriding obligation to care for all of our citizens, many of whom who have reached the depths of despair and are no longer able to make good judgements for themselves.
Finally, the greatest satisfaction I’ve had in politics is to have been able to help thousands of individuals and hundreds of communities in ways almost no other occupation can make possible. That is an opportunity that you, as members of your communities, have given me and I thank you all for that.
My valedictory speech can be found here.
To view the interview on The Nation with Sean Plunket go here.
To hear the Focus on Politics podcast, go here.
To see the TV3 news clip, go here.
MMP: A better system than before
In a little over a month voters will get to have a say in the future of New Zealand’s electoral system with a referendum on representation systems being held in conjunction with the general election.
Broken election promises by previous governments coupled with the blatant unfairness of the First-Past-the-Post electoral system led to the introduction of the current MMP system in 1996, and it has resulted in some pretty important changes.
I remember 93 percent of the population was against the sale of Telecom in 1990, and Richard Prebble told parliament at the time that “New Zealand was lucky to have a government of such courage that it would stand up to a lobby group like that.” It was no wonder that people rebelled against an electoral system that delivered such outcomes, and in choosing MMP they made the right decision.
Consider this. Between 1853 and 1984 there were 1102 MPs elected to parliament. Only 25 of them were women. Currently there are 38 women in this parliament; more than were elected in the previous 131 years. There are also more young, Maori, Asian and representatives of different religious persuasions.
Another breakthrough has been the power and scrutiny of select committees. Almost every piece of legislation now goes to select committee, the most democratic process of all Commonwealth Parliament as far as I know. Select committees are also now often chaired by opposition MPs, so it is much more difficult for the government to control them.
Importantly, MMP has broken the back of the old two-party stranglehold and nowadays political parties are required to work with each other more constructively. There is no doubt that the old adversarial nature of politics has lessened.
If I was to offer one piece of advice, it would be to vote to retain MMP in this year’s referendum. Believe me, it has certainly improved parliamentary representation and it would be a real backwards move to go back to the old system.
And as I leave parliament, here is a final note of encouragement to you all. I have always believed that every citizen should stand for public office in their lifetime because it would create a much better understanding of the democratic process and a much healthier respect for politics and parliament.
The culture of success
Throughout my years in politics I’ve been driven by the desire to make sure every New Zealander has the opportunity and security that a well-paid, satisfying job brings, that everyone has access to the essentials of a strong community such as health care, education, affordable quality housing and a decent standard of living in retirement.
If we want these things, however, we need a strong economy capable of sustaining them, and my message is that it is our agricultural and horticultural industries have the potential to create jobs and prosperity throughout the regions of New Zealand.
Over the last four decades, our economy has been struggling to pay for what we want, and we’ve been slipping behind the rest of the developed world. Although our markets and our exports have changed, we still haven’t created enough of the high-value, high-skill innovation-led businesses we need. The main reason for this is that we don’t have enough investment in science and innovation to lift the productivity of our economy.
Agriculture is probably the most scientifically advanced of all our industries. Our primary industries have the scale, sophistication and the underlying science advantage to be a springboard for much greater things.
Everywhere you look around the world where economies have been successfully transformed to the benefit of their people and their communities, the pattern has been the same. It has been, without exception, where the government has worked alongside industry.
Yet, uncomfortable as it is for many people, especially in business, support for innovation in New Zealand has become a fault line between differing political philosophies. The current government wiped out a two billion public-private partnership in scientific research as soon as it got elected. A tax credit for research and development worth a billion dollars over three years was cancelled, and all this took place without much of a squeak, specifically from the business community itself.
This was nonsensical. We need innovation, talent and a culture that embeds innovation into the boardroom. And so we need a culture of creativity and success that celebrates and inspires the creation of new industry.
This was part of a speech given to the Conference of the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Science at Te Papa on 04 October 2011.
The good, bad and ugly of parliamentary politics – with Jim Anderton and Simon Power
The ASPG Seminar in Parliament
The Good
The MMP environment has meant a far more diverse group of representatives. Between 1853 and 1984 there were 1102 MPs elected to the NZ House of Representatives. Only 25 of them were women. Currently there are 38 women in this parliament, - more than were elected in a total of 131 years and there are also more Maori, as well as Asian, and Pacific MPs. Parliament now, is more like New Zealand now.
So MMP was the right choice for New Zealand.
Another breakthrough has been the power and scrutiny of select committees. Almost every piece of legislation goes to select committee – the most democratic process of all Commonwealth Parliament as far as I know. Even the video surveillance legislation this month went to select committee at the very end of this term, when the Government wanted the Bill passed within days. The consultation process involved produced a bill that much better protected some ancient civil liberties; even though I’m sure it frustrated the Government. Select Committees are now often chaired by opposition MPs, so it is much more difficult for the government to control them.
When I chaired the sub-committee of the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee in 1984 we started an inquiry into the post-election devaluation. The government called it off after pressure from Treasury and the Reserve Bank by ordering the government members of the committee, to vote to cancel the enquiry. Ironically, the minister who gave that order was the same person who had written the book ‘Unbridled Power’ about the excessive use of political power by the executive over parliament. That couldn’t happen now.
The Bad
We have lobbying of minor parties by vested interests, who play each off against the others. One example - in 2008, as Minister of Fisheries I needed to amend the Fisheries Act following a court decision which put at risk the sustainability of our fisheries and to make it clear that the fishery should not be depleted by the way it was fished. Vested commercial interests spent a lot of time and resource lobbying first the Maori Party, then NZ First, and other parties. None wanted to be out-flanked by the Maori Party.
So we ended up with a law no one could intellectually defend because of the influence a few commercial interests had over minor parties.
So no system of government is perfect!
The Ugly
The defections of list MPs from the parties they were elected to represent have largely diminished now, but waka jumping gave MMP a very bad reputation. It was made too easy and even encouraged.
The adversarial nature of politics in the debating chamber is the ugly face of parliamentary politics most often displayed by the media to the people of New Zealand. It is not the reality of the overwhelming majority of the work of politicians at electorate, select committee, caucus or ministerial level in New Zealand politics.
New Zealanders would be better informed and have a different view of politics and politicians in their country if they were presented with a more balanced view of this reality.
Being elected as an MP to the Parliament of New Zealand is hard to do and happens to very few of our citizens. Since 1853 when our first parliament met with 36 MPs and the population of New Zealand was approximately 92,000, there have only been 1,365 MPs elected up until 2011 (158 years), with our population standing now at 4,416,324.
I have always believed that every citizen should stand for public office in their lifetime because it would create a much better understanding of the democratic process and a much healthier respect for politics and Parliament. But I’m not holding my breath!