Page  :  One  Two  Three  Four  Five  Return to Speeches

Budget Changes  -  Year 1

Paid for by

Conclusion

You can't win unless you are prepared to lose.
Ask yourself  -  'Why am I in Politics?'

 Conventional politicians

Focus on trying to please people by adopting policies to deal with immediate problems rather than future opportunities.

The problem with this approach is that it becomes increasingly clear over time that the problems have not been solved and that the opportunities have been thrown away.  Such governments (National 1999) are voted out.

 ACT's job is to put its alternative approach to the voter in a straightforward but stark way e.g:

• Is the present welfare, education health and government ownership system worth what it  costs you i.e. $1million in capital in your name on retirement?

• Is it worth the loss of income you will thereby suffer in retirement (i.e. $800 a week)?

• Is it worth losing the right to send your child to the school of your choice?

• Kings College

• Auckland Grammar etc.

• Is it worth losing the right to have your own and your family's choice in health insurance?

• Is owning the Post Office, Broadcasting Services etc. worth $200,000 in capital to you and $10,000 a year in retirement?

 You can't win unless you show both sides of the coin.  (Privatisation)

 ACT needs to:

• Remember we are a party that stands for all New Zealanders i.e. taxpayers and consumers.

• Remember that goals (dreams) are important in politics.  We need to show how our policies will lead to:

• A feeling of self worth

• Opportunity

• Initiative

• Independence

• Security

• Fairness

• Remind people of what New Zealand was like.

• Remember that when we say we are the party of small business or the party of farmers, all we do is turn off voters who do not fit into that category.

 People don't vote for you because you say you represent them.  People vote for you because they agree with what you stand for.

• The Chinese community votes for us because they support less tax, less government.

• The hardworking poor will vote for us when they understand that only ACT will ensure they have money in retirement, top schools for their children and take them off the bottom of the waiting list.

• Small business will vote for us when we demonstrate that ACT policy will lead to growth and they will get their share.

• Teachers will vote for us when we show them why they will be personally better off and why the education system will improve.

• Doctors will vote for us when we demonstrate how productivity and quality of health care can be improved and they can increase their income.

For those of you who do not like the idea of a government promoted superannuation scheme, let me say this to you:

• Do you favour choice and open entry (competition)into the supply side of education and health care and the benefits we all know would flow from this approach (similar productivity improvement to other SOEs)?

• Do you favour competition in provision of welfare - ACC, sickness, unemployment and the benefits that would flow?  (A reduction of 200,000+ off welfare.)

• Do you favour further privatisation and the one billion dollars of benefits we are told it would bring?  (NZRT Report)

If the answer is yes:

Then you need to be practical about it.  You need to recognise that it will only happen if you win a further 15% of the vote.

To do that you have to show one quarter of the 60% that vote left at the moment that they can do better by voting centre right.  That means promoting policies that might appeal to them.

A Government promoted superannuation scheme for all (promoted correctly) with benefits of $1 million+ could just bring it about.

For my part, 95% out of 100% is better than zero.

Page  :  One  Two  Three  Four  Five  Return to Speeches