Opinion - For real change, ACT needs to have a strong presence
Opinion
The Taxpayers Union Napier electorate poll revealed a staggering 75% believe NZ is going in the wrong direction, and with good reason. Tukituki voters would be no different. We need real change, and swapping red Chris for blue Chris isn’t nearly enough. The courage to reverse Labour’s policies and commit to real change will not exist unless ACT is a big part of the next government.
Labour’s wasteful spending is out of control and has left our country indebted for years to come. We now pay twice as much on government debt interest payments than we spend on our police force. Before Labour came in, debt interest payments were negligible.
We have seen nothing for this spending, our crime statistics, health and education system, economy, infrastructure, housing, poverty, and race relations are all worse now than when Labour took over. Labour’s policies have been an abject failure.
There have been past elections where voters were presented with two quite different options between National and Labour. Given Labour’s failure, National should be campaigning much harder on delivering meaningful change, but they are not.
National is promising a change of government, but for it to be a real change ACT needs to have a strong presence. National’s fiscal plan contains a central contradiction; criticism of Labour’s wasteful spending while simultaneously pledging to uphold it. National’s plan retains more than 98% of Labour's spending.
ACT aims to return bureaucracy to pre-Labour's levels, eliminating 30% of back-office public servants. Unlocking $25.5 billion in spending reductions, facilitating substantial tax cuts and $8.8 billion in debt repayments. ACT will not cut one frontline position, not one doctor, not one nurse, policeman or teacher.
Labour’s left the cupboards bare, which is why ACT’s innovative solutions are so needed. Labour trumpets building a new hospital as an election bribe, but while they have been in government a group of doctors so frustrated with dealing with the DHB built the Kaweka Hospital without public funding, and ACT would fund more operations in private hospitals.
ACT promises to put victims’ rights before criminals. We will:
• Reinstate three strikes
• Introduce three strikes for burglary
• Significantly toughen up on gangs, their illegal use of firearms and grant IRD asset investigation powers
• Require rehabilitation for parole, including education, obtaining driving licenses, anger management, and trade training
• Abolish the prison reduction target, increase the number of prison beds
Children should not enter the adult justice system without prior exposure to consequences. So ACT will:
• Introduce youth infringement notices for minor offenses, granting police authority akin to issuing speeding tickets, allowing immediate justice through community service tasks like graffiti removal
• For repeat and serious offenders ACT will use ankle bracelets, because if their parents don’t know where they are, someone must
• We'll establish separate youth justice facilities for intensive rehabilitation of serious young offenders, distinct from Oranga Tamariki's focus on vulnerable children's wellbeing
We are committed to proactive education reform. ACT has a range of measures to combat truancy, including mandatory daily attendance reports. Many students struggle within the current rigid education system, which fails to meet their unique needs. We will reintroduce Charter Schools, which have a proven track record of success in helping students who struggled in mainstream education. I recently spoke with Te Aratika Academy, a former Charter School in Hawkes Bay. The students were out learning to pour concrete, illustrating that education is not solely about reading, writing and maths.
The Treaty of Waitangi is our founding document and it is something we should be proud of, and it should bring people together. Instead, it is being used by Labour to divide people. Labour never campaigned on co-governance. Our 100 day plan will repeal Three Waters and the Māori Health Authority, and we will tell bureaucrats to stop treating people differently based on race. New Zealand has never been so divided; we must unite with equal rights and responsibilities for all.
Recent polls have shown ACT on around 15 MP’s. I’m ranked 16! To get in and provide another strong voice for Hawkes Bay, ACT need another 0.5% of the party vote.
I am not asking for your electorate vote. Please give your party vote to ACT for real change.
* Rob Douglas is the ACT Party Candidate for Tukituki. Candidates in the Tukituki electorate have the opportunity to submit an opinion piece for publication. All views expressed here are Rob Douglas’ and not those of Hawke’s Bay App.
