In the next few months I am going to keep asking our communities what kind of society do you want to live in?  Values and priorities are changing so fast around us, we need to stop and ask this question now, before we lose sight of what is truly important in building strong societies.

For me I want to live in a fair society where everyone is treated equally irrespective of race, colour, religion, sex, age, culture, and preference.  I want for every kid, our kids, to have free access to health care, education, a home, and every opportunity to realise their fullest potential.  I want our kids to be protected from the harm of unhealthy foods, tobacco, alcohol and violence.  If our kids are to take up their rightful place as future leaders of families, communities and indeed our nation, then we must ensure that they receive quality education from early years to primary, high school and be given a choice of tertiary education of either pursuing a degree, trade, or whatever profession they choose.

I would like to see every able person to have a job that will enable them to earn a living that can sustain their family now and into the future. I would like to see more workplace training. 

I would like to see the elderly, disabled, sick and poor being protected and provided with care and their basic necessities.

This can happen provided that everyone is willing to chip in and support a fair society through paying their fair share of taxes.  This can happen provided “a fair society” is the driving force for our political decisions and there is a collective willingness for all of us to look after one another.  It can happen if greed and individualism is not the driving force behind political decisions.  It can happen if we recognise that “poverty anywhere will undermine wealth everywhere”.

Unfortunately, under the National-Act-Maori Party Government I believe we are not heading in this direction.  This Government is positioning New Zealand for a user-pays society and creating a problem for all New Zealanders.  The problem:  is Inequality!*

Consider the 2010 Budget.  Bill English told us it was about building  “a more prosperous and ambitious New Zealand”.  His recipe – big tax cuts for the rich, small if any for the poor, and these tax cuts would be funded by a 20% increase in GST, cuts in health, ECE, housing and lay-offs in other portfolios, and the sell-off, in the near future, of state assets like ACC, KiwiBank, etc.

Every Early Childhood Centre I’ve visited so far will all be affected by the Government cuts, some of the big licenses will lose up to $360,000 from their budgets, other small ones will lose about $25,000. 

The Government has said to these centres they must increase their fees or cut their expenditure.  This may mean centres firing quality staff, cutting staff training, cutting good nutrition, and cutting health checks. 

What this will mean is some parents will not afford ECE for their child and will keep them at home.  Inequality?  Absolutely!  Eventually what I suspect will emerge are centres that provide a low fee paying, low quality play centre service with unqualified staff, and those centres that charge high fees for their service.

Additionally, there’s been significant cuts in health expenditure as compared with previous years.  Budget 2010 have revealed wide ranging cuts to public health services.  About $18 million has been taken out of the oral health budget for young people under the age of 18 over the next four years. About $12 million has been cut from tobacco control programmes over four years.

Also cut over the next four years is $8million of sexual health promotion and prevention programmes, $1 million from public health alcohol and drug services, $4 million from mental health workforce development and $1.2 million from the Like Minds Like Mine campaign.  Inequality?  You better believe the consequences of all these cuts is inequality in the health of our communities, our country.

For example, life expectancy varies by more than 28 years, a disgrace that our Ministry of Health says puts us “in a range generally associated with third world developing countries.”  In some New Zealand neighbourhoods you are unlikely to live long enough to collect your super while in others the family will still be waiting for your to pop off at 90.” *

Income inequality will accelerate significantly with the Government extending its 90 Day Fire at Will Law to every workplace and preventing unions organising in worksites. The erosion of workers rights leads to mass unemployment, the fall of wages, the loss of other terms and conditions such as holidays, sick leave etc.

It makes me angry to know that some chief executive salaries now top the half-million mark while an unemployed person over 25 gets just $221.85 a week before tax, a sum lower in real terms than in 1991.*

If you want a fair and equal society, we must fight for it and not be silent.

* PSA Journal June 2010

Ends.

I love promoting Mangere as the Gateway to the Nation, and the land of the young, beautiful and gifted.  I do this at every opportunity with my parliamentary colleagues and in community events.  

This description reflects how strongly I feel about our young people belonging to a rising generation that are blessed with so many gifts and talents that will enable them to become some of the greatest future leaders of our country. 

Next week Youth Parliament will be in session and 122 young people from throughout New Zealand will spend two days questioning ministers, sitting in Select Committee meetings, and debating issues and moving motions in the House.

Twenty or so years from now, some of these young people, if they choose, will be representing the New Zealand public as elected members of Parliament.

We need good leaders who have good judgement and who desire to help all peoples of this nation of ours.

Last night at the Wellington Fijian Youth Forum I said to the youth, irrespective of what career pathway you choose, what’s really important is that you choose what you enjoy and love to do. 

But don’t restrict yourself. Don’t worry about whether you can do it now, or not.  Just dream about what you would like to do or become and write it down, memorise it and crystallize it in your mind. Make sure you dream big and stretch your thinking. 

There is nothing wrong with dreaming about becoming the Prime Minister of New Zealand.  There is nothing wrong with dreaming about becoming the Super Mayor for the Auckland Super city.

In fact I would challenge all our young people to dream about finding solutions about the big challenges our communities face today.

One challenge is the alcohol crisis our country faces today.  Sir Paul Reeves, Dame Temuranga Batley-Jackson, Papalii Dr Semisi Ma’ia’i and others called on Parliament this week to use the current historic opportunity brought about by the Law Commission’s “first principles” review of the liquor laws, to change the damaging heavy drinking culture in New Zealand.

The economic cost of the harm caused by heavy drinking is in the billions. Twenty five percent of New Zealand drinkers are heavy drinkers.  A third of all police apprehensions involve alcohol. Half of all serious violent crimes relate to alcohol.  Up to 75% of adult presentations at Emergency Departments on Thursday to Saturday nights are alcohol-related. There are over 500 serious and fatal injury traffic crashes every year.   There are over 1000 alcohol deaths every year. There are 70,000 alcohol-related physical and sexual assaults each year, and much, much more.

We need future leaders who are prepared to stand up and be counted and say to their generation life can be enjoyed without alcohol.  We need them to say that social events don’t need alcohol in order for it to be successful events. 

There is overwhelming evidence that all point out the significant economic, social and health costs that arise from alcohol and tobacco-related harm in our families, community and country.

Another significant challenge is violence especially violence in the home.

The Governor General the Hon Sir Anand Satyannand in his opening remarks at a recent seminar against violence had this to say:

“In the first 25 years of my career, …, I saw, at least at second-hand, a number of awful ramifications of violence within the home.  I sadly saw families torn apart by domestic violence—women assaulted, sometimes even killed.  I came to know of children who, if they were not also assaulted, were traumatised by the violence they witnessed and came to fear their parents and particularly their fathers.  In the unhappy circle that violence creates, there were also examples of children following in their parent’s footsteps.”

Domestic violence is not confined to the poor, brown and uneducated, it affects all. Men, and it is mostly men who are the offenders, who physically abuse their partners and children come from all occupations, classes, religions and ethnicities.

As a parent, I do not want my children to be addicted to alcohol, tobacco, or any other drug.  I do not want my children to be involved in violence of any kind or form whatsoever.  

Our country spends so much money combating domestic violence, paying for the economic, social and health harms caused by alcohol & tobacco-related harm when this money should be spent on our kids education.

My aspiration is that our children release their fullest potential, grow their gifts and talents, and become the best leaders we have ever seen. 

To prepare our kids for this, we must stand together to fight those who are opposed to our kids taking up their rightful place in the future of New Zealand.   

Anyone targeting our kids with an intent to harm them, physically or emotionally, or aims to stifle our kids progress in life, is an enemy of this nation.

Ends

When the Minister of Finance read out his Budget statement last week there was no mention whatsoever of Pacific peoples. Yet a few hours later, a press statement was sent out by the Minister of Pacific Island Affairs, the Hon. Georgina Te Heu Heu announcing that she approved funding the Pacific Economic Deveopment Agency Limited to the tune of $4.8 million over four years.

There was no specific detail in her statement about a process before the funding was approved. There was little detail about what the money was for. The lack of detail in her statement only caused more questions to be asked.

Then on Wednesday, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Director-General Murray Sherwin announced the first allocation of funding to industry from the Primary Growth Partnership fund.

I was heartened to read the statement by the Director-General who provided in an open and transparent manner how the Agriculture and Fisheries community participated in a rigourous and through process, how the Investment Advisory Panel and MAF staff scrutinized the proposals, because it was using taxpayers money.

It was not a political statement from the Minister of Agriculture. It was an open and transparent statement from the Ministry.

An Advisory Panel recommended 3 business plans for funding, collectively seeking $20 million in projects of between five and seven years.

The Director-General said the “three industry groups have gone through a rigorous process to get to this point.”

He said, “These applicants put in proposals in the first application round, which closed in October 2009. Since then, each of the business plans which were subsequently called for has been scrutinised by the Investment Advisory Panel and MAF staff.

“This has been a thorough process, which is critical when investing taxpayers’ money.

“I’m confident these business plans present ideas that will transform parts of the primary sector and that in years to come, 2010 will be seen as the year when a very fruitful partnership between the government and the primary sectors truly took off.”

Investment Advisory Panel Chairman Bill Falconer says the IAP put applicants through a rigorous test to prove their ability to deliver on their objectives and provide benefit to New Zealand. A further four industry groups who submitted proposals in Round Two are developing business plans in their bid for funding, and the IAP will soon review the 11 proposals received in Round Three.

Details of all three business plans are available at www.maf.govt.nz/pgp/

This is the kind of thorough and rigourous process that gives confidence to the public about how a Government, any government, is managing taxpayer funds.

This is the kind of thorough process that the Pacific communities are calling on the Minister of Pacific Island Affairs, the Hon. Georgina Te Heu Heu should have taken place before her announcement.

This is the kind of rigorous process that Mr John Key and Bill English should have insisted on before they decided to give taxpayer funds to a private company without calling for a public tender process.

This is the kind of open and transparent processes that we expect in our democratic society for the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, senior MPs, need and should adhere to.

Without a thorough and rigourous process critical when investing taxpayer funds, the public begin to ask questions: Does something smell funny in this setup?

Why didn’t it go through a rigorous process? Why is it the Minister doesn’t seem to know much about this group? Why is it she doesn’t know the details of what this group will deliver? Why this group, and not other groups that have strong track records, sound systems and infrastructure, and credible histories?

Minister Te Heu Heu in an interview with Radio 531pi suggests that it was a decision made by the Minister of Finance, not her. If it was Bill English that approved it, then he needs to answer why this group? Why as Minister of Finance did Mr English not demand for a rigorous and thorough open and transparent process before approving the funds?

If it was Mr Key who made the decision, then he should answer the same questions? If as he stated doesn’t know a lot about this group then why would he as Prime Minister approve funding at $4.8 million without going through a rigorous and thorough process, critical when taxpayer funds are invested?

This Minister and her government colleagues needs to come clean and explain all. The public have a right to know the full story.

This is not about money. The money is peanuts compared with the size of the challenges that Pacific communities now face under this government.

This is about keeping the Government honest, open and transparent, a requirement of our democratic system in New Zealand.

Ends.

As I write this column it is eight o’clock on Thursday morning.  At 2.00pm in the afternoon the National Govt will release their budget 2010 for all New Zealanders to see. That’s when opposition MPs will see the budget document for the first time.  We don’t know exactly at this time what detail will be in the budget, but we do have some information from answers to question we’ve asked of this government.

We do know that for the past eighteen months the National government has sat on their hands and have continued to blame the Labour opposition for their own failings to address the struggles that ordinary kiwis are experiencing.

We know that since they have been in government, National believes that they can do whatever they want to do, irrespective of how it will impact on the many of New Zealanders because National only favours the wealthy few that support them.

With the information that has been made available to opposition MPs, we get a sense that Budget 2010 will not be a fair budget for the many in our society.  We also sense that despite their flowery words, this is a typical National government, with old ideology that will not work for New Zealand, and will not help the many in Mangere.  Indeed this budget will not help the many in Manukau City and in South Auckland.

In their first budget, National promised a mana-enhancing budget, to help the poor, a step change, and the roadway to recovery but instead it was a slash and burn budget.   For South Auckland communities, we experienced high unemployment, cuts to Adult and Community Education, increases in ACC costs, cuts to tertiary spending, a squeeze on benefits, and long lines at food banks, long lines for housing, eviction notices, power cuts, and increases in food, phone, and petrol costs. 

We also saw how the CEO of Telecom and many like him receive millions of dollars in salary and bonuses during a recession when ordinary family’s were experiencing job losses and were on the verge of being evicted, or losing the family home as they struggled to pay rent or mortgage payments.

We have a strong sense that Budget 2010 is about National giving more money to people who already have money, and giving very little, if any at all, to those who are struggling with unemployment, and who are struggling to make ends meet.

At last night’s general debate in the House, one National MP said the budget will focus Government on things that matter.  I said to him that the things that matter for ordinary families are jobs, jobs, jobs.  It is jobs that provide incomes that can sustain families now and into the future.  Under National, unemployment ballooned to 7.3 percent.  Sure, there was a drop in the last quarter of 1 percent, but there are still about 140,000 people unemployed.  Highest amongst the unemployment rate are Maori and Pacific.  The Pacific unemployment rate moved up to 14.4 percent.  So how will the rest of the population be able to sustain a quality life in this country, if we still have high unemployment for the many ordinary New Zealanders?

The same National MP said that Budget 2010 is a step up and a step forward for New Zealand.  I asked them where is the step up and step forward for Pacific communities when the Government raises taxes on tertiary education?  Where is the step forward for Pacific communities when 9 early childhood centres have closed since December 2008 in Manukau, and 5 of the closed early childhood centres were from Mangere?  Where is the step up for the 81 percent of workers in Mangere earning $40,000 or less and did not receive any tax cut in 2009?  Where is the step up for the 81 percent of workers in Manukau East who earn $40,000 or less?  The median income for Manukau East is $20,000 and for Mangere it is $20,600.  Where is the step up for this population who will not get anything out of the tax cuts this government is proposing?

We were also told by National that the Government’s budget is about fairness and equity.  Where is the fairness in those earning $70,000 plus getting the bigger tax cut while those who are earning $48,000 or less get little or do not get anything at all?  Where is the fairness for those earning $14,000 or less getting the same reduction in taxes that this government is proposing to increase GST by 20 percent?  There is no fairness and no equity when the majority of hard working kiwis are forced to pay increases in goods and services that will far outweigh any proposed tax cut that this government proposes to give when they raise GST from 12.5 percent to 15 percent.

Whatever the rhetoric the Government uses to promote Budget 2010, the one thing that is sure in my mind is the Key National Government is using the same ideology as the National Governments of the past.  Give more to the rich who will supposedly invest it and the benefits from those investments will drop down to the rest of the people like crumbs falling off the rich Lord’s Table.  This ideology didn’t work for our communities in the 1980s, it didn’t work for our families in 1990s, and it will hurt us again in 2010.

Ends.

Next Thursday, 20 May the Government will table in Parliament its mid-term budget for the year 2010-2011 and beyond.  Opposition members will be the last to see the budget and so the minute we get the budget documents we’ll all be scrampling to quickly discover its contents and what it will mean for New Zealand. 

I find that asking the question of : “Who benefits from the Government’s budget?” helps me discover how the contents of the budget will impact on families, our community and the country generally.

The Minister of Finance has already announced that the Government will “focus on high-quality spending and not low-quality spending”.  When I’ve asked what this means, we are told to wait for the budget announcement. 

We know that at December 2009 unemployment was at 7.1% and at the end of the March 2010 quarter it dropped to 6%.  Despite this, there are still about 140,000 people without jobs. Young people between 15-19 years old are still at a 25.2% high.  The Maori unemployment rate has doubled since the middle of last year to 15.4 percent.  The Pacific unemployment rate is at 14.4 percent. 

The struggles for families that are included in these unemployment numbers are real. This is reflected in the number of families who say they are behind on rent, behind on power, and risk eviction notices and power cuts.  It is reflected in families where young children are often going without because they can’t afford some of the basics.

How will the Government’s budget help these families?  What policies will the Government fund in its budget that will increase job opportunities?  What will the Government budget deliver that supports families who are struggling to make ends meet?

We should be asking these questions because at the end of the day, Governments, irrespective of what party, must be working for the sake of the many and not just for the privilege few.

Jobs and Income are important for all working families. A job enables a worker to earn an income that can sustain the needs of his or her family.  Working and earning incomes that sustain the day to day needs of families  encourages pride and self esteem.

To be left on the scrap heaps of unemployment and benefit statistics destroys human dignity. 

So jobs and income are important for our families, our communities and our country as a whole.  Let us look to this budget for these opportunities.  This budget is an opportunity for this Government to do something for hard working Kiwis whose wage increases last year were the lowest in a decade, and for families who are finding it tough to pay the bills at the end of the week.

The Government needs to do more than simply sit on the sidelines and wait for international economic recovery to do its job for it.

Before the last election Mr John Key promised explicitly that a National Government would not increase GST.  He has now indicated he will break that promise.

A rise in GST to fifteen per cent – 50 percent higher than Australia’s rate – is expected to be in New Zealand’s budget.

This twenty per cent rise in the rate of GST will hit small businesses with small margins on their goods and services – small businesses, who are hurting now.

For hardworking New Zealanders and Kiwi families, it’s a bad time to be pushing up the cost of living by increasing GST.

On top of the price increases, there are the increased costs of Government charges, like ACC.  Petrol and power prices are set to rise still further.

Mortgage interest rates will rise repeatedly over the next year as the Reserve Bank puts up the official cash rate.

The government has promised compensation for increased GST through tax cuts.  I suspect this will mean that the majority of us will receive a small tax cut in the one hand, and then have to pay out an increased GST through the other hand.

The real winners will be the top income earners whose tax rates will come down from 38 cents in the dollar to 33 cents.

This “tax switch” is based on the philosophy of the “trickle down theory”. That is to give money to the top who’ll generate more money through their investments and the benefit will trickle down to the rest of the population at the bottom.

It conjures up the image of beggars & dogs picking up crumbs and eating off the scraps from their masters table.

No one wants to be beggar.  It destroys human dignity and self esteem.  Lets hope we can receive some of the mana-enhancing benefits in this budget that was promised in the last budget.

Last Wednesday the Whips gave me permission to attend a community event which recognised the achievement of some of our local community leaders in a life-changing programme called OTC, or Off the Couch.

This is a programme that Buck & Lucretia Stowers of Genetics Gym in Manukau have been supporting to help some of our heaviest men change their lifestyle through regular exercise and positive reinforcement.  These men support one another by exercising together, sharing their individual stories of struggle and love for their families, and being weighed in together and hearing from their trainer the amount of weight they’ve lost from the week before.

It’s an amazing story of positive role modelling.  However, these men are doing it because they love themselves and love their families enough to change for the better.  They know their being overweight is unhealthy.  They also know that if they are to have time to spend with the people they love the most they need to be healthy and stay healthy.  Buck Stowers supports these men with a passion. He not only walks the talk, but he lives and looks healthy.  He has a strong desire to help other people live healthy lifestyles.

When I left Genetics Gym I took a taxi from the South Auckland Taxi Association and started discussing politics with the local driver.  He wasn’t very happy with the Super city and the impact that change will have on him and his family.  He also didn’t like the person he called the “architect of the super city”.  But then he said to me “the architect fires the gun, but Roger gives him the bullets.”

The “Roger” the driver refers to is the same Sir Roger Douglas MP and founder of the Act Party.  This driver had vivid memories of losing his job during the Rogernomics Era and didn’t have a very kind word to say about that.

In the House this week, Sir Roger introduced a private members bill aimed at removing taxes on all imported goods.  He argued that tariffs on imported goods will hurt consumers by raising prices.  He argues that consumers should have more money in their pockets to spend elsewhere.

I asked him that If he is so concerned for the welfare of consumers then we can expect him to vote against an increase of GST.  GST means higher prices and less money in the hands of consumers and no one voted to raise GST.  But I’m not going to hold my breath on that.

Sir Roger is promoting the same ideological thinking that he peddled in the 1980s with detrimental outcomes for small businesses, the manufacturing industry & the workforce of the South Auckland region.

It was a time when he promoted that change was required to save our economy, and that change meant there would be winners and losers.  Guess who the losers were?

Many small businesses were forced to close. A lot of family members lost jobs.  Many had to sell their houses as they couldn’t keep mortgage payments up.  Those fortunate enough to have redundancy agreements got some compensation but they weren’t much.  Some bought taxis with it but soon that industry was de-regulated and many lost money.  Many workers never recovered from the impact of that era. Others left for Australia.

History seems to be repeating itself in 2010.  New Zealand is coming out of a global recession.  Govt seems fixated on only talking about cutting taxes for those on higher incomes and raising GST to 15%.  Many have lost jobs and small businesses are struggling.

Since the election, our unemployment rate has soared, and now stands at 30 per cent higher than Australia’s, where unemployment has gone down. 60,000 people have lost their jobs under National.

While recently Statistics New Zealand’s Household Labour Force Survey has unemployment at 6.0, down from 7.1%, Maori unemployment is at 14.2%, and Pacific people’s unemployment has increased to 14.4%.

Despite the 1% drop, unemployment is felt by many in our communities.  Without jobs that can provide sustainable incomes, families are falling behind with rent & power payments, risking eviction notices and power cuts.  Without jobs, families are struggling to meet mortgage payments and council rate charges, risking mortgagee sales.  Without jobs, families with children will often go without the basic necessities.

The living standards of our communities are significantly eroded without jobs.  Our communities depend on jobs to support our families.  This government doesn’t seem to have a plan to protect jobs. We are told to wait for Budget 2010 in May. 

Though Govt may no longer use words like “winners & losers” , they have said,  Govt will focus on “higher-quality spending” as opposed to “lower-quality spending”.  What does this mean? Cuts I suspect but cuts where? Education? Health?  Different words, same ideological thinking, same results.  Guess who suffers the most? The many not the few!

Last week the Government announced its Whanau Ora programme.  Labour like everyone else is waiting for some details.  At the moment confusion is rife. Mrs Turia and John Key are at odds over who the Whanau Ora is for, where the money for it will come from, how much money is involved, and how it will be delivered.  Hopefully, we will receive this detail when the Government announces its Budget next month.

Just before Easter, the Government introduced a bill that targets beneficiaries.  The bill will work test those on the unemployment, sickness, or solo parent benefits.  Never mind the fact that many on these benefits and can’t find work.  Never mind that those on the sickness benefits are really sick.  Never mind that solo mothers have children that need looking after and few employers are flexible enough to provide jobs between 9.30am to 2.30pm when the children are at school. 

The government will demand from beneficiaries that they find work.  If beneficiaries do not meet the work test criteria, they could have their benefits cut to 50% and then have it cut for good.  People will need to reapply for it every 12 months. 

Women have said to me this bill stigmatizes all beneficiaries as bludgers.  It demonises solo mothers and their children.  This is wrong. It is politics of the worse kind. A good government should aim to encourage and inspire its citizens.  Not condemn the weak, or cause people to fight over scraps like a pack of wild dogs.

Where are the jobs for the people then?  Why is it that this Government is sitting on its hands and allowing the unemployment numbers to rise.  There were 168,000 unemployed people in New Zealand as at December 2009, and those numbers are expected to rise more.  Why is it that the rest of the world is experiencing an economic recovery and many ordinary families throughout New Zealand have still not experienced the benefits from the economic recovery as other nations have? 

The Austrlian economy has seen nearly 20,000 jobs created last month.  That’s the 7^th straight month of rises in full time employment in Australia and that strength has seen an amazing 215,000 jobs created in the last six months.

In contrast, New Zealand is falling behind.  So what is the difference between our two countries? Australians have a Government that was proactive in tackling the recession. It’s also a Labour government whose priority is people.  That’s the big difference – people and whether the Government cares enough about the general population and whether they are prepared to uplift them with skills development and create jobs that pay well. The Australian Government put in place a bold and effective stimulus package, made a real commitment to skills training and education, and developed a plan to make Research and Development a vital part of their recovery. John Key’s Government has sat on the sidelines, offered up the rhetoric of the Jobs Summit, a talkfest, and promised that cycle-ways would solve the problem, but has failed to deliver.

Because it has failed to deliver jobs for kiwis, National now wants New Zealanders struggling to make ends meet to turn on itself, to turn on beneficiaries first.  Beneficiaries are an easy target.   

Nearly half way through its term in office and there is still no real plan by National to deal with unemployment (except to put the boot into beneficiaries). Instead of a plan for jobs, next month’s budget is focusing on rejigging the tax system.

There will be an increase in GST that no one voted for. During the election campaign Mr Key was specifically asked if National would increase GST.  He clearly and specifically said National wouldn’t.  Now John Key is calling the increase in GST National’s “tax switch”.  The term implies shuffling money around, giving with the left hand, and taking with the other.  The only certainty in the Government’s tax rejigging is you pay more for just about everything you buy because of the increase in GST.

The cost of your bread, milk, groceries, power and clothing will all go up.  So too will petrol, your rates, your insurance premiums and your ACC levies.

With GST going up to fifteen percent there will be twenty percent more tax on everything you buy.

The Government says it will compensate superannuitants for the increase in GST.  Many retired people are hoping this commitment will protect them.  I don’t believe it will.  Mr Key’s compensation for the GST hike will disappear from your back pockets while the higher prices you are paying won’t.

Superannuitants will be paying higher prices long after the compensation from Mr Key is gone.

What’s really going on is a tax switch from superannuitants and other fixed income groups to the very highest paid.

If most of the tax shuffle goes to the top income earners, it can’t go to everyone else.  So if hard-working, middle and low-income earners get small change, the biggest tax cuts will go to the top.

Tax cuts should make it easier for more kiwis to get ahead.  But National’s tax plan gives most of the tax cuts to those already far ahead.

That’s why Labour is saying axe the GST tax rise.

This Government needs to own up that it has failed to create jobs, it has failed to secure workers the benefits of the economic recovery.

Our communities deserve to be inspired with education, workplace skills development, research and innovation and high paid jobs.  A good government for the people would focus on these things for the many. It’s a real shame that this Government - is National through and through and focuses on the few.

Ends.

March is now officially the Pacific month in the greater Auckland region. It is a month where all things Pacific especially Pacific arts, dance, cultures, foods & flavours are showcased for the rest of the nation to see. Aotearoa New Zealand and tourists from across the world get to see the vibrancy & diversity of Pacific peoples and the value added to the fabric of New Zealand society today. For Pacific people in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and from across the Pacific region, it is a time to be brown and proud.

Numerous forums, movie shows, and art exhibitions with a Pacific focus have sprung up over the years in March. However, the Pasefika Festival at Western Springs and the Secondary Schools Polyfest at Manukau remain the two iconic features of the Pacific month.

When one watches the various performances on stage from traditional to contemporary, at either the Pasefika Festival or at the Polyfest, I am confident that you will agree with me when I describe the Pacific as a nation that is “young, beautiful, and gifted”.

Since the early arrivals from the Pacific islands to the shores of the Land of the Long White Cloud, Pacific people are on a beautiful journey where they have conquered many obstacles and are firmly making Aotearoa, New Zealand their place or home. Our home.

Pacific people have conquered sports with Bryan Williams, Bernice Mene, Inga the Winger, Linda Vagana, the Iceman, Beatrice Faumuina, Valerie Vili, Tana Umaga and Mangere’s very own David Tua. Many more follow in their footsteps.

Pacific people have conquered music with Ardijah, Dawn Raids, the Fuemana’s, Scripe, Savage and many, many more who have become household names in New Zealand, Australia and the USA. And there are many, many more who follow this pathway.

Pacific people continue to make their mark in all areas in academia, business & politics and for a relatively small population they have managed to punch way above its weight in changing the fabric & psyche of New Zealand society today.

All of this despite the many obstacles thrown up by strict border controls, English as a second language, institutionalised racism, cheap fatty turkey tails, corn beef, and lamb flaps, loan sharks, high death rates from smoking, alcoholism, pokie machines, church donations & faalavelaves, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and low wages.

I suspect these challenges will continue to be with us for a very long time but I am heartened to see the younger generation stepping forward to take up these challenges.

Whether New Zealand fully accepts us or not, it matters not. Pacific people are here to stay, and this is our place, our home. Our children will marry their children and those children will be brown, beautiful and gifted and will become the future leaders of New Zealand.

In order to prepare the young generation to take up their rightful leadership role in the future of New Zealand, we must position them carefully to take up their place.

I know of no other way to do this than by ensuring that our young people stay in school, go to university or polytechnic, take up an apprenticeship scheme, or take up a course, and get an education. It won’t happen unless we plan to do this.

Pasefika Festival is our time as a community to plan for the future. We must plan for change. We must plan new strategies to overcome the constant challenges that beset so many of our families. We must plan for success and how to deal with it. After all it is our journey and we must be in control. With those plans, our journey will achieve what every parent wants for their family. Success, joy and happiness. Happy Pasefika Festival everyone.

May I take this opportunity to thank our Pacific community for the wonderful support, encouragement and loyalty that you give to the Labour Party and my fellow Pacific MPs, Luamanuvao Winnie Laban, Charles Chauvel and Carmel Sepuloni. Malo le tapuai, malo le faamalosi. Metaki meaata. Fekaue lahi atu. Malo aupito. Vinaka levu.

Ends.

Parliament began sitting this week with the Prime Minister outlining in his speech his government’s priority for 2010. As I listened I started to write notes as to what he was really saying to the country.

The speech began with, “The Government starts 2010 with a very full programme of reform in front of it.” This statement is aimed at New Zealanders. It means the government will force upon New Zealanders significant changes this year whether people liked it or not.

The next statement is, “Our eyes will be firmly on the economy this year as we continue to implement our economic plan.” The words that sprang out at me are, “our eyes” “firmly on the economy” “continue to implement” and “economic plan”.

To me “our eyes” means government looking down at people at the very bottom, “firmly on the economy” means pushing workers to work harder, “we continue to implement” means we’ll do what we want to do and force people to their limits to accept what we want, and “economic plan” is a plan for how to make the rich richer.

When we look at Mr Key’s next statement, “The good news is that New Zealand has weathered the worst of the global crisis, and New Zealanders can be pleased at how well this country has come through it.”

I was shocked by this statement at how far removed Mr Key was from the 168,000 people unemployed as of December 2009 and from the more than 3000 people that lined up last month to apply for 150 job vacancies. Are these people and their families supposed to feel “pleased” at how well New Zealand has come through the global crisis?

Where are the benefits of the economic recovery for ordinary kiwis and their families? How are our communities supposed to make ends meet if they suddenly have no jobs through no fault of their own? What about the 110 staff from Pacificare/Blue Dove that still haven’t been paid by the company they were working for. These workers aren’t pleased. They are stressed out.

Mr Key continues his statement by saying his government will “reform the tax system” which I read as meaning his government would significantly shift the tax burden around from where it currently is. He gives us an insight to where the burden will shift by saying, “ we want people to pay their fair share of tax” which is to say his government wants ordinary people to pay more of the tax burden, and for those on high incomes to pay less.

He said, “that is one reason we are not only looking at a possible reductions to the top personal tax rate…..but at the whole personal tax structure, across the board.” Which suggests the government will lower the top income tax rate from 38 cents to 30 cents and shift this burden to everyone else on the lower levels. He confirms this by saying, “The Government is also carefully considering a modest increase in the rate of GST, to no more than 15 per cent” which means in order to compensate for the reduction of tax at the top income levels, the government will take this from people on lower incomes by raising GST to 15%. It is widely known that people on lower incomes spend their money on food, rent, petrol, power, phone, school fees, school uniforms, where GST is included.

Yet during the 2008 election campaign Mr Key told a press conference that if National is elected and does a “half decent job” at growing the economy, then increasing GST and the top tax rate will not be necessary. He then went on TVNZ 20 October 2008, and told the New Zealand public that he is not interested in increasing GST and does not support such a move.

As a Member of Parliament, I am not allowed to call others MPs liar, or hypocrite in the House, but what would you call someone who says one thing one year, and then says exactly the opposite thing another year.

I’ll leave that to our readers. But if the Prime Minister said, that if he does a “half decent job at growing the economy” then increasing GST will not be necessary. What does that tell us now that he is saying he’ll increase GST to 15%? For me, there has been no bold plan or any plan at all for the economy or to protect jobs. This speech was saying to me that the government’s mates will get a special tax rate, and for the rest of New Zealanders we’ll get a tax increase.

I have often been asked what have been the political highlights for me in the past 12 months.  If a highlight is something positive then frankly I struggle to find one because its been a difficult year for our communities.

The new National-led Government promised it would use its majority in parliament to “improve the wellbeing of New Zealanders”.  Despite this promise, the change of government has meant a change of policy and spending priorities in areas which hurt our communities 

This has been a government that has looked after privilege – the highest-paid 3% took 30% of the tax cuts legislated.  The multinationals and the polluters got a $110 billion subsidy from the Emissions Trading Scheme legislated.  This subsidy will be paid for by hardworking Kiwi taxpayers, not the polluter.  The corporate heads have continued to draw fabulous salaries without a word of criticism from National.  Prominent amongst this corporate group were reports that the Telecom CEO received a pay package of about $7 million at a time when up to 1000 telecommunications engineers around the country staged industrial action over Telecome plans to make engineers owner/operators.

The burden of the recession has been allowed to fall squarely on hardworking ordinary Kiwi families who have been told it is they who have to make sacrifices.

With 150,000 people on the unemployment benefit we now have the highest number of unemployed since 1999.  In parliament this week, the Prime Minister boasted that 60,000 Kiwis losing their jobs was a “pretty good result”.

That kind of statement suggests that when you have $50 million dollars in your bank account you have no idea whatsoever of the trauma of losing a job, the stressful situation of trying to meet daily cost of mortgage/rent, petrol, power, phone and food, let alone thinking about meeting children’s expectation during the Christmas season.

This has been a very painful year for many families.  It hurts even more when the Government tells us that we should all tighten our belts and then we learn that the Minister of Finance claimed he lived in Dipton in order to get a housing allowance, but at the same time to get eligibility for a self-drive car he said he lived in Wellington.  It also didn’t go down well when there are reports of the Act Party leader who promoted himself as a perk buster by condemning parliamentary privileges while secretly taking advantage of it on his recent travels.

This week in parliament the Government introduced its 3^rd Bill in their implementation of the new Auckland governance super city structure.  This was like the final nail in the coffin for Manukau City and other local authorities in the Auckland region.  This 3^rd Bill highlights that two other powerful structures will exist – Watercare to control our water services and Auckland Transport which will control funds tagged for our roading system. 

These are not democratic organisations they are business entities.  It simply means a whole lot of power in the hands of a handful of people who’ll be making decisions behind closed doors, decisions that will hit the pockets of every Aucklander.  The Government was never going to allow something like democracy, fairness, inclusiveness, diversity, to get in the way of creating a Supercity, super mayor, super powers and controls over the Auckland region, its people and its assets. 

The bill also increases the spending limits for mayoral campaigns from $70,000 to $580,000.  This is only a spending limit for the last 3 months.  The message most people will take from this is: If you have money, you can buy power & control.

It is difficult to let go of cities like Manukau where so many people, both past and present, contributed their heart and soul to building something special for the people by the people, for the benefit of the people.

While we have the right to grieve and lament the loss of our cities, we must also look to find new opportunities and seize them in the New Year – opportunities for new & inclusive leadership.

Which brings me to the only real highlight for me during the year – its you, the people, our communities.  Thank you for all you do in your families and our communities.  Its been a tough year for all of us. Despite how difficult life has been, despite how Government control policy and resources which impact on your lives, you continue to push forward in your homes, in your churches, in our communities.  We survive the challenges and move forward.

Thank you for persevering and the services you provide in our schools, our Citizens Advice Bureau, our wardens, our youth groups, our homes for the elderly, our small to medium businesses, and those who volunteer their time and energy in so many different ways.

Thank you for your on-going support of me and my role. 

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe New Year. 

Ends.