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Leader's LetterJune 2003
Budget Failed New ZealandersA nation can survive fools and the ambitious. Even the enemy at the gate is not formidable because he is known and carries his banners openly against the city. But a nation cannot survive an enemy who moves behind the gates, with sly whispers rustling through the alleys and in the halls of Government. This enemy is irrational and dangerous. This is what the Labour Government has done to Maori, yet again in recent months. Spoken in an accent familiar to its victims, while wearing the same face and garments. Appealing to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of people. I talk of our gas and oil reserves. Dangling the carrot for Maori, with false hopes and empty promises, and all the time doing our nation harm. Maori do not want to be fed a diet of false hopes and political correctness. They simply want to fully participate in 21st century society as is the right of all New Zealanders. We are unable to provide adequate health services, housing, education and employment, or provide the citizens of this country with a lifestyle they aspire to. And where were are the answers? Certainly not in the latest Budget. Our streets are unsafe and a sock is stuffed into the mouths of very competent police officers because they dare to express their thoughts on criminal activities happening around our cities. This is an affront to democracy. In the New Zealand Herald recently I read an article entitled “Don’t shoot the police messenger”. It talked about the rising tide of Asian crime. Our own Ron Mark asked the Minister of Police, George Hawkins, in the House what initiatives, if any, was he contemplating to deal with the increasing rate of Asian crime’ and he couldn’t even get an answer. And what’s happening with our education system? Nothing. The government purports to support it to the highest level, but why is there a constant change in assessment, philosophy and practice? This has:
For those war veterans who are still with us - I wish to apologise for the way the Government has treated you. Apparently, our freedom can be easily forgotten because it will never be tested again. According to this government we have no need for continuing protection. The Minister of Defence could not even guarantee, when questioned in the House recently, that the design of our new ships would be of a military Zealanders nature rather than civilian! Our economy is currently being built on a policy of bringing in thousands of immigrants to stimulate consumer demand. It is a foolish and short sighted policy. Auckland is bulging at the seams. Social services and infrastructure cannot cope. Maori are pushed deeper into the social scrapheap. Future generations will pay dearly for the immigration explosion. New Zealand has the resources to generate power and yet we are told to save it. On top of that the Minister of Energy is going to tax each household $40 annually to set up a commission. An ‘insurance’, it says, to ensure we have hot showers. And we call ourselves a first-world nation. We need to live within our means. And we need to repay our debt as quickly as possible and build our economy by implementing a strong export plan aimed at trebling the value of our international trade. That’s what the budget should have given us. Can New Zealand First fix it? Yes we can. Bill Gudgeon MP
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