Be afraid, be very afraid
Do not read these if you are of a nervous disposition. Bear in mind that they are not yet official Labour Party policy. They are merely up for consideration. But nevertheless read on with horror what utopia New Zealand is planned b Labour Party grassroots activists and read their policy remits to be debated at their annual conference. Here’s a summary:
- Nationalisation of any partially sold assets
- A financial transactions tax
- Require all private boards to comply with a 50% gender quota within five years
- A universal child benefit so millionaires get paid money for having kids
- 52 weeks paid parental leave (why stop there – go for 18 years I say!)
- Lower the voting age to 16
- A gender quota for the House of Representatives (why not a race and sexual orientation quota also!)
- Compulsory Te Reo Maori until age 15
- End all funding of private schools (which ironically will force them all to be integrated and go from 25% funding to 100%)
- Bring ban the food police to school tuckshops
- Ban seabed mining for minerals oil and gas
- Ban fracking
- A tax on aquaculture
- Ban all coal mining
- A mineral exports tax
- Ban plastic bags
- Fund a brand new commercial free TV broadcaster
- Fund a Pacific TV broadcaster
- A Super Gold card for transport for under 21s
- A rail link to the airport for Auckland (think how much taxes will be gong up to pay for all of this)
- A petrol tax to fund rail
- Set up a state owned insurance company to compete with private insurers
- De facto compulsory unionism by forcing all employees to “contribute to the benefits of enterprise and multi-enterprise bargaining”
- Turn contractors into employees
- Reverse employment law changes and destroy NZ as a location for international film making
- Ban companies that do not pay a “living wage” (which is much higher than the minimum wage) from winning government contracts
- Compulsory worker representation on large company boards
- Direct Kiwirail as to whom must win their tenders
- restore the social obligation to the SOE Act (despite the fact they were never repealed!)
- Insert the Treaty of Waitangi into the Constitution Act
- Raise the age of Super to 67 – except for Maori!
- That the Government should create state owned and managed retirement homes
- That all single benefits be increased by $50 a week!!!
- That any NGO receiving even minimal government funding be required to have a 50% gender quota on its governing board!
- Bring back compulsory membership of student associations
Once you have returned from the bathroom, comment below on which ones are the most hideous. I think the fixation with gender quotas might be it for me – they want them not just for Parliament, not just for company boards but also for any NGO which gets even $1,000 of Government funding.
It will be fascinating to see which ones pass.