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Sir Roger Douglas
We no longer live in a world where old divisions between left and right, socialist and conservative suffice. We live in a new world, where new ways of thinking are required. We need to throw off the failed policies of the past 20 years and rethink what it means to govern. If we do that, there is hope, not only for our country but the myriad individuals who call it home.
Governments will need to remove the blinkers of self-interest and look to implement imaginative policies that are focused on the medium to long-term, rather than the toxic desire to hold onto power for three more years.
In the aftermath of the economic fall-out caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, the Labour Government must introduce the framework for policies which address the systemic weaknesses that have undermined our economy and society for so long, and which threaten our future.
The Covid-19 outbreak has not only precipitated a health emergency, but an economic crisis unparalleled in modern history. For New Zealand to emerge from that crisis in a healthy state, the Labour government will need to provide a clear framework for recovery.
The current welfare system has failed the people of New Zealand and led to too much inequality. We need to move away from the current welfare system of tax and spend via government-owned institutions to a system based on individual choice, competition, and personal savings...
The only effective safeguard for ordinary people is the ability to make a free personal choice among competing suppliers whose livelihood depends on satisfying the final consumer. Dedication to that principle from 1984 onwards is what places that Labour government squarely in the established Labour tradition of putting the needs of the common people first.
Why is it that John Key always asks the wrong questions - that is, how will voters react - and as a result, will rule out most quality policy options, rather than asking, what is the right thing to do? And then, and only then, asking how do I sell it?
Budget Day is coming up. Finance Minister Bill English has promised that this will be a ‘responsible Budget’ - but what does that actually mean? How can we tell if a Budget is responsible or reckless? Unless we understand some fundamental economic truths, then we will not be able to determine whether Mr English delivers on his promise. Set out below are 10 principles we must keep in mind when assessing a Budget.
Thirty years ago, I told the Labour Party conference that New Zealand stood at the economic crossroads. That there were no soft options left. That unless we changed our ways, New Zealand was headed for disaster. That proved to be dead right.
Act was formed because we could see that, without further policy change, some disastrous outcomes could be expected by the year 2010. As we all know, adequate changes were not made. Now, in the year 2006, the outcome is all round us, across the board in everything from our falling trade balance to our rising crime rate. That consideration imposes some fundamental constraints on all of us.
