By Ana Kailis
The Alliance, a coalition of progressive parties, has announced a platform of six basic principles for the November 6 New Zealand election.
Formed in 1991, the Alliance groups NewLabour (a left split from the Labour Party), the Greens, Mana Motuhake (the Maori party) and the Democrats.
Increasing disillusionment with the right-wing policies of the Nationals and Labour has resulted in the Alliance gaining an ear in the New Zealand electorate.
Last year in the Tamaki by-election in Auckland, the Alliance polled 40%, narrowly missing out on winning the seat from the Nationals. The attempted privatisation of the Auckland port was blocked when the Alliance won control of the section of the regional council overseeing the sale.
The principles of the Alliance platform are:
- honesty and accountability, including implementation of Mixed Member Proportional Representation;
- protection and restoration of the environment;
- the right to meaningful work and an adequate living income; the right to free health care, free education and access to good quality housing;
- the running of electricity, telecommunications, post and public transport as public services to the community, not purely for profit;
- no further sale of strategic assets to overseas interests; no involvement in foreign military pacts; fair, not free, trade;
- settlements recommended by the Waitangi Tribunal for New Zealand's indigenous people.
The divide between rich and poor is widening. According to government statistics, the highest 20% of those in full-time employment have had a disposable income increase of 7% since 1987, the lowest 20% a decrease of 3%. Those on Social Security payments and pensioners have had an income cut between 3% and 25%.
This was brought about by policies of both the Nationals and Labour. In 1986, the Labour government brought in tax cuts, dramatically increasing the disposable income of high income earners. In 1991, the Nationals cut Social Security payments severely.
"New Zealand has no agreed definition or scale for poverty amongst its people, so the rising or falling numbers of poor remain officially hidden", said Jim Anderton, president of the Alliance. "National and Labour introduced policies that pushed unemployment up to a quarter of a million, increasing poverty. The officially invisible poor are becoming a scapegoat for our social and economic ills."
The Alliance has gained support by providing a green and left alternative to the program of economic rationalism of the two major parties. It is currently polling 12% overall.
It is unclear what impact the Alliance will have electorally, because New Zealand still operates on a first-past-the-post system which makes it difficult for smaller parties to gain representation in Parliament.
The election in November will include a referendum on whether to move to a system of proportional representation. In a cynical effort to defeat the referendum, the National government set it up so that it includes adding an extra 21 members of Parliament. National's campaign against proportional representation has the slogan "you don't want more MPs, do you?"
A few months ago Winston Peters launched his New Zealand First Party. It initially seemed that part of the disaffected voting population would swing to him from the Alliance. But Peters, a populist attempting to build a party around himself, has been unable to pose a clear alternative to the two major parties. While revealing corrupt dealings of both Labour and National, Peters has not been able to put forward cohesive social and economic policies, and has suffered dwindling support. The NZ First Party is having trouble finding candidates for all the seats.
Recent polls indicate that one quarter of the population have not decided who they will vote for.