Alliance readies for next election
By Max Lane
AUCKLAND — Two hundred and twenty-five delegates from more than 60 branches of the New Zealand Alliance and more than 75 observers packed a conference hall over November 28-29 to prepare for the next New Zealand elections.
Although elections are not due until 1999, the unstable coalition government between the Nationals and the NZ First party could bring them on at any time.
The Alliance scored 10.1% at the last elections, winning 13 members of parliament, although one has since defected to become an independent.
The mood at the conference was positive, many delegates confident that the Alliance could increase its vote.
At this conference, Green Party members who had been elected as branch delegates remained delegates despite the fact that, just prior to the conference, the Green Party national conference decided to withdraw from the Alliance.
The withdrawal, though disappointing to many Alliance members, has been carried out in an amicable manner; the two Green leaders who were elected to parliament as Alliance MPs have pledged to remain loyal to Alliance caucus solidarity and contribute their MP's tithe to the Alliance parliamentary resources centre.
This arrangement is to continue until the next elections. It is unclear what will happen at by-elections.
The NewLabour Party, the Democrats, Liberals and Mana Motuhake remain in the Alliance alongside activists who have joined as individuals.
The conference elected Jim Anderton as president and Maori MP Sandra Lee as deputy leader.
A key policy focus was the Alliance's opposition to the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) being negotiated through the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. This would give foreign investors equal rights in all respects with New Zealand investors and would also prevent the government from imposing environmental and labour welfare provisions on investors.
In his address to the conference, Anderton stated: "The Multilateral Agreement on Investment ... will open up New Zealand to open-slather foreign control. It will deliver to foreign buyers exactly the same rights as New Zealanders. It will make it impossible for a future government to demand policies that promote the national interest of New Zealanders over the interests of transnational corporations. The Alliance has single-handedly, of all political parties, led the charge to raise public consciousness, awareness and understanding of the MAI. We will now lead the charge to stop it being signed."
The conference passed a resolution calling for a parliamentary debate on the MAI before it is signed and a campaign by the Alliance. An amendment was moved from the floor to bind the Alliance to stating that it would not be bound by the treaty if it is signed and calling for any government that the Alliance was part of to withdraw from the treaty.
After an intervention by Anderton, the first part of the amendment was dropped, but the call to withdraw from the treaty was carried unanimously. Anderton advocated fighting the treaty through the courts if it is signed. The treaty contains a provision that it remains in force for 15 years after a government withdraws.
Other policy commitments included reaffirmation of support for the target of full employment, total opposition to privatisation of public assets, and a target of public health expenditure of 7% of GNP.
In his speech to the conference, Alliance foreign affairs spokesperson Matt Robson especially highlighted the need for solidarity with the East Timorese freedom movement and the Indonesian democratic movement.
A second noteworthy feature of the conference was the general acceptance of the aim of becoming part of a coalition government with the Labour Party. In his leader's address, Anderton stated: "The Alliance has to be part of the next government if there is going to be a voice at the Cabinet table for [our] policies. No-one else is going to be remotely as staunch, sure and certain in their advocacy as the Alliance will be. I am determined that we are going to have a role in the next government, and our role is to be the voice for these commitments."
The call for a coalition was not based on any assessment that the Labour Party is adopting more progressive policies. In his speech, Anderton stated:
"Lately we've heard a lot of rhetoric from the Labour Party about 'economic realism'. We hear that both the Labour Party and New Zealanders must have their expectations 'dampened down' ... those are code words for 'don't expect us to do anything different to what is being done now'.
"Labour is so concerned to lower expectations, it's scared to advocate even modest policies that would go some way to improving the lives of New Zealanders ... if people want a government that truly offers hope for New Zealanders, then the Alliance has to be in it in significant numbers."