Peta Barker
Secretary, Eastern BOP branch, NZ Labour Party

LIKE a mantra, National continues to repeat the slogan that “Labour is soft on crime” in the hope that people will start to believe it to be true.

So, it was refreshing to read the view of former Police Superintendent Alec Waugh in the latest New Zealand Listener (October 19-25):  “The roots of crime are in childhood poverty and the widening gap between rich and poor.  The answers to rising crime lie in state-subsidised meals in every school, redistributing wealth, making housing affordable (build lots of homes, introduce a capital gains tax) and keeping nearly all youth away from correctional facilities.”

Steps had been taken to address these very issues, but the coalition Government has chosen to wind them back.  Does that get us “back on track”?

Another slogan we keep hearing is that “Labour has crashed the economy”.  

While it is true that Labour borrowed to deal with the impacts of  covid-19 and support businesses and save jobs,  compared to many other OECD countries our level of Government debt in 2023 was reasonably low.

Labour does not borrow or force people to lose their jobs in order to make tax cuts which disproportionally benefit those who are already well-off.

If National had not scrapped the superannuation scheme of the Kirk-Rowling Labour Government, New Zealand would be a conservatively-estimated $500 billion better off now.  

There would be no need for Winston Peters to recommend an infrastructure fund supported by overseas investment because we would be able to afford new schools and hospitals, rail, roads and ferries, aged and early childhood care and pay workers better wages.

Thankfully, the late Sir Michael Cullen had the wisdom and foresight to establish the NZ Super Fund (the Cullen Fund) and KiwiSaver.  We must be vigilant to ensure that both schemes survive for the benefit of all New Zealanders – now and into the future.