The sale by electricity supplier Vector of the UnitedNetworks lines company to a Chinese-based corporation is a threat to secure and affordable power to New Zealanders, says the Alliance Party.
Alliance spokesperson Victor Billot says the basic infrastructure of New Zealand including electricity must remain not just in New Zealand hands, but in the full ownership and control of the people of New Zealand, to be managed for the public good.
Mr Billot says the buyup is linked directly to investment giant Hutchison Whampoa, which failed in a bid to gain a controlling interest in the Port of Lyttelton in 2006.
“These predatory multinationals have no interest in the future of New Zealand except whatever profit they can extract, as the debacle with the railways privatization showed in the 1990s. If the people do not own and control the vital infrastructure of our nation, we have become tenants in our own land.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Admin as Uncategorized at 6:49 PM UTC
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The Alliance party has backed the junior doctors strike at our public hospitals.
Alliance Party spokesperson Victor Billot says the public health service is at risk from underfunding, and the doctor’s strike was a wake up call.
“These are responsible, caring professionals who provide a great service, and we should support them.”
Mr Billot says the Labour Government’s refusal to get involved is an insult to generations of New Zealanders who have voted to have a fully-funded quality public hospital system which is free for the public. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Victor Billot as Media releases at 4:32 PM UTC
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The Alliance Party says the case of the underpaid Chinese air crew with Air New Zealand has started to become surreal, with a public spat between the Department of Labour and Air New Zealand over whether New Zealand or Chinese law applied to their employment practices.
Alliance Party spokesperson Victor Billot says the Department of Labour have taken the unusual step of publicly correcting Air New Zealand. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Admin as Media releases at 12:52 PM UTC
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The Alliance Party says the closure of the Fisher and Paykel plant and Tamahine factory in Dunedin has seen a collapse of any type of local or national leadership to deal with the problem.
Alliance Party trade spokesperson Victor Billot says workers have been ignored as the vital part of the solution.
“There are an enormous amount of skills and human ability out there, but the response of Government and business is to weep a few crocodile tears and just carry on as usual. Frankly the workers at these outfits would get more headway if they occupied the factories and refused to leave, and just started producing goods again. They don’t have anything to lose. And you can be sure the local community would get right in behind them.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Admin as Media releases at 12:37 PM UTC
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The Alliance Party of New Zealand has thrown its support behind students and graduates as they protest against the total student debt of $10 Billion.
“Ten billion dollars in student debt is staggering. Student debt is a serious threat to our society and economy and can no longer be ignored,” says Alliance Party Tertiary Education Spokesperson Richard Mitchell.
Since the introduction of the student loan scheme in 1992 total student debt is now rising at the rate of $1 billion every eleven months. More than 700,000 people have borrowed money from the scheme. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Richard as Media releases at 7:38 PM UTC
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The Alliance has thrown its support behind a recent petition started by the young and new teachers of Hutt Valley branch of the PPTA.
Alliance party education spokesperson, Richard Wallis, says that issues underlying the petition of class size and teacher workload are of real concern to parents and teachers alike. Too many teachers are leaving the profession as a result of unrealistic expectations placed on them.
The petition calls on the Government to “secure sufficient staffing for student numbers in New Zealand secondary school classrooms to be capped at 25.” Mr. Wallis says that this would be a positive step towards preventing further losses in the teaching profession. He encourages all concerned New Zealanders to sign the petition. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Richard as Media releases at 10:19 PM UTC
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Alliance Party trade spokesperson Victor Billot says free trade with China will cause major problems in the years ahead.
He says early analysis indicates the Government has fudged labour rights issues in the free trade agreement despite commitments made to Unions.
“This free trade deal will see growing inequality between New Zealanders as the benefits of free trade will be confined to sections of big business, while workers in many sectors will see pressure on wages and conditions.”
“There is nothing free about free trade, which is a PR term for corporate and state control in the interests of a global big business elite that will make us a lot less free as citizens.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Admin as Media releases at 1:19 PM UTC
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