Alliance Party co-leader Kay Murray says the government should simply ignore the threat tactics of mining transnational Rio Tinto over the planned emissions trading scheme.
Ms Murray says the smelter came to New Zealand because Manapouri power station was virtually built for them, and they have been given cheap electricity ever since that is subsidized by ordinary people.
“How cheap remains a secret, but some estimates indicate that in the latest deal the rate per unit could be as little as a quarter of what the average domestic household pays.”
Given that its supplier is state owned Meridian Energy, this is a huge tax payer subsidy, says Ms Murray. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Admin as Media releases at 10:28 AM UTC
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The Alliance Party says that there should be no importation of biofuels.
Alliance Party transport spokesperson Bob van Ruyssevelt says he supports the call by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright, for the government to scrap the current Biofuels Bill.
“This legislation would mean importing of biofuels from countries where farmers are cutting down scarce rainforests, or converting land from food to fuel production, which is denying cheap food to the world’s poor.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Admin as Media releases at 4:08 PM UTC
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The Alliance Party says electricity prices must be reduced for ordinary consumers this winter.
Alliance Energy Spokeperson Ian Tinkler says the removal of democracy from the electricity sector in the last 10 years has resulted in huge price increases.
“Why should ordinary New Zealanders freeze while electricity corporates make huge profits?”
Mr Tinkler says that before the destructive changes in the electricity sector in 1998, most people received their electricity from community or local authority owned power boards.
“These boards were connected to domestic user of electricity and were answerable through the ballot box – the governance representatives were accountable to the people.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Admin as Media releases at 3:37 PM UTC
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The Alliance Party has called for GST on food to be scrapped – and the entire tax to be phased out.
Alliance Party co-leader Kay Murray says “GST on food will have to go now if basic food items are to remain affordable for New Zealanders.”
Ms Murray says that figures from the Council of Trade Unions show food prices rose 6% in the past year and are set to continue to rise this year.
“Removing GST would at least allow some breathing space while other long term measures are put in place to keep food affordable. Australia doesn’t have GST on basic food items. If the Australians can manage it surely we can too.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Admin as Media releases at 11:47 AM UTC
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Alliance party education spokesperson Richard Wallis says that it comes as no surprise that Northcote College principal Vicki Barrie says her school is in need of increased funding.
“What is surprising is that more principals haven’t been speaking up, calling for increased funding.”
Mr Wallis says the Alliance has been consistent in its call for an increase in funding for the education sector. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Admin as Media releases at 11:35 AM 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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