The Alliance party is appalled at the Israeli Air Force strikes on the Gaza Strip on Saturday which have left at least 230 people dead and wounded a further 780 people says Co-Leader Kay Murray.

“It is horrific that Israel intends to mount an ‘emergency international PR effort’ in a cynical attempt to brainwash western countries into giving their support to this slaughter. According to Ms Murray, it is widely reported in overseas news media that Israeli foreign ministry officials serving abroad have been asked to immediately begin to mount public relations campaigns through local media and public officials”, she said.

The Alliance Party urges Prime Minister John Key and the local media to resist this campaign. These Israeli attacks should be condemned in the strongest possible terms and the media should ignore the churn of Israeli government press releases and accurately report the facts of the situation. Continue Reading

Alliance Industrial Relations spokesperson and party President Paul Piesse said the decision by the Government to reintroduce and pass the 90 Day Probationary Bill before Christmas, was an early Christmas gift to employers and right wing employer groups such as Business New Zealand.

Mr Piesse noted that the previous legislation was thrown out by the last parliament after numerous public submissions against the proposed Bill. However, this has not stopped the Government from going ahead and reintroducing it under urgency which allows the reading process to be quickly skipped through and no public submissions asked for.

“It shows a real undemocratic bend to the new government’s agenda and demonstrates absolutely that it is in thrall to groups like Business New Zealand,” he said. Continue Reading

The Alliance Party says it expects Fonterra executives to take a major cut in their pay following the melamine scandal.

Dairy giant Fonterra chief executive Andrew Ferrier is making just under $4 million a year, almost $1 million more than he made two years ago, according to the latest annual report.

Alliance Party trade spokesperson Victor Billot says the 2008 melamine scandal in China had been a personal tragedy for thousands of families, had damaged New Zealand’s standing in the world, and had caused great economic damage.

“It was the dark side of free trade globalization in action, and it happened because our corporations and our Government were blinded by the promise of profit from an unregulated market economy at the expense of every other ethical, social or even common sense value.”

He says salaries for Fonterra bosses should be “trim milk not full cream” to reflect recent events. Continue Reading

Canterbury Alliance Regional Chair, Quentin Findlay, said that Progressive Party Leader, Jim Anderton’s decision to be in a coalition with Labour in opposition, amounted to the de-facto ‘winding up’ of Jim Anderton’s Progressive Party.

“Jim Anderton has signalled that there really isn’t a difference between the two parties. In essence, Mr Anderton has announced the dissolution of the Progressive Party in all but name.”

Mr Findlay said it was one thing to work with the Labour Party over areas of common interest, but quite another to tie yourself completely to them. Continue Reading

The Alliance Party says it will play a leading role in resisting the attacks against public services, workers, beneficiaries and students that will be a feature of the new National Government.

Alliance Party spokesperson Victor Billot says the Alliance marginally improved its vote in yesterday’s General election from the 2005 election, but more importantly had rebuilt its organization in the intervening years.

“We are in a much more positive and focussed mood, and despite a low vote, believe that we have a good future.” Continue Reading

Alliance Party Co-Leader and spokesperson for disability issues Kay Murray has congratulated Health Minister David Cunliffe on his announcement that a further $91.375 million in funding will be made available over the next five years to improve wages and conditions for disability support and to increase access to services.

Ms Murray says that it is heartening to read the minister considers support workers “a vital component of what government does to enhance the full participation of disabled people.”

“It’s just a pity it’s taken the government a full nine years to come to this conclusion, during which time support staff have endured wages and conditions that have made them one of the lowest paid sectors of the workforce, she said. Continue Reading

Alliance candidates and members leafletting in George Street, Dunedin, 1 November 2008. From left Kay Murray, Sarah Campbell, Andrew McKenzie, Tom Dowie, Eunice Billot, Gail Marmont, Matthew Stephen, Marvin Hubbard, Quentin Findlay, Victor Billot

Hardly anyone now doubts that humanity is facing an enormous environmental crisis. Last week the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) rated New Zealand sixth in the world for our consumption footprint but the Alliance Party has the policies that will help reverse this trend, according to environment spokesperson, Greg Kleis.

The Alliance is the only political party which represents an alternative political programme to counter the for-profit based environmental policies of other political parties, including the Greens who choose to collaborate with big business rather than oppose their agenda of pollution and despoliation, according to Mr Kleis. Continue Reading

The Alliance Party in announcing its health policy today stressed that it was the only party in this election that was offering truly free and universal health care for all New Zealanders, according to health spokesperson, Tom Dowie.

“Our party wants to see free and universal health care provided across the spectrum of health services ranging from primary care (GP visits) to hospital and dental care. We would like to see our system modelled on the British National Health Service which celebrated its silver anniversary this year.”

Other political parties health policy offerings are nowhere close to what the Alliance is offering in that no New Zealander will have to pay for dental check-ups, doctor visits or hearing and eye tests ever again. Continue Reading

Alliance Co-leader, Andrew McKenzie said he was disappointed that the New Zealand Union of Students Associations didn’t walk the walk when it came to the promotion of those political parties which supported its ideals.

“While NZUSA touts its commitment to “fighting for a universal, free, publicly funded and high quality tertiary education system at every level” and that public tertiary education “…must be fully funded by the government through taxation revenue to ensure it is barrier free…” it studiously does not provide support to those parties such as the Alliance, which has strongly supported those principles since its formation in 1992,” says Mr McKenzie.

The Alliance as part of the 1999 – 2002 Alliance-Labour Government had been responsible for a Parliamentary Select Committee which examined student debt and tertiary funding. The outcome from that committee was that there were no fee increases for students for three years. Continue Reading