Alliance Party co-leader Kay Murray says that fortunately for the 884 million people worldwide who don’t have access to safe drinking water and more than 2.6 billion who lack access to basic sanitation, 122 countries did vote in favour of the resolution.

“As a result, no thanks to New Zealand’s delegation, the right to water and sanitation is now recognized by the United Nations as a human right.”

Ms Murray says the New Zealand representative’s excuse that “the text had been tabled before the delegation had had an opportunity to consider its provisions” was difficult to fathom.

“It is a very simple concept. People need water and adequate sanitation to live. Anything that is a necessity of life should be a basic human right. ”

In introducing the resolution the Bolivian representative stated that some 1.5 million children under five years old died each year from water and sanitation related diseases.

Ms Murray says the Alliance Party wonders if the New Zealand decision was influenced by the privatization agenda for water that is becoming apparent in New Zealand.

“If everyone is entitled as of right to water, it will restrict profiteering by global corporations taking control of our water under National’s privatization agenda and free trade deals.”

That the USA abstained from the vote was no doubt another major factor, as it seems as far as the National Government is concerned, where the USA goes New Zealand follows.

ENDS

For more information, contact Alliance Party co-leader Kay Murray on 0211672843

National and Labour singing the same old economic song
Alliance Party media release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday 29 July 2010 The Alliance Party says National and Labour are squabbling over meaningless details of economic policy while the gap between wage rates in New Zealand and Australia grows larger. Alliance Economic Development Spokesperson Quentin Findlay says the problem is that both parties are stuck with the same mindset. Mr Findlay says it was a painful experience listening to National’s Gerry Brownie and Labour’s David Parker arguing this morning on Radio New Zealand and compared the debate that they had to two cats fighting in a locked laundry – producing a lot of noise but not much sense. ”Both National and Labour’s policies have been fixated on short term goals while ignoring long term goals that must be achieved by comprehensive planning.” Mr Findlay says New Zealanders should be asking what we want our economy to deliver and how our economy should be run to deliver those goals.
He says both National and Labour are still stuck with free market ideology, but the problem with this approach was that the free market had a short term focus.
Further, what was in the best interests of the free market was often not in the best interests of the majority of people, Mr Findlay says. “Over the past decades we have seen ongoing deregulation that is responsible for lowering wages and productivity in New Zealand.” Mr Findlay says changes such as the rewriting of the Reserve Bank Act in 1989 to remove the goal of full employment, the introduction of employment laws which ended awards and comprehensive Union representation, and free trade agreements which forced jobs offshore to countries where people were forced to work for very low wages and in poor conditions. ”All of these policies have been implemented by either National or Labour.” Mr Findlay says the Alliance promotes a long term comprehensive economic plan for New Zealand and economic reforms that benefited the majority of New Zealanders. “The Alliance would place goals such as full employment and a high standard of living at the centre of New Zealand’s economic policy. To achieve those goals a comprehensive plan for economic development is required. This could be headed by an organization similar to the former New Zealand Planning Council.” The Alliance would restore award rates and labour regulations which are common in other developed countries and implement a sensible system of tariffs and licensing designed to stimulate ‘fair trade’. “Only through a planned and social economy can wage and salary rates be lifted to comparable levels to Australia and other Western nations,” Mr Findlay says.
ENDS For more information contact Alliance Economic Development Spokesperson Quentin Findlay on 021 326 443

The failure of Otaihape Health Trust to manage its budget shows the danger of relying on private providers to service New Zealand’s health needs, says Alliance Party Health Spokesperson Tom Dowie.
The trust which runs the majority of Taihape’s health services is facing bankruptcy and is trying to get staff to take massive pay cuts to stave off bankruptcy.
“This is a situation where management budgeting failures have resulted in demands that hard working nurses, who are the backbone of any health service, are being asked to take massive pay cuts, or lose their jobs.”
Mr Dowie backed calls from nursing staff for a statutory manager to take over the running of Taihape’s health service.
“When admin expenses increase threefold in one year, someone has lost sight of the primary reason for the service, which is health care. The sooner a statutory manager is appointed, the better.”
The Alliance Party believes that health is a Government responsibility and should be delivered by the Government.
“Trusts can always wind up and walk away from their responsibility and the Government should not be supporting this risky form of health provision”.

Alliance Party industrial spokesperson Trevor Hanson says the union movement must lead the fight back against National’s announcement of policies that will smash the few protections workers have under current employment laws.

He says the intent of National’s attack on working people is aimed at creating a frightened and powerless working class who will be forced into accepting the unacceptable from aggressive employers.

“These changes such as the extension of fire at will and undermining of right of access to workplaces for unions will be a devastating blow for workers if they are allowed to be forced through.”

“National is selling off New Zealand, selling out New Zealanders and pushing us towards the status of a developing nation which will see poverty side by side with grotesque privilege.”

Mr Hanson says New Zealanders must defend our traditional values of fairness and decency before they are further eroded by the greed driven and immoral National Government.

He says the social fabric of New Zealand has been torn apart by right wing policies and deregulation which has created a class of working poor who cannot pay the bills.

Mr Hanson says many workers are surviving on casual jobs from day to day and their desperate situation would become worse if National’s anti-worker and anti-union policies continue.

“These New Zealanders can afford a mobile phone and a second hand imported car, but not healthy food, medical care or houses.”

He says communities have been hit hard by casual jobs, low wages and social disruption from economic insecurity.

“These problems are the result of the dog eat dog policies of successive Government’s who have allowed New Zealand to become an unequal, damaged society.”

Mr Hanson says the Alliance wants to help workers by improving wages, reducing casualization and getting rid of GST.

The meeting will be held on Monday 12 July at 7.30pm at the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind for Hall on the corner of Hillside Road and Law Street (entrance on Law Street.)

Speakers from two of New Zealand’s leading transport unions will give an update on the campaign and related transport issues, and explain how the public can support the campaign.

Rail and Maritime Transport Union (RMTU) National President, Jim Kelly, who works at Hillside, will update the meeting on the RMTU campaign to get the work done locally.

The expertise and equipment needed to undertake this work exists in New Zealand rail workshops in Dunedin and Lower Hutt, he says, but the Government and KiwiRail management want to take the work overseas.

Mr Kelly says New Zealand rail workers are skilled, experienced, and want to do this work.

A large part of the work could be done in workshops like Hillside and would provide an enormous boost for Dunedin’s economy.

The RMTU have gathered thousands of signatures on their campaign petition.

Mr Kelly will be joined by the General Secretary of the Maritime Union of New Zealand, Joe Fleetwood, who will speak on transport issues and the effect of free trade policies.

The RMTU and MUNZ signed a strategic union alliance charter earlier this year and are working together in the transport industry.

The meeting is open to the public and is being hosted by the Alliance Party who are backing the RMTU campaign.

Alliance spokesperson Victor Billot says public pressure is needed to change the irresponsible attitude of the National Government, away from free trade ideology towards maintaining high skilled jobs and industry in New Zealand at a time of high unemployment.

Alliance Party spokesperson Victor Billot says that the incident involved Chinese security officials who had clearly assaulted a representative of the New Zealand people engaged in legitimate peaceful protest.

“If a MP can no longer stand on the steps of New Zealand Parliament and register his views without being roughed up, then we might as well lower the flag and put up a sign saying OUR PRINCIPLES SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER.”

Mr Billot says that the free trade rooster had come home to roost and New Zealand was learning the hard way that “free” trade had some interesting effects on real freedoms.

More disturbing than the incident itself was the response of John Key.

No serious harm came to Dr Norman, but the symbolism of the incident was not lost on anyone, with the exception the Prime Minister.

“On being questioned by media about an MP being assaulted up by agents of a foreign power, the Prime Minister of New Zealand started to quack about how he hoped it didn’t ruin the official visit, meaning of course the free trade deals.”

The remarkable thing about the response of the Prime Minister is the deep hypocrisy of his attitude.

The National Party has always been outspoken about the rights of the individual and the evils of “communism.”

The great irony is now when a left wing MP defending freedom of speech is attacked, and the National Prime Minister is clearly more concerned about profits from free trade with “Communist” China than any old fashioned democratic values.

At the end of the day, it turned out that all the patriotic, freedom loving National Party was worried about was money.

ENDS

For more information, contact Alliance Party spokesperson Victor Billot on 021482219

Alliance Party co-leader Kay Murray says a rally of rail engineering workers in Dunedin this week showed that the skills, motivation and community support were there.

All that is lacking is corporate leadership and political leadership from a National Government.

National has failed the tens of thousands of workers who have lost jobs since John Key came to office, and are now effectively forcing hundreds of millions of dollars of rail engineering contracts out of the country.

The Alliance is urging New Zealanders to support the Rail and Maritime Transport Union campaign to build rolling stock in New Zealand which has attracted widespread support in the community (http://www.rmtunion.org.nz/articles/article-building-rolling-stock-in-nz.php)

“It is not acceptable to send $500 million of taxpayers money out of the country when jobs are needed and communities are struggling. It is not acceptable to deny New Zealanders work and all the flow on effects keeping Kiwis in work would bring.”

Over 1700 workers recently applied for 170 jobs at a new Bunnings store in Dunedin, indicating the seriousness of the unemployment crisis affecting many regions of New Zealand – a crisis that the Government will not even acknowledge.

Ms Murray says the $500 million contract has turned into a debacle with local workers denied the opportunity to use their skills.

Phase Two “Expressions of Interest” closes at the end of this week, but KiwiRail’s own workshops Hillside and Hutt Valley are forbidden to participate.

The people of New Zealand own KiwiRail and we must insist that our public rail system must not give public money to overseas corporations when we can do the job ourselves.

The Alliance says the chickens are coming home to roost as successive Government’s have gambled and lost on free trade dogma that has undermined our industry.

Alliance Party co-leader Kay Murray says the New Zealand government must immediately denounce the attack in the strongest possible terms.

The attack took place in international waters when boats in the flotilla were boarded by Israeli naval commandos. At least 10 people are reported dead and another 30 injured.

Israel has refused to allow ships bearing humanitarian aid into Gaza waters since early 2009 despite condemnation from aid agencies and even the United Nations for doing so.

This has devastated the local economy and left Gazans without essential supplies including building materials to repair homes damaged in Israeli attacks.

The Alliance Party says that there is no excuse for Israel’s actions in either denying vessels carrying aid entry to Gaza waters or the outrageous attack on an unarmed flotilla.

That’s two days after National’s budget where a hike in GST to fund tax cuts for the rich was announced.

All supporters of our tax justice campaign are welcome to attend the petition stalls organised by Socialist Worker (www.UNITYblogNZ.com) and the Alliance (www.alliance.org.nz).

Here are the times and venues for this Saturday’s petition stalls:

Whangarei
8am-10am, Whangarei Growers’ Market, Water Street

Auckland
12noon-3pm, outside Onehunga Supermarket, cnr Church Street & Selwyn Street, Onehunga.

Rotorua
9am-3pm, Rotorua City Focus, Tutanekai Street.

Tauranga
9am-12noon, Chadwick Road (opposite the post office), Greerton.

Wellington
11am-12noon, Lower Hutt Markets, Riverbank carpark.

Christchurch
11am, The Square (next to the chalice).

Dunedin
10am-12noon, The Octagon.

At the stalls we will be collecting signatures on the tax petition, which has the following wording:

We request Parliament to:
• Remove GST from food.
• Tax financial speculation.

The campaign has a website up and running, ‘No GST on Food’, go to http://www.nogstonfood.org/. Updates on the campaign will be posted there.