I'm
not in favour of the infinite growth approach of either major party.
I am, however, in favour of accuracy and the National Party have
continued to lie about the legacy of the Helen Clark government.
Frank
McSkasy has done a great job in bringing this material together.
Political amnesia is a terrible thing.
Bill
English – do you remember Colin Morrison?
.
A
message to the Hon. Bill English;
From
the NZ Herald on 27 January, uttered by Bill English,
“…On
top of that, Labour still hasn’t apologised for their wasteful
policies the last time they got their hands on the economy.”
.
Firstly,
let’s review recent history in decidely more accurate terms,
.
.
The
IMF (International Monetary Fund) chart above shows that from 2000 to
2008, the Labour government paid down debt, from 33.4% in 2000 to
17.4% in 2008 (a near-halving of our sovereign debt) to
when National took the reigns of government.
Some
will even recall that Labour Finance Minister, Michael Cullen, posted
several surpluses during his tenure as Finance Minister,
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Just
as well that Cullen resisted strident calls for massive tax cuts.
Instead, perhaps being the wisest man in the decade, realised that
common sense demanded that we pay down our sovereign debt, rather
than splurge out on an almighty cash-lolly scramble.
Had
Cullen yielded to calls for tax cuts instead of addressing our debt,
our current sovereign debt would probably be approaching
Greece’s.
But
Bill English and other National/ACT sycophants don’t want us to
know this. It makes Labour look good.
And that’s the last thing they want.
After
2008, as National gave away tax revenue on the form of two
unaffordable tax cuts in 2009 and 2010, debt skyrocketed from 17.4%
to 37% of GDP.
Now,
if one was to use the same mis-information as Bill English,
John Key, et al, I could shout from the roof-tops that the rise in
debt was due wholly to National’s mis-management of the government
books.
The
reality, of course, is that the 2007/08 Global Finance Crisis – as
well as National’s incompetance in giving away tax cuts we could
ill afford – both had a part to play in our increased borrowing.
Secondy,
let’s deal with English’s claim,
“…On
top of that, Labour still hasn’t apologised for their wasteful
policies the last time they got their hands on the economy.”
Budget
expenditures from the early 1990s to 2012 reveal an interesting
story,
.
.
Eventually,
those cuts to state services had dire consequences. For example, the
health sector was particularly badly hit,
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The
Health “reforms”, along with chronic under-funding, had their
inevitable consequences,
.
.
.
Rau
Williams and Colin Morrison – both with entirely different lives;
living at opposite ends of the country; one Maori, the other Pakeha –
both suffered the same fate. They died because government cutbacks on
spending (see red square in above chart) had reduced the Health
budget, and as media reports above show – were impacting harshly on
our society.
These
two men – and perhaps others who died quietly, shunning the
glare of publicity – died
on Bill English’s watch.
As Minister responsible for Crown Health Enterprises and later
Minister of Health, English could not shift responsibility to anyone
else.
At
one point, English was forced to concede that the Health system and
funding mechanism was “flawed”,
.
.
.
Tragically,
Mr English’s “Road to Damascus” experience was too late for Mr
Williams and Mr Morrison and their families.
Is
it me, or does it seem that everything National touches turns
into one, big, steaming cow-patty?
Finally,
by 1999 the country had had enough. On 27 November, the country went
to the polls and National and their coalition ally, NZ First, were
roundly defeated.
The
incoming Labour-Alliance government was faced with a crippled health
sector (amongst other state services that had been cut back) that had
been impoverished and was struggling to perform it’s most
basic core services,
.
.
.
.
.
A
crisis that could only be remedied by a hands-on government prepared
to make appropriate funding decisions,
.
.
.
.
.
Upshot
of this, Mr English?
Any
increase in funding of state services was necessary. After savage
cuts, National created a situation where our healthcare system was
unequivocally unsafe.
In
fact, it had become lethal.
People were dying for lack of appropriate medical intervention.
That
was the legacy of the National Government, 1989 – 1999.
So
before Mr English or any of his cronies complain that Labour
spent more than National did – damn
right they did.
And the increased health funding under Labour probably saved an
unknown number of lives.
Tell
us, Mr English, do you remember Colin Morrison and Rau Williams?
.
*
.
Addendum
1
By
the way, Mr English, with reference to your criticism of the Green
Party regarding job creation,
“And
to make it worse, at the same time their coalition partners the
Greens are up in Auckland busy working out how to stop everything
they don’t like – which includes everything to do with growth and
jobs.”
There’s
no need to point the finger at the Greens and blame them for lack of
growth and jobs. The inept National Party are quite efficient
at stifling the economy and creating rising unemployment,
.
.
.
No
need to invoke the Green Party (who aren’t even part of the
National-led coalition) – it seems National is quite adept at
grinding the economy into the ground.
Credit
where it’s due, Mr English, credit where it’s due.
Addendum
2
Why
does this sound more and more familiar?!
.
*
References
Posts
