Policies
At the core of New Zealand First's policies are its "Fifteen Fundamental Principles"; the first of which being "To put New Zealand and New Zealanders First".
New Zealand First is best known for its policies regarding the welfare of the elderly and its strong anti-immigration policies, which has caused media controversy in the past. The Party also espouses a mixture of economic policies. It opposes the privatisation of state assets (particularly to overseas buyers), which aligned it with views generally found on the left of New Zealand politics. On the other hand, it favours reducing taxation and reducing the size of government (policies typical of the New Zealand right) and espouses quite conservative views on social issues. Rather than defining the party's precise position on the left-right spectrum, some commentators simply labelled NZ First as "populist" — in line with its emphasis on direct democracy and on popular referendums.
In 2011, it was announced at the New Zealand First annual convention that if elected to parliament in the 2011 General Election the party would repeal the controversial Crimes (Substituted Section 59) Amendment Act 2007 (widely known as the Anti-Smacking Legislation), which a vast majority of New Zealanders rejected in a 2009 citizen-initiated referendum. The Party also announced that it would introduce a new government scheme to tackle the ongoing problem of student debt in New Zealand where the government makes a matching dollar-for-dollar payment on student debt for students staying and working in New Zealand.
In 2012, New Zealand First announced that if state assets were to be partially privatised, at the next general election, they would work in coalition with parties that will buy the assets back.
Read more about this topic: New Zealand First
Famous quotes containing the word policies:
“Give a scientist a problem and he will probably provide a solution; historians and sociologists, by contrast, can offer only opinions. Ask a dozen chemists the composition of an organic compound such as methane, and within a short time all twelve will have come up with the same solution of CH4. Ask, however, a dozen economists or sociologists to provide policies to reduce unemployment or the level of crime and twelve widely differing opinions are likely to be offered.”
—Derek Gjertsen, British scientist, author. Science and Philosophy: Past and Present, ch. 3, Penguin (1989)
“... [Washington] is always an entertaining spectacle. Look at it now. The present President has the name of Roosevelt, marked facial resemblance to Wilson, and no perceptible aversion, to say the least, to many of the policies of Bryan. The New Deal, which at times seems more like a pack of cards thrown helter skelter, some face up, some face down, and then snatched in a free-for-all by the players, than it does like a regular deal, is going on before our interested, if puzzled eyes.”
—Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884–1980)
“To deny the need for comprehensive child care policies is to deny a reality—that there’s been a revolution in American life. Grandma doesn’t live next door anymore, Mom doesn’t work just because she’d like a few bucks for the sugar bowl.”
—Editorial, The New York Times (September 6, 1983)