Reducing tax on work and enterprise and introducing eco-taxes such as a carbon tax and a levy on hazardous substances would help us progress towards sustainability and justice. Realistic tariffs would benefit import-competing industries and help achieve import substitution. I believe the only reason unemployment is not higher in the Hawkes Bay is because young people have moved to the metropolitan cities in the hope of finding work. That not only undermines the economic infrastructure, it also destroys the social infrastructure. Fewer people means fewer volunteers for the local fire brigade and fewer candidates for councils, school boards and PTAs.
Voluntary effort is the glue which holds our provincial communities together.
Policies of successive governments have torn apart the fabric of our society. This downwards spiral must be stopped. The upheavals over the last 20 years are a direct result of governments abdicating their responsibility to look after the best interests of all New Zealanders, including our children and their children. That's where governments are meant to make a difference. As elected representatives, we have an obligation to ensure that we leave the world in a better place than we found it.