New Zealand First Policy Announcement

Four Year Parliamentary Term:

• New Zealand First is calling for a referendum in this year’s election, for an immediate start of a four-year parliamentary term beginning in 2023.
• One of New Zealand’s problems is that unlike most democracies, our parliamentary term is too short. And New Zealand First believes it should be four years, not three.
• However, that should not be the decision of political parties, but you the New Zealand voter.
• Governments are hardly election when too much of the time is campaign and not fixing up the country’s problems and creating a better future.
• A simple Bill can be submitted to parliament next week and pass all readings before the rise of parliament this term.

Repeal newly implemented ‘National Policy Statement” (NPS):

• Just last week a ‘National Policy Statement’ (NPS) for indigenous biodiversity, took legal effect on August 7th. Vague and open to interpretation it institutes co-governance and Tangata Whenua consensus decision making into environmental law.  This major shift in our law threatens our primary sector. 
• The NPS is a major setback for all land-based industries including mining, and fails to give equal weighting to economic, ecological, social, and cultural factors.
• It will undermine investment and hobble the ability for farmers to operate unless they get permission from local government. Regional towns and households will suffer, as environmental activists and ongoing litigation stall farming, mining, and overall efficiency.
• New Zealand First will repeal the NPS and to give farmers back their flexibility, to adjust their activities, to maximise economic value.
• No one especially farmers, or for that matter Māori on the land, voted for Tangata Whenua co-governance in our Resource management act.

Commitment to Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter:

• New Zealand First will oppose any idea of closure and keep Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter open.
• New Zealand First will commit to a 20-year agreement with Tiwai Point, with a 10-year review, for a fair electricity cost for the smelter based on the cost of supply and a respectable margin.
• Ensure that New Zealand procurement priority applies to our aluminium and not give preference to junk aluminium coming from offshore.

Stewart Island Salmon Farm - exempt aquaculture from the ‘Coastal Policy Statement 2010’:

• New Zealand First will, with protections, to exempt aquaculture from the 2010 Coastal Policy Statement – which has been stopping progress and development of a much-needed aquaculture industry.
• The salmon farm off Stewart Island will proceed and create jobs and wealth for the region and New Zealand.