Issue 12 December 1999/January 2000

LABOUR-ALLIANCE FORM CENTRE RIGHT GOVERNMENT

With the election of the Labour-Alliance government late last year, many people ore claiming that Labour-Alliance are a "centre left" government, and that the election signifies the end of the extreme New Right revolution in NZ politics. Neither is true.

For the sake of definition, being left wing means one aims to abolish (or at lease minimise) wealth and privilege and being right wing the opposite. Right wingers want to increase inequality by increasing the power and privilege of the rich few, whilst left wingers want the opposite.

What Labour-Alliance represent is a centre right government, mildly less right wing than the far right government of Shipley. Many Labour politicians want to copy Tony Blair's right wing British government and his so called "third way", which basically means a watered down version of New Right Thatcherism.

So while we won't get the open bashing of beneficiaries and the poor as we did under Shipley, we will still get the same old New Right, capitalist friendly government which promotes a low-wage economy and a high level of poverty.

Labour and Alliance are at pains to point out they ore business friendly; they want to indicate to capitalists they won't limit their profit margin. Hardly policies one would call left wing. Labour and Alliance will promote cosmetic changes. This will give them the appearance of being leftish and will buy them popular support amongst liberals. Along these lines they have stopped native forest logging on the West Coast, increased taxes a tiny wee bit for the super rich, and raised the minimum wage.

Just how cosmetic these changes are is indicated by their raising of the minimum wage from a paltry almost third world slave labour level of about $7 an hour to a paltry almost third world slave labour level of about $7.50 an hour - a raise that was, in fact, less than the National Government was going to make before it got booted out. This strategy of a right wing government hiding behind a smokescreen of a few liberal changes sounds familiar, right? In 1984 Labour introduced New Right savagery under the smokescreen of anti-nuclear legislation. We need not be fooled by this strategy again.

PRESSURE ON IN AUCKLAND WATER WARS

On January 17, the Auckland water retail company Metrowater launched a major counteroffensive against the ongoing campaign of boycott and civil disobedience being carried out by the Water Pressure group, who oppose commercialisation of the water service.

In addition to their usual almost daily restrictions, tap clamping and meter disconnections, Metrowater launched an all-out assault on 16 homes, removing pipes from the mains to meters and hacksawing or otherwise damaging street mains fittings, rendering them unservicable.

The actions occurred so suddenly that the Water Pressure group were able to defend only two places from being disconnected in this way. The disconnections saw families across Auckland City - from Point Chevalier to Kohimarama - denied water supplies which they have paid for while refusing to pay their sewerage bills.

While cutting off over 500 families in the past year, Metrowater has previously resorted to this particularly desperate form of disconnection on only eight occasions, and the Water Pressure group "turn-on squads" have long-since reinstated all of those customers - turning off the water mains, fining new valves and pipes to where the meters had been removed, and finally concreting the whole network into place to deter Metrowater from disconnecting again.

Within 30 minutes of the latest cutoffs the turn-on squads had once again swung into action and most of those families affected were soon back on.

Threats of oil and other intimidatory tactics by Metrowater are simply steeling the resolve of boycotters and fostering solidarity throughout the community. The Water Pressure group is not opposed to conservation measures but will resolutely oppose punitive "charge till it hurts" policies supposedly aimed at cutting consumption. In 1994 the people throughout greater Auckland responded willingly during the water crisis - proving that a socially responsible campaign leaves mere commercial catch-phrases for dead when it comes to conserving water.

Water is vital to life. The Water Pressure group is adamant that water remains the most essential public service and that it should be funded across the community in the traditional way - on the basis of ability to pay.

It's a regime
enforced with violence
a code of silence
enforced by thieves
Stealing your free speech
and your free thought
an empty corpse
no soul for thee
If I could cast off
these steel shackles
personalised
a pair for each
Student taught here
taught nothing
freedom not
within our reach

(Poem and graphic by CAPPA)