Breaking new ground
Interview with Matt Robson, President of New Labour
* New Zealand • You now have a much stronger base in Parliament, and new resources. How will you use them? what steps will you be taking to maintain solidarity with the grassroots of the Alliance?
Firstly, to mobilise public support behind the progressive policies of the Alliance - for example, repealing the Employment Contracts Act, which was a union-smashing device, and which is now on the political agenda in Australia too. Secondly, to advance the work of the Alliance in the electorates. And, thirdly, to work with all progressive sectors including the labour movement. • How important was the new electoral system in your step forward?
With the new MMP system, we have a more democratic representation because of the existence of list MPs. Constituency MPs are elected on a first-past-the-post basis, which often means that they are elected on a minority of votes.
In contrast, List MPs are elected on the basis of a proportion of the party vote throughout the country. This is an obvious democratic advance: we are no longer shut out of the parliamentary institution by the undemocratic nature of the first-past-the-post
As a smaller party, we have only one constituency MP. and that is Jim Anderton, who has built a solid base in his own working-class seat in Christchurch, and he won over 50 per cent of the vote in that seat.
Our 13 List MPs will be spokespeople for the party at the national level, representing various sectors of our concerns, such as the labour movement, women, health, and Maori questions. So the potential for them to organise, mobilise, and educate is far greater than most constituency MPs. • Women are the majority of your caucus - 7 out of 13 MPs.
This is no accident. It's a conscious decision of the Alliance to work against the socio-economic discrimination against women. The fact that we have leading women in the Alliance is part of that prog ressive program that the Alliance stands for. It's a big advance for New Zealand, and it's a big advance for the Alliance. It's something that we're very proud of. • What role will the New Labour Party play in the future?
The New Labour party was the party that initiated the talks which led to the formation 28 International Viewpoint of the Alliance in 1991. Since then, we have worked closely with the other parties to build a co-operative political movement. We'll continue to do that.
We Il also be advocating New Labour's program for the working class in New
Zealand. And, at the same time, we will work with the strengths of our partners in the Alliance. For example the influence of Green politics inside the Alliance has been a part of the wider appeal of the Alliance. • Why did the Alliance vote fall so dramatically (from 17 to 10 per cent) during the last week of the campaign?
First, we had ranged against us the whole apparatus of the establishment - the press, the other parties and the Business Round Table. United (on the centre-right) decried the Alliance as a party which would lead to
Meanwhile, the Labour Party put on its left-wing face. Large sectors of the population were under the illusion that Labour had changed, and would now defend their interests. Despite the fact that David Lange, former leader of the Labour Party, warned voters that Labour wasn't to be trusted, since both Labour and the National Party were "cross-dressers in economic policy." He has now resigned from politics. The trade union bureaucracy also actively worked against us, despite the support we received from many trade union members.
There are of course, tactical and organisational matters that we have to look at very objectively to see how we can improve on putting our program forward. • The Alliance policy on coalitions proved unpopular with voters...
The propaganda was so intense that voters were led to believe that the Alliance, since it wouldn't be part of a government, wouldn't be influential. Many voters decided
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A public opinion poll taken before the election suggested that 69% of the population agreed with our proposal. Nevertheless, many people did express the opinion that you have to be "realistic." In other words, half a loaf is better than no loaf at all.
After the election, New Zealand First has shown its real colours, as a reactionary, extreme chauvinist party. It has entered a bidding war for cabinet seats with Labour and
I think this has meant that our position has gained respect. Through this experience many people realise that they were tricked, and that our position was the correct one, even if it was somewhat unpopular at the time. So we don't regret it, since we do have to educate our supporters, or potential supporters, on the need to end the game playing of normal bourgeois politics. • Winston Peters' New Zealand First holds the balance of power. They could form a government with National, or with Labour.
"Balance of power" is a misnomer. What Peters holds is the casting vote on who can make up the government. He is damned both
If he goes in with National, he exposes his true colours to ex-National supporters who had placed their faith in New Zealand First. If he goes in with Labour, he drags Labour even further to the right than they already are. Both parties will have to break their promises on social spending, or raise taxes, so either way, they break their promise.
Whichever coalition finally forms a government, the role of the Alliance is to go through this experience with the masses, and use our Parliamentary position to explain why it is important to hold the party to its policies both before and after an election. Only the Alliance offers that.
We're very optimistic because we believe that we have a unique opportunity, together with our allies throughout the world, to mobilise people against the direction followed by so-called social democratic parties. * M. Robson was interviewed on Oct. 25 by C. Twyford for Australia's Green Left Weekly