Labour holds Mana, McCarten fourth

By David

Labour’s Kris Faafoi has won the Mana by-election with 10,397 (46%) of the 22,387 votes cast. However, National’s Hekia Parata was close behind, with 9,317 (42%).

Third place went to the Green Party’s Jan Logie with 1,493 (6.7%). With Matt McCarten, standing as an independent backed by his Unite union coming in forth with 816 (3.6%). Also on the left, Kelly Buchanan of the Alliance gained 37 votes, despite endorsing McCarten.

McCarten’s result was better than any of the radical left (Alliance, Workers Party or RAM) candidates achieved in the last general election. However these were poor results themselves and I think many will be disappointed with this result.

During the campaign, there has been much speculation about McCarten’s plans to launch a new left party. This result will not provide much of a boost for this idea.

On the positive side however, McCarten’s campaign has seen a large group of radical left activists working together, it has highlighted some significant social issues and fired the imagination of many of the left who, at least for the duration of the campaign are taking the idea of a new party more seriously.

Video: Matt McCarten at the Alliance conference

Matt McCarten speaking at the 2010 Alliance Party conference.

This video is part one of three, to watch the rest go to Socialist Worker’s YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/SocialistWorkerNZ

Matt for Mana: against homelessness & empty housing

Matt McCarten’s Mana by-election campaign has taken up the issue of housing, identifying many empty state houses in the electorate, while families are homeless.

The following video outlines the problem:

 The report from TV3 gives there take on what happened when some of Matt’s supporters took action:

Four arrested in Mana by-election stunt
By Liz Puranam
3 News

Four supporters of a political candidate in the Mana by-election have been arrested tonight after they took over an empty state house.
The men were protesting against what they say is the uncaring nature of big government but is it little more than a political stunt?

Mana candidate Matt McCarten and his supporters arrived at the Porirua police station this evening after they had been told four campaigners were arrested and charged with being on a property without permission.

“People are saying they can't get any response, that they can't get houses but then what we have is one protest and suddenly the housing corporation swings into action within minutes and people cleaned off and stuck in jail,” Mr McCarten says.

The prominent unionist and his supporters took over the Porirua state house today, saying they wanted to fix it up so a couple who have been living in a garage can have a home.

“These places are empty. There are people who are living in garages; it's real,” he says.

Carolyn Harvey was to be the new unpaying tenant. She and her partner have been living in a nearby garage.

“I sit in here and I think, ‘when's it going to end, you know, when's it going to end’,” she says.

Mr McCarten's supporters say they have counted 27 vacant state houses in Porirua so they had no problems simply opening this one up to install Ms Harvey and her husband.

But another candidate in the Mana by-election says this is a political stunt; Carolyn Harvey and her husband are with their daughter this evening while the four men arrested are still at the Porirua police station.

Housing New Zealand issued a statement this afternoon saying Mr McCarten's action was illegal and unfair on others waiting for a house and anyone on the property would be served with a trespass notice.

They told 3 News tonight that police have taken their own action; going one step further and arresting them, which they say is entirely appropriate under the circumstances.

Mana Campaign Introduction by Matt McCarten

The Unite Union has announced its endorsement of its General Secretary Matt McCarten to contest the Mana by-Election. McCarten is required to contest the election as an independent.

The Unite Union has been at the forefront of campaigning for low income workers in New Zealand over several years.

This government over the last year has launched attacks on workers that include the right for any worker to be sacked without notice or reason on the whim of an employer. In addition they are restricting the rights of workers by restricting union access to their members. The sale of holiday entitlements is only the start of claw backs for vulnerable workers. The cravenness of John Key to the US owners of the Hobbit films to even change our employment laws says it all.

Unite launched a campaign over a year ago to win $15 an hour minimum for every worker. 200,000 New Zealanders have signed our petition. Unite intends to make raising wages a central issue for the by-Election and will seek the support of all the candidates.

This government has no economic plan and just hopes that somehow the international markets will come to our rescue. They won’t.

By-elections are democratic processes where not only will they elect a new MP but they have an opportunity to send a message to parliament. Unite intends to do that.

We have been supportive of Labour’s long overdue realisation that the new right agenda implemented by their party and carried on by National have been a disaster for New Zealand. But we have been disappointed at their timidity over what the alternatives could be.

My candidature will give the people of Mana strong alternatives that roll back the failed ideology of the past 25 years.

We intend to run on three main platforms and seek a mandate from the voters of Mana:

#1 $15ph Min Wage NOW. 
Raising wages is central to the campaign. The practical way to close the wage gap with Australia is by legislating for an immediate increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour. If I win we will see that as a mandate to have a Royal Commission set up to enquire into what income a worker on 40 hours would need to live with dignity. Once established then appropriate economic and employment policy would be needed to ensure this happens. During the next 3 weeks we will seek to have a majority of the people of Mana to sign our petition to raise the minimum wage to $15 immediately. The cabinet currently is reviewing the minimum wage and we want a strong message sent to them from the voters of Mana.

#2. Jobs. 
The free market won’t reduce unemployment. Government intervention is required to do that. Mana like every other electorate has about 3000 official unemployed. The dignity of meaningful work is an economic good in itself. To employ 3000 on $15 an hour in fulltime work costs less than $100m a year net. After giving over $1.6 billion of our money to South Canterbury Finance it’s clear it’s not about have we got the money, it’s about priorities. I want a strong message sent that no one gets the dole. The government will invest in jobs. In Mana we could put two teachers’ aides into very classrooms creating almost 1000 jobs. We could get the Wananga to train 500 young unemployed in basic building skills and set them up to repair and upgrade run down state houses. We can get another 500 into home help for senior citizens and the sick. It’s not science; it’s whether we have the will.

#3. Taxes. 
The burden of paying the bills has dramatically shifted to the from the asset wealthy and high incomes to the middle and low income New Zealanders. GST is one of those taxes. Labour weak response is disappointing. I will release an alternative tax policy in the campaign to start the discussion off. Frankly GST has to go and an alternative like the Financial Transaction Tax (now enjoying popular support overseas as the Robin Hood tax) is fairer and more efficient.

I will also release policy discussion papers during the campaign on economic planning that includes foreign investment and immigration; and workers’ rights to start a discussion for areas that are clearly failing.

I intend to run a strong aggressive campaign and put the two main candidates under some pressure to work for their votes and ask them to respond to the above three platforms. Whilst I will target National (as the villains of course) Labour also has to engage in meaningful debate rather than generalisations.

The Other Candidates: All the candidates are fine people and are to be congratulated for offering themselves. But this by election isn’t about them or me. It’s about the people of Mana and the rest of New Zealand. I intend to engage in serious debate and persuade the people of Mana to send a big message to parliament to elect me as their representative to parliament on the 20th of November.

McCarten contests Mana by-election

Matt for Mana! Its time for a New Left

by Joe Carolan
from Socialist Aotearoa

In a daring and audacious move, Matt McCarten, General Secretary of the Unite Union, announced his candidacy in the Mana By Election in Wellington earlier today. Matt has had a quarter of century's experience fighting for New Zealand's poorest workers, and was a founding member of both the New Labour Party and the Alliance. Now standing as a member of the Independent Left, he would make an excellent champion for the thousands of low paid and unemployed workers in Mana.

Support for Matt has come in from many members of other trade unions, as well as most of the organisations of the socialist left, who worked hard together in last year's Campaign for a Living Wage Referendum push. That Campaign got over 200,000 signatures of support to raise the minimum wage in New Zealand to $15ph NOW, and then two thirds of the average industrial wage subsequently. It was also successful in getting the independent left out into the housing estates, markets and workplaces, co operating in struggle together.

Labour has had this seat since the 1930s and has done little to alleviate the poverty there. The escalating attacks on the working class in New Zealand requires the serious left to look for political as well as industrial solutions. The Labour Party just won't cut it. Under the leadership of Phil Goof, they'll be lucky to clear 35% in next years election. In the War of the Hobbit, they can't even decide which side they're on. They're a centrist, liberal party who lost the last election because they ignored their working class base - the kind of people who live in Mana.

Socialists will campaign hard for Matt and for the people of Mana in the next month- for decent state housing, for affordable public transport, for a living wage, full employment and a planned economy. The Free Market economics that people like Phil Goof unleashed inthe 1980s have failed New Zealand. It's time for a New Left. Matt for Mana!

New-left rallies its forces to take on the new-right

By Matt McCarten
from Herald on Sunday

After two years it seemed the left was never going to get a break. I’m stoked to announce we have got it at last.

Two weekends ago we had our first good news when the mayoral front-runners in our five major cities lost. The wins were significant politically in Auckland and Wellington.

Who would have thought a small grey man called Brown could arouse so much enthusiasm? Mind you, if the right relies on a grey man called John Key to keep their party in the stratosphere I guess we can swoon for Brown.

And just when the left were still hugging each other in delight, the Labour Party for the first time since who knows when got excited about being left-wing again.

Matt McCarten: Sorry folks, but cancer won’t be shutting me up

By Matt McCarten
from Herald on Sunday

It can be boring when someone talks about themselves. Today I’ll take the risk.

I know I get into scraps and sometimes overstep the mark in clipping my opponents - and there’s always a few of them waiting impatiently for my demise.

They may not have to wait too much longer. I was diagnosed a year ago with the killing kind of cancer.

Naughty banks need more than a slap on the wrist

by Matt McCarten from NZ Herald 13 December 2009 The Australian banks last week had their Prime Minister scolding them to take a hard look at themselves. That's because they snuck through an interest rate rise after their Reserve Bank raised its rates. Westpac was the worst with a 45-point hike, even though the Reserve Bank raised the rate by only 25 points. Westpac rubbed salt into its customers' wounds by sending them an email comparing the bank's profit-gouging decision to a situation when a tropical storm hits a banana plantation. Apparently, such an occurrence would increase the price of a banana smoothie. Of course, the comparison was dishonest and patronising. A bank's unethical profiteering that puts people in a situation of not being able to pay their mortgage is outrageous enough. But comparing it with paying more for a banana smoothie has caused a furore in Australia. Westpac won't want that public relations disaster following it over here, given it has announced it is making over its New Zealand brand to show how much it cares about us. The other Australian banks (ANZ, ASB, BNZ and National) have followed with a charm offensive, too. There are lots of soothing words about how they want to get closer to New Zealanders by opening more branch offices and offering more intimate services. It's a bit hard to understand their strategy, given they recently sacked hundreds of Kiwi bank tellers and shipped their work offshore to call-centre factories. It seems only yesterday we were being told local bank branch closures would save us money. Despite those rather inconvenient truths, the public relations campaign to win our goodwill is well under way. Recently, BNZ proudly promoted its public spirit credentials by closing its doors for a day and paying its employees to do community work for the day. I'm not trying to piss on the parade, but the day after, I was in a BNZ bank and the staff were running ragged. One of them dryly noted that BNZ got good publicity, but it also meant the workers had to fit five days' work into four days that week. One of the BNZ's main competitors, the ASB Bank, is now rebranded as the "caring bank". It also claims to have been a "Kiwi bank since 1847". I doubt the Commonwealth Bank of Australia is aware of the new change of ownership. It seems that the new initiatives to win our favour are twofold. Despite the widespread political opposition and scepticism to setting up a publicly owned community, Kiwibank has gone from strength to strength as many New Zealanders have swapped their bank accounts over. Nationalism and sovereignty are strong emotions. The second reason is the public mood is going dog on them. There's been too much news about interest fixing, exorbitant fees and the outrageous tax evasion cases now before the courts. That's on top of the increasing numbers of ordinary New Zealanders losing their homes as the banks start foreclosing on them. Vaughan Gunson from the Bad Bank campaign claims the Australian bank owners are terrified that the public sentiments will lead to politicians on both sides of the Tasman following their American colleagues and regulating the industry to curb its excessive profiteering. Gunson blames the banks for causing the financial crisis that almost collapsed the global economy. The Bad Bank supporters picketed a bank in downtown Auckland on Friday as part of their campaign to force the Government to hold a formal inquiry into the role of banks in this country. Westpac ran a stupid banana campaign, says Gunson, but the whole world banking system has gone bananas. One slip on a skin and we're all gone. The Government's siding with the Australian bank owners in not holding an inquiry makes me nervous.