The Labour-Greens agreement
The full agreement is here. Most reviews are ignored as meaningless. Main items are:
- Introduce a Zero Carbon Act and establish an independent Climate Commission. These are actually meaningless virtue signals. What matters is the actual policies to reduce emissions. It is easy to set a target.
- National Land Transport Fund spending will be reprioritised to increase the investment in rail infrastructure in cities and regions, and cycling and walking. So decisions will not be based on the best return.
- Auckland’s East-West motorway link will not proceed as currently proposed.
- Work will begin on light rail from the city to the airport in Auckland.
- Stimulate up to $1 billion of new investment in low carbon industries by 2020, kick-started by a Government-backed Green Investment Fund of $100 million.
- Budget provision will be made for significantly increasing the Department of Conservation’s funding.
- Improve water quality and prioritise achieving healthy rivers, lakes and aquifers with stronger regulatory instruments, funding for freshwater enhancement and winding down Government support for irrigation.
- Overhaul the welfare system, ensure access to entitlements, remove excessive sanctions and review Working For Families. Basically this means legalise welfare fraud by having no meaningful sanctions.
- Budget provision will be made to substantially increase the number of homes insulated.
- A Rent to Own scheme or similar progressive ownership models will be developed as part of Labour’s Kiwibuild programme.
- Ensure everyone has access to timely and high quality mental health services, including free counselling for those under 25 years.
- Have a referendum on legalising the personal use of cannabis at, or by, the 2020 general election. A referendum I’ll be glad to support.