Paul Swain V1n7 SVN

Paul Swain - MP for Rimutaka
July 2002

Over the last three years I have had the honour of representing you in Parliament and I am now seeking your support to represent you for the next three years.

Prior to the last election the Labour Party made seven key pledges. We were determined only to promise what we could deliver and you will be pleased to know that we have delivered on all of those seven pledges.

We are:

Creating jobs through promoting New Zealand industries and providing more support for exporters and small business.
Focussing on patients not profit and cutting waiting times for surgery.
Cutting the costs to students of tertiary education, starting with a fairer loans scheme.
Reversing the 1999 cuts to superannuation rates and guaranteeing superannuation in the future by putting a proportion of all income tax into a separate fund which cannot be used for any other purpose.
Restoring income-related rents for state housing so that low-income tenants pay no more than 25% of their income in rent.
Cracking down on burglary and youth crime.
Not raising income tax for taxpayers earning less than $60,000 a year and not increasing GST or company tax.

Growth through innovation is key to New Zealand’s next phase of economic development. That means converting good ideas into profitable enterprises and making the most of our natural assets and people.

We’ve already started on the innovation drive and are beginning to see good results. Last year unemployment hit a thirteen year low and at 5.3% is still close to that. More than 100,000 jobs have been created since we came into office and close to 3,000 young people are now benefiting from our new Modern Apprenticeships programme.

Rather than the hands-off approach of the past this government recognises that business and government must work together in order to compete internationally. With this in mind we are investing in more active business development programmes.

We are:

Funding new or expanded economic and regional development programmes.

Providing more help for clusters of businesses sharing experience, talent and ideas.

Supporting businesses by rolling out high speed internet to provincial and rural communities.

Further reducing business compliance costs and making it easier to pay tax.

We’ve also chosen three areas - biotechnology, information and communication technologies and the creative industries - where New Zealand firms have a particular potential to be world leaders. These three areas can also benefit other sectors of the economy.

As the Minister for Information Technology, I co-chair the ICT Taskforce. We hope to report back by the end of July.

Many individuals and firms have great ideas. There are pockets of excellence throughout the economy. The challenge for New Zealand is to make those pockets of excellence the norm rather than the exception. Together we can build the momentum for economic success that delivers the best possible standard of living for all New Zealanders.

I look forward to your continued support and hope that Labour will be in a stronger position to deliver the things that New Zealanders want after July 27th.

If you would like to discuss these or any other matters further, please phone me at my Taita electorate office on 576-0156 or my Upper Hutt electorate office on 528-5715. I am also available at my Parliament Office on 470 6565. If you prefer you can write to me C/- Parliament Buildings, Wellington (no stamp required).