'Capitalists with a social conscience'

Maori Party finance spokesman Monte Ohia says many people have been in the dark about whether the party's economic policies lean to the left or right.

"What we are is Maori. You could describe us as being capitalists with a social conscience - that's who we are in a nutshell."

Ohia - the candidate for Te Tai Tonga - says one of the party's guiding principles, rangatiratanga or self-determination, "says that we need to develop our own economic independence".

But the economic independence the party is striving for is within the existing economic structure. "We are not proposing a separate economic strand within New Zealand."

The party hopes to achieve its economic goals by "taking Maori from a consumer-driven economic base into a more productive economic base". That goal is the subject of Ohia's studies towards aPhD at Auckland University.

He said a 2003 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey found Maori were the fourth most entrepreneurial people in the world.

To develop that potential, the party wants to develop entrepreneurial schools or classes for Maori and others. It would also encourage iwi authorities like Ngai Tahu to continue their present business approach, and would help iwi and urban Maori authorities, trusts and runanga "to not only look at the wellbeing of their people - as they are - but to look at becoming more involved in the productive sector of New Zealand society".

Ohia, who has worked as a consultant to the Wananga o Aotearoa, says all the initiatives would require a "hand up"- a finite initial expense.

"Once the end point is reached, hopefully the production would have already begun and the generation of finances within themselves would be already under way."

He expects this Maori economic renaissance to take some time but says promising entrepreneurial individuals have already been identified within Maori communities.

He says the Maori Party has a great deal of respect for the wider business community. "They've seen a goal, taken a risk and they've done it. We want to support that kind of initiative, innovation and creativity in our people."

The party would like to encourage business by reducing its tax burden - cutting the rate for small enterprises to 25c in the dollar and 30c for larger companies.

But being capitalists with a social conscience, it would like to put more money in the pockets of those with less earning power. "I don't think that would surprise anyone."

Its policy is to slash the 2006 tax bill for those earning $25,000 a year or less by 50 per cent. Ohia estimates that would cost the Government $1.75 billion - well within its means. More cuts would see the same group paying no income tax by 2008.

The party would also like to see economic success measured by a genuine progress index which takes in social and environmental factors as a benchmark of economic performance. Gross domestic product and other standard measures "don't tell the whole story".

Policy platform

* Cut taxes to those on low incomes and also in business.

* Reduce compliance costs, particularly for small business.

* Develop programmes that encourage Maori into business.

* Ensure trade training/apprenticeships are developed and delivered by Maori in key industry sectors where there are recognised skill shortages.

* Develop business partnerships between Maori and local and regional authorities and industries.

* Set repayment of student debt at 10 per cent of the excess of a person's income over 150 per cent of the average income and waive interest on existing student debt.