Families first in United Future's vision

United Future leader Peter Dunne has put families at the centre of his party's election campaign,

"If our families are functioning well then our country is functioning well," the MP told about 200 supporters at the City Impact Church in Browns Bay at the weekend.

"The first role of government is to ensure families function well and each child gets the best possible start in life."

Mr Dunne, who is confident of retaining his Ohariu-Belmont seat, announced policies including a home carer's rebate for parents who bring up preschool children at home.

He said he also wanted to properly fund the "truly unique New Zealand agency" Plunket so that children up to 5 received eight health checks rather than the three or four they received at present.

Tax rebates would be raised, allowing people to claim for donations up to $5000, he said.

Voluntary workers doing their bit for the community should also get a "modest" rebate for donating their time to charity.

Mr Dunne took a swipe at political correctness, which he said was preventing the country from confronting its real problems.

It was time to give back power to parents, he said.

Mr Dunne got his biggest round of applause when he vowed that United Future would stop the "headlong rush to decriminalise cannabis".

Without naming him, Mr Dunne criticised Green MP Nandor Tanczos for imposing his view on cannabis on children.

The United Future leader said he thought it would be disastrous if one party emerged from the election with an absolute majority.

MMP had ended the tyranny of one-party governments, he said, and if majority rule fell into the hands of one party again the country would go back to where it was in the early 1990s and before.

He said United Future was a strong, middle party founded on common sense and could work with any party because it would not go into coalition with stubborn bottom lines.

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