Happy at the tail of the top

By AUDREY YOUNG

It took 45 years - and a two-day sit-in at Parliament - but the Democratic Party has finally made it into Government.

John Wright, the Democrats' leader and an Alliance list MP, will be part of the Executive of Government when it is sworn in on Friday.

He is most likely to be on the lowest rung, as a parliamentary under-secretary, possibly to Alliance leader Jim Anderton in his economic development role.

"It's another major step along the way," he said last night. "We're a long way from where we want to be, but we've made progress so it's a great feeling really."

He did not care for the "trophies" of office, as long as he had a hand in making things happen.

One of the Democrats' main policies, replacing GST with a financial transactions tax of 10c on every $100 withdrawal, will be part of the taxation review to be done within the next three years.

"It's an opportunity for us," said Mr Wright. "Seldom do things get handed to you on a plate. You've generally got to convince other colleagues."

It has been a long haul for the party, which first fielded candidates in 1954 when it was the Social Credit Political League and was referred to as the "funny-money" party. It won more than 11 per cent of the vote but no seats.

The party reached its electoral peak in 1981, when it won 20.6 per cent of the vote.

But that was before MMP, so instead of getting 20 per cent of the seats in Parliament, it kept only the two it already held, those of leader Bruce Beetham (Rangitikei) and Garry Knapp (East Coast Bays).

It became the Democratic Party in May 1985.

In 1988, Mr Knapp, by then out of Parliament, led a two-day sit-in in a select committee room in support of a referendum on proportional representation.

He was stripped of his ex-MP travel and Bellamy's perks as punishment.

Mr Knapp, no longer a party member, said it was notable that "it took so long under first-past-the-post to make any progress and it has taken a relatively short time since we've moved to MMP."

But he believed the Democratic party was submerged into the Alliance.

"While they are there, there is no public perception that they are there," he said.

Party president Peter Kane said the party was pleased to have a member in the Executive.

Asked what the Democrats' policy priority was, he nominated the "bottom-up approach" of regional development.

The first Social Credit MP, Vernon Cracknell, was elected in the Northland seat of Hobson in 1966 for one term.

Mr Beetham was an MP from 1978 to 1984, and Mr Knapp from 1980 to 1987.

Neil Morrison held Pakuranga for a term from 1984.

Mr Wright and his deputy, Grant Gillon, entered Parliament in 1996 as Alliance list MPs after the first MMP election, and were returned in last month's election.