KEY POINTS:
Labour and Act have struck a co-operation agreement. Act leader Rodney Hide said he initiated talks with Prime Minister Helen Clark two weeks ago. The deal means the minority Labour Government will no longer automatically ignore Act when it looks for backing for legislation.
Leftish Labour and right-wing Act will bridge their wide philosophical differences to work together where they can in good faith. What do you think of Act and Labour teaming up? Here is a selection of Your Views:
Bill (Tauranga)
It's a good idea, MMP working. But does Rodney know anything about the TGA? What effect would Codex have on our therapeutic dose levels? Pharmaceutical companies are buying into complementary medicine manufacturing companies to give them a seat at the table when regulations are being formulated they would rather have sick people, has he checked the dose levels and price of Vitamin C in Germany? Healthy people don't buy drugs, has Rodney done his home work on the whole deal, are there treaties that could be activated with the WTO? Does he know the effect "harmonising" has had on Canada, Germany and Australia?
Old School (Auckland)
If Rodney Hide had been in the last Labour Government of the eighties or even out there on the fringes he would not be signing up to a co-operative agreement with such alacrity. Co-operate on an issue by issue basis, yes. A formal agreement. No way. A disastrous dent in ACT's credibility.
Madarab
David Lange once said of Helen Clark. "She was by her own account a survivor: as long as her paddock had a good sole of grass the firestorm could consume the rest." Enough said.
H
Isn't this just an example of MMP working? ACT have tried holding on to National for too long. Socially ACT are far more inline with Labour, sure in regards to taxation and business policy they naturally fall with National but I think everyone has forgotten where ACT started.
pCb (Auckland)
Well done Rodney - You've forced your snout back in the trough (you're so due a feed of those good political calories). This is further proof that the experiment known as MMP is well past it's used by date, the intelligence of parliament has decreased (you only have to look at the newly formulated rules on media coverage to see that) and as a result it is time to bring the number of seats back to under 100 and a voting system to lessen the damage done by minority parties (and before anyone wonders - I was misguided enough to once think MMP was a great idea).
Ross
Rodney Hide will push ACT into oblivion doing this. If he thinks Peters compromise on the Transtasman Agency Bill makes sense he needs to look at it again. If a company wants to export to Australia now it has to meet the Aussie import requirements so the compromise changes nothing. If he looks at the 500 page Bill put out before Christmas last year there is very little detail on how natural products and dietary supplements are to be regulated (this is area of most debate). So it is quite clear that the end result will be a copy of the current Australian system for these products. So nothing will change for exporters to Australia. So why set up the Agency in the first place. The compromise is a sham. For once New Zealand should be bold and set it's own modified forward looking regulations in this area. Mr Hide should reread his own parties major "mission statements".
Paul (Auckland)
Why not? Labour are happy to jump into bed with any one else if it means they'll stay in power. There are names for people like that.
Karl (Massey)
A bit of a surprise as the two should be bitter enemies, but it shows us two things:
I) In this age of compromise politics, anyone will work with anyone if it means getting something they want;
II) A vote for any third party is a vote for Labour.
I hope that everyone who has had enough of the wretched left wing lunacy that has run this country for the past 8 years takes note. The only way to eliminate the Labour government is to give both votes to National.
James
Ahhh people, no deal has been done on the bill yet. Rodney is saying they will give it serious consideration and suggest changes where ACT thinks best, nothing is set in stone, what's the problem?
This is a smart move for ACT and a wake up call to National who have been lazily assuming ACT is in the bank and they can keep up their own compromising decent into being Lefty-lite themselves. Time to wake up and smell the coffee.
Niels
What a greasy political ploy! Who cares about the people as long as the snouts can remain in the trough. May Helen and Rodney suffer the same fate on election day, namely, goodbye!
Bigguy (London)
About time - Labour have needed a decent economic stiffening for a long time. They have wasted the benefits of the previous Labour Governemnt. Goff for PM.
Ms Auckland
Why not, because politics is, after all, one giant circus. And Rodney Hyde could then be trained as Sprechtstalmeister Helen Clark's tame, or nearly tame, Bulldog, jumping through flaming rings, ending up in the sawdust, head first, as he's so used to anyway. What are you waiting for mama Helen? Let the show begin so the people can be entertained. After all, who's paying for the show in the first place? A good laugh now and again is certainly not to be laughed at.
Vw (Ireland)
Ok, so Helen, bless her heart, needs the numbers, Rodney, bless his little cotton socks, needs to show he is doing something for New Zealand, it's basically MMP in action, I'll scratch your itch, you scratch mine, I'll get my people to call your people, we'll do lunch over the next thing? It's taken a long time for the basic facts of MMP to get into the idiots in Parliament, but they are starting to wake up, well, apart from the watermelon greens who want world domination. It's a bit like Ireland, where Mr. Teflon slid back into the Taioseach position, then spent 2 weeks grovelling, begging, promising, and basically being a ¬10 prostitute to cobble together a Dail to take to the President. The good Lord above only knows what Bertie has sold us all out to, with his alliance of red, pink, green, blue and orange, but I see the same thing happening in NZ, it actually leads to the Govt we had in NZ under Sir Keith Holyoke, the man who never did anything until after the crisis had passed, then, well, as it had passed, it needed no action, so lets just all carry on. At times I miss non-reactive governments, they only do what is necessary, without intrusion into peoples lives.
LabourACT
The final ACT, a Laboured "Dance of the Desperate"!
Ian Morine
Let's face it, if the Maori Party can sidle up to the Nats - the party that wants to get rid of the Maori seats, then anything is possible, isn't it!
Sophia
Bring back First Past the Post. At least then you know who you're going to get in power at any time.
Barry
I am really surprised at ACT. They have always been an opposition to Labour and now they are they are licking Labour's tail. How can we ever trust them? They will definitely lose a lot of votes. My guess is that with less than 5 per cent votes, we are going to see the last of them in Parliament after the next election. Sad Eh!
James Wilkes
If there are areas Act and Labour can agree, then why shouldn't they work together on individual pieces of legislation? New Zealand has never had a Government that has done everything right, nor for that matter everything wrong. I'm sure Act's traditional supporters will welcome this move. They often trumpet the fact they are a "liberal" party'. For too long they have been National's little extreme cousin. National are a conservative party. Act have shown they can work with them on most issues, particularly economic. In the past Rodney Hide has shown himself to be a very liberal MP on social issues, often agreeing with Labour bills and going against traditional conservative National Party positions. I've never really been a huge supporter of Act or Mr Hide, particularly some of their past behaviours. If this is the new Act, and not just some facade that will fall over after the next election, then perhaps politics in this country is headed in the right direction.
MikeE
This can only be a good thing providing ACT only supports Labour on things which are "classically liberal" in Nature. ACT comes from Labour roots in the early 1990's and is not ideologically opposed to everything they stand for, just as they do not agree with everything that the filthy Tories stand for! ACT should be able to work with all parties (I'd say except for NZ first, and possibly the progressives who are neither socially not economically liberal) to some extent to ensure that future NZ policy enhances the freedom of New Zealanders from the state. As for the Transtasman act, if it provides massive amounts of regulation that prevents new medicines from coming to the market, then it's a bad thing. If it prevents quackery and fraud - then it is a good thing. Of course with Rodney's Regulatory Responsibility Bill none of this would be a problem as all new legislation would require a full cost benefit analysis to prove it is in the countries best interests, with any losers to regulation receiving compensation for their loss, plus the sunset clause to ensure that legislation isn't past its use by date.
Greg
ACT and Labour do have some shared ground and can easily work together on those. In formalising their relationship they move together but more importantly, they move the country towards a more consensual style of democracy - and that can only be a good move.
Michael Kidd
The Bill has very mixed results and can only be seen as favouring bigger US pharmaceuticals, and big Australian companies such as Blackmores - which originated in NZ- and offers traditionally based products. It will disadvantage much of the alternative health industry for example: a naturopath will no longer be able to supply remedies from home based production, without going through a lot of red tape. The Australian government, at least, is setting up a research institute for complementary medicines in recognition that this area needs more support not necessarily greater regulation. What about this approach for NZ? With regard to the politics: Rodney's new persona is recognition that much of the economic rationalist approach of the last 25 years has been too extreme, and needs to be balanced. But I can't help thinking, however, that many is his former National held electorate will have a sense of betrayal. They will ask the question: Is this just politics or a sign of lack of moral principle by supporting a government which does not have a clear public mandate? Wouldn't it be better for the country to go to polls, if Labour can't get a majority? Perhaps that is the real fear for Rodney.
Richard Prosser
New Zealanders don't want our vitamins regulated by the Australians. It's as simple as that. What part of this don't you understand? We don't want Australian rule, at any price, under any compromise, just like we didn't want anti-smacking under any other cop-out back-room deal, or folic acid in our bread, or fluoride in our water. No deal, no compromise, no trans-Tasman agency. Y'know? You've sold out, Rodney. For shame. Time was you were one of the few who listened to the people. What's happened?
Lukas Schroeter, Student (Wellington)
Liberal ACT,
ACT is the only party in parliament that advocates individual freedom and responsibility, the only party which actually trusts Kiwis more than itself and other politicians. It has always been artificial to squeeze "The Liberal Party" into the traditional left/right divide. On social issues such as drug reform, homosexual rights and euthanasia ACT will naturally vote alongside the Greens and Labour. When it comes to lowering taxes and reducing regulations its natural ally is the National party. ACT is about the freedom to enjoy life socially and economically, so long as one bears the consequences of ones actions. Thus, it is not surprising to hear that the ACT team is prepared to work with Labour, the Greens and the Maori party as well as National; rather, it is surprising the announcement took so long.
Arron
As a loyal Act voter since their inception I vowed never to vote Act again while Hyde is in charge after he teemed up with the Greenies to commit Auckland to sink its money into the dead dog Eden Park. Now he is cosying up with the loony left again, Act is dead and it is due to the incompetent leadership of Hide. Bring back Sir Roger.
Brian (Auckland)
Act has an important position in Parliament as a watchdog, continuing to expose the incompetent. Most legislation passed is usually vested interests wanting an advantage and seeking to fix one or more problems for their advantage but in doing so create ten times more for the judges to pontificate upon. in my opinion, less legislation is better and repealing the myriad of the useless already on the books should be the priority to achieve a situation where the courts only focus is upon delivering fairness and equability for all without the legal fraternity having loopholes able to be invoked to escape justice being done. Any political accommodations should never be to give support to any minority, especially when that minority is ignoring the majority of its citizens and in the process turning us into a banana republic economy.
Kris
Rodney, I did not vote for Act to support Labour on broken legislation and as such I will not vote for your party again.
PD
What do I think of this? Not much. Smells fishy to me.
Deputy Leader - Direct Democracy Party of New Zealand
As the Deputy Leader of the Direct Democracy Party of New Zealand, I am beginning to wonder if there is any true opposition parties left in the current Government. It seems that once a parties membership votes in their representatives, the representatives do their own thing. National, United Future, and NZ First sold out its membership on the anti-smacking bill. Labour sold out its membership over the Foreshore & Seabed Bill. The Greens sold out its membership over supporting the scrapping of the Privy Council. And now the Act Party sells out its membership by doing a deal with their ideological nemesis, the Labour Party.
It is time for New Zealand to have democratic sovereignty returned to the people of New Zealand, via the establishment of a written Constitution, and the implementation of Binding Citizens Initiated Referendum, platform policies that are supported by the Direct Democracy Party of New Zealand.
Scott
Great - it means National can no longer take Act for granted, which they have done in the past.
MDC
Surely any co-operation between Labour and Act must be a step in the right direction. After all, isn't that why we pay them huge salaries? To work for the good of the country. There seems to have been a big change in Mr Hide's "persona" of late and he is no longer in constant attack mode. Good on you Rods.
Frustrated Exporter
This "surprise" comes as no surprise because Rodney will do anything to try and save his political bacon. Supporting Labour on the Trans-Tasman TGA --- Annette King's personal triumph over democracy --- shows how much concern Rodney has for the rights of NZers to access and produce safe, harmless health supplements and his concern for small businesses in NZ - none.
Carl Forster
Another case of a failing Labour government still pushing their barrow at whatever cost to NZers. They have no idea of the impact their policies are having on the people of NZ. Roll on November when they will find out. This election will see the passing of MMP and you will find out that we have had enough.