At the recent New Economics Party Unconference in Otaki the participants decided to make their own agenda. This is the group that talked about complementary currencies. Nicole Foss, Kai Hackemesser and Andrew Casey.
Today we had 16 attending a meeting in Otaki. Although we only had only an afternoon to get through a lot, we agreed on at least the following core points:
Our vision is for a New Zealand..
1. Where we have full employment in quality fulfilling work for those wanting it.
2. Where sufficiency is a natural right.
3. Where New Zealanders are happy.
4. Where there is a ‘reverence’ for nature
5. Where the national and local economies are resilient in the face of shocks or threats.
6. Where there are vibrant and functioning local communities.
7. Where full human rights and responsibilities are affirmed and supported.
8. Where our economy is operating as a healthy living organism, like a social ecosystem.
Our core policy ideals
1. New Zealand has the right to control the issue of its sovereign currrency.
2. We will reform the banking system including reregulation.
3. We will remove the imperative for growth.
4. We will seek radical monetary reform, including enabling multiple currencies.
5. We will stop land speculation.
6. We will discourage damaging speculative activity in currencies.
7. We support apprenticeships.
8. We will introduce a form of Universal Basic Income (UBI).
9. We will repatriate strategic assets.
10. We will enable local banks, local currencies and local redevelopment.
11. We will build stronger local economies and strengthen local community.
Three of us had been to the Values Party 40th reunion the previous day and we reported on the exciting day we had. We looked back, evaluated progress over 40 years and identified where we hadn’t succeeded. It had been agreed that inequality had widened and the environment had deteriorated over that time, despite all our rhetoric and our work. The reunion proposed a thinktank to challenge and improve Green policy. In fact the reunion was part of the Green Party conference and a book Beyond Today, a Values Story had been launched to link Greens with their origin.
So just as the Values Party did forty years ago, we had a delightful conversation about our long term and short term strategies and tactics. We had two columns, one for blue sky scenario and one for a realistic scenario. We are aiming to stand candiates for the local body election next year and for the next general election.
Tuesday, 15 November 11
The New Economics Party candidate for Wellington Central, Laurence Boomert, said that along with other policies, redesigning the money system would be a powerful way of combating climate change.
Reacting to a recent International Energy Agency report which said ‘on planned policies, rising fossil energy use will lead to irreversible and potentially catastrophic climate change’, he said that all international climate change conferences had broken up because governments were scared economic growth would falter.
“So we need an economic system which doesn’t require incessant growth on a finite planet. It is time we asked the right question. The force that requires us to gobble up more and more of the planet and turn it into goods is a structurally unsound money system and it needs to change”, he said.
“We design our money as interest bearing debt money. This type of money requires economic growth or the whole house of cards will collapse, as it is doing in Europe right now”, he said.
The IEA report said emissions globally jumped 5.3% in 2010 he said and on current path we are all committing mass suicide.
He said the New Economics Party would introduce a carbon tax on coal, oil and gas at source and not wait till it is burnt into the atmosphere. “The potential buyers of Solid Energy would have to be frightened if our party was in power.”
“We would limit expansion of airports, impose an aviation fuel tax, and reduce our oil country’s imports by 4-6% a year. Motorway building would cease overnight and we would only focus on improving our current roads and the coal would remain in the hole.”
For further comment phone Laurence Boomert 027 258 8807
Media Statement
11 November 11
The Sky is Really Falling, says candidate
The sky is falling and nobody is planning for what New Zealand would do in the case of a full economic meltdown, said Laurence Boomert, Wellington Central candidate for the New Economics Party.
“Here we have Italy now in deep trouble, and the New Zealand politicians are blithely promising bright and happy days”, he said. “There isn’t a country in the world that will be untouched by this debt crisis. Next it will be Spain, France and USA. Because we are all tightly linked, what happens overseas is very much our election issue,” he said.
“It is time to think outside the square and work to invent an economic system not dependent on growth. If it wants to create jobs, Government needs to focus on supporting small and medium sized businesses that want to introduce healthy innovations. Small and medium sized businesses create most of the jobs not the Telecoms of the world”, he said.
Boomert said it is time to work on alternative complementary currencies that work at all levels including at a national level. When small businesses join barter networks, Government should allow their GST and income tax to be paid in their currency.
He said government should be actively involved to support our business sector in designing and implementing business-to-business currencies such as ones operating in Uruguay, Switzerland and Austria.
For further comment phone Laurence Boomert 027 258 8807