Brash backs referendums on key issues

National Party leader Don Brash has again promised referendums on the voting system, moral issues and possibly nuclear ships if National wins this year's election.


But he told Grey Power's annual conference in Rotorua yesterday that referendums generally would not work as well here as in Switzerland because New Zealanders were not like the Swiss.

Grey Power advocates binding referendums for both central and local government if requested by a petition signed by a certain proportion of voters.

Dr Brash told questioners that National would:

* Hold a binding referendum on the mixed-member proportional (MMP) voting system within its first term, probably at the time of the next election.

* Hold referendums on "conscience issues".

* Hold a referendum on any proposal to change the law banning nuclear-armed or nuclear-powered ships from New Zealand ports.

He said he would "probably not" hold referendums on issues already decided by conscience votes in Parliament, such as the Civil Unions Bill.

But he would hold referendums when future moral issues arose.

He said National would not change the anti-nuclear law without putting it to the people either at an election or in a binding referendum.

"We have said consistently that New Zealand should work to improve its relationship with Australia and the United States," he said.

"What I don't have a good feel for at this stage, and I don't think you can get a good feel for it in Opposition, is what in fact would make a significant difference to the relationship with the US.

"If the Americans turn out to be much less concerned with this issue now in 2005 than they were, say, in 1995, then we may leave the legislation absolutely unchanged indefinitely. Clearly you make the decision on the basis of what New Zealanders want, but it's difficult to put a proposition to the New Zealand people until you can see what the pluses and minuses are."

The Government said last year that Dr Brash told visiting US congressmen that if he had his way the anti-nuclear law would be "gone by lunchtime".

Yesterday he said only that the issue would be on his first-term agenda.

"It's one of the things we would do during our term of office, but it's not one of the things we would do in the first few weeks, certainly not by lunchtime."

He said binding referendums worked well in Switzerland.

"But the Swiss, I suggest to you, are very unlike New Zealanders," he said.

"The Swiss are the people who voted against reducing the length of the working week from 44 to 40 hours in a referendum.

"I find it hard to believe New Zealanders would have voted that way."

Promises

The leaders of Labour, National and New Zealand First have all used the Grey Power convention to pitch for the elderly vote.

Clark's promises

* Rebate of up to $500 for low-income ratepayers from next July.

* Rest home patients allowed assets of $150,000 from this July, going up $10,000 yearly after that.

* Married superannuation rate at 65 per cent of net average wage.

Brash's promises

* Supports the $500 rebate for low-income ratepayers.

* Supports the rest home patient asset limit of $150,000, rising by $10,000 a year after July.

* Endorses holding super at 65 per cent of the net average wage.

Peters' promises

* Raise the married couple rate to 68 per cent of the net average wage from next April, and eventually to 72.5 per cent.

* Reduce the rate at which super is clawed back from superannuitants with non-qualifying spouses to the same clawback rates as other welfare benefits.

* A "sufficient" subsidy for healthcare for over-65s.