Labour's policies leave room on left, says Harre

By AUDREY YOUNG

Opportunities for a party from the left are growing as Labour moves more toward National, says Alliance leader Laila Harre.

"Labour is acting like the fox in National's chicken coop," she told the party conference in Wellington, citing support for war, free trade and privatisation as typical National policies.

"Even a charitable analysis of the current Government's programme reveals endless opportunities to win support from Labour.

"Building a left party depends on taking those opportunities, and taking them will help us build up."

Without a serious challenge from the left and with National in disarray, Labour was free to cover the political spectrum to keep National's natural constituency "happily voting Labour", Laila Harre said.

She cited moves to sell a part of Air New Zealand, the exploration of public-private partnerships, the possibility of a free-trade agreement with the United States and "preparation for joining a war on Iraq".

"War, free trade and privatisation - not a great start for a second-term centre-left Government. Sadly, it all begins to look like a corporate and not a community agenda."

About 115 delegates attended the conference, the first since the Alliance's electoral demise at the July election, when it went from 10 MPs to none.

The mood was noticeably more amicable than when the leftists shared the party with Greens, Democrats, Mana Motuhake and former leader Jim Anderton.

A conference debate a year ago on the Afghanistan war galvanised factions, leading to a split in the junior coalition partner in April and an early election.

Mr Anderton returned as the Progressive Coalition leader with MP Matt Robson, and is again in coalition with Labour.

"What happened to the Alliance was not our fault," Laila Harre told delegates.

"In the end, our loyalty to the caucus prevented us from taking the action that in any normal party, under the sort of internal attack we faced, would be a natural response - a leadership challenge."

She said there was no reason to conclude from that experience that the left had to move further right to be popular.

Alliance principles were shared by a large proportion of New Zealanders.

"What isn't shared is a belief that it is possible to put in place policies as a Government that are true to them."

The catch-cry of Finance Minister Michael Cullen that "You have to make the cake bigger before you can cut it into more pieces" put Labour fundamentally at odds with the culture of the left.

It meant not taxing the rich any higher for the health, education and housing needs of the rest; not lowering profits to increase wages; no fourth week of annual leave; a monetary policy that used unemployment to constrain inflationary wage rises, and holding basic benefits to 1991 levels.

"Since raising the minimum wage and restoring income-related rents, not a single anti-poverty initiative has been introduced and none appears to be planned."

Laila Harre, previously elected as caretaker leader by the council, was elected leader by the conference: "Today you have made an honest leader of me," she told delegates.

Matt McCarten was re-elected president.

The conference resolved that the Alliance would contest the next parliamentary elections.

The party will hold a broader conference of leftist groups next year and to support the publication of a new left journal, Red and Green.

Christchurch-based former MPs Kevin Campbell and Liz Gordon attended. Mr Campbell, who was a close friend of Mr Anderton, said he was still considering his future with the Alliance.

Liz Gordon attacked what she called the anti-Asian campaign of New Zealand First leader Winston Peters and won backing for a petition welcoming Asian residents.