Party to mark a century of Labour Party

LONG SERVING: Murray and Rona Wright, flanked by LEC chairman Craig Paynter (left) and MP Grant Robertson, cut into their 60th wedding anniversary cake. PICTURE / STUART MUNRO

One hundred years on from its beginning in 1916 the New Zealand Labour Party is refocusing its core values and policies within a 21st century context, Whanganui's buddy Labour Party MP Grant Robertson told a gathering of local branch members last Thursday, July 14.
"The mantra will be decent work, health, education and housing. They are the priorities and everything else fits within that. That's what Labour has been about all along - a decent shot at all those things, and for a good life and society. And [jobs] have to be sustainable - that look after the environment as well."
The Labour Party's recent policy announcements about housing were the best way to celebrate the centenary Mr Robertson said, as warm, dry, safe housing for all has been at the core of Labour's mission for the past 100 years. Provision of emergency housing, building 100,000 affordable homes and creation of an Affordable Housing Authority (AHA) will be significant for Auckland but will also affect places like Whanganui.
"There will be someone in government responsible for ensuring people have access to affordable homes. Whanganui is much more affordable than Auckland but there are still issues for people who want to be first homebuyers here. It's still really difficult for a lot of people. So the AHA will work with the Council and local iwi to find land that can be developed for housing that is affordable."
Regional planning would involve every council and would focus on how central government could support it in terms of infrastructure,
"How do we make best use of the river and the railways, how do we make sure that whatever is produced in this community gets out to everyone who wants to buy it. And how do we grow things locally that are built off your strategic advantage, be that the creative sector, or the skilled workforce you have in some [industries]."
The gathering also celebrated the 60th wedding anniversary of two of its longest serving members, Rona and Murray Wright. Mr Robertson congratulated the couple and presented them with a copy of the recently launched history of the Labour Party, Labour: The New Zealand Labour Party 1916 - 2016 and a centenary tea towel printed with a Homes for All poster, produced for the 1957 Election Campaign, won by Labour, with Walter Nash forming the second Labour Government.