ACT Conference 2009

ACT's annual conference - the first annual conference the Party has held since the General Election - begins in Auckland today and runs until tomorrow at the Raye Freedman Centre at Auckland's Epsom Girl's Grammar.

Conference '09 will have a very different atmosphere than that of last year's conference. In 2008 we were in campaign mode. ACT had just two MPs in Parliament and was looking ahead to the election and the opportunity it provided to increase our number of MPs and make a meaningful difference for the people of New Zealand.

This year, things have changed. National is the Government and has a Confidence & Supply Agreement with ACT to give it a majority in the House. Our numbers have been boosted to five - with the addition of Sir Roger Douglas, David Garrett and John Boscawen - and both the Hon Rodney Hide and myself are now Ministers of the Crown.

In addition, we have a Government that is keen to fulfil the promises it made during the election - and, in some areas, do it quickly. Prime Minister John Key has gotten off to a positive start, and the first 100 days of a National-led Government has seen a number of policies and initiatives progressed for the good of the country. A number of those are issues included in the National-ACT Confidence & Supply Agreement.

Law & Order: National agreed to introduce ACT's 'Three strikes and You're Out' Bill - a 'Three strikes' provision has been included in National's Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill, which is now before Select Committee and submissions will be heard soon.

Controlling Government Expenditure: ACT campaigned to cap Government expenditure - the emphasis should be on a quality provision of services and increasing productivity. Hon Rodney Hide is a member of the Cabinet Expenditure Committee, and the first expenditure review taskforce - on Health - is up and running.

Regulation: National and ACT agreed that the Government would establish a taskforce to carry forward work on ACT's Regulatory Responsibility Bill considered by the Commerce Select Committee in 2008 - Hon Rodney Hide is now Minister of Regulatory reform, and is tackling excessive regulation and red tape head on.

Resource Management Act: ACT has long sought a complete re-vamp of the RMA, and the Resource management (Simplifying and Streamlining) Amendment Bill has now been introduced to Parliament as a result of the first stage work of the RMA taskforce. Further changes will come as the taskforce's work progresses.

Education: National and ACT agreed to set up an inter-Party working group on school choice and work on this is now underway. School choice has always been a core ACT policy and this committee will look at options to increase the choices available to students and parents when deciding the most effective means of education for every child.

Review of the Emissions Trading Scheme: A Climate Change Select Committee set up at ACT's instigation to review climate change policies is reviewing the ETS. It is properly assessing costs, benefits and options available to New Zealand.

Being in partnership with the National Government doesn't mean the job is done, however. In fact, the work has only just started. Having our policies progressed is simply a positive start on the road toward achieving our goals for New Zealand - matching Australia and making this a much more prosperous country.

And that will be the focus of conference '09 - rather than simply patting ourselves on the back for a job well done, we will be looking at how to capitalise on the progress we've made so far and discuss ways to continue taking the country forward.
Prime Minister John Key will also address the conference - his willingness to speak is reflective of the commitment he has to the National-ACT partnership in Government, and of the positive working relationship he and his Ministers have with the ACT Team.

Reflecting ACT's focus is the line-up of special guest speakers we have invited to attend the conference - former Treasury Secretary Dr Graham Scott, political marketing specialist Dr Jennifer Lees-Marshment, and motivational speaker and former rugby league coach Graham Lowe.

Lest We Forget –The Flagstaff War (March 11, 1845)
March 11 marks the 164th anniversary of the beginning of the Flagstaff war, when Nga Puhi chief Hone Heke cut down of the British flagpole at Kororareka.

This was the fourth flagpole to be cut down by Nga Puhi. The first - a gift from Heke himself - was felled when Nga Puhi entered Kororareka to retrieve a Maori girl living with a local butcher.

Governor Fitzroy later arrived to defuse the situation, and Heke offered to replace the flagpole. However, rumours that Maori land was to be confiscated led Nga Puhi chief Kawiti to test his strength against the British - something which hadn't yet been done. Hone Heke cut down the flagpole a second time.

Troops of the 96th Regiment were sent to replace it; it was cut down almost immediately. Reinforcements were called in and a stronger pole - sheathed in iron - was erected, and a guard post was built around the pole.

At dawn on March 11 1845 Maori attacked the guard post, killing the defenders and cutting down the flagpole for the fourth time. At the same time, Kawiti attacked Kororareka. The garrison, of about 100 men, held the perimeter while the town was evacuated to ships. Most of Kororareka's buildings burned; missionaries' homes and the church were not touched.

In total, 19 pakeha had been killed and 27 wounded. The surviving townsfolk set sail for Auckland the next morning.