AUTHOR: Peter Dunne
It was a bittersweet election for UnitedFuture. While I am pleased to have retained the confidence of enough Ohariu voters to remain their MP, I am bitterly disappointed we did not attract sufficient party votes to retain Judy Turner in Parliament, or to add exciting new talent like Denise Krum to our team.
I congratulate John Key on his decisive victory and on the impressive way he has put his new government together. I am naturally very pleased to be continuing in my roles as Minister of Revenue and Associate Minister of Health and to be able to push a number of key UnitedFuture policies through our confidence and supply agreement.
My congratulations to Helen Clark on nine outstanding years as our Prime Minister and my best wishes to her as she embarks upon the next stage of her journey. To Phil Goff Annette King, best wishes for the challenges ahead.
To the men and women of UnitedFuture, I have nothing but admiration for your loyalty and dedication to our cause. Our candidates and support teams all worked extremely hard to promote our message and I acknowledge your efforts.
While this election was not one of our more successful efforts, I have been encouraged by the many positive messages I have received over the last few days, encouraging us to keep on with our cause. In that respect it is worth recalling our party principles as the values that drive us forward:
We stand for freedom of political choice through free elections; freedom of speech, information and assembly; freedom of belief and religious expression; self-reliance, personal responsibility and independence; proper reward for effort.
We believe in an open market economy, and the promotion of innovation, creativity and wealth, balanced by a recognition of wider social responsibility and the need to protect a sustainable natural environment.
We put the family at the centre of policymaking, as the primary unit for a sustainable society. We acknowledge the interdependence of the family and strong, caring and compassionate community organisations.
We aim to build a modern multicultural society
which encourages social harmony and unity through respect for individual differences and cultural diversity; which recognises New Zealand’s bicultural heritage arising from the Treaty of Waitangi; encourages responsible citizenship based on mutual respect; where the framework and rule of law applies equally to all; where every child has the best possible start in life.
We uphold the right of all citizens to participate fully in the process of government. We welcome the contribution of different political parties and other groups to the overall political process.
There is still a place in the New Zealand political spectrum for a party espousing those liberal values, and that party is still UnitedFuture.