BLOG: A Liberal Party for New Zealand?
Every now and then, ever since the demise of Sir Joseph Ward, there is a call for the re-establishment of a Liberal Party in New Zealand. Occasionally, the flame flickers a little more brightly, as in 1963 when a Liberal Party actually contested the election that year with minimal success.
The call has been made again in some quarters following the ACT Party’s near demise at this year’s general election, but is not without its problems. For a start, the assumption that ACT was a Liberal Party to begin with is highly dubious, and, second we actually already have such a Party on the New Zealand scene.
The essence of modern liberalism, or radical centrism as it has come to be known in Britain is two fold – a commitment, as always, to personal and economic freedom, through open market economies and free trade, but balanced by the acceptance of government responsibility to look after the vulnerable through the education, health and welfare systems... Read the full text of this blog post.
