On Wednesday 10 September, Wellington Central Labour MP Grant Robertson paid a visit to Otago University to speak to students about the current campaign. Amongst policy chat, tweeting and caffeine, Critic was able to sit down with Robertson and hear his views on the 2014 General Election so far.
Robertson believes the most popular Labour policies in the 2014 General Election are those surrounding employment, or lack of, in New Zealand. “The things that people always like are the focus on jobs … in terms of students and graduates, of course, but also parents and grandparents want to know that there are opportunities out there for their kids and grandkids to stay in New Zealand or come home,” he said. “We’re investing in industries that we think are going to create jobs, for example ICT and high value manufacturing … What [Labour] try and say is that we’re for opportunities for everybody.”
A key factor for Robertson in the campaign has also been reducing inequality in New Zealand. He said, “For me, that’s been a really good thing in this campaign, the issue with the gap between the rich and the poor. The issue is really out there now, and we’ve got a whole range of policies through housing, health and education which target that.”
In regards to the idea of universal student allowances, Robertson said “… the idea that students are the one group in society that we ask to borrow the money to eat has never sat well.” He noted the Labour party’s “long term goal [of universal student allowances] is there but we are faced with a choice that we have to be honest about … We can’t promise that we’re going to do it immediately, because that wouldn’t be responsible. But it remains definitely my long term goal and a goal of the party.”
Robertson said that Labour would be announcing their final policy on Sunday 14 September, just six days out from voting day. Although he could not delve into specific details, he hinted that it’s “in the economic area; it’s about how we can marshal the resources of New Zealand to create jobs.” On the whole, Robertson said the final week is mostly about “getting people to the polling booth; that’s where most parties will be focusing … For us, we’ll just be sticking to those core themes around jobs, families and housing. That’s what we’ve built our campaign on.”
MP Grant Robertson has a coffee
