CTU Policy: (10) Political Issues and Civil Rights

From the CTU policy book, produced November 2000.

10. POLITICAL ISSUES AND CIVIL RIGHTS

10.1 Electoral
10.1.1 The CTU opposes an electoral system which allows a minority vote party to hold power and supports the principle of proportional representation being introduced into our electoral system to ensure that Parliament is fully representative.
10.1.2 The CTU supports the allocation of radio and television time during elections by democratic method as opposed to ability to pay.

10.2 Honours System
10.2.1 The CTU advocates the abolition of the present honours system and recommends that it be replaced by New Zealand based honours list.

10.3 Representation on Boards/Local Authorities etc.
10.3.1 The CTU asserts the right of worker interests to have real effective representation through their unions on public committees, commissions, and statutory bodies which have a decision making or advice (to Government ) role.
10.3.2 The CTU believes that CTU regional organisations should be encouraged to consider nominating worker representatives to contest local body elections.

10.4 NZ Constitution
10.4.1 The CTU endorses the concept of a New Zealand constitution which guarantees basic freedoms and rights to all New Zealanders provided that such a constitution recognises:
(a) Collective rights.
(b) The right of all New Zealanders to a living income.
(c) The right to adequate health care, housing, and education.
(d) The right to safe working conditions.
(e) The need for conservation and environmental issues to be safeguarded.

10.5 Freedom of Information
10.5.1 The CTU believes that it is in the public interest and the promotion of civil liberties and greater democracy that Government be as open as is compatible with national security, the protection of privacy, and the obligation of public service employees to be neutral in their official capacity and to work within the bounds of ministerial responsibility.
10.5.2 The CTU supports freedom of information legislation based on the following principles:
(a) It must unequivocally declare that a general principle of Government administration is open public access to information and that secrecy is the exception. The burden of proof should be on the Government to show why information should not be released.
(b) It must provide for full and easy public access as a legal right, available to any citizen.
(c) It must list, narrowly and specifically, the type of documents that may be kept secret; must permit earlier release if this does not harm the public interest; and it must require non-secret parts of documents to be released.
(d) It must contain strong provisions for the enforcement of access, by limiting the time for handling requests and appeals, requiring written reasons for a refusal as well as significant penalties for non-compliance.
(e) It must provide an easy appeal to an independent authority, including a final binding appeal to the courts and allow a successful applicant to recover costs.
(f) The scope of the law should be broad. Unless separate laws are passed for the purpose it should allow citizens access to personal information on themselves and protection from a third party seeking information on an individual, require government departments to make available an index of the kinds of information they control, require open meeting of government bodies, and extend its scope to cover state corporations and local government.
(g) Because many other laws contain provisions for secrecy, either the freedom of information law must override them or they must be effectively amended to conform with it in practice and spirit.

10.6 Political Activities
10.6.1 The NZCTU recognises the emergence and growing strength of an increasingly right wing political movement in New Zealand, and the central role of monopoly interests within that movement.
10.6.2 The NZCTU recognises that political issues are not resolved by the election of a Labour Government and notes that despite having election policies which unions could broadly support the Labour Government elected in 1984 has implemented free market economic policies in response to the growing strength and influence of monopoly interests.
10.6.3 The NZCTU recognises the need to work closely with other progressive groups including the Labour Party to:
(a) Return the Labour Government to its historical roots of eliminating social and economic injustices in New Zealand.
(b) Reverse the tendency towards right wing free market policies and keep faith with the Labour Party policies of Government actions being determined by a social and economic consensus.

10.7 Multi-National Companies
10.7.1 The NZCTU believes that many of the problems faced by the New Zealand community result in large measure from the dependence of New Zealand on foreign powers and multi-national companies with monopolistic interests, and therefore the NZCTU should give full support to ensuring that New Zealand remains an independent and sovereign nation. Accordingly, foreign corporations should not be allowed to obtain permanent rights to New Zealand land and natural resources.
10.7.2 The NZCTU affirms the need to unite on industry, national and international lines to defeat the attacks on trade union rights and living standards from the growing dominance of transnational companies who threaten local independence in a variety of ways.
10.7.3 The NZCTU should participate where possible in efforts by unions in neighbouring countries and by international union organisations to combat transnationals and defend living standards and trade union rights. This policy to include the willing granting of assistance to developing countries where human and trade union rights are denied.
10.7.4 The NZCTU recognises that the most successful means of bargaining with multinational enterprises is by international trade union action.

10.8 The Environment
10.8.1 The NZCTU believes that New Zealand's natural resources, being non-renewable, should be developed in a manner that provides for their ownership and control by our people. Where this cannot be achieved, these resources should be conserved for future development where circumstances may be more favourable.
10.8.2 The NZCTU opposes the dumping of untreated sewerage into the sea because of the pollution thereby caused and particularly because of the detrimental effect on traditional Maori rights to the sea's resources.