Presentation of the Government's Agenda

[Speaker Rejo]

Speaker Rejo shakes hands with the President of the Republic, thanking him as she takes the gavel. After the obligatory photo shoot of taking the gavel and holding it in the air, Speaker Rejo raps the gavel thrice.

ORDER, ORDER!

Now that the election for Speaker has concluded, I now call upon the Prime Minister, Mr. Marco Zimmer, to deliver the agenda for the Government for this session. Following the Prime Minister's presentation, Members will have no less than 48 hours to debate the agenda, at which point the agenda shall proceed to a vote. This vote shall constitute a vote of confidence in the Government.

The Prime Minister is recognized.

[Marco Zimmer]

Thank you Madame Speaker,

I’m proud to be here to present the agenda of this government before the Aldurian Parliament today. It’s a privilege to be the Prime Minister of our country but with that privilege comes responsibility to do what is right for our people. We will always look out for the people of Alduria and we will do so with the agenda I now present to you.

Education is vital for any person. A good education put you on the path for a good life. And that is why we need to make sure we have the highest quality education system for everyone in our country. That way, everyone has the chance to achieve, to live a life that they can enjoy and be prosperous in. But to get that amazing education system, we need to reform our current one. This government will set out a scaffolding for our education system. We will set out a basic structure and a basic curriculum. From there, we will give local government control of how to build on that so that we have an education system that is not one size fits all, but is adapted for every part of our great country! In addition, we will make sure that University education is free for every student as well as a wide range of apprenticeships once they have completed schooling.

Next, we move onto this government’s plan for our healthcare system. Health care should be a right. The highest quality healthcare should be a right for everyone. And it should be available free at the point of use for everyone. Currently, due to the history of the land we now call home, we have some of the highest cancer rates in the world. And many families either go bankrupt due to the costs of treatment or don’t get treatment at all, surely that isn’t right. Surely the people of Alduria deserve better, and that is what we want to deliver.

Now onto defence, the world is currently at a very unstable time with conflict across the world. And we must keep ourselves safe at this time. To defend our country, we will make sure that we have a strong armed forces, airforce and navy that is ready when we need it to defend our country and our rights. However, we will always seek a diplomatic solution before going to war and will only use force as a last resort to defend Alduria. We will also introduce a war powers act which will make it so any act of military force will have to pass through parliament but the President will have emergency powers while Parliament comes to a decision if there is a significant threat to Alduria.

Currently, unemployment in Alduria is at around 8%. This needs to be resolved and that is what we will do. We will make sure there are more jobs created in Alduria through investment in government owned industry and bring in legislation that will support and protect worker’s rights and make sure they are not being infringed. We will stand up to the bad bosses as well as tackling poverty and inequality in Alduria. Making sure that no matter what part of Alduria you are from, you have the opportunities you need for a better future. We will also raise taxation on the above average income earner and large business while lowering tax on the worst off in our society and small businesses so they can thrive. This government will put a cap on CEO:Worker pay ratio and bonus ratio of 15:1. We will also found the worker’s protection agency where we will make a ‘Bad Bosses’ register and investigate cases of worker’s rights abuses.

Next, housing. Our nation’s population is growing rapidly, and we need enough housing to keep up. That is why we will build all the houses needed for the people of Alduria. That figure is currently though to be at between 727,000 and 1,000,000 a year. Therefore, in the next 10 years we will build around 86,350 houses a year to keep up with the rapid rise in our population and will be ready to adjust so that everyone has a home. We will also protect renters by introducing a rent cap that will be judged on a case by case basis by the ‘Fair Renting Association’, which will have one division in under the control of every local government, which this government will create. This will make sure that tenants rights are upheld at will keep a ‘Rogue Landlord’ register so that future renters can use to consider before they rent a house from a landlord that is on the register.

Now, transport is also very important for a young nation like ours. To tackle this we will spend the €48 Billion it will require over the next 10 year to build the national highway system. We must make sure all of our nation is connected and that everyone has equal opportunity, that is what we are going to deliver.

Finally, in terms of reducing crime and stopping terrorism. We need to solve this. It was a failing of the last government that we did not tackle it and I take my share of responsibility that we did not do enough to push for change. So to make up for these failings, we will invest as much as is required to local governments for policing and reducing crime. We will also invest in anti-terrorism task forces so that we can halt and snuff out any planned acts of terrorism before they can take place against our citizens. We will also communicate across Parliament on how we can tackle terrorism and crime and work with other parties on how to stop the atrocities taking place once and for all against our citizens!

[Speaker Rejo]

The Chair thanks the Prime Minister for his remarks. 

The Chair now recognizes any Honourable Member who wishes to address Parliament on the Government's agenda. No less than 48 hours shall be allotted to debate before proceeding to a vote which shall constitute a Motion of Confidence in the Government.

[Alfonso Velez]

Madam Speaker,

Let me begin by making it clear: unlike the DSP, this L&D honour our commitments. We made a commitment to respect the will of the people of this Republic which gave DSP a slim plurality in this Parliament. Therefore, it is only right and proper that the Prime Minister be able to form a minority Government. In light of this, the L&D party will be abstaining from this initial vote of confidence on the Government's Agenda.

I want to make very clear, however, that our abstention is only due to this fact. This Agenda has several dangerous items that will be opposed strongly by my party--and I believe many items that will also be opposed by the ANA. The Prime Minister was given a slight plurality by the people--I would encourage him not to mistake that for a mandate--for he and his party do not have one. The realities of the situation are that he will not be able to pass legislation without the support of at least one of the other major parties--and I'm disappointed to see his speech filled with many extreme socialist policies that are unlikely to command the support of a majority of Parliament. I would encourage the Prime Minister to reconsider his approach, and focus on legislation in which he can build bridges and compromises between the major parties to help the Aldurian people rather than putting forward bills to motivate his base which have no chance of succeeding.

Let us start where we have agreement. We naturally agree on the need to continue to invest in our valiant Armed Forces. Under my leadership as Prime Minister, the Government invested unprecedented levels of funding to defending our nation--an investment that paid off by allowing us to take decisive action to defend the freedom of the seas and protect vital Aludrian trading interests. I agree with him that military action must always be a last resort--and I doubt he will find any disagreement on any side of the House.

I also agree with the Prime Minister on a need for even more investment in transport projects to help the economy of our Republic by continuing to improve our infrastructure. The L&D Government made great strides in this area--and I am certainly happy to work with the Prime Minister to continue building on this good foundation.

I also voice support for his intention to reduce crime and terrorism. I particularly voice my support for supporting local and regional police forces and focusing national efforts on preventing terrorism. This is the right balance--and I look forward to supporting legislation that achieves this important balance. Our local and regional communities must have the greatest control over policing their communities. It is right and proper for us to fund their efforts and provide support when it is requested--but we should never be centralizing day to day law enforcement. I'm pleased the Prime Minister has found the light and has come to respect this balance that L&D stood on in the last election.

Regrettably--here is where our agreements end. The rest of the speech, although well intentioned, is filled with the worst aspects of socialism and threaten the financial stability of our Republic--not just in our treasury, but also the economic boom that has been fueled by a decade of L&D stewardship.

We will oppose any attempt to take over education from local and regional authorities. While I'm pleased to see the Prime Minister has already backed off some of his campaign commitments to over centralize education programs--his proposal still injects unprecedented amounts of Federal control over the education process. Madam Speaker--this is rightly an area where our local and regional Governments should take the lead. We certainly support greater funding of local and regional educational programs--but we should not be mandating anything about what they are teaching. Our great Republic is made up of many diverse regions and localities--each with its own education priorities, customs, etc. It is wrong for the Prime Minister to try and take over the education process--even in a more restrained way than he was advocating for during the election--and we will be opposing it.

I am also concerned about his proposals for free college for everyone. Madam Speaker--I would remind the Prime Minister that our citizens can get free college--by serving their country in the Armed Forces. The L&D Government provided this powerful opportunity to anyone who will serve our nation: serve the nation and your nation will serve you. The Prime Minister seeks to dilute this promise by allowing everyone to go to college on the Government’s ecu no matter how little or how much they’ve contributed to their society. Call me old fashioned, Madam Speaker, but I believe that if you want your Republic to pay for your education, you need to have done something for your Republic. In addition to my concerns about how we’d pay for such an undertaking--I do not believe it is wise for all of these reasons.

I similarly have concerns about the socialist pipe-dream of Government controlled health care. The very nature of our current healthcare system is that we promote and reward innovators--which makes the Aludrian healthcare system on the very edge of the latest technologies and treatments. Switching to a model where the Government has complete control over healthcare comes with many perils. Whether it’s how we’ll pay for it without bankrupting the treasury to concerns about how the National Government will be able to tailor a healthcare system that meets the needs of ALL Aldurians, wherever they live and whatever their needs--to concerns about just how much control Bureaucrats will have over your own healthcare decisions--the people of this Republic rightly have concerns about these socialist proposals. I say to the Prime Minister--it would be more productive and he would have more support in this House for proposals to help low-income citizens get access to our great private healthcare system by fully or partially subsidizing their health insurance costs depending on their income rather than proceeding with this dangerous Government takeover of healthcare.

Onto the economy--I’m proud of the record of the L&D Government over the past decade. We’ve built a booming economy that has put Alduria on the very forefront of innovation and international trade because we have always treated businesses, entrepreneurs, and employees with the respect they deserve. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister seems to be taking the view that businesses and entrepreneurs are the enemy and that they are terrible entities exploiting employees. Socialist nonsense. This is a symbiotic system where everyone relies on the other for support. Businesses cannot succeed without hard working and able employees. Businesses aren’t created without pioneering entrepreneurs. Employees cannot succeed without fair incomes for their labour by businesses. Entrepreneurs thrive upon creating successful businesses. It is a beautiful cycle that keeps our Republic together. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister is keen to make businesses the enemy. No wonder our Markets have tanked since he took office! I say this to the Prime Minister: in labour policy he should be focusing on improving the synergy between workers, businesses, and entrepreneurs--not treating businesses and entrepreneurs as the enemy of workers. We will fight hard against any bill that treats businesses as the enemy.

Finally, let’s turn to housing. I agree that we need more housing and support creating more housing options in Alduria: but these are not matters which the Government should be leading. This is a Government, Madam President, not a private construction company. While I would support efforts to help private companies be able to overcome barriers that prevent them from getting set up or achieving success--I oppose any attempt for the Government to enter the housing business. The Socialist fantasy of nationalizing industries left and right is something that is just that--a fantasy with no basis in reality. We will oppose it wholeheartedly and it will never pass this Parliament. Likewise, laws concerning rent should be done by local and regional governments. A fair rent here in the Capital is a lot different than a fair rent in our rural territories. It is impossible for there to be a “one size fits all” policy.

Madam President, I encourage the Prime Minister to abandon the more extreme measures laid out by him and his party and focus however long his time is in Government in presenting legislation that has an actual chance of passing this Parliament. There are items in his agenda that are possible--but the bulk of it is socialist nonsense that has no chance of passing this Parliament and being accepted by the people of this Republic. I conclude with a word of warning: our agreement to abstain from this vote was for this vote only. We respect the will of the people and will give this Government every opportunity to govern well--but the Prime Minister must understand that he operates a minority Government--not a majority Government or coalition. If he does not accept this reality and wastes Parliament’s time on measures that have no hope of passing, we will not hesitate to call a vote of no confidence against this Government so that the people of our Republic can have a Government back in charge that can get things done rather than engage in pointless political posturing. 

The ball is entirely in the Prime Minister’s court about how he will shape his Government and how he will shape his Parliamentary focus for the remainder of his premiership. I encourage him to make his choices wisely and focus on areas of agreement rather than areas of ideological division.

[Speaker Rejo]

All time for debate has now expired.

The question is: Does this Parliament express its confidence in the Prime Minister and his agenda?

Members are reminded that this vote constitutes a vote of confidence in the current Government.

Voting shall last for no less than 48 hours

DIVISION: CLEAR THE LOBBIES!

[Alfonso Velez]

PRESENT

L&D Whip: Level 3 Abstention

[Marco Zimmer]

All DSP: Aye

[Alduria]

ANA: Nay (90), Abstain (4)

Independents: Aye (8), Nay (17), Abstain (2)

[Speaker Rejo]

In accordance with Section VI.4A with all members voting, the Chair closes the vote. On this vote, the result is as follows:

AYE: 121

DSP: 113
IND: 8

NAY: 107

ANA: 90
IND: 17

ABSTAIN: 114

L&D: 108
ANA: 4
IND: 2

So the Ayes have it and the Government's agenda is approved. Unlock!