elocal sat down with local independent candidate Ian Cummings and asked him why constituents in the Port Waikato electorate should vote for him on September 19th 2020.
I am standing as an independent candidate for one reason and one reason only, you and I deserve better. My point of difference is that unlike the other candidates, who represent the interests of their political party, I am standing to ensure genuine advocacy in Parliament for Port Waikato residents. I believe that as an independent member of Parliament, answerable to the electorate rather than a political party, I can be a more effective voice for the area. I am a local resident, having lived in Puni for many years and I am married with four children. Currently employed as a General Manager of a company that operates major infrastructure I also serve on the board of a local Year 1–13 school.
1. The first duty of government is to protect lives, not legislate to end them.
We need to ensure our political leaders have the courage to uphold the laws of morality and do no harm. Census results show most voters within the Port Waikato electorate associate their religious beliefs with Christianity. This is a faith I share, and while supporting all members of our community regardless of belief or faith, I see this election as posing some clear moral choices. The threat to our society is the slow erosion of Christianity and the social and cultural manifestations of the West. With it has come moral poverty. Using our democratic power, we can proudly lead the world as a nation that values and protects the sanctity of life.
2. Most political discussion is not around whether the government should micro-manage our lives or not, but by how much.
A terrifying common presumption held by our current crop of politicians is that they believe the government has a higher claim on our property and person than we do. In doing so they claim that the government, in principle at least, has complete control over our property and lives. I strongly disagree.
3. I believe the government should work for us not against us.
It seems that more and more, the decisions the government and bureaucrats make about what to do for us are having an increasingly adverse impact on our lives and freedoms.
The government has a duty to safeguard our rights, not take them away. If our freedoms can be taken away in times of crisis, e.g. the COVID-19 pandemic, then are they really freedoms, or just a licence via a temporary government permission slip subject to the whims of politicians in power?
4. Unlimited governments always hurt people and always take their stuff.
The government should be limited and never take sides based on how much you earn, the colour of your skin, who your parents are etc. The government’s job is to react to how you behave, not to how you think. I am of the view that when we are freer and with voluntary co-operation, we can solve problems from the bottom up far better that from the top down. It seems that more and more every one of us is somehow being judged, targeted, monitored or snooped on based on someone else’s agenda.
5. The private and voluntary sector, not the government, is where the endless capacity for innovation, creative thought and prosperity comes from.
Our Parliament remains stacked with unrepentant socialists. They want a government-managed economy and would like to dictate who gets what unless voters see fit to stop them. Socialism on the face of it is a wonderful idea. It is only the reality that does not cooperate. I am a strong advocate for free enterprise.
“It seems that more and more, the decisions the government and bureaucrats make about what to do for us are having an increasingly adverse impact on our lives and freedoms. The government has a duty to safeguard our rights, not take them away.”