Will these words come back to haunt the Prime Minister?:
“When we look back on this period in our country’s history, I don’t want us just to reflect on how we weathered the storm of a pandemic, but what we built after”.
Furthermore, she told Parliament yesterday:
“Our economy cannot afford to return to business as usual, because the status quo is unsustainable”.
And she concluded her Prime Ministerial statement with this ringing commitment:
“New Zealand has entrusted the government with the responsibility of bringing this country through our current crisis, and we will continue to do that. But we will do more than that. We’ll provide stability, a united team, and a singular focus on a recovery that, even after a crisis, leaves New Zealand better than we found it”.
It’s a task made all the harder by the burdens the government has inflicted on the nation, either because of the pandemic or its own fallibility: rising inflation, deepening poverty, growing inequality, surging house prices.
There was little mention of those issues in the Ardern speech. As Opposition leader Christopher Luxon said:
“Under Labour, people are working harder but going backwards”.
Sometimes it’s almost as if Ardern is on another planet. Here she is on climate change:
“Tackling climate change will be a core part of our economic strategy….
“Climate change must not overwhelm us. In fact, it is our greatest opportunity for new jobs and higher wages. For a country already earning a premium from our clean, green, and innovative image, there is an opportunity to use that natural advantage to create new jobs in new industries. It will also reduce New Zealand’s reliance on global energy prices. Other countries are moving to compete and seize the opportunities, and New Zealand cannot afford to be left behind; not economically, and not morally either. Not when the future of our exports will be built on a credible plan to bend our emissions curve and meet our targets.
“That’s why this year our first emission reduction plan will put innovation and clean technology at the heart of our economic transition. We’ll continue to support businesses reduce their energy costs through the government investment in Decarbonising Industry Fund, which already has reduced lifetime emissions by 6.6 million tonnes. We’ll continue to transition our transport fleet, and already the clean car discount, which came into effect, has seen the number of new electric vehicles being bought each month triple. Alongside the clean car discount, and clean car standards, the low emission transport fund will begin supporting business to pilot new emission transport technology.
“We’ll continue with the green investment fund, which has quadrupled the amount of investment in low carbon technologies. We’ll continue the work of He Waka Eke Noa and in our partnership supporting more farmers to adopt existing measures and technologies to reduce on-farm emissions.
“The Opposition claim they share our climate ambition. Why, then, have they opposed almost every initiative that would bring our emissions profile down? Climate change is a challenge we cannot postpone, just like child poverty, just like housing, just like mental health”.
Ardern claimed the country had weathered the storm of COVID better than many of its key trading partners. Our economy, she said, grew 4.9% over the last year, outperforming much of the OECD.
Reminding New Zealanders her government had been elected to address the challenges that have held too many back for too long, she said that as the border opens, NZ exporters will be able to reconnect face to face.
“We’ll build on that with a proactive programme of re-engaging with high priority international markets. NZ will sign a free trade agreement with the United Kingdom. We’ll continue to work towards concluding a free trade agreement with the European Union, and I will lead trade delegations, and trade-supporting visits to key markets in Europe, the United States, Australia, and Asia this year.”
Ardern noted historical under-investment has been a handbrake on the economy.
“It’s why we’re planning for the next 30 years instead of electoral cycles. It’s why we’re investing $57.3bn in infrastructure over the next five years alone. It’s why we’re modernising our schools. It’s why we continue to rebuild our health system with 24 construction projects. It’s why we’re enabling more housing, providing New Zealanders with greater choices in tackling congestion in the transport system, rolling out telecommunications and energy infrastructure, preparing the economy for the future. It’s also why we’ll fix the issue of persistent under-investment in our water services”.
Great, you say?
But if $20bn goes into Auckland’s light rail system, and as much again into a second harbour crossing — how much will be left for the rest of the country?
And does anyone believe there are boom times ahead thanks to the Ardern government?
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton.
7 comments:
The only reason the present government was re-elected is because there was ( and still is) a relentless scare campaign regarding covid 19.
The propaganda has definitely worked.
Women are walking around the streets of the city I live wearing masks. I even see people alone in their cars wearing masks. Unbelievable. Their doctors should be telling them fresh air,sunshine vitamin d and a healthy diet would be far better for them.
They keep telling these poor, misguided people thousands will die. Then miraculously the figure has completely changed a day later.
Maybe a gradual easing of restrictions inside as well is now appropriate.
Many countries overseas are dropping all mandates and opening their borders.
After two years, this is political not health related.
A full investigation into this is required.
Ardern's speech shows she is living in La-La land and has lost all grip on reality.
"Climate change is a challenge we cannot postpone, just like child poverty, just like housing, just like mental health” - but all 3 examples she quotes have been postponed because they have gotten much worse under Ardern's term in office so why would she think her strategy to combat climate change will work. Every proposal the CCC made is a disaster waiting to happen, will do nothing to limit emissions and is really about controlling the population.
She seems to have a fund for everything, as though simply throwing many millions, or even billions at a problem is all that's needed to fix it. You also need a viable plan and the ability to put that plan into action - as amply demonstrated, Labour are incapable of this.
"It’s why we’re investing $57.3bn in infrastructure..." - a huge chunk of it on a single rail line in Auckland which most Aucklanders will never use because most live away from the line and its easier to drive anyway. Whatever's left won't be spent on roads. We'll get more cycleways that almost no-one uses and more buses that almost no-one uses. Typical Labour policy. Don't ask what people actually want - give them what Labour thinks they should have.
"It’s why we continue to rebuild our health system with 24 construction projects." - by splitting it in two, making it more costly and inefficient, and focusing on the 17% of part-Maori to the exclusion of all others, but getting everyone else to foot the bill, then giving them a second-class service.
"It’s why we’re enabling more housing..." - not sure what enabling means but I'm certain it does not mean building because they have an abysmal record on new builds. Perhaps it means "wishing for" because that is the only hope they have.
"...we’ll fix the issue of persistent under-investment in our water services”. - yes, Three Waters. Where all our local water assets owned by ratepayers are confiscated and then unelected iwi get a 50% vote and a veto on every decision. They will almost certainly get paid a royalty too.
"We’ll provide stability, a united team, and a singular focus on a recovery that, even after a crisis, leaves New Zealand better than we found it”.
- better for who? Maori. Everyone else will have less rights, less justice, less healthcare, less democratic representation, less opportunity and, with Labour in charge of the economy, less money.
But the phrase that really strikes fear into any sane person is this "...I don’t want us just to reflect on how we weathered the storm of a pandemic, but what we built after”. - we all know what that's going to be because He Puapua sets it out in no uncertain terms. A bi-cultural, separatist state where 17% of the population, most with far less than 50% Maori in their DNA, will lord it over everyone else.
The question now is whether a majority of the New Zealand population have the desire and the will to stop all of the above happening. It's easy really - just vote for anyone but Labour, Greens and Maori Party at the next election.
Sounds easy but I'm far from convinced it will happen!
Everyone is getting tied up in 'she says/she didn't do'.
How about she doesn't and never cared what others think - typical elite Marxist behavior.
She was never capable of successfully running a capitalist economy for obvious reasons so competent politicians should be concentrating on what is necessary to fix her cockups and repeal everything needed to make NZ great again.
"“Tackling climate change will be a core part of our economic strategy."
Well - yes !!
The recommendations of Comrade Ardern's climate commission have been costed out:-
To reduce NZ's emissions by the target date will cost $85,000,000,000 per year, EVERY YEAR !!
That works out to about $65,000 per year, every year, for a typical family of four.
This will reduce global CO2 emissions by 0.17%.
The rest of the world will keep on producing their 99.83%.
Economic suicide to achieve nothing. Simply laughable.
The present labour cult is the most arrogant government since the Key era.
The most incompetent for getting anything completed EVER.
The most authoritarian EVER.
The most treacherous by introducing apartheid.
The most corrupt with buying the media and using Proceeds From Crime to fund a gang.
The list is endless.
If their Leader From La La land thinks NZrs believe all her rhetoric she is even further out of it than I thought.
When NZ's contribution the the world's C02 emissions is a small fraction of 1%, trying to reduce it when any saving will be swamped by the increases from India or China makes no sense whatsoever, so why damage our economy trying.
And remembering NZ produces 0.17% of 3%, (given humanity only produces 3% of carbon emissions, and the natural world produces 97%), we can only make a 0.000051% difference. And plants do best at double the current level...
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