Twelve months ago, after being cosseted for so long, I was staunchly in favour of opening our borders and learning to live with Covid, given the impressively high vaccine uptake and the comparatively mild variant that was sweeping the world.
Omicron’s steady march across the country was rapid but manageable – and we rolled with the punches. We have unquestionably learnt to live with this virus. It does not command the fear factor of old, largely relegated to nagging nuisance status.
Domestically, the year also felt book-ended by puerile protest action. From the conspiratorial anti-vax fanatics to the paint-splattering passenger rail extremists vandalising a swag of electorate offices, a more feral brand of protester stomped their feet in 2022.
Just as social media has insidiously stoked the fire on brazen youth offending, social media has arguably emboldened, empowered and legitimised the radical malcontent – no matter how deluded or dangerous their world view may be.
The political year has been a bruiser for Labour, with the cost of living crisis supplanting Covid as Kiwis’ paramount concern. Unlike the smartly executed fuel excise reduction, the cost of living payment, while well-intentioned, soon devolved into government wastage, as evidence mounted of millions of dollars being frittered on ineligible foreigners and dead people.
National had its own taxation eels to wrestle with, finally reading the room and biting the bullet on its tone-deaf pledge to cut the top income tax rate. But National should stick to its guns on addressing tax bracket creep, given the corrosive power of inflation.
Christopher Luxon enters election year with his tail up, after stabilising the party, waging a disciplined focus on trigger issues and skippering National’s poll fortunes into the high 30s. With Labour slipping to 33% in the end-of-year 1 News Kantar Poll, and Jacinda Ardern’s stardust steadily dissolving, the great unknown is how low can Labour go?
Just like Auckland housing prices, trying to pick the bottoming out point is a fraught and fickle business. With the cost of living, law and order and the general mood of discontent garnering plenty of chatter over summer barbecues, Labour’s biggest worry will be whether the leakage sees their party vote plunge into the 20s, in the first set of polls this year. If that was to eventuate, the party could be facing an election decimation.
Last year was the year Labour lost control of the narrative. In the Year of the Rabbit, Grant Robertson will have to pull some incredibly impressive rabbits out of his fiscally-stretched hat.
But while National and ACT look odds-on to form the next government, the clear resurgence of NZ First cannot be ignored. Don’t be surprised if Winston Peters manages to gatecrash the Luxon-Seymour nuptials.
Globally, Vladimir Putin inadvertently demonstrated that the much-hyped might and power of the Russian Army was a mirage. His ground forces have proven to be flat-footed, ineffectual and rudderless.
The Russian military’s increasing reliance on Iranian drones and North Korean missiles lays bare its limited capabilities, propped up by pariah states.
It was also the year Britain went full Italian, with Downing Street’s glossy black door transforming into a prime ministerial turnstile. Rishi Sunak may have steadied the ship, but like a guilty pleasure, I do miss the ebullience of Boris. Liz who?
Meanwhile, in Australia, the election of Anthony Albanese’s administration has injected a welcome fresh force into our increasingly contested neighbourhood. Foreign Minister Penny Wong is the ultimate smooth operator.
The United States’ midterm elections bolstered President Biden’s re-election prospects, while puncturing the Trump train. Neither should run again. Most Americans want a new generation of leaders to contest the White House.
Expect the thinking person’s Trump, Ron DeSantis and liberal darling Gavin Newsom to declare their respective candidacies......
Mike Yardley is a writer and broadcaster - including with Newstalk ZB. The full article is published HERE
Just as social media has insidiously stoked the fire on brazen youth offending, social media has arguably emboldened, empowered and legitimised the radical malcontent – no matter how deluded or dangerous their world view may be.
The political year has been a bruiser for Labour, with the cost of living crisis supplanting Covid as Kiwis’ paramount concern. Unlike the smartly executed fuel excise reduction, the cost of living payment, while well-intentioned, soon devolved into government wastage, as evidence mounted of millions of dollars being frittered on ineligible foreigners and dead people.
National had its own taxation eels to wrestle with, finally reading the room and biting the bullet on its tone-deaf pledge to cut the top income tax rate. But National should stick to its guns on addressing tax bracket creep, given the corrosive power of inflation.
Christopher Luxon enters election year with his tail up, after stabilising the party, waging a disciplined focus on trigger issues and skippering National’s poll fortunes into the high 30s. With Labour slipping to 33% in the end-of-year 1 News Kantar Poll, and Jacinda Ardern’s stardust steadily dissolving, the great unknown is how low can Labour go?
Just like Auckland housing prices, trying to pick the bottoming out point is a fraught and fickle business. With the cost of living, law and order and the general mood of discontent garnering plenty of chatter over summer barbecues, Labour’s biggest worry will be whether the leakage sees their party vote plunge into the 20s, in the first set of polls this year. If that was to eventuate, the party could be facing an election decimation.
Last year was the year Labour lost control of the narrative. In the Year of the Rabbit, Grant Robertson will have to pull some incredibly impressive rabbits out of his fiscally-stretched hat.
But while National and ACT look odds-on to form the next government, the clear resurgence of NZ First cannot be ignored. Don’t be surprised if Winston Peters manages to gatecrash the Luxon-Seymour nuptials.
Globally, Vladimir Putin inadvertently demonstrated that the much-hyped might and power of the Russian Army was a mirage. His ground forces have proven to be flat-footed, ineffectual and rudderless.
The Russian military’s increasing reliance on Iranian drones and North Korean missiles lays bare its limited capabilities, propped up by pariah states.
It was also the year Britain went full Italian, with Downing Street’s glossy black door transforming into a prime ministerial turnstile. Rishi Sunak may have steadied the ship, but like a guilty pleasure, I do miss the ebullience of Boris. Liz who?
Meanwhile, in Australia, the election of Anthony Albanese’s administration has injected a welcome fresh force into our increasingly contested neighbourhood. Foreign Minister Penny Wong is the ultimate smooth operator.
The United States’ midterm elections bolstered President Biden’s re-election prospects, while puncturing the Trump train. Neither should run again. Most Americans want a new generation of leaders to contest the White House.
Expect the thinking person’s Trump, Ron DeSantis and liberal darling Gavin Newsom to declare their respective candidacies......
Mike Yardley is a writer and broadcaster - including with Newstalk ZB. The full article is published HERE
4 comments:
"...the year also felt book-ended by puerile protest action. From the conspiratorial anti-vax fanatics..."
Puerile? So, it's peurile to stand up for your rights not to be subjected to a medical procedure (as stated in the NZ Bill of Rights Act) is it, Mike?
What exactly is our Bill of Rights for, if not to clearly define what all of us are entitled to.
And anti-vax fanatics? Unlike our pro-vax obsessed fanatical government, and likely yourself.
Read any of the many articles casting very serious doubt on the efficacy and safety of our Pfizer mRNA vaccine, Mike?
Doesn't sound like it. Anyway, it's probably just a conspiracy theory, right?
If all those articles turn out to be right, I look forward to your article apologising to all those fanatics who took a stand to protect the right for ALL of us to choose.
Maybe you should vote Labour, Mike.
Oh no, that's right. National are just as gung-ho at trampling on citizens rights when it comes to vaccination.
The Pfizer vaccine was deemed "safe and effective" after three months of testing on humans. Pfizer, with a huge and immoral vested interest is the only organisation to test it and they will not even disclose what is in it. The government and medical authorities parroted "safe and effective" ad nauseum with no other authority. Protesters were NOT anti-vax they were protesting the mandates that our dear leader said would not happen and four days later they did. She lied again and again and that's why we have lost faith in our leadership. Labour are toast.
I enjoyed your well written article Mike. Destructive protest is peurile, though I think we may see more of it this year depending on how inciteful this government decides to be if they're not reading the room.
MC
No I won't write off NZF, because I see Winston and Sean Jones being straight-up about co-governance like no others except David Seymour to whom I will give my Party vote. I worry that ACT and NZF are in competition, because I have no faith at all in lily-livered National - they are a spent force, unfortunately, although they will still attract the votes of the complacent and unthinking.
Regarding NZ First I agree about not writing off Winston Peters. He has been touring NZ last year with his town hall meetings having good numbers attending. I have been to one or two of his meetings over the years and I like his consistent messaging. In December I attended a meeting in Hastings and I was surprised there were over 200 there. He mentioned that his meetings are being totally ignored by MSM. Sometimes he does 2 meetings a week so he is getting some attention out there.
MC
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