The contrast between this speech and one that would be given by Hipkins on the same topic was stark. If Hipkins had delivered a speech along the lines of the one I heard from Luxon then someone else would have written it and Hipkins wouldn’t have had a clue what he was talking about! We have heard from the left that you can’t run a country like a business. Wrong. It is precisely the wide experience that Luxon has had in the business world as a CEO and problem solver that has equipped him for the task ahead of him and his Government now.
He will be the driver of the economic revival this country so desperately needs. His ministers will be the equivalent of the heads of department in Unilever and Air New Zealand. He will have given them a very clear message about his expectations, not only of them but of the ministries they are in charge of. I believe the ministers in the most important portfolios in this Government, as opposed to the last lot, have the necessary ability and will relish the challenge. We have already seen two dismissals where ministers have not performed to the standard expected of them.
What I took from Luxon’s speech is there will be unrelenting focus on the economy, inflation, government spending, infrastructure, getting rid of red tape, law and order, education and health outcomes. In relation to Pharmac he wants drugs approved in six months, not the two years it currently takes. He mentioned the importance of the fast track legislation which, in spite of the huge numbers of submissions received, should go ahead in its current form.
He is not of a mind to introduce an austerity budget but pointed out that savings – made in the back offices of government departments and elsewhere – have enabled the introduction of the promised tax cuts without more borrowing. He was very clear that hard-working Kiwis, particularly those on low and middle incomes deserve to get more money in their pockets. On education, he spoke of a back-to-basics approach of getting pupils into school with a clear curriculum. He spoke of charter schools answering a ‘one size fits all’ problem.
Luxon wants us out into the world on matters of foreign affairs, trade and defence. He mentioned the overseas trips made already by Winston Peters, Todd McLay and Judith Collins. We can expect more of these. On trade specifically he wants us hustling for business and sees great opportunities in the Asia Pacifc region. He hinted at more spending on defence as the fiscal situation improves. He says while maintaining an independent foreign policy we need to play our part and talked about concerns on our doorstep in the Pacific.
As I said in my opening remarks, this is a vastly different speech to one that would have been delivered by the other side of the House. Labour is only interested in fantasy projects, the Greens are enamoured with fairies at the bottom of the garden and the Maori Party can’t see past 1840. These sorts of issues are of no help when it comes to extricating the country from the situation they put us in. Their thinking reflects the intellectual inbreeding that excludes ideas from outside sources. It is apparent in recent remarks made by Bryce Edwards and Chris Trotter.
By contrast, we now have a government led by a man with a vision and a plan. While upholding the ‘social’ responsibilities of government, Luxon is going to get us out of our hole, wearing his businessman’s hat and applying business methods. He talked about the enthusiasm and the excitement for what lies ahead. He finished by talking about productivity being at the heart of all the economic policies, hustling for business, economic excellence and said, “We can do it, honestly we can do it. We just need to get the show on the road.”
What a contrast to ‘borrow and hope’.
JC is a right-wing crusader. Reached an age that embodies the dictum only the good die young. This article was first published HERE
He will be the driver of the economic revival this country so desperately needs. His ministers will be the equivalent of the heads of department in Unilever and Air New Zealand. He will have given them a very clear message about his expectations, not only of them but of the ministries they are in charge of. I believe the ministers in the most important portfolios in this Government, as opposed to the last lot, have the necessary ability and will relish the challenge. We have already seen two dismissals where ministers have not performed to the standard expected of them.
What I took from Luxon’s speech is there will be unrelenting focus on the economy, inflation, government spending, infrastructure, getting rid of red tape, law and order, education and health outcomes. In relation to Pharmac he wants drugs approved in six months, not the two years it currently takes. He mentioned the importance of the fast track legislation which, in spite of the huge numbers of submissions received, should go ahead in its current form.
He is not of a mind to introduce an austerity budget but pointed out that savings – made in the back offices of government departments and elsewhere – have enabled the introduction of the promised tax cuts without more borrowing. He was very clear that hard-working Kiwis, particularly those on low and middle incomes deserve to get more money in their pockets. On education, he spoke of a back-to-basics approach of getting pupils into school with a clear curriculum. He spoke of charter schools answering a ‘one size fits all’ problem.
Luxon wants us out into the world on matters of foreign affairs, trade and defence. He mentioned the overseas trips made already by Winston Peters, Todd McLay and Judith Collins. We can expect more of these. On trade specifically he wants us hustling for business and sees great opportunities in the Asia Pacifc region. He hinted at more spending on defence as the fiscal situation improves. He says while maintaining an independent foreign policy we need to play our part and talked about concerns on our doorstep in the Pacific.
As I said in my opening remarks, this is a vastly different speech to one that would have been delivered by the other side of the House. Labour is only interested in fantasy projects, the Greens are enamoured with fairies at the bottom of the garden and the Maori Party can’t see past 1840. These sorts of issues are of no help when it comes to extricating the country from the situation they put us in. Their thinking reflects the intellectual inbreeding that excludes ideas from outside sources. It is apparent in recent remarks made by Bryce Edwards and Chris Trotter.
By contrast, we now have a government led by a man with a vision and a plan. While upholding the ‘social’ responsibilities of government, Luxon is going to get us out of our hole, wearing his businessman’s hat and applying business methods. He talked about the enthusiasm and the excitement for what lies ahead. He finished by talking about productivity being at the heart of all the economic policies, hustling for business, economic excellence and said, “We can do it, honestly we can do it. We just need to get the show on the road.”
What a contrast to ‘borrow and hope’.
JC is a right-wing crusader. Reached an age that embodies the dictum only the good die young. This article was first published HERE
9 comments:
Get to hear a vision of economic growth, citizen aspiration and burgeoning prosperity. i.e. the NZ of yester year.
(Compared to the mind numbing mantra of wealth redistribution, "dumbing down" equity and increased dependence on the state for the Left.)
However, Mr Luxon consistently avoids the exact topic which will hamper the realization of his dynamic vision - the Maorification agenda which aims to take over NZ. This avoidance weakens the impact of his efforts. Will he see the light? The people who voted for the Coalition certainly have - and wonder why he will not tackle this massive obstacle!
I can see great parallels between Christopher Luxon and the Argentina President, Javier Milei. Both these men are committed to repairing the damage created by the previous liberal left wing ideology. Taking a chainsaw to the bulging public service and the sea of red tape is a sure fire recipe to fixing the economy.
Did Luxon make any statement about the biggest issue in NZ - the racist division cemented into place by Jacinda, Hipkins, Robertson et al ?
We can get over the financial issues given time, but not the Maori issues.
Until he shows which way he thinks on these, he shows he can't be trusted to do the job he was primarily elected to do - do you wonder why 50,000 NZers have voted with their feet and exported themselves to Australia ?
I still have my doubts about him. He comes across as one of those managers that got where he did by never rocking the boat. Appeasement is his calling card. There is never a glimpse of the knarly beast that sits behind the smile. Without the beast he will always be competent, but never outstanding. We need outstanding at present.
Time and again Luxon refuses to address maorification and its destruction of NZ - including the money being sucked out of the economy. Quite the opposite - he and his crew pander endlessly to the schemes to extract money and the nonsense that underlies it.
He may want to set NZ up to fly again but until he fixes the badly broken wings, it is all pipe dreams.
How can NZ be anything with a corrupted and broken legal system,
the courts being manipulated by the Waitangi Tribunal and Parliament being progressively displaced by both and undermined by a self driven independently ideological civil service.
Best summed up - what the whuck?
This country is now a bankrupt third world apartheid shit hole precisely because of the last 50 years of treasonous politicians telling us about their vision and plans. This time won't be different and it still holds true that if politicians mouths are moving, they are lying.
Cannot agree with you Rob. Both men might be committed to repairing the damage of previous Governments, in their respective countries but that's where the comparison stops.
Milei is taking a chainsaw to the waste and corruption.
Luxon & co are just fiddling around the edges and I do not expect it to improve. He cannot even put the foot down on a simple basic Government policy --Government departments putting their English name first. Many departments are just thumbing their nose at him over this simple measure. Similarly with cuts in the numbers of people employed. In some instances the numbers cut include positions advertised but not filled and in others cuts are made but "consultants" are then employed, so no cuts at all.
Unless Luxon and his ministers get really tough with Government Departments and in some cases Local Councils they will not get very far, very fast.
Having said that I agree with his economic goals overall but he has to be careful any gains are not sucked away by Maorification gravy train.
Before the election, we attended a few of the candidates' meetings and Mr Luxon made an appearance in support. I waited patiently for the elephant in NZ's room to be mentioned, it was not! That lost our vote in one fell swoop. As things have progressed with the coalition we have existed on 'hopium', the hope in this case that PM Luxon will wake up, smell the rot mentioned in several comments above and start taking the actions needed to reverse the march to Maorification set out in He Puapua. Well, so much for hopium, it only gave a temporary high! The reality is setting in and it would appear, to us at least, that the infiltration of the National Party by Maori activism is stuck in Luxon's ear, probably both! Is it a repeat of the Paradise Conspiracy situation where vested interest (iwi?) donations to the party is fostering this outright corruption and capture of our government? If Luxon was a half good manager in the real sense, he might understand critical path analysis and zero in on the critical activities - the main one being dealing with the Maori elite coup attempt. Absent that, the whole recovery effort will be pointless. Sadly, we are speaking in an echo chamber - so it is unlikely PM Luxon will ever have the benfit of the advice in this forum.
And so the rot continues until, maybe, the next election
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