The Kiwi Prime Minister says he wants NZ's economy to grow. It got ranked near bottom of the world this week by the IMF in terms of real GDP growth. On the back of the uncertainty due to tariffs that is shaving around 0.5% off most country's project economic growth rates, the National Party may be the first in NZ history to preside over an economy that is mired in stagnation during its entire three year term of office.
Last year it shrank by 1.1%. Whilst part of the reason for the slow-down continuing may now be overseas tariff-related events, the main reason holding back investment in NZ is because we can't be sure anymore our Parliament has sovereign powers. That kind of uncertainty would bring any economy to a halt.
How do we know it exists? Because PM Luxon threw ACT's Treaty Principles Bill under a bus and its first clause was, "The Government of NZ has full power to govern & Parliament has full power to make laws". Should Luxon not have liked the other two clauses, why not pass an amended Bill that made that one statement?
It was beneath Luxon to even debate the point. No, he prefers schmoozing with King Charles in Buckingham Palace, scheming with the UK Labour Prime Minister against the US, doing a side-trip to the Pope's service in the Vatican Palace, and visiting Turkey to fly around the Sultan's Palaces in Istanbul on a magic carpet. All to shift "the narrative" away from the Treaty.
Apparently our PM thinks the Treaty has nothing to do with economic growth. Good luck with that hypothesis.
Professor Robert MacCulloch holds the Matthew S. Abel Chair of Macroeconomics at Auckland University. He has previously worked at the Reserve Bank, Oxford University, and the London School of Economics. He runs the blog Down to Earth Kiwi from where this article was sourced.
9 comments:
Yes, Luxon certainly is behaving cowardly on so many issues.
Oddly, he doesn't have the fortitude to face reality.
Another one term PM leading NZ away from democracy.
The PM is too clever to "spike" a bill supported by 2/3 of voters.
He's also too clever to be fooled that a single reversible bill will stop Labour politicians kicking the Maori football again to distract voters from the financial ruin the Labour Leaders reek on NZ.
Ask yourself why Luxon let the bill go through the select committee process and why Seymour didn't make the bill a bottom line?
Could it be these 2 meritorious leaders have a long term enduring solution?
And could it be the TPB is a tool to get voters talking about, and getting used to the fact that ending the Maori echelons tax payer funded gravy train is long overdue?
And maybe when the gravy train is ended (anyone missing JT?), the money could be put to use actually solving intergenerational Maori underachievement.
That will be great for all NZers.
Hon Mr Luxon PM may think he has corporate smarts , however the continueing rhetoric about NZ eonomic growth is without doubt possible because there is only one way to go . NZ is virtually at the bottom in IMF analysis yet he has NO plan.
The NZ Finance Minister is evasive and poised to be classified as anything other than truthful , because twiddling with words when discussing money is frankly hopeless. That is why finance and funds are not a science but facts.
The PM and Ms Willis hoisted their flag on tax cuts at the last election which have proven to be less than expected for less than the debated recipients . Both need a very big reality shock.
Lack lustre Luxon is doing such a good job that I wasn't even aware he was still absent with leave.
On the button yet again Prof Robert!
NZ’s economy is burning while Emperor Christopher fiddles around the world, trying to use external issues to distract the peasants.
Economic growth will not return unless and until the majority of the population can be assured their efforts and their right to an equal say will not be hijacked in the interests of a minority.
Get the basics right and the country will come right.
Get them wrong and no amount of pontificating and corporate-speak will make the slightest difference.
Oh, and National is highly unlikely to find itself still in power at the end of next year.
“The Kiwi Prime Minister says he wants NZ's economy to grow”?
Well, Luxon, apartheid, or what you woke politicians refer to as co-governance or partnership, is anathema to economic growth.
Pull your head in, get back home and start addressing the elephant in the room, apartheid.
I do not understand this. "How do we know it exists?" How do we know what exists?
Why is it that "we can't be sure anymore our Parliament has sovereign powers."
Why would the Government pass an amended Bill which says "The Government of NZ has full power to govern & Parliament has full power to make laws" when the Constitution Act 1986 already says that?
What has ACT's Treaty Principles Bill got to do with it?
As I understand things a referendum is necessary to make Parliament sovereign.
If Luxon continues on his current path and ignores the ephalump, it will bite him (and us) on the bum - ouch, what was that!??? As to him coming home, come the full blown apartheid, I suspect NZ will cease to be his home - he will leg it as fast as his little legs will carry him and do 'an Ardern', don't forget, he is sorted, so he will have an escape plan, be sure of that.
Our parliament has governed as supreme sovereign (unconstitutional monarchy) itself for 39 years, but never sought ratification for that coup from the people. They did this through the Constitution Act of 1986 and the Imperial Laws Application Act of 1988, enthroning a “Queen of New Zealand”.
Lange and Palmer had no legal ability to accept the Crown in 1986 – they had to get ratification from the people first. They never did, so, it was, and remains to this day, technically illegal and unconstitutional. Australia and Canada are in the same boat.
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