Bob Edlin: Columnist is critical of Luxon’s leadership......

Columnist is critical of Luxon’s leadership – and that’s without examining policies which approve separate funds for Maori science

Janet Wilson, writing in The Post, muses on why New Zealand’s major parties seem hellbent on making themselves as irrelevant as possible to the voters they serve.

For different reasons, both National and Labour have unshackled themselves from their identities and what they stand for, she contends.

Support for both parties at the last election was collectively the lowest in a generation at 64.99%, down from 81% at the 2017 election and 76% in 2020.

Which means that the country’s two main political parties are left as nothing more than hollowed out power elites fighting over an ever-decreasing voter base. Who, in turn, seem more and more comfortable reaching for the political fringes.

Their decline has been marked by a desire for pragmatism over ideology which creates two-sides-of-the-same-coin policy. As well, a top-down party structure with less democracy has weakened their membership, which makes them less connected to the constituencies they claim they represent. That much-like-the-other-party results in less choice.

Wilson finds fault with the Nats for…

• Dropping any pretence of compassion under the three-party coalition and swapping it for uncaring cruelty.

Rather than attempting to quell the rising rage between the haves and have-nots, they’re busy harnessing it with traffic light systems and sanctions on where beneficiaries can shop if they don’t comply with their obligations. Focus polling, that data-driven balm for policy wonks, may tell them that their voters approve, but in creating those divisions they’re denying themselves access to other voting blocs they once enjoyed – young women and men especially – who now vote elsewhere.

• Debasing our democracy by short-circuiting Parliamentary procedures –

And, in their cynicism towards democracy, they’ve earned themselves a dubious award; halfway through their first term, the coalition Government has passed more bills through Parliament under urgency without a select committee process – 24 in all – than any other since 1987.

• Showing weak leadership –

Then there’s the quietly growing perception of Christopher Luxon’s lack of leadership – best exemplified by how David Seymour sneers at him publicly – which yet another poll highlighted this week.

Labour is similarly scrutinised in Wilson’s appraisal and is found wanting, too.

But Labour isn’t running the country these days. Luxon’s coalition is supposed to be doing that.

One issue which Wilson might have examined more closely is the Government’s position on the so-called Treaty “partnership”.

The coalition parties were sharp critics of Labour’s co-governance initiatives, especially the Three Waters reforms, insisting that such policies are incompatible with the democratic principle of ‘one person, one vote’.

This gelled with public disquiet at the surreptitious implementation of tino rangatiratanga under former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, especially after the leak of the government’s He Puapua report.

The report was commissioned to guide the government on enacting the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) – a UN agreement which the National, ACT, and Te Pāti Māori coalition had signed back in 2010.

The 2023 general election votes which resulted in Luxon becoming Prime Minister strongly suggested the public rejected those policies and the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi on which they were based.

But Luxon balked at supporting ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill beyond rancorous select committee hearings and has displayed a disinclination to dismantle separatism in the provision and funding of public services.

A fresh example is the announcement by Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti and Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka of He Ara Whakahihiko – presented as a new, consolidated fund designed “to unlock the economic potential of Māori-led research and innovation”.

They hailed this as a progressive initiative:

“This forward-focused initiative brings together and streamlines previous funding mechanisms to deliver more targeted, impactful investment in science and technology that supports Māori success and drives national prosperity”.

They also championed an emphasis on ethnicity rather than merit in building the country’s science workforce and deciding on project funding:

“This Government is committed to backing Māori participation in science and innovation, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it strengthens New Zealand’s overall economic performance,” says Dr Reti.

“He Ara Whakahihiko will help break down the barriers that Māori researchers and entrepreneurs face and ensure stronger representation in our science and technology workforce.”

He Ara Whakahihiko includes two targeted investment pathways, merging two previously separate funding streams “to enhance efficiency and maximise returns on public investment”.

According to the media statement:

• Ara Whaihua – Impact Pathways for Research: Focuses on near-term implementation and commercialisation of science-led initiatives. It backs 12-month work programmes led by Māori-facing organisations, delivering real economic impact.
• Rangapū Rangahau – Research Partnerships: Supports two-year collaborative projects that strengthen science capability and build durable partnerships between Māori-facing entities and New Zealand’s wider innovation ecosystem.

Approximately $2 million is devolved to the Health Research Council to help develop people and support organisations in health research, with a focus on turning research into products or services that benefit the economy.

“We’re focused on outcomes. That means getting innovation off the whiteboard and into the world—creating jobs, lifting productivity, and enhancing wellbeing for Māori and all New Zealanders,” says Mr Potaka.

This underscores the separatism which the Government is reluctant to discontinue. Maori are distinguished from “all New Zealanders”.

The Ministers say He Ara Whakahihiko “reflects the Government’s commitment to smarter public investment, a high-performing science sector, and a more productive, inclusive economy”.

The fund will open for proposals on 20 August 2025.

Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog - where this article was sourced.