Chris Luxon saw nothing wrong with that.
That right there is part of the reason why this Government is polling so poorly, because it's all talk, isn't it, bugger all action.
Now I'm sorry. I realize this is a lot to start the week with - we're starting strident.
I don't mean to continue like that - but were you as surprised as I was to hear that we've only cut 2000 public servants? And were you even more surprised that the Prime Minister's explanation is no more than a verbal shrug?
This, I think, will be profoundly disappointing to a lot of people who expected this Government to get public spending under control. And cutting public servants is part of getting that spending under control.
There is no reason why we have as many public servants as we have today. 63,000 - there is no reason why we have more than double the 30,000 public servants that we had in 2001.
Our population hasn't doubled since 2001. It's gone up about 37 percent. If you adjust accordingly, then we should have 41,000 public servants, not 63,000 public servants.
Now, I would have expected that the Prime Minister would have a better explanation than simply saying - at least it's not as bad as Labour.
Well, maybe so, but I hoped for better. I hoped for a Government that was gonna actually turn this around. Certainly more than a Government that just feels like it's actually Labour dressed in blue clothing.
And isn't this just the latest example of talk from this Government that is not being matched by action? They promised to cut spending every year, and they spend more than Grant Robertson. They promise to get on top of debt every year, and they add more to the debt.
They promise to stop the race-based policies - and we just keep finding them. They keep waving them through unless we bust them at it.
I think this, in part, answers the question that we were asking last week, which is why is it that 3 polls in a row were so tight that it wasn't actually clear if this Government would win an election if an election was held today.
This is why they're not brave enough. They should be braver. In fact, if they were braver, they might be more popular. It's worth remembering that for all the hard decisions that were taken by the 4th Labour Government, which is definitely the most transformational that we can think of, right?
For all those tough decisions taken in the first 3 years, they actually came back with a bigger majority in 1987.
So maybe, you get rewarded for doing what you say you'll do, tough as it may be, rather than just talking tough and then doing very little.
Heather du Plessis-Allan is a journalist and commentator who hosts Newstalk ZB's Drive show HERE - where this article was sourced.
14 comments:
Rather than worrying about being strident my question is what's taken you so long to spot the bleeding obvious?
Bang on Heather. Remember these are the very same politicians that cowered alongside the labour mob in the safety of parliament buildings than face the protestors outside. Big on talk but light on action. The polls results are screaming total disenchantment.
Like others I have been surprised by the word gonna. But listening to Trump the word is well established. If long time presenter Nathan Rahere on the National flag radio station can ignore the g from every ing word HdPA as a private writer can certainly write as so many now speak. At least it is not gunna.
Hopefully most of the 2000 are from the maori insurgency industry.
Correct, isn’t it funny how the Govt of any persuasion says we can’t afford super for people aged 65. Yet, they employ way more public servants than needed and the politicians give themselves a lifetime pension after 10 years in parliament.
I wish I could get a life time pension after being a builder for 10 years!
Government spending needs to be cut to no more than 25 percent of GDP, then we can talk about being responsible with taxpayer’s money.
And how many of those 2000 were vacant ghost positions, created just before the election.
Well on the way to the cultural marxist state of Aotearoa where most people who work are govt employed to monitor those who are beneficiaries. CF Singapore - most engaged in productive work.
What is Heather's past expertise, training, experience, and acjievements that would make anyone take her incoherent mysings seriously.
Anyone with a smidgen of macro economic 1understanding would understand the economic and political cost of knee jerk public sector firings.
The Luxon governemnt is taking a clever, and planned approach to.public selector rarification (aug 24. The Prime Minister’s open to axing entire Government agencies, saying there’s probably too many.")
The complex measured process includes...
1. sir Brian Roches analysis of public sector roles and goals, no small task,
2. Designing new public sector structures and systems to efficiently achieve the coalitions stated public sector goals.
3. Analysis of current staff to match skills and experience to the new efficient and refocussed public sector.
4. Public sector staff reorganization.
That is why Luxon has been promoted to lead large complex organisations and Heather gossips on the wireless.
Agree Heather. I think not just frightened but also divided. It is an undeniable fact that National has made numerous even more egregious concessions to radical elements than labour did, and their former leaders are openly unrepentant to this day. The mask is being ripped away and we don't like what we see. The Republican party pre Trump and the Conservative Party in Britain had equally lost their way. Herein lies the western dilemma .. its conservative parties have been neutered by left leaning ideologies and ceased to be a counter-balance long ago.
The way the cuts have been portrayed in msm is as if they were cruel slashing of essential services and far more than they actually are. A chunk of the public might see it that way. I do not. However, constant portrayal of the govt as vengeful emasculators of vital digital pen-pushers is a constant theme and in Wellington will reinforce the opposition vote tally. Somehow the cuts are also blamed for the decline in hospo in Wellington. All those vital folk not wandering downtown for their daily vegan lattes etc
Gonna is likely a progression of the English language - i.e. One word replacing two unlike the regression of chucking bloody te reo words into everything, doubling the cost, time and confusion?
Luxon is not and will never be a Leader. His Christian faith stands in the way of making decisions which could be slightly unpopular. He instead reverts to meaningless blathering interviews. He likes the World stage and believes NZ is a key participant. At the General Election he will meet his Waterloo!
When the Prime Minister goes to China he takes a Māori Kapa Haka group. Why? It is not the first time he’s done this. There is no chance in hell will he disestablish the Waitangi Tribunal or the Māori seats.
The reason this Government has not made the progress it talked about is because too many of the ministers lack experience in the areas of the portfolios they manage. For example, Nicola Willis is like Grant Robertson --no qualifications or practical experience in finance, so she has to strongly rely on the advice of the same bureaucrats that Robertson did. Obviously the same results are likely to occur.
Anon @9.05am --the way things are going the Government will not have time to get out of the starting blocks on the four points you raise because they will be out at the next election. To avoid that happening, they have to take the bull by the horns and act decisively now.
Ross, whilst I have some sympathy for your position, there are some glaring counter factuals....
1. The coalition is still ahead in the (mainly left leaning pollster) polls despite having to crash the economy to fix the ardern disaster.
2. The policies the government is implementing will not bear fruit until the lead in to the next election (that is how they're designed)
3. There has been plenty of decisive action within the confines of a very poor quality public service (plenty of top level dei hires have already diaappeared) and no money.
4. Many of the government targets are already being met which voters will experience over the next 18 months.
I do agree that Nicola Willis isn't great. It makes you wonder about fonterras hiring policies given Todd Muller and Willis both held management positions there.
But the rest of Luxons management team is much stronger than anything the opposition can muster.
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