Clive Bibby: Rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic

Hopefully readers will forgive me for using this oft regurgitated analogy of people still committed to a doomed exercise. I mean no disrespect to those who died in that tragic accident.

However my use is more in reference to modern day New Zealand political parties who are in danger of becoming irrelevant in the minds of those who are finding things difficult just trying to feed, house, clothe and educate their families. Ironically, it has little to do with loyalty to outmoded doctrines or philosophies of yesteryear.

For example, current political party leaders of all persuasions are having difficulty reconciling their actions, comments and support for policies that appear to be in direct contradiction with their party’s founding principles.

As a consequence voters are beginning to question whether this equivocation on most of the big issues confronting the nation is paramount to a betrayal that will ultimately cost the leader their job.

In the circumstances, it appears we are in for a time when leadership challenges become common place and who knows where that will end come the General Election in 2026.

Maybe I am reading too much into recent events that suggest both the current main party leaders - Luxon and Hipkins, plus the co-leaders of Te Pati Maori are all carrying the can for misdeeds or utterances from rebel members of their own caucuses.

Unfortunately for National and the Government, Luxon’s problem is more to do with his tendancy to back “Woke” policies of foreign governments that are the antipathy of modern conservative belief which is the cause of rumblings of discontent within the membership. For him this stance, if continued, could be terminal.

On the other hand, Hipkins too often appears like a possum caught in the headlights where his instinctive reaction is to blame his parlous position on something or someone else - but in politics the best strategy is often to admit a mistake that was avoidable and promise to do better.

Meanwhile the Te Pati Maori leadership are becoming collateral damage of their own arrogant, racist response to every proposal put before the House that doesn’t give Maori everything they consider their entitlement under the false interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi.

My guess is that these leadership questions - if they continue, particularly within the “Parties of the Left”, will make it almost impossible for the return of a three party Labour led Government in November next year. On current polling, Labour and the Greens can’t do it on their own.

That isn’t to say that the current Coalition parties don’t have problems of their own although it would appear that leadership of both Act and NZ First is secure and that of National will be almost totally dependant of Caucus reaction to the Prime Minister’s performance in the next few months.

Personally, I would back a leadership change mainly because there are a couple of standout performers in the current cabinet, namely the Education Minister Erica Stanford and even Chris Bishop, who are capable of stopping the erosion of support from those disenchanted with Christopher Luxon.

But irrespective of who leads the Coalition into the next election, the thing that will ensure victory more than anything else is the campaign slogan providing voters with a reason for ticking the box in their favour.

Using a famous quotation from former President JF Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country” - our Coalition slogan should be “We will provide the opportunities for you to do it for yourselves.”

Our Governments’ main responsibility should always be to create an environment that encourages individual endeavour and enterprise.

It should be a “hand up” rather than a “handout”.

Simple really.

Clive Bibby is a commentator, consultant, farmer and community leader, who lives in Tolaga Bay.