At this point in 2023, National had launched its income tax policy, its FamilyBoost childcare policy, its renewable electricity generation policy, its policy on interest deductibility for rentals, its brightline test policy, some of its Overseas Investment Act plans, its boot camp and gang patch policies, its youth welfare policies, its “Local Water Done Well” repeal of Three Waters, and a whole bevy of other promised reversals or initiatives.
At this point in 2017, Labour had announced KiwiBuild, its Healthy Homes policy for tenancies, its intended expansion of the Reserve Bank’s mandate, its Tax Working Group to look at capital gains taxes (CGT), a Centre of Digital Excellence in Dunedin, and a whole bunch of other reversals and initiatives, all under the leadership of Andrew Little.
This is in contrast to Chris Hipkins who has announced close to nothing.
Such a narrow policy platform makes it easy for opponents to intimate that there must be something far scarier hidden up your sleeve – or in the platforms of your potential coalition partners. It forces your MPs into media appearances where they can only talk of the problems with their opponents and never about the positive ways they want to change New Zealand. And it can simply make you look unserious and uninterested in the challenges the country has, like a restorationist project for New Zealand in 2023, rather than a team trying to take things forward.
Unserious is a good term.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition.
5 comments:
What else? Masters of stealth, secrecy and ......the very nasty surprise. People never learn.
Hilarious misinformation from KiwiBlog. The do-nothing Nats accusing Labour of having a do-nothing agenda. From National's do-nothing on the Treaty; to reversing housing reform because my fellow residents in Remuera & Parnell told Lux they'd stop donating to National should it go ahead; to doing next to nothing to prevent spiralling debt & deficits as per official Treasury long term projections, National's pollster at KiwiBlog lives in a parallel universe.
Voters have found out the truth though. That is, both the Nats and Labour have a do-nothing agenda falsely marketed by their vast comms machines as change. Neither have the intellectual depth nor experience to provide a plan that stops NZ's descent into economic obscurity.
Hmm, 17 months since Luxon agreed to go on Q and A. Q and A differs from other outlets in that they only ask questions about policy and performance.
Why on earth would Luxon, who last week said he wants to be questioned only on policy and things that matter to kiwis, then turn around and refuse to be questioned on those things?
Do nothing is one thing when you’re not in government, it’s a heck of a thing when you ARE in government.
Why announce any policy when National is doing such a fine job of shooting itself in both feet with not delivering on the issues which matter to middle NZ voters? Reversing the Maorification of government, health, education, social & economic settings - National has done basically NOTHING!
Agree with you Anon @ 10.32.... Weak Nats in gummint. Scared of the morries.
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