This is the same mob that keeps telling us they are delivering for Kiwis. Yet here they are, campaigning on trade deals with places many average New Zealanders could not point to on a map. Luxon and his Trade Spokesperson Todd McClay stood at the Port of Auckland to spruik the plan, talking up the next billion customers and untapped opportunities worth billions.
Spare me.
The average Kiwi does not wake up thinking, I must vote National so we can trade more with Bangladesh and Nigeria. They worry about mortgages, groceries, rents and whether their kids can afford a house in the country they grew up in. Trade policy is important but it is not the stuff that wins elections in the suburbs and provincial towns. Luxon is campaigning for a niche market of exporters and lobbyists while ignoring the punters who actually decide who governs.
McClay tried to sell it by pointing to the India FTA as proof of delivery. You know, the one Winston Peters and Shane Jones have been hammering over migration concerns. The one where the trade minister has to stand up and tell us to just trust them on immigration. Nothing builds confidence like being gaslit about a deal that was supposed to be all about dairy and goods but comes with plenty of people movement attached.
Luxon says they know what they are doing. They have done trade missions, signed some deals and generated commitments. Fair enough on paper. But when your big announcement is about chasing markets in Africa and South America while coalition partners were not even consulted, it starts to look like a leader who is either detached from political reality or playing a different game entirely.
I am genuinely perplexed as to why Luxon thinks this will move the dial for National. We are still feeling the effects of previous promises and deals that were oversold. Now he wants us excited about Nigeria? I cannot wait for the follow up press conference where he announces a billion dollars invested to help some Nigerian prince regain his estate.
Either Luxon is a plant trying to lose the election for National or he still has no clue how real politics works in this country. Kiwis vote on cost of living, crime, health and housing. Not on grand visions of trading widgets with Uruguay.
A sharp reduction in the size of National’s caucus after the election might teach the party some humility. Then again, looking at their track record, maybe it won’t.
Luxon can keep smacking it around the world if he likes. Meanwhile the rest of New Zealand will be wondering why their government seems more interested in distant billion customers than the struggling families right here at home.
Cam Slater is a New Zealand-based blogger, best known for his role in Dirty Politics and publishing the Whale Oil Beef Hooked blog, which operated from 2005 until it closed in 2019. Cam blogs regularly on the GoodOil - where this article was sourced.
The average Kiwi does not wake up thinking, I must vote National so we can trade more with Bangladesh and Nigeria. They worry about mortgages, groceries, rents and whether their kids can afford a house in the country they grew up in. Trade policy is important but it is not the stuff that wins elections in the suburbs and provincial towns. Luxon is campaigning for a niche market of exporters and lobbyists while ignoring the punters who actually decide who governs.
McClay tried to sell it by pointing to the India FTA as proof of delivery. You know, the one Winston Peters and Shane Jones have been hammering over migration concerns. The one where the trade minister has to stand up and tell us to just trust them on immigration. Nothing builds confidence like being gaslit about a deal that was supposed to be all about dairy and goods but comes with plenty of people movement attached.
Luxon says they know what they are doing. They have done trade missions, signed some deals and generated commitments. Fair enough on paper. But when your big announcement is about chasing markets in Africa and South America while coalition partners were not even consulted, it starts to look like a leader who is either detached from political reality or playing a different game entirely.
I am genuinely perplexed as to why Luxon thinks this will move the dial for National. We are still feeling the effects of previous promises and deals that were oversold. Now he wants us excited about Nigeria? I cannot wait for the follow up press conference where he announces a billion dollars invested to help some Nigerian prince regain his estate.
Either Luxon is a plant trying to lose the election for National or he still has no clue how real politics works in this country. Kiwis vote on cost of living, crime, health and housing. Not on grand visions of trading widgets with Uruguay.
A sharp reduction in the size of National’s caucus after the election might teach the party some humility. Then again, looking at their track record, maybe it won’t.
Luxon can keep smacking it around the world if he likes. Meanwhile the rest of New Zealand will be wondering why their government seems more interested in distant billion customers than the struggling families right here at home.
Cam Slater is a New Zealand-based blogger, best known for his role in Dirty Politics and publishing the Whale Oil Beef Hooked blog, which operated from 2005 until it closed in 2019. Cam blogs regularly on the GoodOil - where this article was sourced.
5 comments:
And will the Punters remember this when voting in November? Yeah right! Pull the other leg.
If the NZ dollar keeps falling like it has been national dont need to do anything to improve exports, NZ$ is worth nothing which is why we here in NZ need to pay so much for diary and beef. A falling $ is not a good strategy
>"Meanwhile the rest of New Zealand will be wondering why their government seems more interested in distant billion customers than the struggling families right here at home."
It just may be because raising national income will generate funds to lift those struggling families out of poverty.
Its taken over 3 years but I've finally got a handle on Christopher Luxon. He's the head of marketing, far more suited to a roving ambassador selling NZ to the world. Positivity in abundance and will not hear a word otherwise. Your consummate car salesman.
But a PM he is not. Nor the leader of NZ. He's way too absent for that, far too unwilling to engage in negativity, contraversy or confrontation. In other words, unrealistic.
This is NOT a winner for National, what is going on at home right here right now is what matters for any PM. This thing that takes up the majority of his time and focus is 5% to any other PM, that is what his Foreign Affairs Minister is for.
National vis a vis Luxon remain aloof, out of touch and above the fray. And in trouble.
Anon 1:03
You are so right.
The real pity is that the National Caucus can't see this and replace him with someone who can read the room regarding appeasement to maori.
Until they do, National is failing.
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