The Prime Minister was right although I’m not sure it was wise to say it out loud.
Look at how we cowered behind Ardern’s couture as the country was assailed by overseas germs, the enthusiasm for protectionism, our embrace of welfare, state education, government health and the regulation of everything from dental therapists to practitioners of Chinese herbal medicine. (Oddly, non-Chinese herbal medicine remains unregulated?)
Was this the real Christopher Luxon? A glint of steel. A flash of iron. A twinge of malice. How many more analogies can I wrangle into this paragraph? No need because no sooner had Luxon lifted his toga to reveal the gladius underneath than he recanted.
Was this the real Christopher Luxon? A glint of steel. A flash of iron. A twinge of malice. How many more analogies can I wrangle into this paragraph? No need because no sooner had Luxon lifted his toga to reveal the gladius underneath than he recanted.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon holds a post-cabinet
press conference. Photo: Alex Cairns
Sorry. He said Sorry. “I got that wrong” he told the press gallery. “I didn’t want to cause any offense.” Luxon reverted to his inoffensive bloodless persona that isn’t winning him credibility or popularity. This is a shame. He’d have done better to ignore his advisors and brazen it out.
He followed this performance with more Prime Ministerial eloquence by announcing a referendum on MMP. I am writing this on Thursday evening. I expect he will have been made to walk this back by the time you read this. On the day Minister Bishop and Mayor Brown were announcing the positive news of the opening of the City Rail Link the headlines were on Luxon’s latest linguistic ill-discipline.
Luxon no longer has the authority to manage his coalition nor, it seems, the party. He is in office but not in control, spending his remaining time on the 9th floor responding to the consequences of his mistakes. He is a decent person. This is painful to watch.
Now. Ok. I lack the skills to run a lemonade stand so I have no right to be sanctimonious. Ultimately the Prime Minister should be judged by his economic performance; so, let’s take an objective look at the only metric that really matters. Economics.
Luxon doubles down on MMP referendum call at public meeting
Brace yourself, dear reader. This gets ugly.
Last week the employment figures were released. Unemployment now exceeds the grim levels of the Covid lockdown. Compound this with inflation running at an annualised rate of 6% and the Reserve Bank is about to drop an anvil on the economy to prevent inflation running amok.
Normally we have inflationary pressures and low unemployment; because if the economy is running hot prices are rising and firms are employing anyone with a pulse. Thanks to nearly three decades of fiscal irresponsibility, from 2008 onwards, we have growing unemployment, a sluggish economy, high inflation and escalating sovereign debt.
Good times.
Last month the OCR was tweaked upward. The next adjustment is in September, and another in late October. The Reserve Bank will continue squeezing the economy by ratcheting the cost of borrowing northwards as we close in on election day.
If you are looking for granular detail consider the ANZ Truckometer. Heavy truck mileage has responded to higher fuel costs with falling usage since last December but with a small lift in June. However the data for light traffic, cars and the like, has shown consistent slippage and is now lower than it was a year ago.
We are driving less because fewer of us are in jobs. This is why your commute to work is faster than it was last year.
For those in the National caucus; this is as good as it gets. It is only the economic Armageddon of the alternative that is keeping voters in line.
Had spending and debt been brought under control we could have absorbed a fuel price shock. Had fiscal management been prudent, corporate taxes reduced and the regulatory state wound back, we’d have better employment numbers. But we don’t.
There have been achievements that are worth celebrating. Success in law and order, education, the fast-track legislation, reduced hospital waiting times thanks to outsourcing and progress on trade. But on the macro-stuff this government’s record is poor and swapping the captain isn’t going to matter unless the trajectory is changed.
National is considering its options. They can still win with Luxon but it will be an ugly and negative campaign. Look at their current advertising, which focuses on the hydra of parties coalescing around a second Hipkins Premiership; forcing voters to grudge vote National because the alternative is frightening. This is no way to govern.
Politicians do not take advice from columnists. Nor should they. We are attention seeking clowns craving relevance so I will not offer any; other than to echo the Prime Minister. Someone needs to be the adult and take responsibility for the untenable predicament that the party finds itself......The full article is published HERE
Damien Grant is an Auckland business owner, a member of the Taxpayers’ Union and a regular opinion contributor for Stuff, writing from a libertarian perspective
Sorry. He said Sorry. “I got that wrong” he told the press gallery. “I didn’t want to cause any offense.” Luxon reverted to his inoffensive bloodless persona that isn’t winning him credibility or popularity. This is a shame. He’d have done better to ignore his advisors and brazen it out.
He followed this performance with more Prime Ministerial eloquence by announcing a referendum on MMP. I am writing this on Thursday evening. I expect he will have been made to walk this back by the time you read this. On the day Minister Bishop and Mayor Brown were announcing the positive news of the opening of the City Rail Link the headlines were on Luxon’s latest linguistic ill-discipline.
Luxon no longer has the authority to manage his coalition nor, it seems, the party. He is in office but not in control, spending his remaining time on the 9th floor responding to the consequences of his mistakes. He is a decent person. This is painful to watch.
Now. Ok. I lack the skills to run a lemonade stand so I have no right to be sanctimonious. Ultimately the Prime Minister should be judged by his economic performance; so, let’s take an objective look at the only metric that really matters. Economics.
Luxon doubles down on MMP referendum call at public meeting
Brace yourself, dear reader. This gets ugly.
Last week the employment figures were released. Unemployment now exceeds the grim levels of the Covid lockdown. Compound this with inflation running at an annualised rate of 6% and the Reserve Bank is about to drop an anvil on the economy to prevent inflation running amok.
Normally we have inflationary pressures and low unemployment; because if the economy is running hot prices are rising and firms are employing anyone with a pulse. Thanks to nearly three decades of fiscal irresponsibility, from 2008 onwards, we have growing unemployment, a sluggish economy, high inflation and escalating sovereign debt.
Good times.
Last month the OCR was tweaked upward. The next adjustment is in September, and another in late October. The Reserve Bank will continue squeezing the economy by ratcheting the cost of borrowing northwards as we close in on election day.
If you are looking for granular detail consider the ANZ Truckometer. Heavy truck mileage has responded to higher fuel costs with falling usage since last December but with a small lift in June. However the data for light traffic, cars and the like, has shown consistent slippage and is now lower than it was a year ago.
We are driving less because fewer of us are in jobs. This is why your commute to work is faster than it was last year.
For those in the National caucus; this is as good as it gets. It is only the economic Armageddon of the alternative that is keeping voters in line.
Had spending and debt been brought under control we could have absorbed a fuel price shock. Had fiscal management been prudent, corporate taxes reduced and the regulatory state wound back, we’d have better employment numbers. But we don’t.
There have been achievements that are worth celebrating. Success in law and order, education, the fast-track legislation, reduced hospital waiting times thanks to outsourcing and progress on trade. But on the macro-stuff this government’s record is poor and swapping the captain isn’t going to matter unless the trajectory is changed.
National is considering its options. They can still win with Luxon but it will be an ugly and negative campaign. Look at their current advertising, which focuses on the hydra of parties coalescing around a second Hipkins Premiership; forcing voters to grudge vote National because the alternative is frightening. This is no way to govern.
Politicians do not take advice from columnists. Nor should they. We are attention seeking clowns craving relevance so I will not offer any; other than to echo the Prime Minister. Someone needs to be the adult and take responsibility for the untenable predicament that the party finds itself......The full article is published HERE
Damien Grant is an Auckland business owner, a member of the Taxpayers’ Union and a regular opinion contributor for Stuff, writing from a libertarian perspective
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