Four weeks of small-beer politics about the price of airline tickets and school uniform logos. Honestly, is that what the contest for control of our central government has come down to? How many logos you're allowed to have on your school uniform?
Now, that's not to say it's not a decent policy. It's a perfectly fine idea to roll out. But it's not going to change the direction of this country, is it?
And this country needs a change of direction. Voters know it.
Based on what I'm hearing from the political parties, voters know, accept and have already made peace with the fact that we are broke as a country. They know something massive has to happen to fix our situation. But that's not what's being discussed four weeks out from an election.
We're discussing school uniforms and we're discussing the Greens' plan to regulate AI, when there is very little chance that a nation of five million people will have any discernible impact on a technology being compared to the Industrial Revolution.
I can count on one hand the number of policy announcements that have been genuinely interesting, viable and capable of changing this country's fortunes: National's plan to make KiwiSaver compulsory, ACT's plan to make KiwiSaver tax-free and, if you want to include the more bonkers ideas, TOP's land tax and the Greens' wealth tax.
At least they're bold. At least they address national wealth, however mad some of them might be.
Everything else is tiny stuff. Everything else is not going to help us build the wealth we need to retain talent and pay for the healthcare that every one of us will need one day.
Are we really going to spend four weeks ignoring the country's debt, ignoring the fiscal deficit and discussing hidden transaction fees on your ticket purchase to see Lily Allen?
Is that what we're going to do?
Surely the parties don't have four weeks' worth of these tiny policy announcements to carry us all the way through to election day.
Please, dear God.
Heather du Plessis-Allan is a journalist and radio broadcaster who hosts Newstalk ZB's weekday Drive-Time Show – where this article was sourced.
16 comments:
It is concerning that the Maori problem has been removed from the debate. I will vote exclusively on the Maori problem; I want all of it gone. I don't care about the economy; I will eat grass. But I will not tolerate being a second-class citizen in the country my ancestors built.
I agree, Heather, having attended a candidates' meeting last night at which empathy and aspiration drove big spending promises from the Left without any regard to our current fiscal situation or where the money was coming from.
Some hard facts. Our cumulative rate of inflation over the last 10 years has been 46%. Against the pound, US dollar, Euro and the Chinese currency, our dollar has devalued by well over 20% and against the Aussie dollar by 16%. Our domestic economy has been more or less stagnant. We have stagflation but nobody wants to talk about it.
We continue to borrow and if the ACC books are included in the government deficit we won't see the government books balance into well into the 2030s. And our export boom won't solve the structural deficit problem.
All the political parties should be addressing how we are going to stop digging ourselves into a deeper hole and start getting out of it. But with the exception of Seymour, nobody has the stomach to tell voters the bad news - we cannot go on as we are now. If we do, we're heading for an IMF rescue package and that medicine will be very unpleasant.
Concerning for sure. Luxon and National are deliberately not raising it. It is the biggest social issue this country is facing, yet no one is addressing it. No discussion - nothing. A mute silence. No politician has the courage to thoroughly talk about it and instead they want to bury it amongst their diversionary electioneering froth on other more minor stuff. Where has great leadership gone? Why are we allowing this to happen?
To 'anon'@ 8.13 am... I am in my 70's...I too will eat grass...if that's what it takes ....Winston Churchill "....we will never surrender ! " :-)
Very amusing post Heather. I agree with your statement "voters ... accept and have already made peace with the fact that we are broke as a country". By that I mean, they are content with that state of affairs. It's typical left wing thinking - they don't want to be as rich as the successful people, they just want the successful people to be as poor as they are. Where I disagree with you is where you say "And this country needs a change of direction. Voters know it." You give altogether too much credit to the average citizen. They don't read Breaking Views. They are sleepwalking into economic stagnation, and that is why all they can talk about is the cost of school logos and hidden transaction fees on airline tickets.
Quite right. No parties will mention the things that would really impact NZ. They are assumed. The discussion then becomes how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
Anon, 8:18. I agree completely !! you have got it summed up. !!
Anon at 8.18 is so correct! It is like they are all afraid of being called the R word..
By now, all NZers - whatever their view - should understand that the Maori issue will never be discussed by cowardly politicians until its main objective is achieved - namely tribal rule.
Four years ago , Claire Charters called He Puapua " a few ideas". Now she calls NZ "an illegal country."
When will people wake up?
I hope Ryan has the guts to ask some of the hard questions tomorrow night in the debate between Luxon and Hipkins.
I think he is probably the only one who might ask some interesting questions
Anon 8.18 am - National is a tinkerer and is led by a woke leader with zero conviction. Gary surprising that it has shed most of the support it received in 2023 to ACT and NZF. Best outcome for this election is for National to be down to 20% and Seymour to be PM.
For Anon @ 8.18am.
Right on. I will be voting the same way and for the same reasons. Against Labour and its clown show supporting parties. We want our country and our language back please – English language that is.
We shall probably see a repeat of Nat/Act/NZF, certainly the best of a bad lot. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have problems with Nat/Act/NZF. It is simply that I have fewer problems with them than I have with the Lefties.
If Nat/Act/NZF win I would like to see the Nats give Luxon the chop and heave-ho as soon as. In that way the coalition could go through a much needed renewal. If the Opportunity party makes it through I would expect them to fall in with NZF.
About economics (a subject for which I will never win a Nobel prize) my take is that we are very much tied into the overseas bond markets and therefore have no real control over the action. Plus our fairweather friends the Australians will not want to help out.
There will be no hard questions and no hard answers, only banal gotcha moments.
I’m afraid NZ is deep in the doodoo and it’s only getting deeper.
Hollowing out our manufacturing base has only made it much harder to pay the bills. When one company, Fonterra , is responsible for 25 percent of our exports, we have a deep structural problem.
This country needs huge amounts of foreign investment to get it on its feet
While the NZ dollar burns, the idiot "wannabes" argue amongst themselves.
The only candidate of consequence is David Seymour together with his excellent team who have achieved, generally unrecognised, beneficial outcomes for New Zealand.
Further, ACT has taken on the very core problems that we face as a nation, particularly real, effective economic proposals and the threat of "co-governance".
However, the greens will dominate this election, driven by the mindless, moronic, phone-gazing young women who worship Cloe. The mistakenly see her as some kind of warrior against "the system". Little do they realise what a threat her "neo-marxist" ideas are to New Zealand.
I recall -
- school uniforms has been a past Pollie "point" but nothing done then, do not expect it to be given much kudos now.
- we have had "numerous points of order" on fireworks - I feel sorry for the Lady who instigated (in yonder years) for the change in how it was managed - still waiting, tho Wp has said he will do something??
- removal of lights at a rail crossing (Greens) innovative - we have enough yobbo's in cars now
- remove tax on Kiwi Saver - oh dear
- lets control the Social Me - what will all those females do if that happens
- what's next - oh I know diversion tactic -
Saturday Night from Sedknee - All Blacks - most important - did Rob Muldoon arrange that????
A person I know recently came back from Australia as she wanted her kids to be brought up here and she had a large family support here. She said the kids preferred nz schools, because they had so much cultural dancing, singimg, group activities etc and less of the strcutural stuff like sitting at a desk and learning spelling or maths from a text book. And that's with the current govt. So imagine how bad it will get if Labour get in.
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