Clive Bibby: Where to Now?

I’m writing this on Election Day while waiting to cast my vote down at the local school - a deliberate action on my part because it allows me to offer these thoughts while the outcome of today’s vote is still unknown.

It also offers the opportunity to examine some of the promises made or should have been made by those politicians who have, during the campaign, gone to great lengths in an effort to secure our votes. 

At the time of writing we can contrast the different lollies being handed out to a gullible electorate and wonder how many of the parties really expect to be in a position to honour them.

Point of Order: More policies are stopped or slowed to help save $1bn for bread-and-butter spending.....

...but RMA “reforms” escape the cull

It was a big day for the stopping or slowing of a second tranche of government programmes, an exercise which Beehive publicists are pitching as measures to allow the Government to focus more time, energy and resources on “the bread and butter issues” facing New Zealanders.

This affirms, of course, that since the 2020 general election, the bread- and-butter issues facing New Zealanders had been lowered (or forgotten?) in the Government’s priorities.

Hence the Government’s popularity had wilted, its poll support had shrunk and Jacinda Ardern – remember her ? – had bailed out as Prime Minister when it looked like the Nats and ACT were on course to win the election this year.