National leader Christopher Luxon has rolled out yet another grand trade policy announcement, promising to prioritise free trade deals with seven countries if re-elected. Brazil, Switzerland, Argentina, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Uruguay and the European Free Trade Association are all in his sights, with a second wave to follow.
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.
