Now that the political tables have been turned and everyone is back in their rightful place, the calamity that was the last six years is revealing itself in spades. You don’t have to dig very far: in fact you don’t have to dig at all. All that is required is the use of ears and eyes to either watch or read. Many of us have spent the last few years wailing about how little daylight there is between National and Labour and rightfully so. Labour lite was the frequently used term. No more.
The voters produced a result that had the potential to give us chaos or a blessing. It looks very much like the latter, which is of great relief to those of us who care about the direction in which the country is headed. Going into the election National had the door slightly ajar in terms of policy differentiation. The voters gave us ACT and, not without a little trepidation, NZ First. Chaos has not ensued – quite the opposite. The two minor parties have forced the door wide open and daylight is streaming through. How was this achieved?
First, Christopher Luxon’s leadership and negotiating skills were apparent, as was Winston’s respect for him. That was step one in ensuring the success of the coalition. You don’t have to be a genius to work out the different strategies Winston would have used when dealing with the ex-CEO of Air New Zealand compared to the ex-fish and chip wrapper from Morrinsville. Second, Winston and David, knowing how much they had in common policy-wise, knew they could easily bury the theatrical hatchet.
These three parties now lie very comfortably together. National and ACT were natural bedfellows. NZ First has slid between the sheets just as easily, if you’ll pardon the terminology. We have three in a bed and to all intents and purposes that bed is going to rock. Again, pardon the terminology. The compelling evidence of this was Shane Jones in his first speech to Parliament. He left us, and the left, in no doubt.
He commenced by saying how much better it was on this side of the House than that. He said he had spent more days on the other side than he cared to remember. He then gave the left a barrage on climate change, mocking them for their ridiculous and totally unrealistic targets. He told them, as Minister of Resources, oil + gas and mining were on a fast track and bugger the frog. These are positive things. He is talking about bringing wealth back to the country. There is now reason for us to start feeling positive – excited even. His speech, available on YouTube, is well worth a listen.
Bruce Cotterill, writing on page C6 in the Weekend Herald, said we should be excited by the competence and confidence of our new government. He commented that the direct, no-nonsense approach to the new 100-day plan and the immediacy of the Cook Strait ferry decision shows that we have a no-nonsense government that is serious about the economic and structural repair job that awaits them. The fear of what might have been has been replaced by an atmosphere of hope for next year.
Bruce was writing about this country needing a good dose of national pride. He has just attended the John Howard Lecture in Sydney. John Key received a huge ovation when he spoke. Boris Johnson, among others, also spoke. Bruce was struck by how outward looking other countries were compared with us. They were referring to the contributions they are making on the world stage while we argue over race, clean-car discounts and the like. It is evident Winston, as foreign minister, is already taking a more outward-looking approach. Washington, London, Canberra – here we come.
On page C2 of the Herald Bruce’s point of inward looking was amply illustrated by our old lefty buddy Mike Munro who is in a state of calamitous confusion, reflecting the overall current mindset of the left. Mike headed his article “Mini-Budget was triumph of spin over substance”. He then spun a whole article on the topic. It might have been a fizzer but the fact is the books had been well and truly set alight by her predecessor. Nicola was simply highlighting what she had garnered from the burnt remains and there was very little one could call substance.
Mike has no idea how Nicola is going to pay for her tax cuts. He says we don’t have the foggiest idea how she will achieve $7.5 billion in net savings other than by abandoning significant “fiscal risks”. I don’t like to be rude, as I am writing this on Christmas Day, but are these types really that thick? The answer is yes they are, which explains six years of economic mismanagement. As everybody knows there are BILLIONS and BILLIONS to be saved from Labour’s ideological policy nightmare and reckless spending. Cancelling light rail in Auckland alone will sort the tax cuts out.
According to Mike, writing from his own echo chamber, the finance minister is stuck in hers repeating the same things over and over again. Well, these things need to be repeated so the public are left in no doubt as to the perilous state of the economy the government has inherited. The problem for Mike is he’s probably not happy hearing it. It’s the old saying: the truth hurts. Mike goes on and on giving the dreadful situation the economy is in as the reason the government and Nicola can’t do or afford this or that but nowhere does he attribute or attach any blame to Grant Robertson.
Mike rambles on, implying her tax cuts are irresponsible and Treasury is warning that more borrowing will be needed due to future economic headwinds. He says it’s obvious to many there’s no wiggle room for tax cuts.How many? If there were as many as Mike thinks, Labour would still be in power. People voted for tax cuts. Mike notes Nicola will resign if she can’t deliver them. “Talk about rocks and hard places”, he says. He’s right in one sense: there are rocks and hard places but all thanks to the former finance minister. Borrow and hope creates rocks and hard places.
It’s not only Mike Munro proving Bruce Cotterill correct: it’s also Labour in Parliament. Rather than concentrate on the bigger picture, the economy, which they’ve proven they don’t understand, they’ve gone for their comfort zone – minutiae. So it’s Luxon’s learning of the Maori lingo or his wife’s car and trying to catch Winston out on what he said and when, maybe a millennium ago, and how that differs from now. This is the stuff of play school but Hipkins and Labour are in their element. It’s truly pathetic.
It really is chalk and cheese. Labour is the chalk because already they’ve chalked up a good decade or more sitting where they are now. The coalition government is the cheese, because they’ll trap Labour, the Greens and the Maori Party at every opportunity. Labour proved themselves to be the worst government in living memory. In just two weeks they’re showing themselves to be exactly the same in opposition. For them it’s looking more and more like ‘Home Sweet Home’. Yippee!
