Table of Contents
So the new government is finally formed, and a three-party coalition agreement is signed; done and dusted.
One overriding thought I’ve had during the last couple of days is wondering “What have they stuffed us on?” What (ahem) iron-clad promises have been ditched with the relevant party slinking out of them by blaming their two coalition partners? However, it would appear that there is very little which would meet that definition. Reading the coalition agreement on the TV3 news website I have found myself pleasantly surprised at what survived twenty days of negotiations.
Pleased at the changes to the Reserve Bank Act, RMA changes to focus on property rights, regulation changes, freeze on public service hiring, tax reforms, employment reforms, natural resources reforms, law and order changes, education changes, abolishing race-based criteria, sanctions for workshy lazy slobs on benefits, and ‘stop work’ notices for a lot of unnecessary commie twaddle (I won’t get my $3 million now Lake Onslow is canned). All marvellous initiatives.
I am particularly pleased there will be a committee dealing with inevitable difficulties of a fissiparous nature which are likely to arise; reminiscent of “Lucky” Luciano forming the mafia ‘commission’ in 1931 to settle disputes in an amicable fashion.
Also impressive is a list of items which National MPs strongly attacked in opposition which are now for the highjump: repealing the Canterbury Regional Council law (which I’ve previously written about), no Maori wards without a referendum, abolishing co-governance, abolishing the ban on smoking, abolishing the ban on doctors from oddball places, entrenching free speech in educational facilities, abolishing the prison reduction targets. You get the general idea.
There have been a few occasions in the past when strongly criticised things in opposition became permanent once National was back in government: the frustrating Achilles heel of previous National governments. This time it is not going to happen as a number of socialist wickedness measures are not only outski – but by Christmas too! So yes, dear reader, I am sitting here pleasantly surprised and rather impressed my fears of Mr Luxon wimping out at the last minute were very much misplaced.
Notwithstanding there is always a list – usually quite long – we all have of “top priorities”; many of which are unrealistic and unlikely to ever get 62 votes in Parliament (despite all of them being wonderful ideas), I give the coalition agreement an 8 out of 10 and think it sows the seeds for future prosperity and national unity. I am taking a mark off for not taking an axe to government spending, returning spending levels to what they were in 2017; and another mark off for not having a ban on newsreaders and public servants speaking silly fake Maori words, but you can’t have everything.
At this stage, one gets the distinct impression that at 9 o’clock on Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Luxon will suggest to his deputy Prime Minister that he undertake a “goodwill” tour of our friends and allies in his role as Foreign Minister. Winston could spend, say, two weeks in each country spreading good old-fashioned “Kiwi Goodwill”, and there are 150 countries we consider friends and allies. Or maybe 200. That way Mr Luxon along with Seymour can get on with “Government By Adults” once again.
