This is edition 2025/196 of the Ten@10 newsletter.
Hi all,
This is the Ten@10, where I collate and summarise ten news items you generally won't see in the mainstream media.
Enjoy!
1. Promises, Promises.
Chris Trotter
- 💡 Hopeful branding: Labour’s new “Future Fund” sounds visionary — a rare political focus on the long-term rather than short-term politics.
- 🗳️ Positive pitch: The Fund aims to invest public assets to boost innovation and entrepreneurship, with a “by us, for us” ethos.
- 📚 Inspirational source: The policy echoes themes from Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, embracing optimism and innovation.
- 🧠 Déjà vu warning: The catchy name recalls another bold Labour initiative — KiwiBuild, a grand promise that fell spectacularly short.
- 🏠 Broken promises: KiwiBuild pledged 100,000 affordable homes but delivered just 2,229 — leaving 97,771 houses unbuilt.
- 🧾 Political theatre: The original KiwiBuild policy was hastily conceived to boost party optics rather than deliver genuine solutions.
- 💸 Thin substance: Critics note the Future Fund lacks detail and sufficient capital — just $200 million, likely borrowed or reallocated from vital sectors.
- 🎩 Shell game: Integrity Institute’s Dr Bryce Edwards calls it “a shell game” — funds appear and vanish, with no clarity before the election.
- 🧱 Castles in the air: Voters are left to imagine what the Fund might achieve, much like wishful Lotto dreams or KiwiBuild fantasies.
- 💰 What could work: A bolder plan — compulsory KiwiSaver with higher contributions and state-managed infrastructure investment — would be far more credible.
- 🗣️ A better slogan: “By us, for us” could have meant something if backed by real policy courage — because future success demands action today.
