Top Ten “NZ Politics Daily” stories today
Below are some of the more interesting and insightful New Zealand politics items from the weekend and today.
1) Leftwing political commentator Chris Trotter has provided what is possibly the best account of why the Labour Government lost nearly half its support between 2020 and crashing out of power in 2023 – see his column for the Democracy Project today: Where The People Walk
Trotter argues that Labour never really knew what it wanted to achieve in government, and then when it had an historic majority to do whatever it wanted it got captured by an elite programme of liberal social and constitutional reforms that the party hadn’t tried to persuade the public about. Unlike, leftwing politicians of the past like Jim Anderton and Norm Kirk who argued that you needed to be democratic in your radicalism (“Always build your footpaths where the people walk”), Labour generated a backlash, including from its own supporters, by deviating into “the peculiar notions of the educated urban middle-classes”.
2) Another leftwing commentator, Dave Armstrong, writes in The Post today: Let’s be brutally honest about why Labour lost (paywalled). This is an open letter to Chris Hipkins in which he pleads that Labour takes a proper look at why it failed in government rather than rely on the “glib” explanations that the leader has offered so far. Armstrong even hopes that Labour’s polling doesn’t increase anytime soon, in case this prevents the party from going through the necessary task of self-reflection about its serious problems.
Armstrong essentially says that the Ardern-Hipkins government failed to deal with the economic needs of its traditional supporters, the working class and poor: “I cheered when you said you wanted to concentrate on basic issues for working people such as the cost of living, rather than push through several policies on many different fronts. Yet much of what Labour did was piecemeal. The cost-of-living payment was pissy and ignored the real problems working people faced. And one of the reasons for this is that because Labour had not taxed wealth or income from capital, there simply wasn’t the money available to do something substantial for working people. The problems only got worse with your captain’s call to shelve the planned wealth tax. The polls put approval for some sort of wealth tax at around 60% – hardly a vote loser. Compared to the Green’s well-designed and well-presented wealth tax, which even some Nats praised, Labour’s attempt at helping working people were pathetic. As for cutting GST on fruit and vegetables, how about you advocate cutting GST on all things down to 10% and prove that Labour has shed its neo-liberal 1980s identity that some of us worry you have not, and never will, shake off?”
3) Coming from a completely different direction today, Māori nationalist Tina Ngata, who is a researcher at Massey University, has blogged to blame Labour for the election of the “the most anti-Māori government of our time”, arguing “Labour delivered us right into their hands” – see: How did we get here?
The key problem is “white conservatism” according to Ngata, and Labour capitulated to it, pandering to conservative voters when they refused to address the injustice flowing from the fact “that sovereignty was never ceded to the Crown” by Māori. In particular, she says “Labour government refused to enter into discussions about a Tiriti-centered constitution”.
4) Prime Minister Chris Luxon has given an interview about his Government’s next moves, saying “I’m back to work this Wednesday night, and everyone else will be back to work on Monday January 15”, and “I want the cabinet ruthlessly focused on getting the 100-day action plan done, and then we’ll roll into another series of action plans as we go through the year” – see the Herald’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon talks about his 30-year wedding anniversary, upcoming political year
What’s the first planned action of the Government in the new year? “Luxon said they will be kicking off the party’s gang legislation such as banning patches, anti-consorting dispersal laws, and aggravating factors in sentencing.” And the Prime Minister also indicated that National’s promised new medical school at Waikato University is hoped to be open in 2027, but first “he wants to have a memorandum of understanding up, and have a good business case attached to it.”
5) Luxon also posted a photo on social media of him painting a shed yesterday and saying that there’s “a lot for the Government to deliver” and “Just like this shed, we're going to get it done”. The huge weight of public expectations about that delivery is dealt with by 1News’ Felix Desmarais in his column, The big tests for Luxon and Hipkins in 2024
Luxon’s ability to turn around the fortunes of the National Party is discussed: “Insiders say this is down to a level of managerial emotional intelligence on Luxon's part - endowing trust in MP as a baseline, teaming groups of MPs together to bond over achievable goals, and paying attention to MPs' personal interests and passions.”
In contrast, Desmarais says that looks at Chris Hipkins’ prospects for successfully leading the Opposition this year, saying the Labour leader is incredibly well placed, as he’s an extremely experienced politician, and will be well equipped to keep his party unified and focused on holding the new government to account.
6) Should the New Zealand Government be helping the South African Government take Israel to the International Criminal Court for its actions in Gaza? Gordon Campbell makes the case – see: On immigration’s role in the Gaza carnage
7) With New Zealand signing up to a Western coalition that seems likely to intervene militarily in the Red Sea of the Middle East, the conversation continues about the wisdom of this. Today the Otago Daily Times editorial warns that although it “would seem obvious at first glance that New Zealand should join the condemnation of the attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea”, in reality, the stakes are high and it could end up being a mistake – see: NZ and attacks on shipping (paywalled)
Here’s the editorial’s key point about joining the coalition that other countries, especially in the Middle East, are wary of: “what is surprising is the small number of nations joining the condemnation, despite most being affected by the disruption, costs and risks. Yemen is a mess and peace efforts are delicately poised. Saudi Arabia, after unsuccessfully bombarding the Houthis for years, is endeavouring to extricate itself as well as improve relations with Iran. Other nations do not want to be seen as pro-Israel via strikes on anti-Israel Houthis. The United States head a naval coalition, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to deter further disruption. But France and Spain favour independent patrols and are wary of being drawn into possible escalation and quagmire. New Zealand, then, is showing clear support for the US by joining the 11. These include only one Arab nation, Bahrain.”
8) The ODT has also been battling the University of Otago over its decision to withhold information about the cost of its Pou Whenua Tawhaki installed on the grounds. The sculpture’s cost – in the end revealed to be $112,523 – was a closely guarded secret, with the University originally refusing to answer Official Information Act requests from the newspaper, explaining that it regarded such inquiries to be “of a vexatious nature and culturally insensitive.”
Today the ODT’s Tim Scott reports on the conclusion of an investigation by the Ombudsman into the university’s conduct, which sides with the newspaper saying that under the OIA, such details need to be provided – see: Secrecy shows ‘lack of respect’ for taxpayers (paywalled)
The article reports a criticism of the way the public sector manipulates the OIA processes: “public bodies could refuse to release information that may be embarrassing despite a legal requirement to do so. If this was referred to the Ombudsman, judgement may take six months to over a year.” The Taxpayers Union is quoted saying that this means “By this point the story has more often than not died and those bureaucrats... get away with their ploy scot-free”.
9) According to economists, immigration is shaping up as the big issue of the year. But does the Government have a plan? And what will the impact of record migration to the country be for housing? See Glenn McConnell’s The top issue facing the economy: What is the Government's immigration plan?
10) Mistrust about the media is building in New Zealand, including doubts about the neutrality of many journalists and broadcasters, including those working in state broadcasting. Today Graham Adams makes the case that the public’s need for authoritative and trusted information and analysis isn’t being met by the state television broadcaster – see: TVNZ’s naked bias on display
Dr Bryce Edwards
Political Analyst in Residence, Democracy Project, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington
NZ Politics Daily - 9 January 2024
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