THIS WAS THE DAY my old comrades Bruce Jesson and Gerry Hill never got to see. Grant Robertson’s reaffirmation of Labour’s democratic-socialist principles, the Budget Speech they never got to hear. That I have lived long enough to see this day and hear that speech is something for which I am truly thankful.
What am I talking about? This is what I’m talking about:
“We can draw on the lessons of the past as to how to deal with [the challenges of the Covid-19-generated economic crisis]. The answers lie in the great traditions of the First Labour Government who rebuilt New Zealand after the Great Depression. It was a time when they understood a genuine partnership between government and the people. That each and every person in this country deserved the right to take up the chances afforded by being lucky enough to live in, as my predecessor Peter Fraser called it, this green and pleasant land. They built houses, rail and roads, they created the welfare state and a strong public health system, and they backed shopkeepers and manufacturers. We are taking those principles into the modern era.
“We can also draw the lessons of the past as to what not to do in response to a major economic shock. In this case Mr Speaker I can draw on the experiences of my own life. As the economic carnage of the 1980s and 1990s wreaked havoc in our communities, I saw that up close. It was based on a tired set of ideas that the market would save us, that if government sat on the sidelines all would be well. Well, it didn’t work out that way and lives and livelihoods were lost.
“That will not happen again, not on the watch of this government. We know that we must work in partnership with iwi, business, unions, community groups, every one of the team of five million to make sure we all not only get through this, but that we thrive on the other side.”
Nearly forty years ago, I was present to hear my old history professor, John Omer-Cooper, debate the ethics of the 1981 Springbok Tour with one of his post-graduate students, a young fellow by the name of Michael Laws. For a good part of his life Omer-Cooper had lived in Africa – an advantage he put to good use against Laws who grew increasingly exasperated as the mild-mannered professor methodically dismantled his arguments. The pro-Tour firebrand’s final shot was to accuse his opponent of attempting to pass off expediency as morality. Omer-Cooper’s reply, calmly but firmly delivered, I have never forgotten: “There are occasions, Michael, when the expedient thing to do, and the moral thing to do, are the same thing.”
I would offer Omer-Cooper’s observation to all those who dismiss Robertson’s remarks as boiler-plate Budget Day rhetoric. “Words are cheap!”, they object – which is certainly true. The point I would make in response to such cynicism, however, is that in the 35 years since Roger Douglas delivered his paradigm-shifting 1985 Budget Speech, no other Labour Finance Minister has felt either willing or able to speak such words. Until today.
Are Robertson and the Prime Minister referencing Labour’s democratic-socialist traditions because in the absence of such a transformative vision the numbers quoted in today’s Budget Speech will crush all hope of their government’s re-election? Of course they are. And doesn’t that constitute sheer expediency on their part? No, not “sheer” expediency: not when their joint repudiation of Rogernomics is genuine. Not when the idea of making the most vulnerable members of our society bear the burden of economic misfortune is one they sincerely consider objectionable. To seek to inspire New Zealanders with hope for a better future on the other side of this once-in-a-century crisis may well be the expedient thing to do in the run-up to a general election, but it is also the right thing to do.
All of which leaves us with a decision of our own to make. How should we respond to the extraordinary words spoken by Jacinda and Grant over the course of the last 48 hours? For what it’s worth, my personal opinion is we should take their words at face value. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting we simply overlook the clear deficiencies of the 2020 Budget: the absence of tax increases for the wealthy; its lack of further financial assistance for beneficiaries; but neither should we allow the best possible budget to become the enemy of a bloody good one. In a nation that has suffered 35 years of relentless neoliberal sloganeering, discretion just has to be the better part of political valour.
What’s more, if Bruce Jesson and Gerry Hill had been here to witness the day Labour came home to itself; had they, too, heard Robertson repudiate Rogernomics; then I’m pretty damn sure that they – and every one of our dear departed democratic-socialist comrades – would say the same.
“The Day Labour Came Home”.
I’m not sure they’ve quite arrived home yet but at least the furniture is in the removal van and it’s on the highway (albeit driven by a lowly paid wage earner expected to break all the rules to get it there). It’s a start, and a good one.
After a generation or more of the neo-liberal, its just that a lot of Labour supporters have been wondering why the speed with which that fucked ideology/religion/cult took hold can’t be applied to purging it. And if ever there was an opportunity, it’s now
Hear hear…and the fact that they did NOT do ‘it’ in such exceptional, probably once in a century event, then it’s ODDS ON, they will NEVER DO IT. Occam’s razor !
Sad as it is to say, to quote/paraphrase a Blackadder joke….that’s the spirit Blackadder, if all else fails a pig-headed unwillingness to looks facts square in the eye will see us through….Baaaaahhh
Yep well ….. I don’t really see it as a matter of Labour ‘coming home’, as much as I do a matter of Labour starting to get a bit more honest with itself. And this is a good start!
Sad indeed (genuinely felt) that Gerard didn’t live long enough to see the day, but you can be sure his dad is probably still rolling in his grave – and its probably (in Toby’s case anyway) that many didn’t have enough balls to set up their own party if they were so entralled with this new cult called neo-liberalism – rather they took the easy option and chose to hijack something that already existed despite the feelings of the membership.
But there are precedents (or copies) for that elsewhere. Tony Blair for example
And no worries – rest assured that the gNatz are far fucking worse
Bloody excellent, Chris.
There are many commentators here on TDB, – who either fall into one of two camps, … the impatient who want to see Democratic socialism yesterday (and don’t we all !) , – or those most sly critics who come on here , complain and moan and bitch without really offering any alternatives and are seen through as the spearhead of National and Acts attempts at undermining this govt to maintain their neo liberal status quo.
The latter are the sly mustelid’s we need to be watching for. Them and their weasel words. Carefully crafted to create doubt and their own brand of putrid cynicism while posing as the ‘left’ or claiming no allegiance to any side yet throwing mud and stones at this govt… with some even claiming they wont or don’t vote…
I think we will see a return to the days of Labours original principles, – whether it was forced on them by circumstance , or whether they genuinely desire it, perhaps a modicum thereof, – or , – if things get seriously bad, … an all out stampede to the days of Micheal Joseph Savage. Frankly, the latter would be what we ideally need and want.
But it would be good to know that it is the heartfelt convictions of this govt if they did.
At any rate, it will now be the pragmatics which dictate the course of this ship, – not the ideology of the unorthodox and excessive grossness of ‘Big Roger’ and his little neo liberal games. That time is almost finished. It is untenable now.
As a footnote : Using a humorous quote from the film Full Metal Jacket,… ‘Marines are only allowed to die when they have permission to die !, – any Marine who dies without permission will be in a world of shit” , – well that’s you Chris. You and your senior position and knowledge of our political history will be sorely needed in the difficult years to come.
Again , – excellent article.
Dammit, … I am always prone to wax lyrical and into song at times of great stress and change, …it must be the Irish and Scots Celt in me 🙂 so I cannot leave without gifting a song to workers everywhere,… and this one is absolutely superb:
Johnny Collins – Leave Her Johnny
https://youtu.be/4fVQwzv5Qfc?t=4
And this new one out , equally as good :
Leave Her, Johnny, Leave Her by Coda
https://youtu.be/HBNt3ALLcLQ?t=55
So here’s my shout out to all workers!
You are not forgotten and more important than ever now !
Great and accurate comments Wild Katipo.
There is no question that the policies inaugurated by Roger Douglas and his cohort of thieves and self-serving liars were shockingly awful, and were presented to the people under wide-ranging falsehoods.
There is not a shadow of doubt that the [Labour, then National, and then Labour again, and then National again, and then Labour again] governments since 1984 compounded the problems NZ had, and between them oversaw the greatest transfer of wealth from the many to the few, whilst orchestrating the looting and polluting of the commons and the expansion of totally unsustainable living arrangements predicated on the squandering of energy and resources. And, of course, a monumental increase in the pollution levels everyone endured (endure) every day.
Despite all the hype, there is nothing revolutionary or transformative about the Adern government or its response to the inevitable global pandemic -a product of the system and the conditions the system fosters- that quickly infected most of the world, largely as a direct consequence of gross overuse of air transport and the mendacity and incompetence of governments throughout the world.
As temporary caretakers of NZ Inc., the Adern government has implemented policies in the latest budget geared to preventing the immediate collapse of Ponzi financial arrangements whilst ensuring the inevitable crash will be far greater and more traumatic when it does finally does arrive; the non-transformative government of Jacinda Adern and Grant Robertson have yet again demonstrated their lack of knowledge of ‘what makes the world tick’, and have applied sticking plasters to the deep-seated cancers that are gnawing away at the social and environmental factors that make life-as-we-know-it possible.
It was good to hear Grant Robertson declare that international tourism was never going to be re-established, and that people who until recently were engaged in activities associated with international tourism should be looking elsewhere for employment or business opportunities.
However, to imply, as Gramt Robertson has just done, that current overall living arrangements have a future worth investing in and to imply that NZ can borrow and spend money to prop them up is both deluded and futile.
Nothing is more certain than the fact that the system is already in failure mode and that attempts to prop up the failing globalized industrial system will exacerbate the rate of decline whilst generating highly undesirable outcomes for everyone, in the form of further rapid depletion of resources and further destabilisation and degradation of the environment, both local and global.
The budget addresses NONE of the critical factors that WILL determine the future of this nation and every other nation on this planet.
Thus, we will have to wait for nature to wield the blows that demolish the final vestiges of the loot-and-pollute system that people like Jacinda and Grant (and everyone involved with mainstream politics) still believe in and endorse. Unsurprisingly, National’s response to the budget is to declare that Labour have borrowed too much -laughable when one considers National’s record when in government- and that faster looting and polluting of the environment is the way towards a “better, brighter future”.
In the meantime, -whether National or Labour is in government- the Easter Island Culture* of expending the last of the resources in order to build monuments to folly continues.
*The people of Rapa Nui believed that constructing statues would please the ancestors and gods; the last trees [on the island well-forested when the first settlers arrived] were chopped down, so no boats to catch fish could be constructed; the bulk of the wildlife was eaten; the soil was impoverished by bad agricultural practices; the population overshoot that occurred as a consequence of rapid overconsumption of resources collapsed -it is estimated from 10,000 to 20,000 down to less than 2,000, almost as many statues as people- when the first [Dutch] Europeans discovered the island Easter 1722.
I suspect that many of us are seeing the same issues through the same prism but seeing them from different perspectives. There are those who see the short term rationale and failures, there are those who see the longer tram game played out. I am of the latter. The problem with the short termer’s is a propensity to not only become a critic of the best available political option’s to them but to also inadvertent side with their political Nemesis’s. The problem with the long termers is that opportunity’s can be missed , glossed over in acts of political opportunism, and neo liberal apologetic’s.
So , how best to get around these disparate forces?
All I can say is patience. You will NOT change this govt or any other govt overnight at this time by protest. The neo liberal machinery is still far too strong. You need to let them or any other govt falter and fail. You need to have them so far pushed into an ever decreasing corner that if they wish to remain in power they are forced to listen to the electorates which gave them power in the first place.
This budget is simply a forerunner of an optimistic govt that hopes global economic systems will survive intact. The truth is , they know different. They know that this budget is yet but a preliminary in what is to come. They know that sooner or later , wide sweeping changes must occur. Whether they want to be in power when that day comes is another story. But change it must.
So again , patience is a prerequisite to overturning 35 years of entrenched neo liberal doctrine. You will not do it in a hiss and a roar overnight. Not while there are still powerful global bodies and entities that will fight every move against them.
Patience is required, – and just enough rope to let them hang themselves by. And its at that point, you will perceive their desperation and be able o move in and force change if they want to stay in power.
I totally agree, this government will not change course in response to protest. Nor will it change course in response to irrefutable scientific evidence they are on the wrong, utterly disastrous, track. It will, indeed, be the utter failure of the [financial-economic-political] system that will allow change.
One ‘important’ (understatement alert) point is that if you are headed for a cliff you have to put the brakes on or change direction well before the cliff edge. If you are master of the Titanic you have to spot the iceberg and out the engines into reverse (whilst changing course) long before the impact with the iceberg. In the analogies I have mentioned (or any similar one) the result of failure to act is destruction and death.
I put it to you that the world has been in [human] population overshoot since around the middle of the nineteenth century, when industrial use of stores of nutrients and widespread use of fossil fuels to transport food commenced. That population overshoot now stands at around 6 billion.
I put it to you that atmospheric carbon dioxide at 417 ppm is already at a level that causes positive feedbacks that could well render the Earth largely uninhabitable in a matter of decades.
By the same token, ocean acidification and overheating are already at levels commensurate with severe disruption of organisms at the base of the food chain or even their extinction (corals).
I put it to you that the combination of climate chaos and over-dependence on monoculture plantings and highly unnatural confined rearing of animals is already leading to widespread malnutrition throughout the world. New Zealand has, to some extent, bought into the unhealthy food explosion that commenced with the production and transport of sugar on the back of slave labour, now replaced (in the short term) by mechanical ‘slaves’ that gobble up rapidly depleting resources and generate life-threatening pollution.
Yes WK its the long game but people forget when new narratives are repeatedly presented.
Before any sense can be made of what lies ahead of us in NZ then I suggest some semblance of a much bigger picture for this planet at the hands of humans has to be come to grips with.
Extinction of humans along with thousands of other species looks to be well on course so if we play the “what if” card and try to change the course a little, then what are the chances of some surviving.
And what are the chances of making effective or even substantial navigation towards a possibility of a few humans being left.
Is NZ a place where that could happen in terms of changes and creating a niche survival environment in some areas.
Certainly a lot of information is available to equip a group of determined humans with a better chance to set up community cooperation towards a better survival strategy but we are no where near doing that yet
.
Some small communities of “Preppers” do exist in NZ but survival will need community members with organised allocation of skills and resources as well as suitable land and climate as well as a means of community governance. They most likely will be completely cut off from the world.
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Resources will dwindle, food will become less per capita and isolation will be a factor in handling disease.
Global and local pollution will get us on our present path and that pollution is a result of using earth’s resources and harvested energy unwisely.
So before planning for a future in NZ there are many things that block our path to survival.
Mass realisation does not look likely but may happen in pockets and possibly too late for many to make effective changes.
Calling out “Doom” merchants does nothing but perhaps comfort deniers who become obstacles.
Let the game of arguing over details continue, which may help some get their heads around what is happening, if good information is exchanged about bigger pictures.
Put two pair of rats in a large enclosure with several years supply of food growing and they will multiple to the point where all food is gone and then they eat each other with the biggest and strongest lasting the longest but still starving.
Capitalism is similar in a finite world. Power over others without welfare of the community being a goal .
Parasites infest communities and need to be recognised as the greedy usually power seeking, not the unfortunate.
Agreed.
Air travel always was a match for the fuse of a pandemic.
Tourism is entirely misplaced idea from stupid people as a means of gathering wealth.
A totally unproductive venture which is subsidised by environmental pollution costs, infrastructure costs and loss of a less exploited wilderness and hinterland.
NZ, the polluters and gig economy paradise to import in poverty to out compete NZ’s poorest!
The budget is more roads, roads, roads, billions for roads and road users… it seems
They might not really work, be on time or budget, or even hire NZ workers, but who cares, roads, roads, roads ,https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/415959/transmission-gully-project-a-circus-sections-to-be-re-laid
Helping Uber drivers and the gig economy for tax avoidance multinationals is a priority and of course roads, roads, roads, https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/budget/121514050/uber-driver-says-the-government-has-looked-after-the-worstoff
To the government the retail, cafe workers and big businesses like Harvey Norman, seem to be the worst off in NZ and deserving of all the support?
I guess those without much voice or lobbyists can’t really compete.
Child who has lived in van has message for PM
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/305949/child-who-has-lived-in-van-has-message-for-pm
(Hopefully this poor kid has a roof over her head now and can concentrate on her studies, but what about the 16,000+ waiting for a state house?
Importing in poverty workers, does not help this girl or her family with more and more competing in NZ for low wage ghost job opportunities and social housing).
Auckland teen was kidnapped and tortured, court hears
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/398171/auckland-teen-was-kidnapped-and-tortured-court-hears
Another sad story of another teenager in care that in stead of being protected and rehabilitated ends up in prison for a decade over a fake rape allegation from another ‘troubled’ youth.
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/false-rape-claim-teen-serves-10-years
82 Southland disabled workers face losing jobs over cost cuts
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/05/82-southland-disabled-workers-face-losing-jobs-over-cost-cuts.html
Nothing for the arts from what I can see in the budget, keep polluting everyone and don’t actually support a well rounded society in NZ from the COL government!
BTW for the neoliberals one of the richest teens in the world, is through the arts but I guess ‘trade work’ putting down concrete and kerbs for $20 p/h for roads, roads, roads, is the only NZ vision allowed for people here now. https://www.worldstrendingtopmost.com/2017-2018-2019-2020/richest/top-10-richest-teens-world-teen-celebrities-kids-stars-teenagers/,
Give those big business lobbyists a bonus (sarcasm) they have totally incapsulated this government’s thinking in one niche direction of massive corporate support for roads and construction aka just like the Natz and the money certainly aint being shared out to NZ citizens, higher wages, growth industries or enlightenment here.
It might be worthwhile referring back to this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghA0YW7ST4E.
Winston obviously didn’t predict covid 19 but he did predict the economic upheavals that are going to be blamed on it.
A development such as this is an anticipated opportunity to make the changes , consistent with the section of Grant’s speech that Chris has quoted that he has wanted to make since 1984. He has made the statement on talkback radio and elsewhere in the past few weeks that NZ is going to come out of this crisis better off than we went into it . And following this formula may well bring that about.
Like Chris I feel we need to wait and see for a time, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, but at the moment the omens is is great.
D J S
Don’t forget most of the training budget is also geared toward construction and sunset industries that used to have on the job training that you were paid to do!
The community nurses are needed for the rise in obesity.
Mental health services for people who don’t fit into that very narrow low wage category of construction.
The government is not interested in supporting any real qualifications with rigour, aka psychologists, nurses, midwives, doctors, teachers and people in the arts and environmental wealth that has significant effects on mental health outcomes. What no lobby group? Well the government doesn’t know you exist.
I think the biggest casualty in NZ in the last 35 years is quality – we have so little quality that the government just writes a cheque to the biggest big business whingers and MSM advertisers.
Don’t forget that is on top of free trades training, the Government has invested $334 million in funding for tertiary education enrolment and more than $400 million so that employers can keep their apprentices in work.
But wait, look at the wages on offer, the majority of jobs offered in the trades industry are jobs at the bottom end of the salary range aka $30,000 – $50,000. https://nz.jora.com
At that level most of the people will need ongoing welfare top ups for their family.
Quality and experience is clearly less important than the lowest wage they can pay and bums on seats, a bit like our education industry. Why train people for a rigorous quality degree when you can just churn out diplomas for cash and even better make the government pay for it?
Working so so well…
Wellington City Council unsure how cycle lane just inches wide happened
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/01/wellington-city-council-unsure-how-cycle-lane-just-inches-wide-happened.html
Transmission Gully project a ‘circus’, sections to be re-laid
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/415959/transmission-gully-project-a-circus-sections-to-be-re-laid
I can’t believe this twaddle is on the Daily Blog. BUDGET for the middle class nothing for the underpaid, beneficaries, the poor, working poor, those without housing, those doing underpaid meaningless jobs whilst the shareholders rake it off. Don’t get me started!
Yes, home to rescue the neoliberal settings!
Labour came home to rescue neoliberalism.
+1 Marc
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