Majority Labour Government First 100 days pledge 

1. Sounds like you want to vote Greens or TOP but won’t because you believe it will be a wasted vote. Jacinda doesn’t care about your vote because its a lock hence the above won’t happen. She and the labour party only worry about commanding the middle – expect peppercorn left policies and large middle policies – just like Key and Clark.

   You don’t believe me – exhibit one the rugby championship – why so upset over that one – because it’s something the middle wanted! The middle want their entertainment just like the plebiscite in Rome.

   • I don’t believe the middle wants open borders because that’s what I believe in, I believe in open borders. I don’t think you know what centrism is at all. All of the possible changes can only be found in the centre.

2. Oh god I love the optimism. It reminds me of my 4 year old.
   This Government neither has the proverbial balls nor the competence to do pretty much any of that.
   If you want any realistic shot of transformation Government, I suggest you cross fingers that the current Labour lot are a one term Government, followed by a one term National government in the hope that in the interceding 3 years Labour re-invents itself to a competent group of MPs that are actually interested in righting some of the wrongs.
   Trouble is transforming any political party in this way is incredibly rare.
   The only time it has happened in my lifetime is when Douglas hijacked Labour in the 80s.
   So good luck with that.

   • Right with you there Jays . However Bomber’s infectious optimism shouldn’t be dismissed all together these are sensible workable ideas easily translated to actual PLANS. And lets face it Labour could use a few ideas that are capable of WORKING.

     • A number of those plans ARE capable of working.
       Its NOT the ideas I take umbrage with, it is this incompetent bunch of boobs (including Adern – maybe especially Adern) I take umbrage with.
       An absolutely damning graph over on KiwiBlog, showing that Labour have managed to make things worse (MUCH worse) in terms of homelessness.
       I don’t care if National are a bunch of raving psychopaths (I don’t think they are, they just have a different point of view), but homelessness was actually better under THEM.
       If that combined with KiwiBuild, 1 Billion Trees, etc doesn’t prove that this government is the most incompetent since Muldoon, what the fuck does?

       https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2020/09/homelessness_four_times_as_great_as_in_2017.html

3. Sadly our planet is dying and so is the ‘new, lumpenproletariat’ Green Party (ref a very interesting insight by one of your posters, Ben Waimata https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2020/09/11/watching-woke-green-activists-scream-why-dont-you-love-us-is-distressing/).

   Sadly Labour/left/Greens/everybody on earth needs to work out, as the planet dies so do people and the all important economy, from things like Covid.

   Nature being destroyed ‘at a rate unprecedented in history’, new report warns
   https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/122691267/nature-being-destroyed-at-a-rate-unprecedented-in-history-new-report-warns

   I’d like to see the international community get their governments all pay an annual fee to preserve all the last parts of nature around he world to the governments who own those natural communities to preserve them (aka if the governments burn them down, pollute them or kill the nature then they don’t get the international payments). Maybe Covid could be the motivation. It is only going to get worse and so is air and water pollution.

   Areas like Amazon rainforest etc which are currently being cut/burned down should be saved with money from the international community at levels that not only preserve the forests but also create wealth for the poorer countries that often have the natural areas in them. https://largest.org/nature/forests/

   Also the oceans need preserving more than ever.

   I’d like to see Labour bother to preserve NZ and the world environment and Bomber to introduce environmental thinking into his lists of things for government to do. (A ‘tick box’, can help our non critical, non creative, short term focused mentality of MP’s we have in government at present, but maybe we can expand Labour and government closed thinking just a crack, about the environment and how to preserve it?)

   The Green Party will probably be burnt this election due to their lumpenproletariat focus not a environmental focus while in power.

   Sad but convenient (sarcasm) from the dirty politics brigade, to destroy the Green party from the inside out by turning them into a party for the 1% that supports the growing lumpenproletariat.

   • Same thing is happening inside the NZF Party with Shane Jones being a ‘National stooge plonker’ placed inside NZF as a ‘Trogan horse’ to destroy it from the inside planned benefit for National Party.

4. Repost an interesting insight about the Greens (which is why people are turned off the Greens and through having no other party to look to vote for, are grudgingly voting Labour).

   “Ben Waimata September 11, 2020 at 8:36 am
   Spot on Bomber. I personally believe the only hope for future Green Party is a split between the pure environmental side and the social justice side, into two new parties. Then there is a clear voter differentiation, and the two new parties can work together (or not) on a case by case basis.

   I suggest that the (1%)10% vs the rest is what we should be focusing on, but instead some aspects of the woke left have become so radicalised on rights for beneficiaries and the desperate poor that they have now turned against all the working class. Even the economic upper middle class in NZ have very little wealth compared to the few mega-rich, so for the woke left to include all the middle class and most (or all) of the working class in their aggression is not doing them any favours. Marx hated the lowest socio-economic levels, that he called the ‘lumpenproletariat’ (unemployed, criminals/gangs, prostitutes etc, anyone not politiically aware). The modern woke left appear to care only for this ‘lumpenproletariat’ class and hate the workers, seeing them as ‘rich pricks’ to be taxed. While this continues these guys will continue to alienate everyone. I have said it before (and get hated for it), but much of the working class are actually quite socially conservative (even more so in some of our church-focused PI communities), and many have a strong work ethic that creates a natural divide between them and Marx’s ‘lumpenproletariat’ class.

   It is no coincidence that the Green Party (claiming the moral high ground on the environment and poverty) gets almost all of its NZ votes from the most affluent part of virtue-signalling inner-city suburbia, and almost none from the lowest socio-economic regions they claim to represent.”

   P>S it is not James Shaw driving the lumpenproletariat focus for the modern Green Party.

   • 100% correct SaveNZ bang on.

     Now we need the media to bring out the reason for why James Shaw is a ‘sop op’ for bossiness interests, as we want our previous green party Leader Russel Norman back as he was a man of action not just phony words as Shaw is. see him here in the pacific ocean single handed faced with the Amazon Worrier an ‘oil prospecting ship’ coming right ahead for him. -Now that take real guts.
     https://www.greenpeace.org/new-zealand/press-release/historic-discharge-without-conviction-for-greenpeace-head-and-climate-activist/

5. I tend to agree, MB. When the world is changing in an adverse way and this rapidly, it would seem, logically, as if government should now be extremely careful with any compromise … particularly with climate change and, indeed, all the points you mentioned, MB. Good work!

6. Yes, Martyn.

   I am suffering the effects of the toxic sugar industry (in the 1950s, 60s, 70s people didn’t know any better than to ingest tooth-rot. Now we do). Dentistry is horrifically expensive in NZ.

   Bear in mind that ‘the forces of evil’ still control the system, and until the influence of banks, corporations and opportunists is brought under control, nothing will change for the better.

   By the same token, nothing will change for the better until the money system is changed.

   Nor will anything change for the better until the ridiculous worshipping of GDP cult is stamped out.

   Good luck with those because politicians and bureaucrats would rather destroy their own futures than tackle the dysfunctional systems we have adopted (inherited).

7. I think much more difficult and fundamental change is needed than any of this tinkering suggested. But I don’t see how a majority government elected on a policy of “steady as she goes” lets wait and see what the world looks like when the virus and the economic chaos has settled down, is somehow obliged to make radical changes. It seems to me that if they are elected on the basis of little change then radical change would be a repeat of the 1984 labour government’s treachery.
   D J S

8. All those points that Martyn has listed are so very basic, very straightforward, commonsense, foundational stuff for what is needed up ahead. None of it is too fancy or OTT. It’s the bare basics of what is needed, to deal with what we’re all facing. It is where we should be already, it should be our starting point from yesterday, so that we could really move ahead. But somewhere back down the line we veered off to some strange place that does not ‘work’, that does not allow for a healthy, functioning society. Let’s get back to that- get back to the basics of living for all of us here in Aotearoa. (So that we can then really start moving ahead.)

   • Kheala – You may want a healthy functioning society, and I may too, but how many politicians do is a moot point.

     Occasionally one person emerges who does achieve something, like Sue Bradford’s messaging that inflicting violence on children is bad. She was crucified for it then, still is, eg by that female from Nelson who blathers away in Aus publications.

     Over 80% of the referendum respondents disagreed with Dr Bradford. They argued on the semantics, and upon the degree of violence, which is mind numbing in the context of a country where we are world leaders in injuring, bruising,battering, maiming and killing our babies and children. That is one bottom line where we are failing, and if we can’t get the basics right, then expecting the evolution of a healthy stable society, may be unrealistic.

     Yes, the Coalition has not been, or able to be particularly transformative – but hey – that’s a great buzz word.
     I didn’t vote for them, I voted Green, which I never will again. Labour’s last week’s tax policy was a missed opportunity to think bigger and better for the country, but probably geared at being as inoffensive as poss to 1960’s small town minds. They need nudging into the 21stC and future shock – or being kicked into it.

     I don’t mind “wasting” my vote on a minority party with good policies as a way of letting the current govt know they’re not good enough – TOP’s junk food tax revenue alone, dwarfs Labour’s tax changes – healthier too.

     • I’m still with Jacinda. I just hope that when the voting is all over, she takes an axe (or a chainsaw :)) to some of the dead wood.

9. I can agree with 7 of those points not sure on 3 and against on 4 but doubt if the current Labour government would act on more than 2 even with a majority . I am hoping they do not get the chance but if I am still around in 2023 I will do a check on progress if they do

10. meh

11. Will any of that happen? NOPE.

12. “A Māori public holiday, a tax rise on the richest and the desire to be renewable 5 years earlier than planned.”

    Laughable to think increasing the top tax rate on wages will be a tax rise on the richest when the richest don’t even pay tax.

    Remember you can earn $130k to qualify for Kiwibuild, so $130k in NZ on wages doesn’t even guarantee you to be home owner anymore.

    NZ has a focus on allowing affluent but cash poor overseas people NZ benefits and free health and education. This goes into every sector from the young to the old, aka a percentage of people that qualified for Kiwisaver were able to pay the rest of their Kiwisaver loan to overseas pensioners who can claim the NZ pension here without contributing any taxes.

    Increasing taxes to the 3% top tax earners in the top tax bracket, is a tax that will increase the brain drain of NZ doctors and professionals that are already leaving NZ and being replaced by the low wage economy and international lumpenproletariat coming to NZ and becoming dual/citizens here to join the growing local lumpenproletariats who are better off not working.

    Many working people in NZ are now taking taxes out of the economy due to our reliance on low wages and benefit top ups for most workers and jobs in NZ. https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/81429047/small-number-of-taxpayers-bear-the-brunt-of-new-zealand-tax-bill

    How can NZ continue to have a social welfare system, when it is being over run by demand that is growing. The biggest amount of social welfare paid out is by far superannuation. But somehow you can arrive in NZ as an 55yo+ (as a plus one of another person through marriage or a job or a ‘investment’) , never pay NZ taxes, but qualify for a NZ paid pension in 10 years worth 1 million dollars per person. That does not even include the 1 million dollars of free heath care here, you qualify for.

    Local taxes in NZ are not 33% over $70k because many Kiwis are also paying 12% on student loans and 4% on non guaranteed Kiwisaver and ACC and 15% GST.

    Meanwhile nothing said about the business rate of only 28%. https://tradingeconomics.com/new-zealand/corporate-tax-rate that the multinationals enjoy as they export their profits.

    Time to tell the domestic kids to not bother about a job (already happening) or degree in NZ. Why bother competing because NZ is geared towards importation of skills and wealth, not growing and rewarding local skills and talents and then exporting the skills and wealth while paying the lowest taxes here?

    I went to the doctor the other day and it cost me $100 and $50 in prescriptions because I do not have a community services card. I don’t even earn much, so no idea why I have pay so much! Good to see I am likely to be supporting some billionaire who probably got a NZ water permit for $100 per year for 35 years by giving a free trip to a local Mayor and qualifying for a NZ pension and free prescriptions and winter power payments. Sarcasm.

    No wonder only 2% say they earn over $180k in NZ.

    Go overseas to afford the 20 million plus mansion market growing here, then come back to NZ and go on a benefit, cos you have lower taxable income and prepared to exploit it, it seems to be the way to make money here!

    • You had to pay $150 because there are 110 medicines and growing on the pharmac waiting list and you obviously copped two of them.

      The Green party is the only party with any thoughts on how to change this crap that labour has no intention whatsoever of changing anytime soon.

13. No interest from the globalist left, Bomber or Labour, (enabling the Natz low wage economy), examining the exodus of exploiters flocking to NZ, the social harm and making life more difficult for everyone else.

    “An under-fire liquor store baron facing multiple complaints of worker exploitation has accepted diversion after appearing in court accused of assaulting a neighbouring business owner.

    Ravi Arora, who owns two former Bottle-O and one Merchants Liquor franchises in Pt Chevalier, Auckland, was in the Auckland District Court on Friday to face charges of wilful damage and assault after a confrontation with Richard Brasell, who owns an interior design business adjacent to one of his stores.

    Brasell says Arora hit him and broke his partner’s mobile phone after ongoing disagreements over a driveway which runs past Arora’s liquor store to Brasell’s business behind.

    Now Arora has had his Bottle-O and Merchant’s franchises stripped from him, their parent company Tasman Liquor confirmed on Friday night.

    Arora’s businesses have failed 19 Labour Inspectorate inspections in the last six years, he’s made several settlements with former employees, and seven other ex-staff have come forward complaining that he paid them as little as $7 an hour.”

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/122553095/booze-baron-ravi-arora-accepts-diversion-for-assault-on-neighbour

    Happening for a decade, but still no action from the left or the last 10 years of government, in fact they seem to be enabling more of it.

    • @ SaveNZ – If this miscreant is an immigrant who has gained New Zealand citizenship, he should forfeit it.

      That won’t happen. They were wooed here by English and co for mainly economic development reasons, to help undermine the social stability of New Zealand , and everyone sat back and let it hit happen.

      If two Indians equal one Chinese, and ten Jami-Lee Ross’s equal one Indian, and all Pākehā males equal zilch, and all whites are unconscious or asymptomatic racists, and the bunch from Sth Africa lie in their teeth while eyeing the main chance, and that Nat economic spokesman Paul chappie slut-shames his own grandad to try and look authentic, and the leader of the Nats is a woman fondly referred to as, ‘Crusher’, it may not be all that bad if God, in his wisdom, smotes the virus-denying dimwits to elevate the gene pool, and we get ourselves recolonised by some cerebral Germans, culture-imbued Russians, civilised Scandinavians, Spanish dancers, Mexican musicians, and no more damaged Scots and Irish or further secret meetings with Duchess Meghan Markle. Problem solved.

14. MARTYN ;
    IMPORTANT HERE; AND FINALLY INCLUDE ALL PENSIONS IN AS “BENEFICIARIES”.

    WE ARE TOTALLY EXCLUDED IN ANY BENEFIT INCREASES AT PRESENT AND WE ARE DELIBERATELY UNDER THE ‘SINKING LID’ POLICY TO KEEP LOWERING ELDERS PENSIONS SLOWLY NOW FOR DECADES SINCE ROGERNOMICS AND ARE ALSO EXCLUDED IN THE ‘WELLBEING’ ACT POLICY.

    • Agree Cleangreen This is the reason Winston has and will continue to survive. NZF is the only outfit that even talks about pensioners, and bats for them.

      • Yes Clifford as we as elders are the only ones supported by NZF and particularly Winston Peters. I am 76 yrs old and still poor by middle class standards and all of us with medical issues are needing more funding to cover for our living costs as other complain they need so why aren’t we having increased benefits too? it a case of ‘naked discrimination on us elders now’ because they think very wrongly that we were all well off; – well government think again.

      • Clifford, Winston cannot survive with Shane Jones strutting around like a peacock, with a pocketful of money for some regions.

        Clifford, Winston won’t survive if he can’t remember Jack Tame’s name. James Tame led a mainstream media ambush him on Winston, with unannounced questions Winston couldn’t have prepared for. Winston’s attack on James fooled no-one and Rob ‘Darth’ Muldoon would have been proud of his ‘young’ Jedi Padawan, Winston.

        Clifford, you better mobilise all of your pensioner mates and get them out to party vote NZ First. Otherwise, Winston’s only income with be his Govt Super and his pension.

15. Yawn…are we there yet??

16. As usual Martyn you exclude any mention of our dysfunctional healthcare and medicines funding.

    This needs to happen in the first 100 days of the next Govt.

    If it doesnt expect the healthcare and medicines funding issue to get 10 times worse .

17. Here we go again. Finite 100 days, finite numbers for other targets. Lowest common denominator ways of seeing and judging the world, raw accountability perspectives on which everything will be judged.

18. With housing reaching ALL TIME HIGHS, only 400 Kiwi Build houses built, ballooning National debt, ballooning State Housing List and the LOWEST interest rates in NZ history ..

    Labour have failed .. failed to even hold ground! They have socialized private losses.

    I can’t vote for this lot. I thought maybe the Greens, but they will just enable Labour’s assault on those who save n don’t own property.

    Tempted to party vote Act and give ALCP my ChCh Central vote. And I quite dislike Act. But labour really are going in the wrong direction.

19. Agree Cleangreen This is the reason Winston has and will continue to survive. NZF is the only outfit that even talks about pensioners, and bats for them.

20. Of that list the only ones I can see being possible under Ardern taxing digital transactions, facebook and digi media taxing (attempts), free mental health counseling and then maybe lowering the voting age and that’s only if the middle upper to upper middle class and people from all the good schools parents make a big deal about it.

    Benifits “we’ve been incredibly proud of the govts progress on welfare but the best way out of poverty is work ”
    Covid welfare rate seems nice but is a temporary rate for three months that like energy payment and rent freeze conveniently runs out two weeks after the original election date (obviously they were going to just throw everyone off covid rates and on normal welfare the second the election was done and dusted ) so at best they’ll extend the covid benifit rates for another three months. If we’re lucky they’ll keep the covid winter energy payment rate instead of scaling it back to $20 and they may give you and extra food grant or two and make the winz staff smile a bit more while the reject people and throw them off dole. They genuinely think they’ve made incredible progress with welfare.

    State houses? “We’ve already built more than any govt since 1972” they’ll say and keep current rates. Kiwibuild mach 2 may make an appearance.

    Rent freeze “we did an annual rent freeze and it’s unfair to mum and dad landlords to not let rent go up and hey I read somewhere that there was a house in south Auckland that’s rent actually decreased, the system is working”

    Dental: “that’s something we’ve talked about in cabinet” (and then laughed … The very thought)

    Sugar tax: this would be what they’d pass instead of dental. Extra income and can be seen as fighting obesity and diabetes. Suv mum’s will love it.

    “We’ve extended our free foods in school to another 5% of schools so proud of our govts progress on giving the most vulnerable kids an apple and a Sammie”

    Public news? “The minister is talking to top people” (we’ll just get more spin off style things”

    Free transportation? “We are speaking with public transport providers to make sure that they are affordable and competitive in comparison to other nations …also… Still looking into light rail to the air port , let’s do this”

    This govt will look at demands from the left and call them out of touch and loopy and talk about the economic crunch “look everyone’s doing it tough”

    They probably won’t even pass the thread bare policies they are campaigning on Remember when Ardern promised to front up to the news every budget and do long in length sit downs devoted to amount of kids lifted out of poverty? Remember lol now we get ” those are stats from the old govt policies ours will take years to see real impact, we still have more to do absolutely”

    They may: get rid of secondary taxes, raise benifits by $20 or the temp accom subsidy and make it slightly easier to get one, amnesty for overstayers who fit a criteria, actually properly ban school donations, increase working for families credits payments. Charge water exporters and allow the unemployed to access a few grand of their kiwi saver again so they don’t have to deal with welfare. Increase building and upgrading schools.

    They will absolutely : steal acts old unemployment insurance policy so middle class workers don’t have to deal with winz and open up the borders to unskilled migrant labour by Feb next year.

    Basically expect nothing. Literally expect less than John Key would deliver cos that’s what you’re gonna get and anyone who protests or treats the prime minister without kindness over the next term will be labeled loopy, hard left, professional protesters or worst “conspiracy theorist bigots” I can totes see labour labeling left wing welfare protests all of those things if they are polling well enough.

    Kindness. (

21. The only hope true leftists have is the Greens. Arderns current iteration of a Labour party is as bedded with neoliberalism as you can get. They’re not transformational in the slightest and frankly hardly an improvement on what National would be. It’s time people here woke up to that reality. A vote for Labour is a vote for a National style government.

    • Old unpopular socialist, survivor of Cassino, who was mentioned in dispatched came home became a Ardent Socialist Unionist, said to me as he retired and me taking his place after a real proper Union Secret Ballet, three of us contesting, the jock won. Cleaning out his office in his back gardens shed , he said to me, how long you been here, 20 odd years, how can!t you sound like those Scot highlanders, THEIR SPEAKING IS CLEAR, I come from Lanarkshire, our accent unless looking to impress remains the same. And this serious Socialist, said give a Kiwi an excuse and they will get out of it.

22. It’s at times like this that I wonder whether it was worth coming home… The specious, and assumptive basis of the vast majority of what passes for “political discourse” in NZ has dropped several points since my last trip back… Which is to say, that NZ isn’t far off having to issue ID cards that state whether the bearer can, or can’t be trusted not to shit themselves in public…. NZ has an opportunity like never before, and all everyone wants to do is whinge, and snivel about SFA that matters… Democratic governance is about EVERYBODY getting involved in communal development, and philosophical direction… It’s not a fucking lolly scramble… That stupidity is what got us into this mess in the first place… Truth… True democracy, if it must be codified as “political” is much closer to socialism than capitalism… Hence why “democratic socialism” allied with “applied christianity”, when applied by government, has always led to improvements in societal/economic outcomes for the majority..

23. Nationalize the power grid.

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