It’s not too early to begin the blame game. All indications are the election result is set in stone with Labour going, in just three years, from the first party able to govern alone under MMP to a crushing defeat on 14 October which halves their number of MPs.
People who have been paying attention won’t regret the loss. Labour hasn’t had the desire or the ability to bring meaningful change in all but a couple of cases. The task has been beyond it.
Even where Labour has brought significant change, such as with Fair Pay Agreements, it took six years and the policy has been so poorly communicated it will be dashed away in the blink of an eye by National/Act with barely a public murmur.
Labour knows it’s up for a hiding so it is now trying to save its base electorates. It’s begun announcing policies it hopes will be popular with its base such as taking GST off fresh fruit and vegetables. It did much the same before the 2011 election, knowing it wouldn’t be able to implement the policy. Next year it will also repeat what it did after the 2011 election and recant on the policy saying “there are better ways to help those on low incomes than changes to GST”. But, as in 2011, those “better ways” will never materialise.
I’m sure someone somewhere has produced a list of Labour’s announced intentions to introduce policies which they have failed to follow through with. It will be long and embarrassing.
Two examples from the last week highlight Labour’s astonishing political inertia.
Firstly Chris Hipkins had to apologise for claiming during the first leaders’ debate that Labour had removed fizzy drinks from primary schools when it emerged the government had thought about it but never followed through.
Secondly we all remember the weeping and gnashing of teeth two years ago over the appalling dawn raids of the 1970s – which included a formal government apology. But following the apology it was found that immigration officials continued with the practice and only this week Immigration Minister Andrew Little has announced the intention to legislate to restrict the practice. But not till after the election – goodbye to that idea.
When you can’t protect children from the most basic of corporate predation and you don’t follow though on protecting families from what amounts to practices of state terror then you have forfeited any right to public respect.
At the moment hope for progressive change rest solely with Te Pāti Māori and the Greens.
I hate it when you make sense, as usual, John. When you express in clear simple terms the problems facing us.
It is depressing to think that we might need a right wing government to further highlight the inequalities that continue to build in our society.
The problem is can a decimated (in this case halved) Labour caucus and a demoralized Labour party rebuild themselves
Corporate-controlled New Labour will have to go the way of the Whigs and disappear. Old Labourism can only return as a new Third Party.
I hate it when you make sense, as usual, John. When you express in clear simple terms the problems facing us.
It is depressing to think that we might need a right wing government to further highlight the inequalities that continue to build in our society.
The problem is can a decimated (in this case halved) Labour caucus and a demoralized Labour party rebuild themselves
For former Labour supporters, I think we are all demoralised but for different reasons. Do I think they will learn? Probably not, they are way too arrogant. And worse, they will likely be left with dead wood like Twyford and Wood in the caucus which will not help. Hard to see an upside here!
Any organisation is only as good as the individuals in it & Labour totally failed to select people with the correct public service attitude with a few exceptions. While I have voted Green in the past they suffer from the same problem so TMP is the last party standing which does not say a lot about the quality of democracy available in NZ. Thankfully I know that a better world is coming though.
Agree with you John.
Labours new policy look like the boyfriend whose treated you badly and you are telling him you are leaving saying “I’ll do the cooking honey, I ll pay the rent”
Ankler. No. They’ve suddenly realised they need the punters’ votes to get themselves re-elected, and treating us like stupid, because they’re stupid. “ Hey ! Here’s a gst-free carrot.” It is profoundly irritating. The transparent sole source of truth scarpering was the opportunity for a reset, but I doubt they were particularly motivated or interested. They’ll be fine, they’ll stay buffered; man-hating Marama will munch her chocolate wailing colonialism like a Shakespearean witch, and I may even get to glimpse the invisible Wellington Central Labour chappie of whose existence I was unaware until reports trickled out concerning who or what he won’t debate or talk about when there’s so much which needs to be discussed, and not just by the media sycophants.
/agree @John
Nothing will change unless certain people in the Labour Party are delivered a strong message.
As things stand, Greens will be getting my party vote, and Ibranim Omer my electorate vote.
What has changed my support for the party vote?
– allowing senior public servants to advise and enforce based on what is easiest for them rather than what is best for the public in a supposed “egalitarian” society (it no longer is)
– failure to make any sort of meaningful progress at OT AND neutering the role of the Children’s Commissioner
– Sensible Immigration policies that don’t keep changing based on which way the wind is blowing and which have, and continue to encourage worker exploitation
– pathetic progress (if any) with improvements to health and education
– continuing to allow the NZ public to be exploited and ripped off by supermarkets, oil companies, power companies, ISPs and telco providers
-etc, etc, etc
Having said that, Labour/Greens/TPM are going to be the least worst option but it may take a shock (delivered by the revenge voter and the relatively well-to-do) to obtain the necessary “learnings, in this space, going forward”
Oh well, fait accompli it is then. Certaily looks like much of the Party vote captured in 2020 is gone. Well, that was always on the cards wasn’t it. Swing voters are so fickle. And have short memories. And it wouldn’t be the first time a once majority government has squandered its mandate. Brian Easton’s fine book tells it all. But this current chapter has yet to be written. What would be the guts of it? The backdrop being a surprise victory in 2017 virtue of an 11th hour move, followed by a 2020 landslide during a global pandemic. Modest gains but too little too late? Too few capable ministers? Too much to do after the years of neglect and underinvestment by the previous government? A strong Maori caucus and a sympathetic ear to past injustices and current realities, resulting in the public accusation of separatism? The disruption of global pandemic and pushback against a perceived heavy handed approach? The weight of big money against them? A mobilized right?
But it is mmp. So after the big day we can look forward to the post election drama.
The real tragedy is that National know they can enact pretty much any bad laws they like and there is almost no chance of a future goverment repealing them. I can only think of the Clark governments rollback of ACC privatisation, the list of untouched terrible legislation is endless. One likely result will be full privatisation of those power companies that have already been part privaatised with the resultant power price increases etc etc so it does matter.
Yep, it is TPM or Green if you regard yourself as progressive voter.
A Nashnull Govt. if it happens, will be fun for a certain coterie of sadistic torys on October 14, but reality will impact starting on Sunday 15th for the bottom 50% of working class people.
The Natzos will not institute cheaper petrol or food, they will union bust and take measures that will adversly affect children, young women and adult women–and a head on attack on Māoridom.
Yes and it will all be run by 7 homes, 50m black Mercedes travelling Luxon. A middle of the road, down to earth kiwi(sarc)
Luxons wealth increased dramatically thanks to Jacinda refusing to introduce a CGT. Now he is about to introduce tax breaks so his wealth increases even more. He fails to see how a beneficiary recieves a miniscule amount compared to the free money Jacinda gave him? Jacinda Arden’s legacy is a disaster for the poorest and most in need members of society. She basically set up the red carpet for NACT to crush the poor. It’s time to set up a lottery as to whether Jacinda should be allowed back into NZ. She obviously would think that is fair. Tony Blairs spawn is the real smiling assassin… SHAME!!!
Love nationals talking points “Tax cuts for the low and middle income” Nothing about tax cuts for the rich strangely enough.
Yes and love how National talk about “targeting” when attacking Labours policies yet open slather for the wealthy to reap the most rewards on tax cuts.
Never Again The rot preceded Ardern. Clark was a similar authoritarian who some think emasculated the parliamentary Labour Party. There are still leaders who proclaim something will never happen on their watch like fascist dictators flying solo – and the hidden agendas aka aspirations.
It’s not an easy luxury to enjoy voting for what you truly believe in when the necessity to avoid falling into the hands of the 3 lords of hell necessitates that you continue to place mud bricks into the only crumbling levy that has any hope of even impeding them.
Good heading John. I like this –
People who have been paying attention won’t regret the loss. Labour hasn’t had the desire or the ability to bring meaningful change in all but a couple of cases. The task has been beyond it.
You missed out a word of description – that is ‘principles’. They had a modicum of them once pushing Labour along. Now that they look set to lose for the reasons you have clearly stated, why not blunder back into the principles field, at the last moment and surprise the enemy (if the Right are the enemy) – after all WHAT HAVE THEY GOT TO LOSE by seeming to be ‘muppets’ now. At the present Labour is more like an enema, not where they ought to be!
We could find a renewed enthusiasm for good-wishing muppets, hobbits or wombles, one or all. All connected with positivity and Oh God help us to have positivity, drive and good works. Sounds prosy and preachy, but if its different from what we have said or done till now, it’s probably right. Because we need a new tack, we need to set sail on a new course, we need to turn the ship around etc etc (on a sea-going theme but you get the picture).
So Labour don’t give us the bloody lies of the past about housing, actually bloodless lies! If talking housing tell us the difficulties of doing what is needed but tell us how you can encourage training schemes for building tiny houses, and offer some money to Councils to set aside some suitable and – not on a flood plain or side of a moveable hill – to build them.
And also go through your portfolios you Mini-ministers and see a way to manage something better that can be done and go around obstacles that will remain in the short term. Don’t show us your smiles, and lie in your teeth, which are false!
Do the hard bit that you need to do, change your approach, fight the good fight as we need you though you need R&M badly, you are a vehicle from the past that was good and we can work on you and help you to be the last flying-machine in the world even. We’ve got the will and technology. (Think Sir Peter Jackson and his flying machines. We can do this but it needs will and verve, repeat this 100 times.) Grab victory back from the jaws of the monster, and leave it snarling in defeat. Make no mistake fellow citizens, we are looking at a monster which will reveal itself as evil as the scales fall from our eyes.
At least Labour and National have reached an accord for first home buyers and long term renters=FOTA!-‘Fuck Off To Australia’.
Yep. Paper tigers, every one of them…
Not excuses as such but two massive factors will be part of a Labour loss. Paula Bennett soliciting herself for the wealthiest New Zealanders donations and New Zealand’s media which has ha strong right wing leaning.
Tiger food the lot of them.
And if TPM is your forlorn hope, be ready for disappointment.
A Winston-led collation has no merits – maybe we’ll see a few populist revolts at last – the thing the clownvoy pretended to be.
Yes and it will all be run by 7 homes, 50m black Mercedes travelling Luxon. A middle of the road, down to earth kiwi(sarc).
And to add, Luxon must win with the amount of Paula Bennets wealthy business donations and NZs media bias to the right having such an influence over the gullible, how can he possibly lose, right?
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