Labour didn’t expect to win the 2017 election, nor win an MMP majority in 2020 so had no 100 day plan to force change upon the self serving Public Service.
Labour’s aspiration didn’t meet the reality and in Jacinda’s interview with Jack Tame last year had the audacity to call any criticism of Labour’s aspiration unfair by arguing it was better that she had high aspirations rather than not having any at all.
That’s her argument, sure we aren’t doing anything meaningful or transformative, but it’s important she had high hopes.
That’s not Kindness, that’s neokindness.
At the end of 2017, 108 people said they lived in cars and John Key’s Government was torched for that.
Last year there were 480 people living in their vehicles.
A Million dollars a day is spent on motels for vulnerable people causing enormous social carnage with no real wrap around support services present and 26 000 are on emergency housing wait lists – we can’t solve those problems apparently but the Government can spend a billion dollars on consultants each year?
$1bn spend on consultants each year
“Labour’s spending on contractors and consultants has climbed to nearly $1bn a year, despite Labour coming to power suggesting that they would rein in this use of the private sector. Much of this is spent on the “Big Four” contractor firms – Deloitte, PwC, KPMG and Ernst and Young.”
What the hell happened to left wing transformative change?
You can not spend a billion dollars a year on the professional managerial class in consulting while 150 499 children live in extreme poverty, while 600 000 rely on food banks each month while our mental health and suicide rates soar.
You can’t spend a billion dollars a year on consultants while so many are in material hardship.
Labour’s neokindness wasn’t enough, if you aren’t forcing the Wellington Bureaucratic Elite into radical reform, they play you and stymie your agenda.
The difference between National and Labour is that National are full of Managerial sociopaths who have no issue bullying the Wellington Bureaucracy into action where as Labour wanted to have a hui with everyone with a vegan dinner, the menu in te reo and a side order of pronouns.
The Self serving Public Service never feared Labour and that’s why they continued building their glass palaces instead of service delivery to the citizen.
By refusing to tax the rich, Labour could never fully fund the public service infrastructure and was relegated to rearranging the Bureaucracy as solutions rather than increasing capacity.
Labour didn’t challenge neoliberalism, they merely managed it.
National will be different.
They will have no qualms ramming things through and will have no doubts about using power.
It is already painfully obvious that National intend to privatise Education and hit Pharmac.
There’s a rumour the Unions decided upon strike action this year as they determined Labour losing and National winning so they wanted the best wage deals possible. Let’s see if the Unions are ready for the privatisation blitzkrieg that will attack their interests directly.
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“You can not spend a billion dollars a year on the professional managerial class in consulting while 150 499 children live in extreme poverty, while 600 000 rely on food banks each month while our mental health and suicide rates soar.”
I 100% agree with this. Money doesn’t grow on trees, despite what the PMC might think. It comes off the back of the self-employed and the exporters and when you give to some you inadvertently take from others. We have to get better at targeting limited funds in this country and in my mind, a kid in Otara should have priority over a hui in Wellington. Then after we start making better priority decisions we need to start thinking about ‘growing the economy’ instead of ‘borrowing the economy’.
Money doesn’t grow on trees – it’s made by banks and used to fuel real estate prices. Governments can also make money and spend it on something useful like the first Labour government did.
2 comments for those who want to argue; have you ever heard of someone going for a loan and the bank says; sorry we’ve run out of money. And the first Labour govt didn’t cause runaway inflation
Nearly all of the trade unions are controlled by the same Clintonite political machine that now controls the Labour Party. The careerist union heads — who are groomed by the party bureaucracy, and then parachuted as into safe Labour seats as parliamentary candidates, using campaigns funded by corporate donors — have little independence.
Those Wall Street donors will be salivating over the coming privatisations. Hence Third Way Labour won’t reverse them.
These are the same union bureaucrats who had the opportunity to call a general strike between 1985-1991 (when every employee was still a union member), which would have totally defeated the attacks of Reaganomics. Instead, they completely sold out the membership, and sentenced the nation to permanent mass poverty and backwardness.
The union leadership is so rotten that they have never presented a plan to reverse those extreme anti-worker measures, despite having decades to prepare one. The “plan” is: Vote Labour — who were responsible for it all in the first place.
@KR.
“Vote Labour — who were responsible for it all in the first place.”
Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh …????? Nah.
Old Labour was Trojan-horsed by roger douglas who went on to lift the horses tail up to let his privateer scumbags crawl up the horses arse hole and if you don’t know who roger douglas is then you really need to go back to your computer and do your research. Take your time, there are some big werds in their.
If, by some quirk of Satan’s arse farts we get a natzo / actzo / nz first coagulation of oily pickpockets we’ll have a perfect storm of narcissistic and psychopathic money fetishists who will sell us to Zionist americans god-bless, boo yeah mutha fucka now praise Jesus and pass the ammunition. The only stick in their greasy little spokes will be The Treaty.
( Personally, I think we’re already all bought and paid for. We should think of ourselves as care-taker tenants keeping the beds warm for when the new owners get blasted out of Israel. )
NB. @ Farmers? This is on you. All of this is on you. Because of your careless lack of respect for yourselves and your city cousins you’ve allowed a cadre of evil clowns to blood-suck us into this perilous position. You happily listen to confederate criminals who persuade you to get all swelled up then drive your tractors about in annoying circles while looking surly and gruff ( Read cringe worthy and embarrassing.) And you still have no idea what you’re doing or why you’re doing it or for why and how.
Money does not grow on trees but the state as the issuer of our currency can create it. The creation of money has been licensed to banks. Banks create money by producing the numbers of a loan to a borrower and in the double entry accounting principle, create an corresponding asset (the liability of the borrower) in the banks account. When the loan is repaid, that amount of money is removed fro the economy.
The deficit which politicians worry about is equivalent to the surplus of money circulating in the economy. The government could gain a surplus by taxing and eliminating the deficit and a the same time provide a deficit in the economy by the tax removal of money flowing in the economy.
But the level of the deficit cannot go beyond the unused capacity in the economy to be activated. If the export income is greater than the import costs then that too puts money into the economy so the trade loss must also be taken into account. It is strange but the Neo-classical economic modeling does not take account of the banking and finance money processes in the economy. That is why those economists (still influencing politicians) . missed the GFC and could not explain it. We need economists who take reality into account and not fantasize about an imaginary economy. Equilibrium is not a feature of reality.
I got a Labour Day email today from Richard Wagstaff. Richard who? the majority of working class NZers might ask. The union busting 1991 Employment Contracts Act got us to where unions are now. Private sector membership density was slashed in just a few months by an aggressive employer offensive based around denying right of access to sites for union organisers, and de-recognition of Unions in the legislation. The soft underbelly of compulsory membership and unqualified preference was exposed. There were lots of fee paying union members who benefitted from National Awards, but just a few thousand active and class conscious members prepared to “stick it to the man” and capital in general.
One of the major class errors of the late 20th century–the 1987 dissolution of the FOL (NZ Federation of Labour) and the formation of the class collaborationist NZCTU where the public sector (heh, politically neutral PSA and NZNO etc) ensured the NZ central labour organisation would never again be a fighting class left outfit, with the honourable exception of Helen Kelly’s tenure.
A major fightback is now needed against the Natzos. Industrial action and daily working class propaganda is the requirement. Wagstaff needs to retire, and a proper working class leader elected–and workers need to join their unions and get organised for action–or say bye bye to breaks and minimum wage increases, plus get ready for 90 day fire at will again!
$1 billion on failed consultants who achieved nothing and are now unemployed. They investigate jobseekers who are mistakenly overpaid a few dollars so they should do the same to recover large amounts of money from this lot, who it seems were intentional in their overspend and underdelivery.
8% of the total workforce and tanking. Unions are dead in the water.
Martyn, every Labour Day I remember a crappy job I worked at 20+ yrs ago, I only took this job because I was made redundant & hated being on the dole for 3 mths, as I couldn’t nor wanted to live on this full time its’s not enough to live on so in desperation I was prepared to work at any job so I applied to work at a Job that was setup by a Australian Company, hoping for Aussie wages & conditions & strong Union support? How WRONG I was? the National Party was in Govt at the Time & they had gutted Worker & Union rights & part privatised ACC. This new Australian Company NZ Branch was setup in NZ to bypass Australia’s strong Labour laws & wages! We worked 24/7 on two shifts, 7am-7pm & the other 7pm-7am, 4 days on 4 days off which rotated around over 7 days, we regularly missed & worked over weekends, had to work Long Weekends & even if rostered on those days, worked on Xmas Day, Boxing Day & over New Years eve, Day etc, you know all the Days that should have been spent with Family & Friend’s although we got days in lieu, it was no compensation for loss of time with our family, this Company was so fucken miserable & heartless that they forced you to work on Xmas day, even Ebenezzar Scrooge gave his worker that day off but not this bastard OZ Company? Due to the shift work hours & sleep deprivation, I regularly got injured, one time, because National had part privatised ACC, this OZ Company had the choice to have its Workers covered by ACC or a cheaper Private Insurance scheme, naturally they opted for the cheaper! I had to stump up $2000, to pay for my Medical Treatment, upfront, for a work injury I suffered & wait 3 mths for this fucking Insurance Company, a Aussie company, to pay me out? Needless to say, it was a miracle I lasted 3 yrs at this Place before suffering a permanent injury & told them to stick their job up their ass because of it! The Long story was, Labour got back into Power, reversed the damage the Nats did, nationalised ACC again, restored workers rights & wages and this Australian Company I worked for went Bankrupt, bust & had to pay millions to pay out in redundancy payments before buggaring off back to OZ, thanks to Labour, but unfortunately I missed out on this payment by 6 mths which I deserved after their mistreatment & the private OZ Insurance company they used also went bust, good fucking job! They eventually went bankrupt in Australia & were bought out at fire-sale prices by their Competitors! This is what happens Martyn when you have bastards in charge of Govt like the National Party who enable & support corrupt Big business to destroy Workers Lives just for the sake of profits & greed! Thats my Labour Day Story Martyn & a warning to people of what you can expect under this newly elected National/Act Govt that will recreate the Slave owner conditions I had to endure 20 yrs ago?
Wow good story from the coalface Antforce62. You had some bad luck there to miss out by 6months on top of your permanent work injuries, sorry to hear it.
The union elites will have been made much richer by Jacinda, like Luxon and herself.
As usual, a poor attempt at a) trolling; b) Twisting the language and fact of what’s actually happening to deflect and c) spouting pure bullshit.
Please cite some actual facts here?
There’s just injustice written all over this and sadly why should it be this way? Why should unions be able to trample all over those who they are meaning to support and get away with it. It’s so not transparent it’s not funny. It just backs up the old saying i am all right jackone pull the ladder up.
Facts? There’s none in your comment
” Labour didn’t challenge neoliberalism, they merely managed it ”
And the large unions including the PSA who I am a member of are not about challenging the neo liberal order just trying to win what they can and try and recruit new members and not loose any.
A lot more people are waking up to the realisation that after the last six years Labour are about entrenching neo liberal control and even with a majority had no intention of any major economic reform to the system they are trapped in.
LINO is a contradiction terms and while they will never be able to deliver to their other base the National party and ACT as neo liberal unregulated capitalist enforcers always produce results for their donors and constituency because that is what they represent.
There is no conflict around their identity or being unable to deliver tax cuts and corporate profit and control.
As the NZ Herald said just after the election the neo liberalism has won again regardless of what government is in office.
ttps://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/other/election-2023-labour-out-national-in-either-way-neoliberalism-wins-again/ar-AA1inY1Q?ocid=
“The real difference between Labour and National:………………..”
It might be more useful for Labour to ask themselves just how similar they are and have become.
Why do they even still use the name Labour Party with all the connotations that brings?
Surely it’s time to retire the past, move on and update the profile with something more correct like Yuppy Incrementalists, slightly social democrats or Wishy Washy Lycra Huggies. Or some similar vein.
The privileged Pakeha faux sympathetic National enabling elite woke landlord loving top ten percent party.
If Labour were truly the unions they’d represent something.
Unhappily, their advocacy only extends to lost causes.
Better to strip from them the title they have dishonoured, and build a fresh workers movement. NZ has never needed one more.
” Better to strip from them the title they have dishonoured, and build a fresh workers movement. NZ has never needed one more ”
Historical principles and action are still here just waiting for the right time.
” The most significant factor in Labour’s crushing defeat is the cost-of-living crisis. During the election campaign Prime Minister Chris Hipkins sought to cover up the crisis by repeating the dubious claim that the government had lifted 77,000 children out of poverty. This is based on official figures showing the proportion of children living in households making less than 50 percent of the median income after housing costs fell from 22.8 percent in 2018 to 15.4 percent in mid-2022—a decrease from 253,800 to 176,800 children living below the poverty line.
These figures are more than a year out of date and do not account for the recent dramatic surge in living costs, especially for food and rent. According to the New Zealand Food Network, in the last six months alone, the number of people relying on food banks at least once a month increased 20 percent, from 450,000 to 600,000, which is 11 percent of the population.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/10/21/cmls-o21.html?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Yes, the unions. Worker solidarity. Collective bargaining. Without them the working class and wage earners alike would be all the poorer. National (and even more so Act) are and always have been antagonistic towards unionization; indeed, towards wage earners full stop. Returning to NZ in 1997 after a good many years away what welcomed me was the Employment Contacts Act. I owe Labour as its repeal shortly after provided job security and a career path that set me up for life. I’m sure Labours commitment to wage earners back then made a difference in the lives of many. Those on the right, especially the self employed, may say it was all given on a plate, but to them I say ‘fuck you’, you’ll never get me on your side. When policies purposefully seek to screw wage earners for the benefit of capital I am firmly on the side of the unions. And Labour despite their numerous shortcomings. And despite being the son of a cow cockie – albeit back in the day. Became a wage earning townie at a time when NZ had a manufacturing industry and like an uncle did, you could pay off a mortage on a fair wage. My eventual path was bit different but a wage earner nevertheless. We vote on what works for us.
Why any wage earner, working class or not, would support the right puzzles me. Push back against social policy I suspect. Rue the day when Labour loses their traditional support from the unions.
The Unions and the people they represent have been no friend to the Labour Party and seem to be more aligned and quiet and obliging when the Nats are in power. It was National that depleted and ran down the Health sector in their 9 years, Labour who gave them the largest payrise and have doubled intakes for training but they certainly haven’t been thanked for it in the polls. Labour should distance themselves from the Unions they do them no favours
Bottom-feeding renters are the new workers. That’s where the class divide is at. Get with the program.
Why are landlords protected…. because parliament is full of them, LABOUR AND NATIONAL. Here is a friendly UK parasite and remember, they are ALL the same. https://www.landlordzone.co.uk/news/kent-landlord-rumbled-flytipping-tenants-waste
The Nurses and teachers Unions and their endless strikes are ultimately what destroyed the Labour partys chances. How many of the recipients of the largest wage increases for years voted for Labour, hardly any I’m picking by the result.
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