Yawn.
Labour pledges low-interest loans for local GPs
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has pledged to introduce a loans scheme to help doctors and nurses get into general practice in communities across New Zealand.
The Labour Party policy would put more doctors in communities and mean shorter waits for patients, Hipkins said.
Under Labour’s Family Doctor Loan Scheme, doctors and nurse practitioners would be able to access low-interest loans to set up new practices or buy into existing ones.
“This is a practical, targeted way to boost locally-owned clinics across New Zealand and strengthen the ones we already have,” Hipkins said”.
This is a wonk wonk wonk about wonks.
Don’t get me twisted kids, all Labour have to do is coast between now and the election with beige on beige nothings with half mumbled promises.
This wonk wonk announcement about wonks is exactly the safe mediocrity that Labour does so well.
All they have to do is coax 2020 Labour voters who voted National in 2023 back to the fold with vanilla missionary promises and a wonk wonk wonk on low interest loans to the establishment of local……..
…sorry, I fell asleep just trying to articulate the policy.
What they should have done is announce this alongside an actually bold program like free Nursing and Dr education for 5 year bonding to a specific region plus 2 years inside NZ.
But that would have required a desire to rock the boat and Labour have zero intention of that when they are so close to winning without having to promise a hell of a lot.
This incrementalism highlights why things will be so tough for the Greens.
I recently wrote about what a disaster te Pati Māori self mutilating itself was to the hope of a truly progressive Government which prompted comments that Labour + Greens should be the new hope and not Labour + Green + MP.
This wonk wonk announcement however highlights why Labour + Green isn’t the great win it looks like.
The Greens are notorious for having all the offensive capacity of moss and their ability to be outplayed by Labour in the negotiations has already been proven in the past. The Greens need John Tamihere in their corner when negotiating with Labour.
If Labour + Greens = 51%, then it is highly likely that Labour + NZF would also = 51%, te Pati Māori in the mix locks Winston out from being the Kingmaker again.
The Greens want actual change, Labour wants to manage slightly less cruelly than National, only te Pati Māori Leadership team have the capacity to negotiate it.
Again, don’t get me wrong, this beige on beige announcement is the perfect softly softly catchy catchy the National voter policy stuff that Labour needs to churn out to win, but for those of us who want the transformative Government Jacinda promised in 2017, it’s looking like another lost promise we’ve had to temper our expectations to thanks to the lesser of two evils political landscape we are left with.
It’s telling that the passion from the membership wasn’t matched by the policy. This is the balancing act Labour’s Leadership need to walk now.
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