What ‘Affordability’ should mean to Labour
Hipkins setting low expectations for ‘real’ change
Labour Leader downplays talk of big policy shifts or of much better lives in 3 years, saying he prefers to be ‘real’ & not just “window dressing for the sake of looking like we’re doing something.”
- The Lead – Labour Leader Chris Hipkins gave his State of the Nation speechto Auckland Chamber of Commerce yesterday, hosing down expectations of major policy change under a Labour Government or promises that life will improve much in the three years after the upcoming election.
- The Sidebar – Hipkins said he wanted to be ‘real’ when making promises, preferring to focus on doing fewer things in Government, but better, adding: “doing are the things that will actually make a difference, and are not just window dressing for the sake of looking like we’re doing something.”
- The Reaction – Labour’s Parliamentary opponents described the speech as ‘boring, lightweight and underwhelming.’
- In My View – Just like PM Christopher Luxon, Hipkins is taking a ‘low target’ strategy to the election, hoping to avoid the endemic rejection of change present in western democracies right now. It’s not coincidental that both Hipkins and Luxon have record low net approval ratings nine months out from the election. They are competing to see which leader voters prefer as the most boring and least ambitious PM in recent memory.
Bernard Hickey, The Kaka
The smart play is to wait until the budget.
The smart play is to purposely under promise.
The smart play is to come back after the Budget, tell voters that they have considered the issue of affordability and are telling us what they will do and how it will impact us weekly and monthly.
What ‘Affordability’ should mean to Labour
- Free Public Transport
- Free Dental
- 12months Maternity Leave
- Nationalise Early Childhood Education and remove fees for working mums and dads
- State backed third Supermarket
- Nationalise Electricity Industry with direct investment into renewable.
- Solar Panels on every public building including schools, libraries, RSA, Marae, hospitals, State Houses.
If Chippy comes back and announces changes that will ensure material well being changes to people, he will win the election.
If he comes back with Labour’s usual policy incrementalism they will lose the election to Winston.
Please, we can’t allow this failed CoC back into power. Surely no-one with any business acumen should even consider it! They have proven, beyond a doubt, that they are insincere, corrupt, lying cheats. There is barely a decent MP in their midst and as for the PM and FM they are both simply abysmal and so out of touch. The race for privatisation is a disgrace and will sell NZ off to the highest bidders. Is that truly what you RW voters want or do you not comprehend the seriousness of the whole question? And the Left – please have policies/vision for voters to get their teeth into. FGS all voters wake up before it’s too late.