Dr Liz Gordon: Labour is in trouble
What a difference a week makes! From unelectable, it now seems like we will be facing a resurgence in National’s chances under Judith Collins. The thoughtful, consultative, kind and effective policies of Labour, all that good leadership, is likely to be damaged, possibly severely, possibly terminally, by the populist Collins, popping out bold and authoritarian policies like lights on a Christmas tree.
We saw this in Sunday’s media, with National’s new policy that people should pay $3,000 towards the costs of their quarantine as they come back into the country. This will be cheered by people all around the country, many of whom were considering supporting Labour. It is dangerous.
Never mind that the amount is peanuts. Never mind that the legal context of trying to force people into quarantine and make them pay for it is iffy and might be defeated by judicial review. There is that little corner of New Zealander’s hearts, perhaps captured or enhanced by 30 years of neo-liberalism, that insists that users must pay, no matter what.
Gerry Brownlee today affirmed that this policy will breach the Bill of Rights Act (clause 18(2)) which reads: “Every New Zealand citizen has the right to enter New Zealand.” Geez. Their very first detailed policy breaches the Bill of Rights. Dirty politics indeed.
I criticised Todd Muller because his only contribution was to pop up at every corner saying “shambolic blah blah”. The only policy I recall him releasing was a new road from Christchurch to Ashburton. And that was released in the middle of a huge scandal, such that the media had no interest in the policy. In politics timing is everything.
I do not expect Labour to try to match National’s populism. I hope that the party has left its populist policies way behind it (visions of Roger Douglas and flat taxes still populate my nightmares). It is also not enough to be the steady hand on the tiller, although that is crucial.
I think Labour needs a three-strand strategy. The first is to extend its excellent Covid management approach to embrace the next three years. Key messaging is that the Covid is not going away anytime soon, that the priority is always to keep New Zealanders safe (and the safest way is no community transmission) and that the only party you can trust to do this is Labour. This is easy peasy and, by default, is the current stance. When Jacinda says she is too busy managing a crisis to think about the election, she is by default purveying this message.
The second strand is to develop an economic plan to work with, alongside and in and through what may be at least three more years of Covid infection. How this is done is crucial. The plan needs to be a multi-sector, whole of society approach that blends economic goals with improving the economic opportunities of the people and reducing inequalities.
This will include flexible work, supporting a range of industries and especially local manufacturing (by New Zealand for New Zealand), further building the mana of our nation into economic opportunities for export, especially of food but also other things and so on. Can’t we do something fantastic down south with the amazing water/electricity resource that will shortly be vacated by Rio Tinto. Not another aluminium smelter, but something that works with our own resources and our own people to create things that we and the world need. This might be multiple somethings. There is no need to think big, just think broadly. Every opportunity needs to be harnessed within a people and environment friendly way.
We need a vision for the future that shows we do not have to put our country at extreme risk in order to recover economically. Now is the time for economic nation-building, for big picture thinking. You get the gist.
The third strand is policies around our society. We must come out of Covid (if coming out is ever possible, assuming things have not changed forever, and here I am referring to the research on how the overpopulation of the planet has made us ever more vulnerable to doomsday viruses), with a better, smarter, fairer and more equal society. People will have to come first. There will be a focus on developing New Zealand for New Zealanders. Kindness and consideration for others will be the key. Policies for the people first, and profits will follow.
Labour’s manifesto does not need to go into enormous detail, but simply to show a way, a vision, an alternative route to Collins’ populism. National can only ever offer policies for the one, the best, the winner. Labour can provide a vision for the team of five million moving forward, Covid free, people first, fair and safe.
Let’s hope the party is tuned in next weekend to the Alternative Aotearoa event in Wellington and on a podcast near you. Let’s hope those of us advocating for an alternative can see it come to fruition at the election.
Dr Liz Gordon is a researcher and a barrister, with interests in destroying neo-liberalism in all its forms and moving towards a socially just society. She usually blogs on justice, social welfare and education topics.
Wonderful article – and a position we can indeed attain if we communicate, and seriously share all sorts of possibility’s for our people and nation.
Agree with you 100% Wild Katipo.
The policy of charging for quarantine is truly stupid.
1. a cost barrier would not be legal so would have to be waived for some
2. the cost of determining whether people can afford to pay would not be worth it, for $3000 – its a waste of resources (better used in reimbursment of wage subsidy money to those outside the rules)
The PM’s first instinct that its only a charge for those who leave for a holiday since we establihsed the quarantine is where this should stay.
Is that why Megan Wood wants to adopt it?
Exactly. These people are not going to have the money. They might be criminals and are supposed to have large quids of cash and good assets, but they won’t be reachable by us from Oz. We would be better off investing the $3000 in guidance, group therapy, accommodation, upskilling and seeing if they then are prepared to do all that’s required and then see if they would like a job for which the employer would be subsidised for a period during which they could gain the experience required to either remain or get similar work elsewhere.
Any call to do something else like charge them for being forcibly sent home! – that’s crazy and shows National and its supporters haven’t got a brain or skills enough to run the country, except into the ground. We are on a downward slide already socially, we have climate change playing with us like a mentally unstable parent, erratically dropping rain on us one day, or blinding us with sunlight for a month. We have Covid-19 to manage our way through. We can’t afford to turn from our obvious problems to try and nurse the country through ills produced by a lazy and inadequate bunch of poseurs from that second rate bunch of secondary schools we have in this country, called Warts Academies which get all those who couldn’t make it into Hogwarts!
The plan should be to build on our COVID gains. We need to focus on keeping the Covid out and to do this we need to spend the money on tracing, communications, security, alternative quarantine options, create specialised Covid multi skilled teams. Provide specialised training for security companies, the police, airport and airline staff, health workers, hotel staff basically anyone dealing with front line stuff. By keeping Covid out we can then look at bringing more people in safely, this will bring money and businesses to our country and help booster our economy. Yes we need roads but not 31 billion worth of roads. If Covid isn’t contained the roads will be a waste of money.
Please stop writing dumb shit like this. thanks in advance.
Tuibelle
What’s that about. Please elucidate – that means state clearly what you mean I think. Are you having a tanty?
The plan should be to build on our COVID gains. We need to focus on keeping the Covid out and to do this we need to spend the money on tracing, communications, security, alternative quarantine options, create specialised Covid multi skilled teams. Provide specialised training for security companies, the police, airport and airline staff, health workers, hotel staff basically anyone dealing with front line stuff. By keeping Covid out we can then look at bringing more people in safely, this will bring money and businesses to our country and help booster our economy. Yes we need roads but not 31 billion worth of roads. If Covid isn’t contained the roads will be a waste of money.
Liz – I like to think you’re being just a wee bit pessimistic here ! Yep, Collins is one loud woman, but even the Nats I know don’t like her. She may be brightening the lives of the media, but who watches television any more? As far as I know, mainly rest home elderly parked in front of big screens in the day room after their breakfast, and littlies watching technically amazing cartoons.
Collins is coming across as a bit erratic, and looking more smart-arsie than Winston Peters – who’s singing his swan song, as she probably is too. National is imploding. Something else will happen. They’re leaking more than my copper colander with the broken handle which I bought in Petticoat Lane circa 1975.
Climate change denial like hers, is a national disaster, and I think the pandemic has gotten through to ordinary folk, that we’re in it right now, and the PM needs to up the ante on this pronto. That’s the issue. Whether the MSM will be permitted to address it as such, is a separate issue.
Jacinda Ardern still has a credibility which many politicians never attain, no matter how many lies they tell.
NZ’ers are quite chuffed that Ardern has achieved global stature in the midst of catastrophic crises, and no-one likes bully-persons. (See how PC I am ?). I’ll probably vote Labour now that the Greens haven’t lived up to my expectations, or my hopes for our children’s children’s future.
A great pot-potpourri of ideas here, especially recycling the Rio Tinto facility – and your calls for kindness.
Another Nat MP leapt off their ship today (Falloon), also citing “mental health” reasons! There has to be something quite horrible there, to leave them all so terrified.
Update on Falloon – He is yet another example of the predatorial culture that is rife among the “treat her bad” National MPs.
The last thing labour wants to talk about is a 3 year covid plan. People will just think vote labout at get 3 years of covid. They’ve got the high ground on being responsible about covid. That’s enough.
If they want to win votes they want to reduce people’s fear. Given New Zealand’s low debt to GDP ratio they could just say: If you can’t pay your mortage we’ll pay your interest and force the banks to suspend your mortgage. Or to put it more snappy: Under labour you won’t loose your house. In a single policy (probably best announced late in the day) labour will get the entire middle class vote.
They should have some kind of back up for when National try to steal it: Something like ‘Where Labour Leads National Fails to Follow’ with a list of them giving promises that were lies.
@ Pierre
The best way to boost the body’s defence against the virus is to increase your vitamin C intake. Most gardens lack Magnesium which plants need to synthesise vit. C. Your dog &/or cat & most other animals synthesise multiple grams vit. C in their bodies. We humans can’t do that. In brief, I’ve taken 20,000 mg down to (now) 15,000 mg vit. C in divided doses every day since August 1983. I’ve not experienced one episode of flu nor one cold since 1983. There’s more than ample info re the benefit of much higher intake of vit. C on the Internet. Read about Dr Fred Klenner & vit. C for starters. Doctoryourself.com is another valuable website for relevant info. It is stupid for “doctors” to say that men need 90mg/vit. C daily & women need 70mg vit. C daily. A goat a bit heavier than me makes at least 13,000mg vit. C in its body every daily when it’s peaceably nibbling grass in its’ paddock. When nasty youths throw green grapefruit at it, its vit. C synthesis rapidly rises to 100,000mg in response to the animal’s stress.
I am a very knowledgeable NZRN – nurses aren’t taught anything re above. Nor are doctors, who know only to write on a piece of paper Rx & name of a toxic, poisonous chemical called a “drug”!
Thanks for the advice, but it does not do it for many. Make contact with the medical staff in the US. Every possibility exhausted and people of all ages are now dying all over the place. THe worst it leaves permanent scars or damage to organs and tissues which on current indications will never recover. Scary