Is New Zealand too broken to fix?
New Zealand is broken – and you’re dumb to stay
Stuff Columnist Verity Johnston wrote a damning column over the weekend stating that NZ was broken and people who stayed were dumb.
201 Kiwis are leaving every single day, unemployment is at 5.2%, house prices have crashed, latest food inflation is up 5%, 50 000 jobs have been destroyed in the last year and there is a sense that this Government is either incapable of solving the problems we face or don’t understand how to.
This economic mayhem is happening at a time race baiting culture war revenge fantasies masquerading as social policy gets passed every single month while the latest GDP numbers show the Economy is in free fall.
The promise of democracy is that you can look into the face of your child and know they will get a better deal than you did, but in NZ right now, that is not how it feels at all!
The median wage in NZ is $70 000 a year, the average house costs $900 000 – we have pretended selling each other houses was a way to financial security – a crash was predictable.
The BusinessNZ-BNZ PSI survey published on Monday showed another slide into contraction for the services sector, (which makes up more than 60% of the economy). This adds to last Friday’s PMI survey showing the manufacturing sector falling back into recession again.
Where is all the growth we were promised from this Government?
We are seeing a global dismantling of democratic values and the rule of law in favour of authoritarian leaders and vilification of minorities while domestically NZ has terrible suicide rates for young people, student loans are crippling them and the housing market, despite collapsing 19% in value in Auckland from its peak are still out of the reach of most.
Is New Zealand too broken to fix?
I believe we can fix it, but it takes a revolution at the ballot box and a clear vision of working for the people, not the Billionaire and donor class who have dominated Government policy.
Your enemy isn’t the kid transitioning, or Māori or environmentalists, your enemy are the Banks and the Billionaires.
The 40 year neoliberal experiment has wasted and broken NZ, if we can not chammcge that meaningfully we will remain broken.
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Probably just subterfuge.
What’s the spat between Willis and Roger Macculloch/ Roger Douglas about? Can anyone explain.
Seems she is failing to do what they are suggesting in the face of economic mismanagement. Who would be listening to Roger Douglas but I would have thought Douglas would be on her side.
People bag Labour from the left because of Chippys captains calls, causing them to have a spectacular loss at the elections that now have this government in power. That is one stupid legacy and any other leader would have quit after that loss. But Chippy is hanging on for grim death still believing in himself. What kind of obdurate fool is that.
You are not a lone Comet.
To get serious, the failure to return to growth suggests that the New Zealand economy is facing a structural problem rather than a cyclical one. De-industrialization plays a big part of that problem, and the New Zealand government, just like the US government, can have no quick fix to de-industrialization. Donald Trump at least recognizes the problem, and with his tariff policies is appearing to take steps to correct it. But New Zealand governments are oblivious. They refuse to acknowledge that de-industrialization is or even might be a problem. Because they are so committed to neoliberal dogma they cannot comprehend that when a huge swathe of enterprises cease to produce there will be negative economic consequences. They believe that the market should automatically correct and that therefore the shutdown of New Zealand’s manufacturing industry will prove to be a good thing in the long term. Nor are they capable of seeing that a major reason behind New Zealand’s de-industrialization is the effective collapse of the infrastructure providing energy, housing, health, education, water and transport – all responsibilities of government in normal states.
Since New Zealand governments cannot even see the problem, they are in no position to fix it. They are held back by two key and related doctrines: colonialism and neoliberalism. These doctrines inform, or rather misinform, all economic and social policy in New Zealand. They are ingrained in the psyche of the ruling elite and they will only be removed through a political revolution.
Is there something called new-colonialism? It seems to me that we were working to get above old time colonialism here, but then turned and were magnetically grafted to the USA and soaked by their Ayn Rand style economic and societal approach which has has replaced our milder level.
I’m reading The Selfish Capitalist which presents the idea that the fact of a double emotional stress level in the 5 Eyes western countries to the stress level of mainland Europe is caused by the USA and UK and their fellow travellers (Canada, Oz and NZ) abandoning society. He doesn’t say that exactly but it is observable to the ordinary thoughtful person, this is what has happened.
Well, there is “old time colonialism” and there is neo-colonialism but New Zealand is in the uniquely awful position of simultaneously suffering under both old time colonialism (the constitutional connection to Britain) and neo-colonialism (political submission to the US).
I have said this all along Nick. All that is required is the will to make things happen. Sadly National have the will for tax cut bribes, landlord rebates and policy favors for donors yet dismantling the public sector, renting to a low wage economy does nothing for the economy and what was a slow decline is now a rapid increase to a race to the bottom.
Many comments here bagging Labour yet can’t see past their own bias in that for the past two years the National coc policies have taken us to where we are today. Even right wing commentators are calling for Willis head as she has shown she is clearly not qualified for the job. Luxon is flakey and they have no one in their party capable of being PM.
Too broken to fix? How bloody negative. We live in an ocean of possibilities if only we could throw off the shackles of our own creation.
For a starter throw off the shackles of neo lib economics. Renew the social contract between government and the people. Actively flatten the wealth gap to create a fairer distribution of incomes and services. Trade with everybody.
We can fix ourselves if we want to. All we need is a will to do so.
I’d disagree. If there are more broken people, eg. Marginalised from the type of deragatory politics, or broke from debt, or pissed off at the broken policies, than ‘the sorted’ , that’s a powerful voting base.
Secondly, the trad voting base of the Nats are dying off( or also going broke buying food and paying exorbitant bills) thus leaving voting power to a swell of young voters; those whom this government have stolen their future security and denigrating THEIR environment.
The practice of demonizing and dehumanizing groups of people aka as hate messaging, has long been an election tactic. Demographics of NZ has changed and so has been the instant, swift exposure to other global communities providing knowledge and kinship that IS fighting back through these technology tools.
No longer is the centuries of the white man’s ‘ truth’ / lies unchallenged. That pursuit of idolizing Capitalism , that if you’re not Western white, Christian etc you’re sub human in your value, knowledge and skills….. the shit that has put the world on a precipice of destruction and that in itself will drive a lashback as ‘the sorted’ run out of coverups.
WE’RE NOT BROKEN YET . STOP KNOCKING WOKE-ISM , IT’S DIVISIVE and in doing so you’ll just author your own demise. The broken , the others of creed and languages, the woke, the activists, transgenders, immigrants, the bottom feeders et al who have all been put down … WE are the future but only standing together !!
I am fascinated by this in the post, a sort of magnetism pulls me in – is it a new sort of champagne and if so can I try it? I’ve heard it called champers so what’s this other? We find everything isn’t what it was, lesser, so shampers is more likely, or is it shamcage, but anything for a giggle these days.
The 40 year neoliberal experiment has wasted and broken NZ, if we can not chammcge that meaningfully we will remain broken.
FFS – why can’t the govt. just provide public services and manage our shared assets. too many ticket clippers and nepo babies wanting favour, and this lot are the worst. business out of govt., govt. out of business.
Having recently emigrating to the Gold Coast I can confirm Verity is correct. And when you align everything up side by side even the weather beats NZ hands down…
https://www.google.com/search?q=pacific+pines+weather&oq=&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCQgCECMYJxjqAjIJCAAQIxgnGOoCMgkIARAjGCcY6gIyCQgCECMYJxjqAjIJCAMQIxgnGOoCMgkIBBAjGCcY6gIyCQgFECMYJxjqAjIJCAYQIxgnGOoCMgkIBxAjGCcY6gIyCQgIECMYJxjqAjIJCAkQIxgnGOoCMgkIChAjGCcY6gIyCQgLECMYJxjqAjIJCAwQIxgnGOoCMgkIDRAjGCcY6gIyCQgOECMYJxjqAjIRCA8QABgDGEIYjwEYtAIY6gIyEQgQEAAYAxhCGI8BGLQCGOoCMhEIERAAGAMYQhiPARi0AhjqAjIRCBIQABgDGEIYjwEYtAIY6gIyEQgTEAAYAxhCGI8BGLQCGOoC0gEGLTFqMGo3qAIUsAIB8QVtsM_QdtV4LPEFbbDP0HbVeCw&client=ms-android-samsung-ss&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
I suppose if your young you can cope with the appalling racism in Ozzie, I couldn’t – the superiority of the white race is worse there. And the treatment of aborigines is just so dreadful. And of course they don’t like the Greeks or the Italians……
Your negativity is noted Michal. New Zealand has surpassed Australia in regard what you state and why multiple article written about NZs broken state.
Typical – goes to Oz and when visiting takes over the whole screen and runs off the edge. They always want the biggest Mum.
It’s time that we flexed our mental muscles, values, and worked out our own recipe for economics that enables us to manage, and share, and have a good time in between fighting calamities. But together we could do it, however the idea is anathema to most people. If they are middle class they are fixed in the belief that all will be well if we just twist the knob to the right a bit more. If they are poor they just can’t understand why they aren’t allowed to enjoy a cigarette at a reasonable price, when the health strictures don’t apply to them as nobody gives a shit about them anyway.
We have never been taught practical politics and so can fall for the witches brew of the neoliberalistic creed. For our leaders to decide to abandon working for the people’s condition, guiding our lives by nurturing the national interest making human-based decisions, is a betrayal. This has been done, to step back for market pressures to rein; but the market is run by money and advantage seekers; gains made for personal, private advantage using other people and tends to be cold-blooded. We are now suffering from hypothermia.
A lot of our laws are just performance, distraction, politics and a farce. But you have to care enough about your fellow person and the wonder of our country and our being and combined skills, nous and creativity to be bothered to ask, then press for change. So for most it is easier to settle back and accept whatever and put up with it because… what’s to be done?
Good luck over there Charles and it is a pity that we are losing so many like yourself (at this rate we will just be left with the billionaires and the beneficiaries).
Hmmm. It’s not too broken to fix but it needs a meaningful distribution of wealth. It needs the Greens and TPM to form government with a minority Labour Party and actually put in real transitional policies.
I agree absolutely we don’t want Labour to dominate they have sold us down the gurgler more times than I can count they will never ever make real transitional changes. They are afraid of their own shadow. They like the Nats kowtow to business and the well to do in our country. Oh dear capital flight. Anyway Hipkins needs to leave now his is yet another boring colourless white man. What about Ayesha Verrall. To be frank they hardly have anyone who is at all inspiring. Still they believe in capitalism and the trickle down theory.
Willy Jackson for leader. Ayesha does not have the personality.
Lanour took the country to the brink of a disaster with inflation rife and no real plan to fix the situation. National stopped he rot but the World’s financial situation has not helped the recovery.
Since I arrived in 73 things have been far worse than they are now with double digit inflation and high unemployment numbers but the boat righted itself and we moved on. History will continue to repeat itself but we dust ourselves off and move on.
National have taken us to disaster with every marker
It’s an organic system, it will regrow if pruned property.
From time to time the tree of liberty must be refreshed with the blood of patriots. And tyrants.
Yes. New Zealand is too broken to fix. The colonialists have screwed up big time. They are now running around like headless chooks. A revolution at the ballot box is an oxymoronic non-starter. Which particular headless chook would you want to put in charge of your ballot box revolution?
A revolution will come, but not through the ballot box.
Who know? we don’t own it anymore and get no say in it.