The Prime Minister Winston Peters
With a National/Act government we will all have to swallow a dozen dead rats. We know their tax cuts will deliver hardly any benefit for working people and the funding mechanism, land sales to wealth overseas people, will not cover the costs. Therefore public services will be hacked into to pay for it.
But it goes deeper than just the inconvenience of poor quality public services. The roll back of fair pay agreements legislation and no wage rises for government employees will simply push more young New Zealanders overseas to find better paying jobs elsewhere. National are intentionally forcing New Zealand into being/remaining a low wage economy.
A low wage economy will not retain excellence and it will not attract excellence. It will not retain innovators, so it will not retain innovation. In our Universities our research will not be lead by new and upcoming leaders of excellence in research because they will go. Why would the good stay if half their time is spent having to do the National/Act nanny state bean counters paperwork to justify their research with a slashing of budgets.
The drive to a low wage economy will do nothing to push our businesses into productivity investment. Our Productivity Commission has said ‘workers in New Zealand work longer hours and for less reward than workers in most other OECD countries.’ (webpage – What is productivity? – Productivity is about working smarter rather than ‘working harder’). To work smarter the employers need to invest in ways to make that happen. And proof they don’t invest is being one of the lowest in OECD, and low wages does not encourage investment. No wonder people leave.
The National/Act policies to punish our people, New Zealanders, by making it harder to get fair wages means that disposable income is restricted and less is spent throughout the economy. It is small businesses across New Zealand where most disposable income is spent. Any vote for National/Act is a vote to reduce the income of small businesses across New Zealand. Less profits for small businesses means less chance for innovations or inventions in New Zealand designs. Less money will circulate through the domestic economy if poor people have to buy low quality imported goods which are generally supplied by large retailers.
The stupidity and shortsightedness of National/Act policies are shown in how they pander, protect and coddle their mates, the existing holders of wealth. Tax breaks to wealthy landlords will send our scarce investment capital back into holding unproductive assets, housing. They will flog off our best housing to foreigners which will encourage more housing investment into luxury properties when the need is for our scarce building resources to be focused on building affordable housing for New Zealanders; especially our first home buyers. Another reason why people leave.
But don’t worry National/Act business friendly policies will ensure we can just import people so our employers don’t have to train New Zealanders. Business costs stay low so profits stay high, and the imported people can be like indentured servants who can’t go anywhere else. So wages can stay low and that keeps wages low for New Zealanders. It’s all win win; for their business mates.
Where is the moral foundation to this economic vision that has been running through New Zealand for almost 40 years? Even the last government seemed to think the function of Government was simply to facilitate business, especially on immigration.
So we have a hellish set of policies facing New Zealand and we have a duty to protect the people. And in full respect to democracy we must think the unthinkable; Prime Minister Winston Peters.
After 3 November it is likely that Mr Winston Peters will hold a true balance of power. Not a left government but a centre one is in theory possible (the previous Greens/Peters bad blood they got over in 2017). Some movement on policy should be possible, and hopefully Mr Peters will ditch his instinct to bash the unions and see it instead as looking after New Zealander as we have cut back the economy so much.
At the very least an approach to Winston Peter will strengthen his bargaining hand with National/Act which hopefuly he will use for the benefit of all New Zealanders. The deal with Labour in 2017 was about NZ First having a couple of billion dollars to walk round the country spending as they saw fit. That strategy did not work for NZ First and they got booted out.
Now a deal must be about Mr Peters legacy as a statesmen working for New Zealanders and our domestic economy. I think there is reason to believe he would be up for that. He would be more powerful in a centre government than a right one. It would be a rough road but I think better than the hellish one National/Act will take us all on.
It may mean that Mr Hipkins needs to step down; (I like him but he strangely did try and run an election campaign without a strong positive policy platform , e.g. a wealth tax. He just ran saying we aren’t as bad as National and your fruit might be cheaper; which are true statements). It may mean the Prime Ministership is shared over the 3 years term. But perhaps there won’t be the negative action on climate adaptation like National/Act is proposing. Or $25 Billion dollars on roads to nowhere because we can’t pay to ride on them. Or not slashing public services. There is already a sense that National is petrified of this Winston with Labour prospect and they are trying to tie him down sooner rather than later. Get onto it labour.
This decision is not a moral one to grandstand on. This decision is about what is the best we can do for our people, New Zealanders. It may seem morally righteous to stand outside and let the coaltion of chaos fall over. But Mr Peters is not a fool and that won’t happen. A bird in the hand is presented at this point. Or, if we have to swallow a dozen dead rats with Mr Peters, its still less than a bakers dozen with National.
Chippy won’t step down he will need to be pushed – others within the Labour leadership group need to step up – especially Grant R and Megan Wood – and take some ownership because Chippy is now forever linked with the 2023 Election Defeat – in fact Labour support dwindled significantly under Chippy’s stewardship which is not a good look moving forward.
Also the new Labour leadership needs to look at a CGT and possibly a Wealth Tax – under the auspice of “Everyone should pay their fair share!” slogan or something similar. Labour need a clear direction that differs from the current status quo – egos will probably prevent this
He already promised he wouldn’t be fooled by Labour again, at least in its current iteration.
What you are suggesting was still possible a year ago. Winston had a once-in-a-generation opportunity: run on a ‘Trumpian’ platform focussed on domestic manufacturing and mining, a protectionist trade policy, an anti-war foreign policy, and an anti-censorship civil liberties policy. Not too far from his Muldoonite roots.
Without any competition from a socialist party (which could easily threaten to take most of his working class voters), the field was open for a political earthquake that may have damaged both major parties irreparably. In that scenario, he may well have become the largest party, and thus Prime Minister — especially as the only personality in Parliament that actually looks and sounds like a world leader.
This was his one opportunity to seize the mantle as the leader of conservatism. But he was more concerned about protecting his reputation with the Wall Street donors, and he blew it.
A Third Party run next election is the only option remaining for defeating the corrupt Uniparty.
NZ’s economy is broken an neither the left nor the right are willing to do what is needed to make it well again. The cost of land in NZ is obscene in a country with masses of it vs. the population. The problem is there are just too many people with an interest in maintaining the farce.
Draw a line on the map, from Helensville and across to Waiwera and now imagine a Govt. committing to compulsory purchase of all the lifestyle block and farm land between Albany and this line (we’re coming for you Damien) with a plan to build mass infrastructure on public transport and roads right into the heart of Auckland. Revitalising the existing rail line and connecting into the upper harbour roading network. A fast two bus lane from Silverdale to Oetha Rd.
Imagine the govt. underwriting all the in ground infrastructure like sewage and water so that it’s built properly and getting the land all set up for mass, fast, coherent houses to be built.
It would collapse the price of land across Auckland which would be bad short term but all that money that’s wasted so people can live cheek by jowl in tiny little houses because land is so stupidly expensive would be redirected to productivity and it would in time free NZ from the shackles of a broken system.
I agree, Hipkins should go, he needs to fall in sword for what happened to Labour, they should elect Willy Jackson as leader and he should talk to Winston Peters. Labour has no hope if Hipkins stays as leader they need to listen to the people. Their voters will never vote Labour again unless they make some serious recompense and do a ‘Captains Call’ on all the stupid decisions made after Hipkins became leader, and they need to go much much further than that on tax policy.
Stephen is totally correct about what the Baldrick administration’s primary achievement will be–a low wage economy propped up by compliant migrant workers and numbers of NZers heading to the airport.
One of the spinoffs from union busting and cheap wages is indeed the further reduction of purchasing power for working class people. All those small business operators that threw their lot in with the Natzos are in for it.
Don’t agree with his Winston handbrake theory though, NZ First, despite Winston’s rhetoric will do what it always does–side with capital. Disagreements between Baldrick, Seymour and Peters do not constitute anything positive for most of us–they will be about HOW much to screw the working class and Māori bash.
“A bird in the hand is presented at this point”.
A fascinating proposition. It would change NZ politics and introduce a version of MMP not seen (although 2017 was a precursor). Overseas I believe there are reiterations of MMP that many here would struggle with. So would NZ voters accept it? Probably not, especially given the discourse around election night with Labour publicly acknowledging defeat and the Nats/ NZF on a high about to rule the roost. But whatever one may think of Winston Peters and NZF, Peters has been at pains all along (and in previous campaigns) to point out that ultimately its the voters who decide and in an MMP environment it is for those left in the game to sort out the result. One would hope for the best of the country.
@ SM. “This decision is not a moral one to grandstand on. This decision is about what is the best we can do for our people, New Zealanders. It may seem morally righteous to stand outside and let the coaltion of chaos fall over. But Mr Peters is not a fool and that won’t happen”. You may well be correct on this. Interesting times ahead.
What an interesting idea!
Mate this is the most misinformed drivel I have read in a long time.
We have just had 6 years of labour- and look at the plane loads fleeing.
Winston going Labour/Green/TPM’s way would be a political disaster. The Right of NZ would justifiably feel utterly betrayed by ‘The System’. We might get a three year reprieve, but the blowback (not to say vengeance) at the next election would be horrific. The Left need to take our medicine. We got a seeing to. Fair and square.
Winston as PM is a fascinating idea. Unlikely, but I would like to make my prediction now that this will actually happen. So then in December you can all say how brilliant I was to make this prediction. Or not…
So – let’s say special votes give 2 to the left, take away 2 from the right, and National win Port Waikato as expected, this will leave 62 on the left (Labour 36, Green 14, Maori 4, Winston 8) and 60 on the right (National 48, ACT 11, +1).
It’s possible but would require Hipkins to step down, the Labour party to agree to Winston as PM. Interesting idea.
Winston, his cronies, may be allowed, how our cronies or yours. ENGEL, ARGUED WITH mARX, ABOUT violence, how your mindless cronies goin.
It’d be nice if Peters could be persuaded to take one for the country – but Labour really doesn’t deserve rescuing. Of course, if the msm got off their chuffs and actually did that ‘holding to account’ thing they invoke every time their vacuous ranting gets the better of them, government could be steered away from some of the more corrupt and self-serving policies they have in mind.
But Peters or the media actually serving NZ? Fairytale stuff.
Jones and Olken are a better prospect.