Good to see Jacinda Ardern confronting this head on:
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern takes a swing at National’s campaign of ‘fear and lying’
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern has come out swinging at what she called National’s campaign of “fear and lying.”
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National launched another social media ad on the topic this morning – and an angry Ardern retaliated while speaking to an audience of about 600 at Nelson GreyPower.“In recent weeks I’ve become more and more aware that this has become an election of two halves where on the one side we have fear and scaremongering, and to be honest – lies.
And on the other side we have ideas and solutions and policies for the future that will return New Zealand to the country that I know and believe it can be.
“I want to draw a line in the sand around the fear, the scaremongering and the lies.”
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“I’m calling time on the fear and the lying because instead we need to ask the question ‘why are we having this conversation?’We need to talk about housing in this country. We need to talk about the fact for the first time we are facing a generation who we won’t necessarily be able to say will be better off than the last. And that’s always been a source of pride for this country.”
She told them the reason for having a working group on tax was to address that issue of housing. …
See also:
Gordon Campbell on the politics of fear and neglect
In years to come this will be seen as a watershed election for New Zealand. Is the country able to embrace change and elect a government willing to tackle the serious problems we face in health, housing, education and income inequality – or will it allow itself to be spooked by lies and diversions into settling for another three years of evasion and denial? Judging by last night’s Newshub poll, National is succeeding. So long as we keep talking about Labour’s plans, we’re not talking about National’s lacklustre performance during its nine years in office. Mission accomplished.
Last week, National lied about finding a non-existent ‘hole’ in Labour’s alternative budget. This week, National leader Bill English is claiming that farmers could face a $50,000 cost increase from Labour’s water tax plans. Another phantom fear.
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So, if one can believe last night’s polls, the country is being set to drift for another three years. Wages will continue to stagnate. Income growth per capita – which is a far more telling measure of economic success than GDP growth figures pumped up by immigration and construction – will continue to be meagre, compared to other OECD countries. Wages will continue to be taxed while the wealth generated by investment and housing speculation will not, in any meaningful way. The environment will steadily degrade. As mentioned, there’s a crucial choice facing the country at this election.
Will National’s nasty negative campaign and lying win out?
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