Economy improves dramatically thanks to Labour

26 comments on “Economy improves dramatically thanks to Labour ”

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1. Macro 1

   27 January 2024 at 10:04 am

   This week there were two pieces of economic news showing a dramatic improvement credit for which should be given to the last Labour Government.

   But don't hold your breathe.
2. aj 2

   27 January 2024 at 10:17 am

   2nd paragraph do you mean inflation rate, not interest rate

   [I did. Now fixed thanks – MS]
3. Patricia Bremner 3

   27 January 2024 at 11:05 am

   The voices critical of Grant Robertson were those of the right at home and when Luxon went to Britain. The rest of us knew he truly cared, and many of the projected protections were for the ordinary person. The deposit protection scheme, the social house building infrastructure fund and the Climate Emergency Response, and his famous "We have your backs "

   Advertising through Tiktok and media at $9 a vote swayed the voters sadly.

   It is to be hoped the up to a 100 thousand bank deposits will be covered, and that work does not get stymied by this current lot.
4. mike 4

   27 January 2024 at 12:02 pm

   Just as I and thousands of other loyalists expected.

   Congratulations to Grant Robinson! Best finance minister we've had since Michael Cullen.
5. lprent 5

   27 January 2024 at 12:14 pm

   Nicola Willis’s statement at the mini budget that returning the Government’s books to surplus by 2027 remained a key priority but “had got a whole lot harder than it looked prior to the election” is clearly not correct.

   That was kind. I'm not. That was far too kind.

   She is shaping up as complete fiscal and economic idiot. Prone to blowing off statements about current and future economic events that she cannot support either when she makes them, nor after they fail to get close to happening.

   Having a Finance minister with that kind of reputation threatens economic stability because it makes risk levels elevate both for financing the government and for investment by local and foreign investors.

   Couple that with simplistic economic statements like wanting to cut our governmental infrastructure by arbitrary percentages across the board. Well that is just a populist posturing cut for her political base. It indicates, as many already suspect, that the governmental coalition doesn't have any prepared policies and is simply flying blind.

   After all, having a rising population, and as many problems as the coalition members foresaw prior to the election would indicate that fixing them is going to require more government rather than less. That is what is required to get the infrastructure in place before the new population needs it – rather than the John Key ‘solution’ of ignoring it so that he could give tax-cuts to the already affluent.

   That has all ready been obvious with their Three Waters repeal disaster. They have no plan. Critical water infrastructure all over country will go down the toilet before they figure one out. Look at Wellington with its raw sewage poring into the harbour and water restrictions.

   Bearing in mind that they have been campaigning against Three Waters for years now, you'd have expected that they had a plan that they favoured ready to implement. Instead we just have Luxon hand-waving like a fool without substance.

   
   • georgecom 5.1

     27 January 2024 at 4:51 pm

     unless I am mistaken, Simeon Brown charged with a replacement for 3 waters. Give me strength. All those councils who campaigned against 3 waters, I guess they will now be happy with the national government putting control back to them and requiring them to fund it. if they wanted some cash, that was 3 waters. rejected 3 waters, don't put your hand out for any government money, fund water yourselves.
     • lprent 5.1.1

       29 January 2024 at 9:51 am

       Yeah I know. The idea of Simeon Brown being capable of doing anything that is productive does appear to be oxymoron.

       His political career to date appears to have been only in the art form of wedge politics of the negative – criticising everyone else for what they do that is productive. No policies that are positive or potentially productive have ever been apparent. Instead he has specialised in raising resentment for votes.

       So far that doesn't appear to have changed from what I can see in the news..

       In the case of dumping 3 waters without a plan on how to finance replacing and upgrading water infrastructure, he will probably find that the resentment of rate payers and their tenants wil probably give him a painful wedgie. Multiple double digit annual rate increases to defer fresh water cuts, floods with raw sewerage, and raw sewerage on beaches and rivers will really cause resentment of him.
6. Darien Fenton 6

   27 January 2024 at 12:40 pm

   Yeah totally. National ads taking credit for inflation drop when it covers a quarter when they weren't the government. And Nicola catastrophising "the books are worse than we thought" when actually they were better. And the other things, like putting Seymour in as Assoc Justice with responsibility for his mad vanity bill on principles of Te Tiriti; or having Casey Costello as Assoc Health, who, according to Shane Reti has the delegation for smoke free, who wants to freeze the tax on cigarettes. Luxon is so hopeless, he can't see that ACT and NZ First are running away with the narrative. Perhaps finding out being a CEO and using business speak doesn't work when you are supposed to be leading a country?
7. Mike the Lefty 7

   27 January 2024 at 12:43 pm

   No doubt Nicola Willis will take the credit for Grant Robertson's financial prudence, backed by the usual pat-on-the-back support stories from the NZ Herald. If the NZ electorate didn't have the attention span of a goldfish, they might learn something.
8. Nic the NZer 8

   27 January 2024 at 3:03 pm

   Some critical thinking skills really ought to be applied to the budget condition. The budget coming in 1.8 billion above forecast is not positive, it is a massive missed opportunity. This means the country missed out on more than 1.8 billion of public spending over the forecast period (it's more because government spending multipliers are positive). If the country had spent 1.8 billion more and the forecast was spot on, then the other forecast expectations such as inflation would have been just as acceptable according to treasury.

   These missed public spending outcomes are the actual lost resources and missed outcomes which can never be recovered (because the time period has passed). Unfortunately this post is otherwise operating under a false assumption that the governments budget position alters its spending capacity in some way and this is completely false.
9. Bearded Git 9

   27 January 2024 at 4:51 pm

   "Economic conditions have been tough thanks to a one in 100 year epidemic and the war in the Ukraine."

   The economy under Labour was also significantly hit by the many billions required to fix up the East Cape, Hawkes Bay and Auckland after cyclones, and the loss to GDP this entailed.

   I would like to see Robertson replace Hipkins asap.
   • SPC 9.1

     27 January 2024 at 5:02 pm

     Why not just make a statement, the Labour Party wants GR to have another term as Finance Minister, next time to fix up the mess NW seems intent on making.
     • Bearded Git 9.1.1

       27 January 2024 at 6:42 pm

       That works too SPC, but for me, Hipkins has to go.
       • Ad 9.1.1.1

         29 January 2024 at 10:08 am

         Robertson is just waiting for the Otago University to confirm his appointment as Vice Chancellor.

         Then Roberston will depart Labour, and Hipkins will have to do a reasonable-sized restructure to prepare for the May Budget 2024 response.
         • Bearded Git 9.1.1.1.1

           30 January 2024 at 6:28 am

           That figures….Robertson went to Otago Uni of course.

           I guess 16 years is long enough. Still, he is only 52 and I think he would have been a good leader….I think Chess Player is wrong and possibly showing prejudice to say (below) that he “is unelectable as a PM. He is completely unrelatable to the common man or woman.”
   • Chess Player 9.2

     28 January 2024 at 6:45 pm

     Robertson is unelectable as a PM.

     He is completely unrelatable to the common man or woman.

     You may as well try resurrect Helen Clark.

     And if he wanted the job, he should have put his hand up when Ardern bailed. True leaders know when to act – they get the timing right.

     For Labour to get back in they need a clean sweep and someone out front who can attract voters back from National.
10. Johnr 10

    28 January 2024 at 7:30 am

    Interestingly I don't see any red neck knuckle draggers trying to defend the indefensible in these comments.
    • Mike the Lefty 10.1

      28 January 2024 at 11:44 am

      Perhaps they are still sleeping under their bridges.
11. tsmithfield 11

    28 January 2024 at 12:20 pm

    The problem with Labour claiming credit for the drop in inflation is that I remember their narrative when facing criticism about inflation was that inflation was mainly due to international factors beyond their control.

    So, it seems to me that either the drop in inflation should not be attributed to Labour, but rather to easing international pressures. Or, that they actually did cause the problem, and therefore, have simply solved a problem of their own making.

    The other point is that I am quite OK about attributing positive outcomes to Labour when there simply hasn’t been enough time for National to have had an effect. So long as consistency is maintained in this position with respect to negative outcomes.
    • Chess Player 11.1

      28 January 2024 at 5:15 pm

      Agreed.

      The NZ economy is pretty much totally driven by international factors.

      That’s just how things go when you are an exporting nation that relies on largely agricultural produce to pay for things. NZ is a price-taker not a price-maker.
12. Tom 12

    28 January 2024 at 6:48 pm

    I think we need to understand and accept that the previous government had fiscal policies that did indeed heighten the affect of the portion of inflation that was imported from overseas.

    National is not responsible for the drop in inflation. All that has occurred is that imported inflation has stopped going up. Local inflation is still high, unacceptably high. The new government has a plan to resolve this issue, but they have had no affect yet, other than giving some people confidence that they have a plan to do so, hence their upward momentum in the polls.

    I think it is highly doubtful that history will judge Grant Robertson well. In fact, I think will be the opposite. We only have to look at our debt position to discover how well he managed the economy.
    • Patricia Bremner 12.1

      28 January 2024 at 8:16 pm

      No Tom, we compare our country to other covid nations, inflation, employment housing and health. Our life expectancy increased, most people survived the three years well. Those who did not were unlucky or had alternate beliefs or worked in tourism.

      The mandates sadly caused division, and people "took positions".

      For the right who denied the seriousness of the situation, pushed to open the borders, to allow unvaccinated to work with old and young, and blamed the Government for difficulties instead of the virus, yet took every dollar of assistance and often failed to repay it. It is rich to imply every ill was from the past government. Some is pure greed and propaganda.
    • Chess Player 12.2

      28 January 2024 at 8:47 pm

      That Mickey says ‘debt is under control’ just shows the delusional thinking of hidebound Labourites.

      Fine if you’re a person with no children, like Clark or Robertson, but if you have a lasting legacy in this planet’s future and hope your great grand children have a good life then bad luck.

      Someone always has to pay the bills, and when Mickey is long gone I am sure the excesses of the last government will still be being paid for, with compounding interest.
      • Nic the NZer 12.2.1

        28 January 2024 at 9:40 pm

        lol.

        "A variant of the false analogy is the declaration that national debt puts an unfair burden on our children, who are thereby made to pay for our extravagances. Very few economists need to be reminded that if our children or grandchildren repay some of the national debt these payments will be made to our children or grandchildren and to nobody else. Taking them altogether they will no more be impoverished by making the repayments than they will be enriched by receiving them."

        https://larspsyll.wordpress.com/2019/02/24/abba-lerner-and-the-true-nature-of-public-debt/
13. Ad 13

    29 January 2024 at 12:32 pm

    This term is particularly unfair as politics goes.

    National are certainly reaping the popularity of the good timing.

    So many areas. Unfortunate.
    • Nic the NZer 13.1

      29 January 2024 at 8:47 pm

      Were you not also claiming that the "country’s economy is performing so poorly" in the recent post titled "The Mini Budget Today"?

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