Luxon, the idiot for whom ignorance is bliss

Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, June 12th, 2023 - 29 comments
Categories: capital gains, Christopher Luxon, climate change, Economy, Environment, farming, national, Politics, tax - Tags: , ,

Last night I watched Christopher Luxon in a interview with Jack Tame on Q&A from youtube. My takeaway from it was that I don’t want this fool anywhere near actual policy. Even worse was that was in the question of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), A topic that I agree with the position he was (possibly) trying to articulate. Chris Luxon looked he’d never even looked at the various debate about GMOs in NZ or any of the objections that have been raised. That same blissful ignorance covered every other topic raised about his parties policies and the downstream effects.

My impression was that he’d run head-long into a poorly controlled experiment seeking possible profits without even looking at the policy boundaries or the costs of downstream consequences. He appeared to be owned by his talking points and had no knowledge of the implications apart from the bright $$$ signs that someone had sold him. He looked like a complete ignorant sucker.

He wasn’t aware of the documented issues with GMO cross-contamination. Apparently wasn’t aware of the current techniques being used for GMOs in the field like the issues with Monsanto and roundup. Seemed to think that restricting NZ to a organic section of 5% of the world market was limiting which indicated that he he was unable to deal with very large numbers.

Hie performance over the whole interview was that of avoiding answering direct questions about the implications of Nationals’s announced policies on genetic engineering, climate change emissions, and the effect of not having capital gains taxes on productivity in NZ. I think that he spent at least half of the time in evasive behaviour and repetition of slogans.

Floundering on the questions about timing of climate change actions in agriculture showed a clear mis-understanding of the effect on the taxation by levies by the rest of NZ by the farmer intransigence.

It was the performance of a ignorant rather than of someone who knew even basic details on what he was talking about. Could I trust this limited fool in charge of my government – clearly not. He’d screw up because he didn’t know enough to know what he didn’t know. Watch this pathetic performance and you will see what I mean.

My positions of genetic engineering have been pretty clear from the 1990s. My first degree was in Earth Sciences and I understand this country well both from its geomorpology through to its biologicals and its farming sector. Genetic Engineering (GE) is something that we should be working with in this country and finding where we could productively use it. But we need to do it safely

We are a nation overrun with pests and living with the consequences of geomorphing our landscape from forests into grasslands. The techniques like CRISPR and the genetic mapping of genes have gotten cleaner and more precise. Most of that research has shown just how complex the interactions between environment, genes, transcriptions and proteins are – and how little we know. But also how productive even minor tweaks can be.

However it is a process that should be done very carefully and with consideration of unintended consequences. Our short history shows the downstream consequences of unfettered alien introductions from the scars on my youthful hands from pulling out acres of wild roses on a farm to the ravages of flooding in the Esk Valley this year after widespread clear felling in the past and recently.

Luxon gives me no feeling of confidence that he has even thought about basics like this. Instead he gives me the impression that anyone he’d appoint to oversight would be as gormlessly ignorant as he is about being careful about what we do as a nation. According to Luxons answers they would be tasked largely with the short-term economic benefits to the participants a single low profit, largely stagnant , large economic sector. How exactly this would profit all of the citizens of NZ was unstated, as was who would carry the costs of any screwups.

The same applies to Luxon’s attitudes on getting the farming industry to pick up their much delayed share of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) burden. Why should every other industry and person carry the ETS levy burden that we currently carry and increasingly would carry for farming? What other industry or citizen was allowed to set their own rules for how they’d like to be involved?

As far as I can see Luxon’s policy is to just dither yet again, and allow the farming community to avoid dealing with the problem because there are a few loudmouth idiots in their electorate committees.

It isn’t like farming is that profitable for NZ. It has very low employment and profit margins compared to something like tourism. Employs less people and is probably way less profitable than the ever burgeoning export tech industry that I work in.

Economically most of the added value in farming appears to get siphoned offshore by interest payments of capital. Most of the reason for that appears to be driven by speculative pricing on farming land – the same reason that I didn’t go into farming as a career 45 years ago.

Wasting capital into property speculation is a nett non-productive use of resources. Yet Luxon was evading about capital gains tax on his own property portfolio and his personal interests in not having capital gains tests, even those as easy as the brightline test. He seems to confuse his own personal interests with those of our nation.

That is if he even understood the point of the questions. Something that I am unconvinced that he did.

29 comments on “Luxon, the idiot for whom ignorance is bliss ”

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  1. Patricia Bremner 1
    12 June 2023 at 1:16 pm

    Yes, there is constant deflection, a superficial smattering of "Talking points".

    I have often talked of his micro expressions and his body language.

    At times he appeared to be holding down anger and bile when his glib generalisations "Scientists say" "Put in place a Regulator" "Falling behind" were questioned or challenged.

    Jack caused him to sink into his seat, squirm and fall back on his "examples" all with no real depth. He is no debater, rather more like an old fashioned record needle, stuck in its groove, repeating repeating………

    • bwaghorn 1.1
      12 June 2023 at 5:15 pm

      He sure isn't the second coming of key, key put up no policy ,and just plain lied about gst, luxon isn't honest or clever enough to back his own policies.

    • Jack 1.2
      13 June 2023 at 4:01 pm

      An appropriate moniker might be "chatbot Luxon". His obscure "chat" never deals with the question asked. Very frustrating.

    • Ruffrider 1.3
      15 June 2023 at 10:04 pm

      I enjoyed that…he looked like he was about to explode. As usual no actual answers beyond the soundbites.

  2. Reality 2
    12 June 2023 at 1:25 pm

    Luxon is boring, spouts his talking points in a rote way. It's as if his "hand holders" are talking to him via an earpiece. A potential PM should have some personality and dynamism surely. And to plan to give himself an $18,000 a year tax cut says it all about his concern for lesser well off people.

  3. Tony Veitch 3
    12 June 2023 at 1:34 pm

    But . . . but . . . he was personally picked by John Key . . . so there must be some redeeming features about him, surely, apart from being very rich?

    • tc 3.1
      12 June 2023 at 3:43 pm

      Isn't the redeeming feature is he's no longer CEO of airnz ?
      This is his next job and I’m sure others are lined up should it not work out.

    • Ruffrider 3.2
      15 June 2023 at 10:11 pm

      Nope that's pretty much it. But…he is so rich that he has no idea how much his property is worth…so therefore he is REALLY rich which makes him the most qualified.

  4. lprent 4
    12 June 2023 at 3:40 pm

    While I wasn't impressed by Chris Luxon, I was reasonably impressed by Jack Tame. First time I have actually watched him in a interview. Mostly I have just seen snippets in other peoples feeds.

    He was asking the kinds of questions about Chris Luxon and National's policies I was interested in knowing about. Scanned a couple of other interviews as well with various people from parties. Looks like he does good research

    The reason that this is the first time I have watched him – mostly because my broadcast TV essentially stopped in 2012. The adverts were irritating plus the utter banality of what was available – including on current affairs. I couldn't afford the waste of time.

    I mostly switched to net access content via streaming and subscription print news on the net. These days mostly offshore + a donation to stuff + BusinessDesk (which I am tossing up on now).

    • higherstandard 4.1
      12 June 2023 at 6:18 pm

      'These days mostly offshore + a donation to stuff + BusinessDesk (which I am tossing up on now).'

      Best be careful with your heart condition.

      • lprent 4.1.1
        16 June 2023 at 6:29 am

        That really isn't a problem. It was 12.5 years ago. Thank you for your concern. /sarc

        During the lock downs, I had a TIA while biking which could have been related. Could also have just been due to getting older.

        That got traced back to a clot floating in the heart ventricle. The meds got adjusted with a non-rat-poison anti-coagulant and a better mix. Seems to have worked – the clot had disappeared on the last scan.

        Dentistry seems like much more of an issue right now. Those old fillings from the mid-1970s have been causing issues. After losing couple of teeth to them causing cracked molars, I'm getting them removed and crowned. Expensive.

        Looking towards issues that may happen in a (hopefully much deferred) eventual retirement.

  5. AB 5
    12 June 2023 at 4:20 pm

    He appears to be a product of a narrow education that has been further narrowed and calcified by years in business – then a sense of his own superiority layered on top due to his personal financial success. Weird and astonishing.

  6. Dennis Frank 6
    12 June 2023 at 4:41 pm

    A good critique. If I were a schoolteacher I'd award it 10/10 – even made me feel I'd been too benign in my early appraisal of that interview yesterday morning. Kiwis like a good keen man so I get why he blends simple with eager. I did notice those instances of floundering – which he covered by trying to talk as fast as Jack.

    Like I wrote yesterday, the rubber will hit the road when specifics enter the discourse. Keeping it all abstract principles won't work on the farm. He will encounter the devil in the details, who will arm-wrestle him vigorously…

    • lprent 6.1
      12 June 2023 at 4:59 pm

      He will encounter the devil in the details, who will arm-wrestle him vigorously…

      Leaving aside your supply of mixed aphorisms… 😈

      That is what the public televised debates and in-depth interviews are meant to do. Pretty sure that Chippy or Shaw or even Seymour won't have problems expressing and explaining their policies plus dealing with the reasons behind them. Peters is a past and probably present master.

      But I suspect that National will want to keep Luxon away from any close exposure. He simply doesn't appear to have studied National's policies or the reasons for their points of policy balance. It makes him deeply unconvincing – even when I agree with the policy.

      Haven't seen Davidson or the Te Pāti Māori leaders so I can't comment on how I perceive their abilities.

      • Shanreagh 6.1.1
        12 June 2023 at 7:21 pm

        He will encounter the devil in the details, who will arm-wrestle him vigorously…

        Leaving aside your supply of mixed aphorisms…

        I don't know Lprent I found those aphorisms/mixed metaphors from Dennis Frank rather good, very evocative if you imagine the devil as a Jack in the Box jumping out very scarily from a box of details. And being the devil he would have the ability to shapeshift so he comprised mainly a huge arm-wrestling arm jumping out.

      • SPC 6.1.2
        12 June 2023 at 7:33 pm

        The in depth questioning is one way to tame the inadequate, or in this case expose Christopher the Unready.

  7. Janice 7
    12 June 2023 at 5:03 pm

    At times I thought I was watching a re-run of Clarke and Dawe or the Two Ronnies.

  8. observer 8
    12 June 2023 at 5:54 pm

    Luxon's comments today should become as infamous as "haters and wreckers", still remembered many years later … so, will he get yet another free pass?

    (links provided if and when the media catch up with it …)

  9. Reality 9
    12 June 2023 at 6:57 pm

    What appalling comments from Luxon. He is the one forever moaning and being negative and whinging. As for NZ being wet, yes there has been wet weather. Is he not aware of climate change. The mind boggles at what comes out of his mouth. He gets more unlikable by the day.

  10. gsays 10
    12 June 2023 at 7:07 pm

    I managed six minutes of Luxon in the Q&A link and can't be bothered with any more. He is great with his talking points and that's about it.

    I feel we do not take enough advantage of our status as a remote island nation. That successive governments have lacked the courage and vision to encourage organics.

    Everything Luxon was spouting was in favour of Big Ag. As lprent alluded to, with GE crops comes a higher dependence on sprays, chemicals and other corporate witchcraft.

    I don't know who or how good the regulator was 23 years ago, but they failed.

    Seeds of distrust anyone?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seeds_of_Distrust

    I may have to revisit the clip and hear him defend his landlordiness.

  11. Mike the Lefty 11
    12 June 2023 at 7:12 pm

    Negativity is something we expect from National, but Chris Luxon seems to be taking it to extremes. He is starting to sound like someone who would find something to moan about if he won Lotto Powerball.

    Notice how David Seymour is pitching himself as the positive partner for the Nats. You might not like ACT's policies (I don't) but at least they offer argument, not just contradiction. (Monty Python).

  12. Incognito 12
    12 June 2023 at 7:46 pm

    My impression is that when Luxon talks about GE he only thinks about or in terms of farming and even then in a narrow blinkered way.

    I came across this: Human and Agriculture Gene Editing: Regulations and Index

    https://crispr-gene-editing-regs-tracker.geneticliteracyproject.org/

    Clearly, not all GE is a direct or indirect threat to the environment.

  13. Warren Brewin 13
    14 June 2023 at 6:47 am

    This whole interview looks to be a hit jog attempt by Jack Tame who unfortunately made bad property decisions he's lost money on. Chris made money so I would rather he ran the country.🤣🤣

    [lprent: This got put into moderation until I had time to deal with it because it made an assertion of a fact without any support. This is a common mistake of stupid trolls like you who seem to thing that if you know something then everyone else does. Because without context, we assume that you have pulled your ‘fact’ straight out of of your arsehole.

    If you want to troll with assertions of fact, then follow our policies and the general rule of law in NZ. Link to your source or give some context to the facts that you are asserting. Otherwise stick to expressing your opinion. I have no particular interest in having to go to court to defend you being an idiot lying because you were too incompetent or too lazy to provide a link or explanation.

    I am presuming that you are referring to this show / article which is mostly pointing out that he thought he’d made the right decision about his property decision. Something that was clearly too subtle a point to penetrate your simplistic views of basic economics. ]

    • lprent 13.1
      16 June 2023 at 7:31 am

      I suspect that you completely and utterly missed the point that Jack Tame (and I) were making. That is a common mistake made by indiscriminate narcissist fan-fools like yourself who exclusively worship at the alter of others personal self-interest at the exclusion of all other considerations

      Chris Luxon is trying for the role of being the leader of our government. This is a role where he would be have to be representing the interests of all of our voting population and implicitly those who are too young to vote.

      How he manages to enrich himself has little relevance to the skill-sets required to figure out how to enrich all of our citizens, something that he has no track record in being able to achieve. He only entered parliament in 2020 after a by-election in Botany. He appears to have had no experience in any kind of political or public service before resigning as manager of Air NZ in June 2019 and “hinted at a possible career with the National Party”. His wikipedia entry is revealing in a complete absence of any public service prior to 2020 apart from being on the board of Tourism NZ while he was representing the interests of Air NZ, where he was the manager at the time.

      What Jack Tame was pointing out was a probable conflict of interest between the probable personal benefits to Chris Luxon of the National parties proposed policy and those of the citizens that he would be representing. In effect the policy changes would enrich himself through removing taxation of interest payments as a landlord and the lack of capital gains tax.

      These are taxation benefits that are not available to available to the majority of those he wishes to represent. They are either living in their own home and are paying tax on interest before mortgage payments or renting and helping landlords make untaxed capitals gains.

      There is a clear conflict of interest between the personal interests of Chris Luxon (and the small minority of landlords with investment properties) the policies that he and his party are planning to enrich with their taxation policies, at the expense of the majority of taxpayers without invent properties and people renting.

      Essentially having a gift for enriching ones self is no guarantee of being able to enrich the country. That Luxon clearly in that interview didn’t want to address that issue is a worry about his personal interests corrupting his ability to enrich us all.

  14. Brent watson 14
    16 June 2023 at 7:27 am

    You guys a definitely a bunch of lefties,can you honestly say our country new Zealand is being governed properly, nearly every indicator is bad ,do you think we can carry on like we are honestly

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