After 9 months of watching the rich get richer, with their triple dip cuts, first in taxes, then in private school fees, and now in getting subsidies to upgrade insulation in rental homes, and the poor getting poorer with no wage rises and tax cuts cancelled for the next two years, where are Labour?
Phil’s video on keeping Kiwis in Work bored me senseless. There was 90 seconds of waffling about what the government is doing, which many already know having experienced it first hand, and a brief snippet about what “Should be done”. Skills training should be in place, there should be directed tax cuts. Should should shouldis all I heard, and no doubt for the other 358* viewers on youtube that is all they heard too.
I don’t want to hear what there should be. I want to hear what Labour would be doing if they were the government. So how about it Labour? Are you prepared to become a proper opposition and go on the offensive and tell Kiwis that;
Labour would beboosting adult and community education funding for more people to upskill after losing their jobs
Labour would be keeping the apprenticeships scheme and providing more funding
Labour would not have provided $35 million to private schools – the wealthy don’t need subsidies.
Labour would not have had a jobs summit long on talk and short on actions – Labour already has policies to keep Kiwis in Work
Labour would not have cut the public service
Labour would not have implemented the 90 day right to fire bill.
If Labour are prepared to be an effective Opposition, it requires action. It requires being offensive. It requires guts and determination. It requires not letting National come out again in 2011 with “tax cuts in 2012 for all” thereby hoodwinking the gullible that believe “because National did it once, they’ll do it again I’m sure” (Labours October 08 cuts will be long forgotten in 2011)
If Labour starts saying “we would be doing this” it will capture the mood of the nation and bring home those voters from 2008 who have been badly burned by Nact, but have no credible alternatives to change their vote except a should, not would, opposition.
The current whingeing and pleading coming out along the lines of “stop the ACE Cuts” and “government should be keeping apprenticeships going” does nothing to endear the wider community to Labour.
Come 2011, the only way that Labour will win again is be saying what you would be implementing now if you were in government. People want to hear what you would be doing as government in these dark times, not what should be done. There needs to be an alternative to National, but Labour just aren’t providing compelling evidence that they are.
Outline what you wouldbe doing, and you’ll be getting a lot more than 358* youtube hits.
* as of 2pm 17 July
– Jasper
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