“Once in office, you’ve got to do something. That is why having a plan matters.” – Simon Power, 2011, valedictory speech to parliament
The government’s paucity of ideas is such that they could only muster 2100 words in their speech from the throne yesterday.
Last term they at least managed 3500, and Helen Clark after 6 years still had 4500 action-packed words of plans in 2005.
But no, 2100 words, largely filled with what their coalition partners are contributing, and asset sales. Their only real plan is still to sell it off.
As David Shearer said in his excellent reply:
New Zealanders know in their heart of hearts that “sell it off” is the last resort of a government that has run out of ideas.
We can’t get richer by selling our inheritance.
It only leaves us worse off.
Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
The Government doesn’t even know how much they’re going to get for selling them.
But they are happy to pay a hundred million dollars in fees to foreign advisers helping to sell them.
I can think of much better uses for a hundred million dollars.
I think we all can.
There were few other ideas for how to improve the country, just vague empty slogans, much like their election platform. They stand for growth and jobs and fast broadband and all those nice things – but they tell us no plan of how they’re going to achieve them.
There was also an eerie silence on the Environment, despite yet more extreme weather events still being mopped up in Nelson and the South African leg of climate change talks recently finishing. The only mentions were in the context of a strong economy allowing us to look after the environment (when the reverse is probably more appropriate), and also watering down the ETS yet further and encouraging oil and gas exploration. It doesn’t bode well. Environment is gone from the National front bench, while Labour now has it with their Deputy Leader. National will neglect the issue of our times.
No plan on the environment, no plan for jobs or skills, no plan for rising inequality, no plan for the coming economic crisis, no plan for the record number headed to Australia in the last 12 months, no plan to get unemployment down, no plan to raise wages, no plan to…
You can see why Simon Power took the money and left.
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