The latest poll

Written By: - Date published: 7:54 pm, March 10th, 2022 - 124 comments
Categories: act, greens, labour, national, polls - Tags:

National/Act (47%) would beat Labour/Greens (46%) if there were an election held tomorrow, according to the latest One News Kantar poll.

Sure, these things go up and down like a … well you know what they go up and down like.

Greens at 9% appear to be sweet, but that’s a bit of a sideshow to government.

We need to look a little deeper at the confidence people feel. It’s at its lowest level since Ardern was elected in October 2017.

Confidence in the government has fallen 54.4 points in just a year.

It may well be that any political leader who has led through the pandemic will take a major hit, whether they be Scott Morrison, Justin Trudeau, or Boris Johnson. Ardern has managed through a crisis but there is no ‘fairness’ to how the public will react to that.

With National and Act aiming for that tried and true formula of decreasing taxes and stopping ‘wasteful’ spending, the pressure is on Labour to reassert with policy frameworks that show that New Zealand really is going in the right direction.

It would be weird to see Labour lose the 2023-4 election when the economy is so good in employment and export prices, government books are much better than expected in terms of both debt and income, there’s not much legislation happening, and a severe domestic crisis has been largely averted.

It’s also perplexing that the confidence decline is hitting even before inflation was accelerating and ’91 wasn’t $2.12 – $2.30 already.

Labour haven’t hit bottom in terms of confidence.

The set pieces that enable the government to re-gain discourse dominance are largely in the hands of the Minister of Finance now, but Budget is still 2 months away.

What are Ardern’s best ways to recover this?

124 comments on “The latest poll ”

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  1. joe 1
    10 March 2022 at 7:58 pm

    I think you really can't understate how cost of living is playing into this and that includes rent. need to do something.

    • Jester 1.1
      11 March 2022 at 4:08 pm

      Labour did do something. They took away the tax deductibility of mortgage interest on rentals and imposed other costs on to landlords. Landlords have increased rents as predicted and will ensure the once a year increase is enough to cover extra costs.

      • Gypsy 1.1.1
        11 March 2022 at 8:12 pm

        Unfortunately the example you give is just one many examples of this government not understanding the consequences of their actions. Another was the changes to the CCCFA that led to a ‘credit crunch’.

        • Jester 1.1.1.1
          11 March 2022 at 11:24 pm

          Totally agree. Seems they never think of the unintended consequences that they are usually warned will happen but choose to ignore.

  2. roblogic 2
    10 March 2022 at 8:26 pm

    Jacinda: "there is no cost of living crisis", "I take no responsibility for the price of petrol"

    Luxon: "I will put more money back in your pocket"

    Even if Luxon's claim is complete bullshit at least he acknowledges that Kiwis are doing it tough.

    Time for Labour to finally chuck Rogernomics austerity in the trash, and actually do some reforms with balls, as multiple working groups have strongly recommended.

    https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2022/03/reports-of-labours-death.html

    • Tiger Mountain 2.1
      10 March 2022 at 8:43 pm

      yes

    • Ad 2.2
      10 March 2022 at 8:44 pm

      They've run out of time to do reform-based persuasion.

      Cullen won a third term with a Studen Loan giveaway.

      We will need something similar now.

      • Sanctuary 2.2.1
        11 March 2022 at 8:19 am

        We can't get our way so let's burn it all down brigade on the left has become particularly vociferous lately, the pleasure of the purity of opposition is clearly becoming more desirable to these types than complaining loudly at their constant disappointment that Labour hasn't seized the means of production. They are tiring of the complexities of life and they are beginning to yearn for the certainty of political impotence that a National government grants them.

        • Patricia Bremner 2.2.1.1
          11 March 2022 at 12:44 pm

          devil Yes Sanctuary. Further adding to jacinda's woes is the uncertainty for many in the 65 seats currently.

          There will be murmurs from inside as well as outside, as personal positions come under threat.

          This whole difficult period will test the will the beliefs and the courage of many. Here is hoping we stay courageous and don't throw the good away in a fit of anger.

    • Nic the NZer 2.3
      10 March 2022 at 9:27 pm

      Luxon is also claiming its the money being put in peoples back pockets driving the inflation. While that makes no sense what-so-ever he's stopped explaining where the governments overspend actually is, leaving it up to the listener where he thinks National will reduce spending (which is still likely their response).

      It seems more likely Labour will be argued into agreeing with National before they will reject their neo-liberal habbits.

      • Sanctuary 2.3.1
        11 March 2022 at 8:28 am

        I never saw the appeal of John Key so I have to admit I find it puzzling that a Key 2.0 purchased online from Wish has such appeal as well.

        I guess what Key and Luxon do is act as class symbols. They highlight the structural inequalities in NZ by making it fashionable – permissible – in polite company for the middle class (and aspirational lower middle class) to pursue a complacent and brutally selfish agenda, where grave head nodding at dinner parties about "understanding business" and "being good at running the economy" can be used again as cyphers for a pitiless class war on the poor and the environment.

        • Hunter Thompson II 2.3.1.1
          12 March 2022 at 9:34 am

          Yep, John Key made heaps of money on Wall Street as a paper shuffler, so he was just the man to fix the NZ economy, or so people thought.

          He managed to keep up that illusion for quite a while. As an American (P J O'Rourke?) once said: You can fool all the people some of the time and some of the people all the time, which is long enough to get elected.

    • Adrian Thornton 2.4
      10 March 2022 at 11:21 pm

      "Time for Labour to finally chuck Rogernomics austerity in the trash, and actually do some reforms with balls, as multiple working groups have strongly recommended. "….I don't know if you have noticed pal, but Ardern/Robinson and their shit Labour Party are real live Free Market fundamentalists…they are all real believers…there ain't no help coming from them..ever, never was and never will be.

      Turn Labour Left!

    • ghostwhowalksnz 2.5
      11 March 2022 at 10:11 am

      You seem wedded to the mere word 'reform' all on its own. With no actual idea beyond that.

      Were you once a rogernome ?

      • roblogic 2.5.1
        11 March 2022 at 10:18 am

        Haha no. Would "nationalise" be better?

        • ghostwhowalksnz 2.5.1.1
          11 March 2022 at 12:11 pm

          The supermarket one is easy really

          They already have separate brands that compete in a limited way.

          Paknsave could be hived off as its own standalone grocery group , they are owner operator so makes it easier and still be an owners cooperative. The owners deal much more with the suppliers and can make their own deals to sell say a local product

          I dont think we have ever had a split up of a dominant private business, out side of Telecom which went into Spark and Chorus [Where is Cunliffe when you want him]

          The real funny bit about Chorus is that it was finalised under national who effectively renationalised Chorus at its break up to have 45% state owned and about 15% in stste owned investment funds. Chorus is now 63% state owned

    • James Simpson 2.6
      11 March 2022 at 10:19 am

      You can't deny something that everyone is feeling when they fill up their car or head to Pak n Save, and to do so just annoys people.

      I think Jacinda was trying to take hold of the narrative by not accepting the words that Luxon has used. But the headline has become Jacinda doesn't think there is an issue (when if you dig past the headline – she does care about it a lot).

      In many ways Labour came to government because National denied there was a housing crisis. Don't fall into that mistake again of denying the reality which everyone is feeling.

  3. Robert Guyton 3
    10 March 2022 at 8:45 pm

    "if there were an election held tomorrow"

    But, isn't.

  4. Muttonbird 4
    10 March 2022 at 8:49 pm

    Ardern should walk away from the dumpster fire that is middle New Zealand. They clearly do not want to be weaned from the teat of amateur landlord culture.

    Fuck 'em.

    • Adrian Thornton 4.1
      10 March 2022 at 11:22 pm

      "Ardern should walk away from the dumpster fire that is middle New Zealand"….but we all know she won't.

      • ghostwhowalksnz 4.1.1
        11 March 2022 at 4:44 pm

        Labour walked away from the Socialist left path when they booted out John A Lee

        Its just not credible now to go down that path now because a few 'voices' who are never their core supporters anyway.

    • bad politics baby 4.2
      11 March 2022 at 8:35 am

      My feelings too Mutton, if she does I would understand. Fuck this country sometimes.

    • Belladonna 4.3
      11 March 2022 at 3:17 pm

      Unfortunately, "Middle New Zealand" as a class votes. Much more so than lower socio-economic groups.
      Any party which walks away from them, walks away from the possibility of being in government.

      If you want change, you need to find a way to help "Middle New Zealand" walk with you.

      • Patricia Bremner 4.3.1
        11 March 2022 at 4:33 pm

        Yes, and that means accepting less. A very hard sell.

      • Anne 4.3.2
        11 March 2022 at 5:12 pm

        I have three nieces (sisters) in their 40s and early 50s. They are well educated and intelligent. All of them live in nice homes with their spouses and off-spring. They holiday in Fiji every year and sometimes further afield. They are typical middle NZers.

        They have convinced themselves that Jacinda Ardern is a fake… that she is not the nice genuine person she makes herself out to be. Subsequently everything she does and says is tainted by this perception. They also believe the stories about Clarke Gayford. They are convinced he was/is a drug dealer.

        None of them have met Jacinda. I have on numerous occasions over the years. Yet they refuse to believe me when I tell them they have got it wrong. My view is, they are allowing themselves to be influenced by other middle-NZers who have political agendas. They deny it of course.

        In some ways I see this situation as akin to the anti vaxxine/anti mandate protests. That is, people who are being manipulated and their heads filled with disinformation by fellow middle NZers whose intentions are dishonourable.

        I don't know the answer to the conundrum. But someone had better find it soon otherwise this anti-Jacinda movement is going to escalate further and we will be lumbered with a Nat/ACT regime.

  5. Anker 5
    10 March 2022 at 8:51 pm
    • Yes Roblogic, I think Chris Trotters post nails it.

    I also think NZders aren’t 100% behind the mandates, so it’s possible Labours approach to this hasn’t done them any favours beyond the beltway.

    tbh I read that David Seymour has suggested a temporary drop in gst to 10%. This is a simple elegant solution that would take the edge off for many Kiwis.

    also now we are in the midst of the omicron outbreak, it’s likely the gain in popularity for labour when we had no covid has been lost. Tough on Labour as it is not their fault elimination doesn’t work with omicron

    btw an immediate family member diagnosed with omicron today. It really brings it home

    • Patricia Bremner 5.1
      11 March 2022 at 12:57 pm

      The Right play semantics well. They talk of "help for strugglers", and those finding it harder think "He's talking to me" Nah brothers and sisters he is talking to the Rich who feel "hard done by" because they are "by rules made accountable" The Farmers feel hard done by and threatened, the Landlord class welcome his offer to remove restrictions, the mandated latch on to "freedom" to live as we like. So platitudes serve him well. Sigh!! Each 20 years we fall for it. Don't buy in to the repeated lies. I'm 80 I have seen it 4 times before. A front designed to cover the greed.

  6. Craig H 6
    10 March 2022 at 8:54 pm

    Follow the Sir John Key model from 2010 of changing GST, the income tax brackets and the income tax rates while saying it's broadly revenue-neutral. Obviously these changes should be to reduce GST, increase the brackets, and increase income taxes at the top.

    When the Nats and other anti-left scream blue murder about broken promises, tell them there's a CPI and cost of living crisis which has forced this upon them.

    Never waste a good crisis as one might say.

  7. Tiger Mountain 7
    10 March 2022 at 9:10 pm

    NZ Labour has squandered a once in a generation opportunity with NZ’s first ever MMP majority Govt.

    The Labour Caucus would not heed Sir Michael Cullen on CGT or the highly experienced WEAG on welfare, in short, they are so welded to Chicago School monetarism that they seemingly would rather lose in 2023 than start a state House mega build, bring in rent control and free dental and all the rest.

    • Adrian Thornton 7.1
      10 March 2022 at 11:32 pm

      "NZ Labour has squandered a once in a generation opportunity with NZ’s first ever MMP majority Govt"…which is good, now everyone can stop pretending that Arden and the NZ Labour Party are something which they are not, never said they were,…which is Left Wing.

      So maybe now we can all finally just grow up a little and all agree to acknowledge the plain fact that Ardern and her NZ Labour party are more or less in the same place ideologically as the NZ National Party….the Extreme Centre.

  8. McFlock 8
    10 March 2022 at 9:19 pm

    Cost of living is an issue. Fuel prices are hitting directly, but we're also going to have indirect effects on cost of living as the transport costs kick in – unless the govt really kick the supermarket duopoly in the nuts and break out some massive housing projects really soon.

    I do wonder whether the last couple of polls have been skewed by folks who felt that the nats might have reacted more forcefully against the parliament lawn squatters, as well as the 30% who are antimandate. All that "tough on crime" bullshit. Is it possible the nats get them coming and going, as it were?

    It's not the downfall of the government just yet, but they need to drag something out of the hat to stop these results becoming the norm.

  9. Puckish Rogue 9
    10 March 2022 at 9:21 pm

    Does it really matter.

    National gets back in for 2 – 3 terms then Labour gets back in for 2-3 terms, rinse and repeat and nothing really changes.

    • roblogic 9.1
      10 March 2022 at 9:33 pm

      The can has been kicked down the road for 40 years… methinks we are in for an almighty shock. Signs that the housing ponzi is gonna fall. The oil shock is gonna cause a recession if not depression. Things will change, probably for the worse, unless we get some actual redistributive socialism and control of the capitalist cartels plundering NZ

      • Bearded Git 9.1.1
        11 March 2022 at 5:36 am

        Houses are still going up 23% a year robo.

      • Treetop 9.1.2
        11 March 2022 at 2:54 pm

        Covid is so unpredictable that having reserves for it cannot be predicted.

      • James Simpson 9.1.3
        11 March 2022 at 4:24 pm

        The property market can crash by 20% which is massive in an historical context…but that is still ahead of where it was 2 years ago. So its not going to be the shock you think it is.

    • Scotty 9.2
      11 March 2022 at 6:46 am

      Some National voters I know like to claim there is no difference.

      However it"s always when Labour are in power.

      .Same with the grand coalition suggestions -only made by National voters when Labour rules the roost.

      National's received entitlement to govern knows no bounds.

      • Belladonna 9.2.1
        11 March 2022 at 3:24 pm

        I agree. Lots of that 'there's no difference' after the last election.
        But also, quite a bit of 'it doesn't matter what their policies are, they'll never manage to get them implemented anyway'.

        Have to say, the second part is looking quite accurate ATM.

        Really Labour have this year to show the electorate that their policies are workable, and will make people's lives better.

        The budget is pretty irrelevant – with the time it takes the government to actually implement policy – anything that's not already underway, won't happen before the next election.

        Look at the RNZ/TVNZ merger – punting the ball of the tricky 'how it works' detail to a board yet-to-be-established – and hoping for an implementation in July 2023. I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking…. never going to happen.

  10. Stuart Munro 10
    10 March 2022 at 9:33 pm

    There's no shortage of things that need to be done.

    I was yarning with a farmer the other day, and we got onto the low wool price. With consumer demand for natural or authentic things rising, NZ has a significant interest in developing things like blended natural fibres – wool/hemp, harakeke linen etc.. There was a time we had a state backed research outfit that did such work – now we have a spin institute, but they ain't spinning anything as productive as fibre.

    The war on wilding pines is being lost. A more nuanced approach, which might include planting trees that can compete with pinus seedlings (manuka for one) is required unless we mean to massively subsidize eradication every year.

    For God's sake legalize cannabis. Stop wasting police time and resources and get it done.

    Rent controls. Labour have failed to control real estate inflation – rent control will do it. You can't have 20% annual real estate inflation and 2% wage rises forever. Face reality, bite the bullet, sack the non-performing Treasury fools who didn't come up with anything better, and do it.

    Take the GST off food – and come down on any retailer that doesn't pass the savings on like Putin on an inoffensive neighbouring country.

    Give up on neoliberalism – it never works, and Labour's key constituencies hate it. Bin it, and commit to governing properly for a change.

    Avoid invidious compromises with tainted meat. Neither the MP nor NZF are anything more than notoriety-seeking revisionists – you engage with them at your peril.

    • Puckish Rogue 10.1
      10 March 2022 at 9:38 pm

      Pointless comment coming up but…

      How the bollixy bollocks is wool not more popular.

      Naturally fire retarded, all natural, warm when wet, anti-microbial, renewable…stuff should be venerated far and wide

      World makes no sense to me.

      • Stuart Munro 10.1.1
        10 March 2022 at 9:51 pm

        I suspect part of NZ's problem is that we routinely churn out bulk low-end commodities instead of embracing the value of our products by adding value.

        No-one ever compared NZ carpets to Persian – but we have the ability and resources to make as good or dammit better. Clothing though, is probably a better and more rewarding use.

        To the gods alone Such tributes should be paid, for mortal man
        To trample on rich webs of varied hue
        To me is a thing by no means void of fears
        I seek for human honours, not divine. ~ Agamemnon

        • Anne 10.1.1.1
          10 March 2022 at 10:00 pm

          I suspect part of NZ's problem is that we routinely churn out bulk low-end commodities instead of embracing the value of our products by adding value.

          Something my late father used to bellyache about as long ago as the 1960s and 70s but in rather more blunt language. Here we are in 2022 and it still hasn't happened.

      • roblogic 10.1.2
        10 March 2022 at 11:44 pm

        Cotton and polyester are way cheaper and woollen anything costs 100 times more. Bring back knitting!

        My Mum and Aunties and earlier generations of Kiwis (before the 80s fucked up NZ) all clothed their families from knitting or sewing patterns

        • Belladonna 10.1.2.1
          11 March 2022 at 3:32 pm

          Cotton and polyester are way cheaper and woollen anything costs 100 times more.

          Only in the skewed world where the cost of production on the environment isn't taken into account. Cotton: highly water intensive, and massive pesticides required. Polyester: made from oil ….(well, viscose is from from wood pulp) and highly processed – with all the associated cost.

          None of that is needed from wool. A pretty standard renewable resource (though not at all popular with the hard-core vegans)

          Some of the sportswear brands are doing great things with high-end merino.

          But we need more, a lot more….

    • Thebiggestfish7 10.2
      10 March 2022 at 10:35 pm

      You lost me at rent controls. Next you’ll be telling me that climate change doesn’t exist?

  11. Incognito 11
    10 March 2022 at 9:42 pm

    What are Ardern’s best ways to recover this?

    For the global pandemic to be over ASAP.

  12. swordfish 12
    10 March 2022 at 9:54 pm

    .

    Of course, it's crucial to read these poll results through an Althusserian & Baudrillardian post-structuralist theoretical lens, firmly anchored within a Foucauldian subversion of heteronormative binary gender categories, in turn nested within a Derridean & Lyotardian anti-transphobic discursive analysis with a particular emphasis on cis-hysteria, White Fragility and the arcane & chaotically-expressed thoughts of Judith Butler.

    My guess ? … the swing is all down to the cis-heteronormative transphobia grounded in blatantly neo-nazi white supremacy & privilege-preserving epistemic pushback exhibited by the uncouth, unwashed white working & lower-middle classes.

    If they don't have the common decency to express undying gratitude to the Remuera-educated ID Politics Priestly Caste for transforming Labour into a self-interested Upper-Middle Woke Vanity Project then these absolutely ghastly little people shouldn't be allowed to vote.

    • roblogic 12.1
      10 March 2022 at 11:37 pm

      Yeah. Bomber Bradbury was ranting on about these poll results being a backlash against woke Wellingtonistas and rage on behalf of the Freedumb munters.

      Nah. Woke id politics stuff is annoying and divisive, but it is nothing compared to skyrocketing living costs that really hit middle NZ where it hurts.

      • swordfish 12.1.1
        10 March 2022 at 11:57 pm

        These issues are by no means unrelated.

      • Sean OConnor 12.1.2
        12 March 2022 at 10:59 pm

        Woke id politics causes things like skyrocketing costs. Governments have always struggled to prevent economic malfunction. Woke governments face the same challenges but are obsessed with creating racial LGBTQ+ utopia at the same time (and as a higher priority); surprise, surprise, you get more economic dysfunction.

        Or put another way, governments that hate straight white working men for being straight and white and not woke don't simultaneously work hard for the economic good of those same straight white working men.

    • RedLogix 12.2
      11 March 2022 at 6:49 am

      You have a real talent for this laugh

    • alwyn 12.3
      11 March 2022 at 10:09 am

      My God that is impressive. Are you an advisor to one of the Cabinet Ministers?

      You should be if you have such wonderful skill at spouting this material. I bow in awe at your magnificence.

  13. Poission 13
    10 March 2022 at 9:54 pm

    What are Ardern’s best ways to recover this?

    Reverse the low user pay charge phase out.This will remove the enforced energy poverty to frugal users such as pensioners who are more likely to vote.

  14. pat 14
    10 March 2022 at 10:11 pm

    "What are Ardern’s best ways to recover this?"

    I doubt she can…."Events, dear boy, events"

    • Graeme 14.1
      11 March 2022 at 7:07 am

      ."Events, dear boy, events"

      The same as pretty much every incumbent government in the world as Covid rolls through. I'm really scratching to find a democratically elected government that's survived Covid, most are getting, or headed for, the arse at the post Covid election. Same could be happening with non-democratic governments too, by other means.

  15. mpledger 15
    10 March 2022 at 10:20 pm

    It's very depressing. National are incompetent and they poll at 39%.

    • Anne 15.1
      10 March 2022 at 10:34 pm

      Yes. We have a strong contingent of irrational people. They blame the government for the pandemic. They blame the government for the protesters. They will in due course blame the government for Climate Change. Its all Labour's fault. None of these things would have happened if it hadn't been for them. Uggh…..

      • Adrian Thornton 15.1.1
        11 March 2022 at 12:06 am

        "They blame the government for the protesters. They will in due course blame the government for Climate Change." well to be fair Ardern/Labour have been pretty shit on Climate Change…so I don't if I would bring that subject up while trying to defend them if I were you, in the words of Greta Thunberg….

        "It's funny that people believe Jacinda Ardern and people like that are climate leaders. That just tells you how little people know about the climate crisis. Obviously the emissions haven't fallen. It goes without saying that these people are not doing anything."

        • Bearded Git 15.1.1.1
          11 March 2022 at 5:39 am

          Adrian-people won't vote for the Nats to sort out CC.

          One of the highlights of the last few polls is how well the Greens are polling-very consistent.

        • gsays 15.1.1.2
          11 March 2022 at 5:45 am

          But, but, we can do a bookeeping switcheroo with an honest player like Brazil.

          We don't change our behaviour and buy misbehaviour credits off a less scrupulous operator.

          Climate change solved!

          Thanks Labour.

    • Treetop 15.2
      11 March 2022 at 7:14 pm

      Is Covid brain fog a reason for the latest poll result?

  16. Descendant Of Smith 16
    10 March 2022 at 10:36 pm

    The really big missed opportunity was WEAG. Those doing it toughest aren't stupid. They saw how easily the money could have been found to put benefit rates back to NZS rates when the pandemic hit and Labour bought in a higher tier welfare system for workers.

    Not dis-similar to Helen Clark's Labour government putting Ruth's $20-00 back on NZS but not on benefits – especially when there were far fewer benefits.

    The capture of government by fascist public servants who opposed a bigger increase is part of the picture as well.

    As I've stated before the real damage done to benefits rates was this being removed in the first place not the $20-00 which while a lot back then was sweet FA in todays terms.:

    "The Government also indexed benefits to average wage growth which will see benefits steadily rise, "

    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2020/11/how-jacinda-ardern-officially-responded-to-charities-wanting-benefit-boost-and-calling-her-disconnected.html

    NZS leapt ahead in leaps and bounds while benefits fell further and further behind. This can only be fixed by putting benefits back to NZS rates and paying compensation to all those who have suffered as a result.

    Even the Australians thought she was doing those on benefit a disservice.

    "One could argue in favour of New Zealand’s Income Relief Payment as a somewhat oddly designed social insurance program. Such two-tier, time-limited schemes are, after all, the norm in Europe. But that works if – and only if – the bottom tier provides an adequate minimum standard of living.

    That is not the case in New Zealand. Numerous studies, including most recently the government’s own Welfare Expert Advisory Group’s 2019 report, have shown New Zealand’s welfare system is well short of adequate."

    https://theconversation.com/kindness-doesnt-begin-at-home-jacinda-arderns-support-for-beneficiaries-lags-well-behind-australias-139387

    What those early reformers would make of their successors is hard to say. But perhaps it wasn’t an earthquake we felt last week while Jacinda Ardern was being interviewed live on TV. Perhaps it was Peter Fraser rolling in his grave.

    Those on benefit don't want to go cap in hand each time a crisis hits / someone tests positive / they have to self-isolate. What they want is an adequate income so they don't have to beg, they don't have to wait for two hours on the phone, they don't have to line up at foodbanks and so on. They all deserve better from a labour government who has broken trust with many of those who voted them in.

    Every single person in this country now knows it wasn't the countries books or finances that stopped the WEAG recommendations being implemented – it was political will. No more, no less. Apologise, compensate and fix. Rebuild trust.

  17. tsmithfield 17
    10 March 2022 at 10:59 pm

    I think the problem for the government is one that National would also have if they were in the same situation.

    When the RB was printing money and there was lots of borrowing going on, everyone was happy. There was plenty of money going around, and those owning houses saw the value of there properties sky-rocketing.

    Now, it is like we are on the hang-over side of the equation.

    I think in the same circumstances, National would have done pretty much the same, and we would be in a similar situation now.

    The problem for governments is that governments like to bask in the glory when things are going well, even if they had little to do with it. The problem is, that the same people who credit the politicians with success, deserved or otherwise, are also likely to hold the government responsible when things aren't going so well, even if the government had little control over that.

    Perhaps governments would be wise to deflect praise when they realise they were lucky so that people are more willing to accept the outcomes when "shit happens".

  18. Adrian Thornton 18
    10 March 2022 at 11:51 pm

    "What are Ardern’s best ways to recover this?"….go and ask the next five people you meet this question….'What is Ardern's and Labours Plan for New Zealand?'…I think you will find your answer to these poll results and reason why Labour will lose the next election in the answers I know you will receive.

  19. Corey Humm 19
    11 March 2022 at 3:33 am

    I have bad insomnia tonight and can't sleep as a performer I travel all over NZ and have no echo chamber, I can read an audiences mood. These polls aren't bad from what I've seen in the public mood because:

    What is Labours vision for New Zealand? Serious question.

    I don't know. I really don't.

    And if Labour has a vision for NZ has it done a good job of communicating that to New Zealand since October 2020?

    No. If it has a vision it's a secret. We might have to file an OIA to know it.

    The PM has not been a good communicator this term in the slightest.

    I know more about what Labour have ruled out doing than what they will do.

    What are Labour offering a public in economic despair to hope for? What can they give us to look forward to to believe in , what legacy does this government want?

    Denying public economic pain? That's not hope.

    Luxon is out there talking about what he will do and right or wrong he will do it.

    What's labours alternative? Do you know? Shall I file that OIA?

    Labour is talking about what it won't do, or why what he wants to do is bad and arguing the definition of housing and living costs crisis's and basically saying, endure.

    They aren't out there talking about a vision, because it's pretty clear there is no vision and even if they tried to start talking about bold new moves do you think anyone would believe it?

    I mean this is a government that came in 2017 in a remarkably populist manner talking about capitalism being a failure and ills of globalization, a cost of living crisis, mental health crises, banning foreign ownership, a capital gains tax, drug reforms, tax reforms, free university, welfare reforms.

    They got the peasents excited then hired all these working groups and time after time ruled out implementing any of the important recommendations and removed the teeth of the ones it did implement but claims it follows expert advice…

    So if it came out with bold moves in the next few weeks would you believe them? Would anyone? More working groups perhaps?

    The only time it's used it's incredible political capital is the first time the PM polled over 50% in 2019 and ruled out a capital gains tax , it used it's political capital to let down it's supporters.

    Couldn't even commit to marijuana reform. Because? I'm assuming the army of consultants and PR reps advised labour they might lose 2% of the socially conservative voters but hey endorse euthanasia!

    Then on the day results are released and it's clear its a 50/50 split rule out ever doing ever doing any reform ever, That rubbed so many people the wrong way.

    Its glitzy pr machine is constantly telling us all the good news too:

    The economy is booming! For the rich, you can't buy a weeks worth of meat but the economy is BOOMING for some, who cares that you can't take part in that success. Stop being poor. Supermarket prices aren't that bad c'mon…. Be kind.

    Unemployment is historically low using measurements Labour critized national for using like classifying one hour a week work as fully employed and hold times to MSD are 2-3 hours all day every day and usually so long the automated machine is overwhelmed and hangs up on you and you have to ring up your mp to get a call from MSD but unemployment is historically low!!

    We're building more houses than any government since the 1970s and more state houses than ever , just don't go looking for them. Who cares that you can't find a rental cheaper than $500 you get $700 a week, c'mon you'll have plenty of money from groceries and cash. Have meat free days, better yet fasting is good for you! Camping is fun too go and camp if you can't find a house.

    Ok this is far too long but anyone who is still reading labour need to get back to basics.

    They need to give people hope. They need to hear that they've been heard and that life's gonna get good.

    Pick a fight with the supermarkets. They are robber barons and everyone hates them. Massive punitive reforms to the supermarket sector and going all out to attract new players would be populist gold.

    Failing that some form of universal dental or free dental policy Something on dental. It's seriously a problem in NZ.

    Housing. Walk back the cgt and say that when you ruled it out things were different and when the facts change etc who could have predicted COVID etc the majority of the public would support this as "something needed to be done"

    If not that then ban land banking

    Pledge to increase state house stock to 7.5%

    Or freeze rents something has to be done.

    Give the students another $50 and allow existing students to write off a year or two of their existing loan under the free uni policy and extend that, they are the loudest voices on the internet buy their votes like we did in 05.

    Water bottling fee. Charging people to export water is popular and existing policy and might help change the tune on three waters. Easy

    They need to bite the bullet and do something on tax preferably drop gst to 10% and have a first $20 k tax free people would be excited..

    Drop the sanction on msd that makes you get paid less if you live with someone it is cruel.

    Decriminalize weed. Most of national was in favor of marijuana decriminalization or so they said and it's fifty/fifty on legalization.

    Reshuffle cabinet. Woods and Fafoi need to go immediately. We're all sick of seeing these ministers and everyone thinks they are useless, there's a lot of talent in caucus give them some leadership experience.

    When ministers do interviews make them answer a damn question. They are utterly effusive and scripted to HRC levels, this is NZ noone likes that and don't make journalists go through an army of pr people and civil servants to get a simple question not be answered.

    And if your minders threaten journalists with access you shall lose your portfolio and the minder can lose their job.

    Same goes for PM. She used to do loads of interviews all over the place that were fun and challenging now we only see her at cab pressers and on breakfast tv once a week, not good enough. Get out there. Get some fluff done and stay off the live streams for awhile they get mobbed by anti V's.

    Pm needs to answer questions straight up to her and grant and horrific at it.

    If Labour wants a third term it needs to regain it's energy, drop the pr glitz and spin cos kiwi's hate it and use its super majority do some economic justice housing and tax reforms that are populist and give everyone hope.

    It needs a track record of major legacy projects and it needs to be reactive and flexible it can't tell kiwi's there isn't a crisis and needs to attack housing and living costs with the same enthusiasm it attacked COVID. Tell the ministry wonks to get f'd if they won't do you what you want they are not your friends. Labour cannot be the status quo party.

    Does this govt want to be the reform govt of 1929 or the labour govt of 1935.

    If any govt has the ability to win people back it's this one.

    Goodnight.

    Sorry for the novel. Not sorry. Also failing any of my suggestions, just steal half of top's radically centerist policies and give them a seat deal, give Maori party a seat deal too and don't run in Auckland central leave that to Chloe.

    • aom 19.1
      11 March 2022 at 9:04 am

      No need for an apology – a very good read! Much food for thought.

    • Puckish Rogue 19.2
      11 March 2022 at 11:16 am

      Keep posting mate, I like reading it. I don't always agree with what you say but different voices are all good

    • Patricia Bremner 19.3
      11 March 2022 at 1:50 pm

      You are out there and this is real. Corey, seriously, send it to Jacinda Cheers.

  20. Dennis Frank 20
    11 March 2022 at 5:09 am

    Blame the mandate. Kiwis just don't like totalitarianism. Ardern thought she could sell it as essential & sensible in the circumstances. I agreed with the rationale in principle, but it seems obvious in hindsight that it triggered a mood shift.

    I think Labour should think themselves lucky that only 3% of their support base jumped ship. Can they recover? Technically, yes. Will they? I doubt they've got what it takes.

    So it will probably be a war of attrition from here on in. Their strategy of copying National is in tatters. Luxon will deduce that enough voters gobbled the tax-cut bait. Therefore it will reinforce his perception that Thatcherism is still a winner. Labour will blandly recycle targeted assistance in the budget to try & fool losers into believing the govt is helping them. Labour will not abandon neoliberalism.

    Despite failure of the market to supply sufficient houses. The first Labour govt just went out & built them. This lot are too scared to. They have no faith in practical socialism. What feeble excuse would they offer for their failure?

    They could go with a few. We blame our man Sir Geoffrey for creating the RMA. The law makes socialism impossible. We can't change that. There's an army of bureaucrats in the public service with a multitude of reasons why progress is impossible. They will stymie us at every turn. We just have to have faith that the market will work eventually. Our motto is dunno how, can't do…

    • roblogic 20.1
      11 March 2022 at 10:31 am

      "Labour will not abandon neoliberalism."

      Bleak. Then we are truly at sea.

      Split Enz – Pioneer, Six Months in a Leaky Boat – Time and Tide [1982] – YouTube

      • Dennis Frank 20.1.1
        11 March 2022 at 10:43 am

        I ought not to declare that with certainty, eh? However there's a noticeable lack of anyone advocating Labour switch to a specific alternative. That's why I felt so sure about declaring the verdict.

        Pragmatism rules politics nowadays, and it uses the market. Best way for the Greens to play the game with Labour is to use steerage as leverage. So, your metaphor comes into play. All in the neoliberal boat together, but the destination achieved depends who controls the steering function…

  21. PsyclingLeft.Always 21
    11 March 2022 at 7:25 am

    Labour/Greens problem could be helped if the Non voter…ever could be arsed to actually VOTE. For someone ! And I personally have tried/still try to get them to engage. "Ah it just encourages them" (politicians) or "Whats the point?" or similar. Voter apathy is the result of and responsibility of BOTH Labour AND Greens. Serious in Party questions should be asked and addressed.

  22. Treetop 22
    11 March 2022 at 7:29 am

    The health of the NZ population is the top priority. In order for this to be met people need a well functioning health system, affordable housing, food and energy.

    Education, reducing crime and increasing exports is also important.

    The choice is tax cuts or well functioning core services.

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 22.1
      11 March 2022 at 7:59 am

      The health of the NZ population is the top priority. In order for this to be met people need a well functioning health system, affordable housing, food and energy.

      Education, reducing crime and increasing exports is also important.

      Absolutely. Should be seen AND actioned as Core. And there is no choice. Well, the nats propose one. I well remember “Dr Coleman Health Minister” slash/burn of NZ Hospitals . Not hard to see privatisation or at the least a Public/Private model was in the nats future dream.

      • Treetop 22.1.1
        11 March 2022 at 8:50 am

        People will need to choose carefully and think long-term and not short – term when they next vote. A lot of water to go under the bridge such as more Covid variants and were a major war to occur in Europe.

    • roblogic 22.2
      11 March 2022 at 10:24 am

      Not really. We can cut bad taxes (like GST and income tax) and introduce new ones, that actually reward productivity and hard work, and discourage the current model of rentier capitalism.

      The economy is not like a household budget. The government cannot run out of money.

      https://positivemoney.org.nz/

      • pat 22.2.1
        11 March 2022 at 10:35 am

        "The economy is not like a household budget. The government cannot run out of money."

        Not strictly true….a government cannot run out of its own issued currency.

        • roblogic 22.2.1.1
          11 March 2022 at 10:44 am

          Righto. But the choice between tax cuts and public services is basically an austerity narrative repeated endlessly by the Right. But the economy is not a zero-sum game. The government can materially improve the lives of Kiwis by deficit spending. Instead we have Grant burbling on about a f$#%ing surplus when we still have hundreds of thousands of children living in poverty. By Jacinda's own measure, that is a failure.

          We have a rich Government and half the nation living in impoverished conditions.

          https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/31-07-2018/the-side-eye-inequality-tower-2018

          • pat 22.2.1.1.1
            11 March 2022 at 10:50 am

            It isnt a zero sum game, thats true and investment can improve the situation, but ultimately we have a limited output and how that output is distributed is the key….and taxation is the method of control of that distribution.

            But my reason for pointing out that difference is to highlight that the government cannot supply unlimited resources that are imported….and in NZ today thats most of them.

            • Nic the NZer 22.2.1.1.1.1
              11 March 2022 at 12:50 pm

              roblogic was highlighting that there are two sides to the economy and that government has absolute discretion over what it spends on and how much on the financial side. Austerity narratives are never constructed as the country is spending too much on X particular sector, and are always constructed as the country is doing too much public sector spending. This is the basic reason they are false and usually punitive. Even as there are certain sectors where real resource limitations impact on the country, the political narrative is always couched to be promoting a goal of fiscal surplus. This is an economic policy failure and politically deceptive and harmful to social policy.

              • pat …
                11 March 2022 at 12:54 pm

                "roblogic was highlighting that there are two sides to the economy and that government has absolute discretion over what it spends on and how much on the financial side. "

                Pardon?

                • Nic the NZer …
                  11 March 2022 at 1:04 pm

                  Maybe I thought this was too self evident. We only consider traded goods and services to be part of the economy (voluntary work doesn't count, at least as part of GDP). So one side is the payment for the good or service and the other side is the good or service being paid for.

                  Also the government can choose to buy up to all the goods for sale (at least those for sale in NZ$) if it chooses to.

                  As I said the Austerity narrative is usually about the payment side, but maybe contrast that with the RAT tests narrative, where the govt actually intervened to try to make sure these are fairly and wisely used given their limited supply and the (at the time) yet impending need.

                  • pat …
                    11 March 2022 at 1:15 pm

                    Not 'self evident'….incoherent.

                    Rob was perfectly clear in what he was saying….your misinterpretation however was not only not so, it bears little relationship to his point or my own.

                    • roblogic …
                      11 March 2022 at 3:03 pm

                      Taking Nic's (quite informative IMO) argument further: the financial side of the economy is essentially fictitious bookkeeping. The finance sector (and govt ministry) should be the servant of those who do the actual work of building stuff and helping people.

                      Capitalism puts this backwards and makes the financiers the parasitic overlords.

                    • Incognito []
                      11 March 2022 at 5:38 pm

                      The economy is a complex network of IOUs and this is the (new) capital that fuels/powers it. An IOU is not a real tangible resource (or a gold reserve held in a reserve bank) as such, but a promise and sometimes this promise is so fictitious it never actually eventuates or exists. Maybe this is a new genre: Fi-Fi, which has already been coined, I note [puns intended].

                    • pat …
                      11 March 2022 at 6:17 pm

                      Glad you made sense of that.

                      The 'book keeping' aspect of economic performance is not fictitious per se, just a very poor measure.

                      The practical implications of government finances are simplified when the claim of unaffordability are made. The lack is not the 'cash' but rather the availability of resources….'money' is used as a (poor) proxy.

                      Consider the current governments inability to deliver on projects and promises …there is no shortage of money…there is 36 billion in the current account…the lack is in resources.

                      Then there is the complication of the relationship between exports/imports and the NZD. While we can issue as much NZD as we like we cannot do so without regard to the impact on the NZD….unless we wish to be a closed economy.

                      It may be fair to say that the financiers are paid too much heed when it comes to government spending but they cannot be completely disregarded either…it is a balancing act.

                      I agree we have the balance wrong, but we also dont have the resources we need(want).

                      And yes , the settings we have (and have had) not only allow, but encourage many of those limited resources to be wasted by unproductive rentiers, and thats what needs to be addressed.

                    • Nic the NZer …
                      11 March 2022 at 6:59 pm

                      "The practical implications of government finances are simplified when the claim of unaffordability are made. The lack is not the 'cash' but rather the availability of resources….'money' is used as a (poor) proxy."

                      This is clearly an incorrect description of the caliber of fiscal policy debate in NZ. Less than a month ago Mr Luxon opens his fiscal policy strategy with the claim that inflation is being caused by public spending. When pressed he can identify only a tiny part of the government budget which he is willing to argue is overspend, and hardly a resource intensive spend either. That's not an over simplification of spending its a complete miss understanding of the causes of inflation, with a side of austerity politics thrown in.

                      https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300505481/inflation-national-blames-dumb-government-spending-for-rising-prices-government-blames-globe

                      "Then there is the complication of the relationship between exports/imports and the NZD. While we can issue as much NZD as we like we cannot do so without regard to the impact on the NZD….unless we wish to be a closed economy."

                      You keep raising this claim, but if the govt budget has such a decisive impact on the exchange rate we should be able to observe that in some way. So I challenge you to identify the govt spending correlation component in the exchange rate.

                      https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/key-graphs/key-graph-exchange-rate

                      Even just a glance appears to indicate that everything else drives the exchange rate well before the govt budget has any impact. Of course your supporting claims are completely untrue, which I didn't bother challenging you on, but no its not correct that most of the countries resources are imported, far from it. It is somewhat true that some important resources are imported but that's quite different from most of them.

                      "It may be fair to say that the financiers are paid too much heed when it comes to government spending but they cannot be completely disregarded either…it is a balancing act."

                      Well they could be completely disregarded. The RBNZ page here discusses the Crown overdraft facility which is one way that the RBNZ facilitates govt spending.

                      https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/markets-and-payments/our-balance-sheet-at-work

                      If the parliament decided they could of course switch to only using that mechanism for spending which would make financiers irrelevant. Now there are of course well known conventional monetary policy mechanisms which don't cut the financiers out (like QE) but that is not to say they are needed, they are not. If there is a balancing act there its about the impression the govt wants to make about what kinds of monetary policy it will practice.

                    • pat …
                      11 March 2022 at 7:14 pm

                      "This is clearly an incorrect description of the caliber of fiscal policy debate in NZ. Less than a month ago Mr Luxon opens his fiscal policy strategy with the claim that inflation is being caused by public spending. When pressed he can identify only a tiny part of the government budget which he is willing to argue is overspend, and hardly a resource intensive spend either. That's not an over simplification of spending its a complete miss understanding of the causes of inflation, with a side of austerity politics thrown in"

                      I made no comment on the 'quality of fiscal debate'…indeed i rubbished Nationals claim of inflationary impact the day it was announced…you are again railing against something unsaid.

                      "You keep raising this claim, but if the govt budget has such a decisive impact on the exchange rate we should be able to observe that in some way. So I challenge you to identify the govt spending correlation component in the exchange rate.

                      Again you continue to make claims on my behalf that have not been made….read what I wrote…or can bots not read?

                      "Even just a glance appears to indicate that everything else drives the exchange rate well before the govt budget has any impact. Of course your supporting claims are completely untrue, which I didn't bother challenging you on, but no its not correct that most of the countries resources are imported, far from it. It is somewhat true that some important resources are imported but that's quite different from most of them."

                      Go into any retailer, business, manufacturer and pull out every imported item and see how well this economy would operate without them? And then theres infrastructure and energy…..you are blind.

                      "If the parliament decided they could of course switch to only using that mechanism for spending which would make financiers irrelevant. Now there are of course well known conventional monetary policy mechanisms which don't cut the financiers out (like QE) but that is not to say they are needed, they are not. If there is a balancing act there its about the impression the govt wants to make about what kinds of monetary policy it will practice."

                      Yet again you make incorrect claims on my behalf….read what I wrote….preferably after attending a ESOL class.

          • Treetop 22.2.1.1.2
            11 March 2022 at 11:03 am

            For me it comes down to spending to do the greatest good for the poorest and not neglecting the environment. Ignoring both will have an impact on everyone in some way.

            • pat 22.2.1.1.2.1
              11 March 2022 at 11:08 am

              And for me (and I would hope everybody, but sadly it appears not) it is a game of monopoly.

              What happens in a game of monopoly?

              • Treetop …
                11 March 2022 at 1:01 pm

                What happens in a game of monopoly?

                The winner bankrupts the other players, the winner ends up with all the property and all the cash.

                • pat …
                  11 March 2022 at 1:08 pm

                  Indeed….(unless of course the losing players upend the board before the game is complete)

                  The role of Government is to ensure that that inevitable event dosnt occur and is controlled….and the method of control is taxation.

                • mac1 …
                  11 March 2022 at 7:21 pm

                  At Uni on a Sunday afternoon we played Socialist Monopoly. At the end of the game all profits were split equally amongst all players……

                  • Treetop …
                    11 March 2022 at 7:50 pm

                    That is not how it works in the real world.

                    • mac1 …
                      11 March 2022 at 8:16 pm

                      We also played cards, for money. At the end, the winners got the hamburgers and chips in.

                      One became a judge, others journalists, a probation officer, teachers, lawyers- all but the judge retired. Two now dead, but we lived in a different NZ then.

                  • roblogic …
                    22 March 2022 at 1:03 pm

                    I used to pay 500 obsessively with 3 mates, we worked out extensive cheating systems via hand gestures to communicate with our partner. I was the worst at cheating. Those guys went on to become quite successful, I didn't.

  23. tsmithfield 23
    11 March 2022 at 10:50 am

    A good time to be in opposition at the moment I think.

    None of the problems the government are at all easy to deal with. However, voters are going to expect the government to be able to sort them out.

    • Belladonna 24.1
      11 March 2022 at 3:56 pm

      Not surprising, Mahuta needs them to support 3 waters…..

      Setting that aside, if the local commissioners haven't managed to sort out Tauranga yet, then you should fire the lot of them and start again.
      Having new local body elections, at the same time as the rest of NZ would seem the sensible time to transition back to democracy.
      You can, after all, appoint a new set of commissioners, if the new Council is as dysfunctional as the old one was.

      • Poission 24.1.1
        11 March 2022 at 4:09 pm

        The local commissioners are milking the ratepayers,have overseen massive budget blowouts on capital work programmes and ratcheted rates with 25% rises over 2 years.

        The Commissioners never consulted with anyone before asking the Minister to extend their high paying jobs for another year," says Michael. "They are paid between $1,500 and $1,800 a day plus expenses and Commission Chair Anne Tolley has claimed in excess of $300,000 over the last twelve months."

        "They don't have any incentive to leave. Our right to vote was won at a great price and we're not going to let them take it away again, that's why we've started this petition and we will be presenting it to Parliament. It's time for Tauranga residents and ratepayers to get their rights back."

        https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK2203/S00209/ratepayers-demand-the-right-to-vote-petition-launched.htm

        There are a number of campaigns,starting out in Canterbury (for the local elections) based on the simple premis of Sack them all.

  25. coge 25
    11 March 2022 at 12:35 pm

    Vaccine Mandates

    • Support 60% (-14%)
    • Oppose 32% (+12%)

    Mandates will still be here next month, when more will be losing their jobs. How do expect that will effect the current trend?

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 25.1
      11 March 2022 at 12:41 pm

      Those more likely than average to support mandatory vaccinations for certain workforces include Labour Party supporters, Green Party supporters, those aged 70 or older and Asian New Zealanders.

      People more likely than average to oppose include ACT Party supporters, National Party supporters, women aged 18 to 34, Waikato residents and NZ Europeans.

      But epidemiologist Dr Rod Jackson told 1News there has "never a more important time for all of the mandates".

      He said an unvaccinated person is three times more likely to infect someone with Covid-19 than a vaccinated person.

      "We have to get people as vaccinated as possible… it is the most important thing New Zealanders can do today.

      "We need to slow down the pandemic, it's potentially out of control."

      https://www.1news.co.nz/2022/03/10/support-for-mandates-drops-to-60-in-latest-1news-kantar-public-poll/

      I Proudly SUPPORT the vaccine mandate. And in the Majority. Still.

  26. The Mess 26
    11 March 2022 at 2:49 pm

    Bah I say, bah.

    Best thing for Labour to do at this stage would be to tweak the borrowing laws so the banks stop being stupid about house loans, as that's likely a major driver of anxiety. Inflation's going to be a far more tricker thing to deal with though in the long term, due to it being drivern by international pressures. But immediate steps relief wise would be to reduced GST to 10%, reduced fuel tax and increase top bracket income tax to make up for the loss of income.

    Long term:

    1. – In order to reduce the impact of fuel costs, a major shift to electric vehicles is now a necessity to stop prices of vital goods (food) raising faster than wages. And in order to do that, government backed 0% interest (or low) with low weekly repayments and buybacks of combustion engine vehicles is probably going to be needed. Focusing on logistics and farming first, then public transport, then private.
    2. – Housing costs need to be fucking fixed, and that means breaking Fletcher's monopoly on supplies either with new domestic production or government lead certification of foreign imports. Combined with a CGT, urban intensification (preferably borrowing the USSR's integration of park areas and services to make more liveable spaces) and mass public housing building using pre-fabbed components housing prices can be reduced and everyone can be housed in comfort. Along with better tenant protection laws. We know how to do all of this, all that's lacking is the political fucking will to make it happen and stupid land lord bs.
    3. – Furthermore the public housing system need to be reworked so National can't fuck it up as easily in future and the draft 3 Waters plan provides potential legislative tools to do that. Like the 75% vote threshold for privatisation or coming up with housing bodies that can't easily be touched by National. Unfortunately I have no firm idea how to pull this off, but given the damage National did to the housing system in the 90's and 00-10's something needs to be done.
    4. – Inflation needs to be controlled to prevent it screwing over the economy and pushing us back into high unemployment. And since raising interest rates is unfortunately our best tool, combined with the housing market deflation, it's going to hurt a lot of people with mortgages. Now while a less kind approach may seem perfectly valid here – the disruption caused by homelessness trigger by a mortgage default causes a lot of pain. A better solution would be for the government to buy up the mortgage and provide rent to own to scheme adjusted to the occupant's income. To a limited extent of course, if you've defaulted on the loan for a million dollar+ house, there better be a damn good reason for the government to help you. Although in saying that, land is needed for public housing, and where better to put it than on a plot of land that's poorly utilised?
    5. – Training, namely NZ businesses are very, very unwilling to actually hire people so they can train them up to fill vacancies. And instead, demand we import labour from overseas, who invariably get exploited and mistreated because they don't know about the NZ laws that protect them. So frankly, better training incentives are needed for roles that don't require a 3 year course to do. And ideally we'd make it easier for students to go into medicine and nursing etc so we stop poaching the developing world's medical staff.
    6. – Most blue-sky of all – We Can Haz KiwiMart? – Or the only way to break the supermarket duopoly is to make a new competitor. Which in turn can help push food prices down by undercutting the duopolies high prices and serve kiwi suppliers better by not fucking them over payment wise. Hell, make a worker owned co-op to boot as well just to extra piss off National/ACT and prevent it from being privatised. And as a bonus, even Business NZ thinks a new competitor should enter the market, so they can't complain that much over this lawl. But ultimately, the reduced costs of food it would drive would help the median* NZ'er far more than tax breaks ever would.

    Of course, I don't have the background training in this stuff, so I've probably missed something, fucked up somewhere or have completely fucked up.

    Also running on not enough sleep due to being stuck in CHCH hospital from 1:30am Thursday – 2:30pm Monday thanks to urosepsis and a chest infection that put me on a bit of O2 for 2 days (3-1 settings). Along with subsequent night sweats fun that's leading me to break from amitriptyline for 2 days to try and fix it and ye olde nagging bladder ;-;

    Definitely going to not ignore annoyances with peeing in future >_< As just because it doesn't feel like pissing glass, it doesn't mean you don't have a UTI.

    Anyhow, problem probably lies in a enlarged prostate, with at 36 is a bit odd + amitriptyline side effects. But I'll find out for sure in a couple of months when urology prods me.

    ________

    *Yes, median over average, because the growth in the 1% has distorted entirely where the statistical average income lies [insert stats rant over income and the politics of "average" here].

    • Patricia Bremner 26.1
      11 March 2022 at 5:48 pm

      Good luck with the health issues The Mess. Yes a co-op type market place for basics would be great. Government backed to keep prices low.

  27. Ad 27
    11 March 2022 at 3:19 pm

    It's weird, but the worst is yet to come both for government and the remaining open democracies.

    Russia has been downgraded to C status ie likely to default. They will be reduced to becoming a single supply contract to China.

    All central banks are rapidly stopping QE. Private banks are choking lending, here and globally.

    COVID hasn't finished with us or other developed nations and continues to corrode global GDP.

    We're going into a simultaneous oil +food crisis. No backyard greens will soften its scale.

    Few governments will survive their next election.

  28. Stuart Munro 28
    11 March 2022 at 4:08 pm

    Another issue for the government is the wretched pack of ferals masquerading as journalists or idiot panel panelists.

    The supposed savings of merging RNZ with the syphilitic weasels of TVNZ will instead be blown in the cost of a dangerously misinformed population.

    You want more Trumpism? More Clownvoys? Then abandon the journalistic profession to Murdoch type repeaters and the airwaves to pathetic collections of bile and sputum like Mike Hosking.

    Or you could learn from the neoliberal mistake, and fully fund an above all professional news service, and a reputable standard, and let the lazy and vindictive hacks fade into richly deserved obscurity.

  29. felix 29
    12 March 2022 at 12:00 am

    It's over.

    They blew it.

    They had the whole country behind her and they fucked it up.

    • mosa 29.1
      12 March 2022 at 2:07 am

      It was always going to happen. Neo liberal policies and LINO's obsession with continuing to adhere with that direction but somehow hoping the market will provide the solution.

      It never has and never will.

      • felix 29.1.1
        12 March 2022 at 8:55 am

        Exactly. All this govt has done is what the previous one did – sit back and watch half the country descend into poverty and homelessness while letting the other half pretend to be millionaires despite having no money in the bank and 20 grand on the credit card.

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