As I said in my podcast yesterday, it looks like Labour is going to have an election plan that is policy free.
The Prime Minister said as much to media yesterday:
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is warning voters not to expect any large-scale Labour policies this election, as her party’s priority is the Covid-19 recovery.
Ardern, who is the Labour leader, was also critical of her opponents’ plans for government debt, saying what National has proposed means tough austerity measures for the next generation.
Speaking to RNZ this morning, Ardern said voters should not expect a “large-scale range of policies” from Labour this election.
“What we will be doing over this election period is adding some additional aspects [of policy],” she said.
“But I would flag to voters not to expect to see the large scale manifestos that are a significant departure from what we are doing.”
Instead, she said her “big focus” was on the Covid-19 recovery.
“Ultimately, what needs to be done, we are already rolling out.”
In other words, they’ve got nothing. Nada, zip, zilch, a big fat nothing-burger.
No big ideas, other than to borrow, borrow and borrow some more.
Wage subsidies aren’t going to save jobs.
What this also means is a tacit acknowledgment that on the big stuff Labour can’t deliver.
They failed on housing, they failed on light rail, and every other signature policy and promise from the last election.
Child Poverty, of which the Prime Minister is the Minister (for Child Poverty Reduction), is another big failure. By every measure that they used it’s gotten worse. That’s on her and no one else. That was her signature policy plank, one she was going to take a personal interest in.
There are no demonstrable deliveries of policy or promises under Labour from the last term.
What makes them think they can deliver a recovery plan from the Chinese plague when they couldn’t even use the powers of the state to meet even one target for Kiwibuild or in Transport?
And whatever happened to all the working groups? Have they even delivered a single report? If they have, then I have no idea what has been delivered and I suspect neither does Jacinda Ardern.
This election campaign from Labour is set to be a rejig of the infamous South Park Gnome’s ‘Underpants Stealing’ plan.
Except Labour’s plan appears to be:
Phase 1: Scare people and promise nothing
Phase 2: ???
Phase 3: Win
But the truly sad thing is that there is large chunk of the electorate that are going to buy that plan.
If that is the case then Labour really aren’t stealing underpants, they are stealing an election based on nothing more than empty platitudes and bumper sticker slogans.
Then again that has always been the way of the Prime Minister. She’s nothing but a cuddle, meaningless platitudes and a frowny, concerned face.
The only thing she’s managed to deliver this term was her baby, and I just bet we are going to see that poor kid rolled out shortly.
She sure as hell failed to deliver a transparent and transformative government.
That, sadly, was stillborn.
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