In this last treatise on Audrey Young’s NZ Herald article, which contains possibly more Bah Humbug than you can take, she talks about Ardern and Robertson and their team. Her piece is headlined – Joined at hip, there’s no way Ardern, Robertson can possibly be separated.
Audrey notes that Ardern and Robertson have been the closest of partners for some time. She was his running mate when he unsuccessfully stood for the Labour leadership in 2014. The partnership continued in 2017 when she became Labour leader and Prime Minister and he became Minister of Finance – and now Deputy Prime Minister. She states that they are joined at the hip politically and that also applies to the stewardship of the Labour Party.
If you look at how they reached these goals, they both were on a similar trajectory. In reading their respective backgrounds, both have attended university and worked in the backrooms of Parliament. Both worked as an advisor to Helen Clark. This means that neither has had any experience in the outside world. Nor have they had any first-hand knowledge of small businesses and therefore the workings of such enterprises.
In relation to their stewardship, Audrey says the decision in April last year to rule out campaigning again on a capital gains tax was part of that. If they had gone to this year’s October election again campaigning for a capital gains tax they would not have won an outright majority. While that may be true, the capital gains tax had nothing to do with the election. It was all about Covid and a campaign of fear. So paramount was that fear that there is a strong possibility that had she quietly inserted the tax and not campaigned strongly on it, she might have gotten it through.
Audrey says having the foresight to not campaign on the tax set them up for the stunning victory in 2020. As aforementioned, I disagree. She goes on to say that it also set the party up for the next decade or so because of their candidate selection. Put your drinks down now, dear readers.
LABOUR’S CLASS OF 2020 IS THE HIGHEST CALIBRE OF NEW MP’S THAT MOST OBSERVERS CAN RECALL.
Bah Humbug to that. I don’t know who these observers are but they must have very short memories.
According to Audrey, these are people who, with or without impressive professional qualifications, have been largely immersed in their communities, not to mention the ethnic diversity. Honestly dear readers, do we laugh or cry? Get your cloth cap off Audrey. These people are supposed to be running the country, not organising a morning tea at a home for the elderly. And for the record, I don’t give a rats backside for ethnic diversity. Pray tell, what the hell has that got to do with the efficient running of a country?
Audrey then takes on board my suggestion of removing her cloth cap and gives herself a dose of reality. She says their experience does not necessarily mean that they will become excellent MPs but Labour has a large pool of talent on which it can base its future. More like a car park puddle Audrey and, if the pool is as large as you say, why are the likes of the useless Phil Twyford, Kelvin Davis and Willie Jackson still Ministers? Poto Williams also comes across as being way out of her depth.
Audrey nears the end of her article with another dose of reality by saying it will be harder for Labour to win another outright majority. The conditions were unique this year. Indeed they were Audrey. In a word, Covid.
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