OPINION
Labour, Greens and the Maori Party all need to shut their traps, cease their maniacal rhetoric and crawl back into their respective caves to work out what they stand for. If they keep standing for what they espoused before the election they will find themselves sitting on the Opposition benches for some time to come. Looking like you’re in it for your own self-interest is no way to win over the majority of voters. Unlike these political entities, Kiwis on the whole are a centrist bunch who are against most forms of radicalism.
In the Weekend Herald Mike Munro commented on Labour’s need for a reckoning, and Bruce Cotterill agreed regarding the Greens. Because the Maori Party has little appeal to the centre ground, what they say barely matters. It could be of concern in a decade which is when they might next get a sniff at government. Their increase in support at the election is, in reality, pretty meaningless. Their excitement shows just how delusional they are.
Both Labour and the Greens need to realise that their policies of race, envy and division and their irresistible desire to control have to stop. Labour must stop pandering to the Maori elites, who work on nobody’s behalf but their own. Their raison d’être is to rort the system as hard as they can. Three Waters was an excellent example. If they can’t see that we can see through their devious games then they will continue to languish in the polls.
Labour’s penchant for being beholden to their Maori Caucus was a big mistake. People don’t take kindly to viewing the minority manhandling the majority. If Labour seriously want to be seen as a viable alternative they need to set the Maori waka adrift. Should Labour’s Maori MPs be left to paddle their own canoe they’d need more than the knowledge of the moon and stars to get them home in an election.
The next problem Labour has is to acknowledge how far from their roots they’ve strayed. The situation has got so bad I’m surprised Michael Joseph Savage hasn’t left Bastion Point to read the riot act. A different riot to the one Willie is threatening. Labour, and not just in this country, are no longer the party of the workers. They are more the party of the urban elites and those sitting in ivory towers in academia. This was borne out with the recent election results in electorates like the West Coast, Mt Roskill, New Lynn and very nearly Mt Albert. The constituents in the West Auckland electorates didn’t want money spent on an outrageously expensive tram to the airport. They wanted tax cuts to help them put food on the table. Talk about not reading the room.
Next Labour needs to drop their ‘politics of envy’. This would involve ditching part of their ideology but is necessary if they want to broaden their appeal. Hipkins was right to discard the idea of a wealth tax, but, lo and behold, it appears to be back on his agenda.
The Greens, who once resembled something like a true environmental party, have morphed into more of a radical party that is increasingly interested in social issues. If they were allowed anywhere near the government, enacting their policies would be very much to the detriment of the well-being of the country. They have shown they have little understanding of economic issues and seem to think a wealth tax will solve all of the country’s social problems.
The Greens are largely out of step with public thinking on most matters. MPs such as Marama Davidson, Chloe Swarbrick, Golriz Ghahraman and Ricardo Menendez March are no more than activists peddling their own areas of interest. They contribute nothing of substance that might help solve the problems the country is facing. Their increase in support at the election was simply from disaffected Labour voters who wanted to avoid voting right. That is hardly a vote of confidence.
It is very unlikely that the Greens or the Maori Party will in any way look to change their stances. They are most likely to stick with the policies that govern their ideology. James Shaw would be well advised to leave the misnamed Greens and form a believable environmental party. The way things stand makes it very difficult for Labour no matter what they do. Their two possible coalition partners will continue to present policies that are unpalatable to middle New Zealand.
If Labour itself decides to veer to the left of where they are now then the left group as a whole looks pretty much out of luck in terms of trying to win an election. Labour is unlikely to get its 2020 result ever again. Therefore they need to present as a centrist party to try and negate the policies of their two far-left partners. The question is whether those on the left of Labour will allow it. After their post-election caucus, the signs are not promising. The left appears doomed for the foreseeable future.