Opinion
By way of antidote, perhaps, to the recent spate of Jeremiads railing against Jacinda Ardern in the pages of The Australian, both that publication and fellow Aussie conservative masthead, Quadrant, have published equal-and-opposite hagiographies of Luxon and Co. They might furnish BFD readers with a scoffing chuckle or two.
After all, as I’ve written many times, most Australian journalists know almost nothing of NZ politics. When it came to Ardern, all the left-media knew was that she had a baby, was Kind, and saved New Zealand from Covid. Any mention of Kiwibuild, say, or Three Waters, elicited only blank stares.
Reading Greg Sheridan’s analysis is a sobering reminder that right-media aren’t often much better.
The Luxon government has a good idea of the problems and a coherent plan to fix them […]
The new government has set about reversing huge chunks of Ardern policy and is already making a serious difference.
I’ll leave it to BFD readers to pass judgement on that.
Although Sheridan is right that the new government is indeed trying to reverse some particularly contentious policies, not least co-governance.
The new government has turned away from “co-governance” models. The figures are pretty fuzzy because they rely on self-identification but maybe 17 per cent of New Zealanders are Maori. Co-governance is undemocratic and divisive, as it makes everything an undemocratic racial negotiation. Citizens aren’t equal.
The new government has abolished the Three Waters program, which would have seen rivers managed that way. It’s also abolished the Maori health ministry. Every Kiwi, of whatever racial background, should have equal access to health, with special efforts for the disadvantaged.
Yet, now Luxon is backing down on his promise to ditch the Te Reo nonsense in government departments.
Still, perhaps all fair enough, although it’s telling that Sheridan says not a word about Winston Peters in his entire screed. Hardly surprising, really, as Sheridan is the archetypical “wet” conservative.
No wonder he fangirls over David Seymour so embarrassingly.
I caught up with David Seymour, leader of the ACT party in the National-led coalition and Minister for Regulation. ACT is a fascinating outfit, classical liberal to libertarian in outlook.
The Australian
Where was its “libertarian” outlook when Seymour was “calling for ever harsher discrimination against the unvaccinated, and championing the human rights of the vaccinated not to have to provide services to – or even share oxygen with – unjabbed people”?
On the other hand, Seymour is admirably pushing ahead against entrenched special interests with his proposed Treaty referendum. But the fact remains that, when freedom push came to authoritarian shove, Seymour’s “libertarian” principles went out the window.
Unlike Sheridan, Oliver Hartwich is a New Zealander who presumably has a better grasp on local politics. I’ll leave it to BFDers, therefore, to pass judgement on his analysis:
The situation for Luxon’s government is dire: the kitty is empty, and severe challenges abound in every area of policy. The new government cannot simply throw money at problems, as incoming governments often do (and as Ardern did). New Zealand’s government spending is already too high, and especially in the current high-inflation environment, more public spending would be most unwise. Luxon will thus have to prioritise his reform efforts on cost-effective policies that deliver significant impact. He also must do so in an unusual three-party coalition, which includes the classical-liberal ACT party and the populist New Zealand First, led by Winston Peters.
The stakes could not be higher or the obstacles greater. But Luxon, coming from a high-flying business background, is one who likes a challenge. As a former executive at Unilever’s North American branches and then at Air New Zealand, Luxon knows what turnaround jobs require. He will need all that business acumen.
Hartwich is certainly on the money when it comes to the Beehive’s Trougher class.
New Zealand’s public service is like a poorly managed company that fails to produce decent results and has forgotten what good looks like. It is not as if successive New Zealand’s governments have not spent enough over the years. It is rather that they have done so senselessly, often without sufficient regard for outcomes.
But then there’s this:
Luxon’s clean-up exercise has been so comprehensive that practically nothing of the previous government’s agenda is still in place.
While that’s certainly true when it comes to co-governance, for instance, when it comes to climate change, Luxon is as wet as boiled kale. Don’t forget, for instance, how quickly Maureen Pugh was forced to take the knee and parrot the “consensus” of the Climate Cult. Luxon is also sticking to the “Net Zero” targets, and touting EVs.
As an avid reader of political biographies and memoirs, Christopher Luxon will now work towards his own legacy. Ultimately, that legacy will be defined by his government’s ability to lay the foundations for a prosperous, productive, resilient and fiscally responsible New Zealand.
Quadrant Online
What say you, BFD readers?