November 26, 2024 • 18 mins
Today marks a year since the coalition government of National, Act and New Zealand First took office.
The coalition hit the ground running, by reversing the previous Labour Government’s agenda in a ‘policy bonfire’, slimming down the public service, and reverting many Crown organisations to their English names.
This, and the scrapping of the Māori Health Authority, kickstarted tensions between this Government and Māoridom – with backlash on the Treaty Principles Bill only adding fuel to the flames earlier this month.
But, with wins around tax cuts, benefits for families, more regional investment, and new laws to tackle crime --there’s plenty for the Government to celebrate – with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon saying this week he is ‘aspirational’ for New Zealanders’ and ‘energized’ for the next two years.
To discuss how the coalition government has fared with all this in mind, today on The Front Page, we’re joined by political commentator and researcher Bryce Edwards.
Follow The Front Page on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
You can read more about this and other stories in the New Zealand Herald, online at nzherald.co.nz, or tune in to news bulletins across the NZME network.
Host: Chelsea Daniels
Sound Engineer/Producer: Richard Martin
Producer: Ethan Sills
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Kyoda.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I'm Chelsea Daniels and this is the Front Page, a
daily podcast presented by the New Zealand Herald. Today marks
a year since the coalition government of National Act and
New Zealand first took office. The coalition hit the ground
running by reversing the previous Labor government's agenda in a
(00:28):
policy bonfire, slimming down the public service and reverting many
Crown organizations back to their English names. This and the
scrapping of the Malti Health Authority kickstarted tensions between this
government and Maldydom, with the backlash on the Treaty Principal's
Bill only adding fuel to the flames earlier this month,
(00:51):
but with wins around tax carts, benefits for families, more
regional investment and new laws to tackle crime, there's plenty
for the government to celebrate, with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon
saying this week he is aspirational for New Zealanders and
energized for the next two years. To discuss how the
(01:15):
coalition government has fared with all this in mind. Today
on the Front Page, we're joined by political commentator and
researcher Bryce Edwards. Bryce, what do you think of being
the dominant themes for the first year of this government.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Undoubtedly, when new governments come in, they want to roll
back some of the more unpopular or problematic policies of
the previous government. After all, a new government sees that
they have a mandate and they have been elected to
change things, and so, you know, reversals and rollbacks have
been the main theme for the first year, particularly that
(01:56):
first hundred days, in the first six months. And so
when not yet seeing a full picture of what this
government stands for beyond just changing what labor had done
and making some I guess reforms, especially in the economy.
And you know, it's got a character of a general
right wing government. But as we've seen from a lot
(02:19):
of critics from the right, this government isn't even necessarily
appealing to all of its traditional supporters because we don't
really see in this first year of government that there's
necessarily a bold and strong vision for where they're going.
So it's a year of yea, reforms, rollbacks, but nothing
(02:42):
yet is clearly staking what this new government is about.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Do you think that's because there are three of them,
and with three of them in government, all of their
hands are a bit tired.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Yeah, I mean that's MMP that different parties have to
work together, and of course there's areas where New Zealand
First Act and National do have disagreements and therefore, yeah,
some areas of reform are being ruled out essentially, yes,
And of course you've got Christopher lux and the leader
of the biggest party and Prime Minister is much less
(03:16):
experienced than essentially his co leaders in the government. So
it means that there's not the kind of hierarchy that
you saw, for example, under the last Labor government when
you had Jessindra a Durn clearly head and shoulders above
all the other ministers. It's a bit flatter this government.
(03:38):
So yeah, I think the dynamics of the coalition do
mean that the colors aren't as clear as they might
have been in a different government.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Nikola Willis will deliver the half yearly Economic and fiscal
update in about three weeks. She says that will illustrate
the latest forecasts for a surplus and seems to caution
against unrealistic expectations.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
I'm not going to chase a surplus at all costs,
for casts move up and down. What I've committed to
New Zealanders is that we will make sensible, prudent fiscal
decisions to get the books back in balance over time.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
When it comes to the economy, look, Luxon looks to
be taking credit for inflation dropping to two point two percent,
saying I'm pleased with the progress we've made in just
one year to deliver the outcomes kiwis deserve. Can you
really take credit for that?
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Look, all prime ministers will take credit for positive things
and try to blame the negative things on external factors.
So it's no surprise. And I think it'd be fair
to say that the government has focused on measures that
will reduce inflation, and yeah, I think we have to
(04:58):
give them some credit for that. But of course it's
not just due to his finance minister. There were some
changes happening in the global economy and inflation would have
gone down even if the government hadn't have changed.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
So it's a bit cheeky that he's taking credit for it.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Oh look, I know, I don't think so, because it's
just what we expect from prime ministers. Any other politician
would do the same thing. I think there is Yeah,
definitely some some parts of the inflation for is due
to some of the more austerity and some of the
cutbacks and budget that the government have done. So no,
(05:36):
I don't think it's entiny cheeky, but it's not the
full story.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
No. Apparently eighty three percent of kiwis are benefiting from
the tax relief package introduced earlier this year, at least
according to Luxon. But we've also seen a group of
economists come out last week criticizing the government's economic measures
and as I quote, needlessly exacerbating the current recession. How
(06:00):
is the government handling the economy?
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Do you think it's the economy that the three coalition
partners rarely did ride to an election on. It's what
they focused on of the last labor administration in their view,
mismanaging it, and they managed to convince voters of that.
And certainly the government has prioritized austerity measures and fixing
(06:26):
the economy in their view. So yeah, yeah, I think
the economy is rarely the one area that this government
has a bit of an identity on that they are
seen as strong managers. But the big question is about
what they're going to do on the bigger picture with
the economy, and that's where you've got a lot of economists,
(06:47):
and some of those economists that spoke out last week
tended to be on the left, but there are a
number of more sympathetic economists or those on the right
that are also incredibly critical of the economics of this government,
especially because of their failure to deal with productivity, failure
to deal with some of the monopolies, and lack of
(07:10):
competition in some of the sectors now, especially in terms
of banking, supermarkets, construction, and so there's a feeling that
the government's been too mild and doesn't rarely have hasn't
really arrived with any blueprint for actually reforming things rather
than just tinkering.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
In September twenty twenty three, ram raids hit a two
year low, with a seventy percent reduction in RAM raids
since the peak of one hundred and sixteen a month
in August twenty twenty two. Now, Luxon's including the reduction
of RAM raids in his kind of Wins list as
he reflects on the last year in government. Is he
right to do that?
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Again? That's entirely unsurprising. This is a win for the government,
and there's a bigger picture about whether it's all due
to this current government, But it's what you expect from
politicians that they will claim the credit and yeah, there's
a large amount of truth that they have redeployed efforts
(08:13):
to get those areas of crime down and again after
the economy. It's law in order that this government and
the three parties have rarely banged the drum on to
get into power and now have put the resources into
So yeah, by and large it is a bit of
a success three for the new government after the one
(08:33):
year in power.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
After one year, how are the three of them getting along?
David Seymour this week told The Herald he was wrong
about Winston Peters and that they have worked well together.
Have you been impressed by the coalition's collaboration at this stage?
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Well, after a year, there isn't sign of a meltdown.
There isn't really the sign of the chaos that its
opponents and its critics were forecasting. So I mean, I'm
not so surprised about that because I always thought that
a lot of the beef and arguments between the likes
of Winston Peters and David Seymour were more about politicking.
(09:23):
They were more for an audience, and I've always thought
they'd be able to work together once they were in
the cabinet room, and it seems that they have. So
there's no real signs of instability, no more than any
usual coalition government.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
There have naturally been a few scandals for this government
would have been the biggest scandals in your opinion.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Well, it's probably the Casey Costello and tobacco reforms that
I think have probably resonated and hurt the government the most.
And so it brings up this idea of the government
perhaps being in the pocket of the tobacco industry, of lobbyists,
of vested interests, and I think people have been quite
(10:08):
surprised to see that the government rolling back reforms on
smoking and vaping, and whether it's the government failing to
communicate why they've done that, or whether they are truly
in the pocket of business interests, that's where they've been vulnerable.
And I think there's a public feeling that Casey Costello, yeah,
(10:33):
certainly hasn't one of the strongest cabinet performers. And yeah,
I think she's been lucky to survive, largely because she's
not a National Party minister, and so Luxon hasn't had
the ability to demote her like he might have if
she was a national MP. Essentially she is protected by
(10:57):
being a protege or under the wing of Winston Peters.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
What about Luxeon, do you think he's ever going to
live down taking that accommodation allowance so early on that was.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Indeed quite a tarnishing of his reputation, and of course
in the biggest scheme of things, you know, it might
seem like a small amount of money that he was
saying he was entitled to and initially claiming, but it
did resonate with people that worried that the government might
(11:28):
be too arrogant and too focused on personal aggrandizement or
their own financial interests. And Luxeon himself was obviously quite
shocked by the public reaction and he moved quickly eventually
on it. But yeah, I think it is unfortunate for
(11:51):
him because he is a very wealthy individual and he owns,
you know what was at least seven houses at one stage,
and so it builds into this public image of him
being above society, richer than everyone else. And that's something
that never really hampered John Key when he was Prime Minister.
(12:11):
He was able to exude an ordinariness that I don't
think Christopher Luxen quite has the ability.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
To do so tensions with Maldy. Is this probably the
biggest fail by the government. I guess more so for
lux and for agreeing to table the Treaty Principal's Bill
in the first place.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Right Yeah, I think in the media and the commentariat
we have to be very careful about judging this government
on the Treaty Principal's Bill and the recent HIKOI because
they've been so big and colorful and it's dominated the media.
We still don't really know how much that has affected
(12:52):
ordinary voters. We still don't know whether having fifty or
eighty thousand people marching in Wellington life, you know, whether
it has tarnished this government or perhaps it might have
even given some sympathy to the government, because you know,
this is an issue that most voters don't really care
(13:13):
that strongly about. Treaty issues. Race relations ethnicity aren't, according
to any polls anyhow, very high on the lists of
people's main concerns. Mostly they're concerned about the economy, healthcare, education,
and it's become a bit of a cultural of course,
But we still don't know how that affects the more
(13:35):
centrist or swing voter. And yes, there's a lot of
us that are very interested in this issue, but it
could be the case that most New Zealanders don't rarely
have a strong opinion or necessarily see this as the
big mistake on either David Seymour or Christopher Luxon's part.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Matthew Hordon wrote a scathing critique of Luxon last week
that generated a lot of debate Amongst Harold readers. Here's
just one quote. He said he will remain Prime Minister
only because he lacks the self awareness to know it
would be better for New Zealand and his own reputation
to accept he is completely out of his depth. Is
(14:18):
any of that fair?
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Oh? Absolutely, especially from the point of view of those
on the right of politics that feel this government has
not lived up to its reputation. And you know, there
are people in the National Party and around ACT that
feel that Luxon is far too centrist, far too much
(14:40):
underperforming in terms of creating bold new changes. So yeah,
I think what Matthew Houghton said will resonate with a
lot of people on the right, but also yes, people
on the left as well like to see the Prime
Minister being criticized by someone like Matthew Houghton. So even
though we've got a whole situation at the moment in
(15:01):
New Zealand and this has been a very polarizing year
in politics, it's not necessarily a simple left right polarization.
There are people in all parts of the political spectrum
that aren't necessarily thinking that this government has delivered.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
I think it's gone. We've done a good job. Actually,
I think over the last year there's been a lot
of challenge for us. We've inherited and we're working through
some pretty tough and difficult times. But you know, the
way that the coalition government has been formed, the way
that we've got the right ministers and the right assignments
for the right clarity about what they're there to do.
I knowledge it's tough, but I think we're making progress
and I think the plan's working.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
And what do you think are the big challenges in
the next couple of years ahead.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Well, this government still hasn't really stamped its mark to
say what they're about. We still don't really have any
great kind of ideological indepinds, branding or vision of what
this government's going to achieve. I mean, we hear that
Nikola willis and the next budget is going to deal
(16:10):
with economic growth. They're going to bring in a lot
more of the social investment program. It's yet to be
seen whether that's going to resonate with people. And in
the end, you know that they're going to be fighting
some of those cultural wars that we've seen, especially around
the Treaty. You know that's going to give this government
(16:30):
a lot of challenges because we're now seeing where the
resistance is coming to this government.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Now.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
When they first came into power, I sort of wondered, well,
who's going to be leading the fight back against this government.
To some extent, it's been the parties in Parliament, but
I don't think they've been particularly strong. I wondered whether
it was going to be the public service, the government
departments that would feel aggrieved about some of the reforms
(16:56):
this government are doing and as well as that all
the cutbacks to departments. But it hasn't really been the
public service. Likewise, academia, there's a lot of unhappiness in
the universities, etc. And the education system about this government,
but they don't really seem to be leading it. Leading
the resistance that is the media I think leading it
(17:17):
to some extent, but in the end it's turned out
to be Ewi Tiao Mai in general are the main
sort of focus for challenging this government, and of course
you're having lots of other sectors that are sort of
piggybacking on. But on top of the Hecoy etc. That's
going to continue over the next two years, I'm not
sure it's going to be a huge disadvantage to the government.
(17:41):
Sometimes governments like to have enemies that they can then
I guess demonize or get some sympathy because they're being
hated on by those movements. So yep, the next two years,
I think critics are going to point out some of
(18:02):
the vested interests, the lack of integrity in the way
that this coalition government is operating. Those on the right
are going to complain about the lack of reforms, so
the government really has to be more than a do nothing,
tinkering government.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Thanks for joining us, Bryce, Thanks Chelsea. That's it for
this episode of the Front Page. You can read more
about today's stories and extensive news coverage at enzadherld dot
co dot nz. The Front Page is produced by Ethan
Sells and Richard Martin, who is also a sound engineer.
(18:40):
I'm Chelsea Daniels. Subscribe to the front page on iHeartRadio
or wherever you get your podcasts, and tune in tomorrow
for another look behind the headlines.
Kyoda.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
I'm Chelsea Daniels and this is the Front Page, a
daily podcast presented by the New Zealand Herald. Today marks
a year since the coalition government of National Act and
New Zealand first took office. The coalition hit the ground
running by reversing the previous Labor government's agenda in a
(00:28):
policy bonfire, slimming down the public service and reverting many
Crown organizations back to their English names. This and the
scrapping of the Malti Health Authority kickstarted tensions between this
government and Maldydom, with the backlash on the Treaty Principal's
Bill only adding fuel to the flames earlier this month,
(00:51):
but with wins around tax carts, benefits for families, more
regional investment and new laws to tackle crime, there's plenty
for the government to celebrate, with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon
saying this week he is aspirational for New Zealanders and
energized for the next two years. To discuss how the
(01:15):
coalition government has fared with all this in mind. Today
on the Front Page, we're joined by political commentator and
researcher Bryce Edwards. Bryce, what do you think of being
the dominant themes for the first year of this government.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Undoubtedly, when new governments come in, they want to roll
back some of the more unpopular or problematic policies of
the previous government. After all, a new government sees that
they have a mandate and they have been elected to
change things, and so, you know, reversals and rollbacks have
been the main theme for the first year, particularly that
(01:56):
first hundred days, in the first six months. And so
when not yet seeing a full picture of what this
government stands for beyond just changing what labor had done
and making some I guess reforms, especially in the economy.
And you know, it's got a character of a general
right wing government. But as we've seen from a lot
(02:19):
of critics from the right, this government isn't even necessarily
appealing to all of its traditional supporters because we don't
really see in this first year of government that there's
necessarily a bold and strong vision for where they're going.
So it's a year of yea, reforms, rollbacks, but nothing
(02:42):
yet is clearly staking what this new government is about.
Speaker 2 (02:46):
Do you think that's because there are three of them,
and with three of them in government, all of their
hands are a bit tired.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Yeah, I mean that's MMP that different parties have to
work together, and of course there's areas where New Zealand
First Act and National do have disagreements and therefore, yeah,
some areas of reform are being ruled out essentially, yes,
And of course you've got Christopher lux and the leader
of the biggest party and Prime Minister is much less
(03:16):
experienced than essentially his co leaders in the government. So
it means that there's not the kind of hierarchy that
you saw, for example, under the last Labor government when
you had Jessindra a Durn clearly head and shoulders above
all the other ministers. It's a bit flatter this government.
(03:38):
So yeah, I think the dynamics of the coalition do
mean that the colors aren't as clear as they might
have been in a different government.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Nikola Willis will deliver the half yearly Economic and fiscal
update in about three weeks. She says that will illustrate
the latest forecasts for a surplus and seems to caution
against unrealistic expectations.
Speaker 4 (04:04):
I'm not going to chase a surplus at all costs,
for casts move up and down. What I've committed to
New Zealanders is that we will make sensible, prudent fiscal
decisions to get the books back in balance over time.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
When it comes to the economy, look, Luxon looks to
be taking credit for inflation dropping to two point two percent,
saying I'm pleased with the progress we've made in just
one year to deliver the outcomes kiwis deserve. Can you
really take credit for that?
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Look, all prime ministers will take credit for positive things
and try to blame the negative things on external factors.
So it's no surprise. And I think it'd be fair
to say that the government has focused on measures that
will reduce inflation, and yeah, I think we have to
(04:58):
give them some credit for that. But of course it's
not just due to his finance minister. There were some
changes happening in the global economy and inflation would have
gone down even if the government hadn't have changed.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
So it's a bit cheeky that he's taking credit for it.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Oh look, I know, I don't think so, because it's
just what we expect from prime ministers. Any other politician
would do the same thing. I think there is Yeah,
definitely some some parts of the inflation for is due
to some of the more austerity and some of the
cutbacks and budget that the government have done. So no,
(05:36):
I don't think it's entiny cheeky, but it's not the
full story.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
No. Apparently eighty three percent of kiwis are benefiting from
the tax relief package introduced earlier this year, at least
according to Luxon. But we've also seen a group of
economists come out last week criticizing the government's economic measures
and as I quote, needlessly exacerbating the current recession. How
(06:00):
is the government handling the economy?
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Do you think it's the economy that the three coalition
partners rarely did ride to an election on. It's what
they focused on of the last labor administration in their view,
mismanaging it, and they managed to convince voters of that.
And certainly the government has prioritized austerity measures and fixing
(06:26):
the economy in their view. So yeah, yeah, I think
the economy is rarely the one area that this government
has a bit of an identity on that they are
seen as strong managers. But the big question is about
what they're going to do on the bigger picture with
the economy, and that's where you've got a lot of economists,
(06:47):
and some of those economists that spoke out last week
tended to be on the left, but there are a
number of more sympathetic economists or those on the right
that are also incredibly critical of the economics of this government,
especially because of their failure to deal with productivity, failure
to deal with some of the monopolies, and lack of
(07:10):
competition in some of the sectors now, especially in terms
of banking, supermarkets, construction, and so there's a feeling that
the government's been too mild and doesn't rarely have hasn't
really arrived with any blueprint for actually reforming things rather
than just tinkering.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
In September twenty twenty three, ram raids hit a two
year low, with a seventy percent reduction in RAM raids
since the peak of one hundred and sixteen a month
in August twenty twenty two. Now, Luxon's including the reduction
of RAM raids in his kind of Wins list as
he reflects on the last year in government. Is he
right to do that?
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Again? That's entirely unsurprising. This is a win for the government,
and there's a bigger picture about whether it's all due
to this current government, But it's what you expect from
politicians that they will claim the credit and yeah, there's
a large amount of truth that they have redeployed efforts
(08:13):
to get those areas of crime down and again after
the economy. It's law in order that this government and
the three parties have rarely banged the drum on to
get into power and now have put the resources into
So yeah, by and large it is a bit of
a success three for the new government after the one
(08:33):
year in power.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
After one year, how are the three of them getting along?
David Seymour this week told The Herald he was wrong
about Winston Peters and that they have worked well together.
Have you been impressed by the coalition's collaboration at this stage?
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Well, after a year, there isn't sign of a meltdown.
There isn't really the sign of the chaos that its
opponents and its critics were forecasting. So I mean, I'm
not so surprised about that because I always thought that
a lot of the beef and arguments between the likes
of Winston Peters and David Seymour were more about politicking.
(09:23):
They were more for an audience, and I've always thought
they'd be able to work together once they were in
the cabinet room, and it seems that they have. So
there's no real signs of instability, no more than any
usual coalition government.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
There have naturally been a few scandals for this government
would have been the biggest scandals in your opinion.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Well, it's probably the Casey Costello and tobacco reforms that
I think have probably resonated and hurt the government the most.
And so it brings up this idea of the government
perhaps being in the pocket of the tobacco industry, of lobbyists,
of vested interests, and I think people have been quite
(10:08):
surprised to see that the government rolling back reforms on
smoking and vaping, and whether it's the government failing to
communicate why they've done that, or whether they are truly
in the pocket of business interests, that's where they've been vulnerable.
And I think there's a public feeling that Casey Costello, yeah,
(10:33):
certainly hasn't one of the strongest cabinet performers. And yeah,
I think she's been lucky to survive, largely because she's
not a National Party minister, and so Luxon hasn't had
the ability to demote her like he might have if
she was a national MP. Essentially she is protected by
(10:57):
being a protege or under the wing of Winston Peters.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
What about Luxeon, do you think he's ever going to
live down taking that accommodation allowance so early on that was.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Indeed quite a tarnishing of his reputation, and of course
in the biggest scheme of things, you know, it might
seem like a small amount of money that he was
saying he was entitled to and initially claiming, but it
did resonate with people that worried that the government might
(11:28):
be too arrogant and too focused on personal aggrandizement or
their own financial interests. And Luxeon himself was obviously quite
shocked by the public reaction and he moved quickly eventually
on it. But yeah, I think it is unfortunate for
(11:51):
him because he is a very wealthy individual and he owns,
you know what was at least seven houses at one stage,
and so it builds into this public image of him
being above society, richer than everyone else. And that's something
that never really hampered John Key when he was Prime Minister.
(12:11):
He was able to exude an ordinariness that I don't
think Christopher Luxen quite has the ability.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
To do so tensions with Maldy. Is this probably the
biggest fail by the government. I guess more so for
lux and for agreeing to table the Treaty Principal's Bill
in the first place.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Right Yeah, I think in the media and the commentariat
we have to be very careful about judging this government
on the Treaty Principal's Bill and the recent HIKOI because
they've been so big and colorful and it's dominated the media.
We still don't really know how much that has affected
(12:52):
ordinary voters. We still don't know whether having fifty or
eighty thousand people marching in Wellington life, you know, whether
it has tarnished this government or perhaps it might have
even given some sympathy to the government, because you know,
this is an issue that most voters don't really care
(13:13):
that strongly about. Treaty issues. Race relations ethnicity aren't, according
to any polls anyhow, very high on the lists of
people's main concerns. Mostly they're concerned about the economy, healthcare, education,
and it's become a bit of a cultural of course,
But we still don't know how that affects the more
(13:35):
centrist or swing voter. And yes, there's a lot of
us that are very interested in this issue, but it
could be the case that most New Zealanders don't rarely
have a strong opinion or necessarily see this as the
big mistake on either David Seymour or Christopher Luxon's part.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Matthew Hordon wrote a scathing critique of Luxon last week
that generated a lot of debate Amongst Harold readers. Here's
just one quote. He said he will remain Prime Minister
only because he lacks the self awareness to know it
would be better for New Zealand and his own reputation
to accept he is completely out of his depth. Is
(14:18):
any of that fair?
Speaker 3 (14:19):
Oh? Absolutely, especially from the point of view of those
on the right of politics that feel this government has
not lived up to its reputation. And you know, there
are people in the National Party and around ACT that
feel that Luxon is far too centrist, far too much
(14:40):
underperforming in terms of creating bold new changes. So yeah,
I think what Matthew Houghton said will resonate with a
lot of people on the right, but also yes, people
on the left as well like to see the Prime
Minister being criticized by someone like Matthew Houghton. So even
though we've got a whole situation at the moment in
(15:01):
New Zealand and this has been a very polarizing year
in politics, it's not necessarily a simple left right polarization.
There are people in all parts of the political spectrum
that aren't necessarily thinking that this government has delivered.
Speaker 5 (15:20):
I think it's gone. We've done a good job. Actually,
I think over the last year there's been a lot
of challenge for us. We've inherited and we're working through
some pretty tough and difficult times. But you know, the
way that the coalition government has been formed, the way
that we've got the right ministers and the right assignments
for the right clarity about what they're there to do.
I knowledge it's tough, but I think we're making progress
and I think the plan's working.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
And what do you think are the big challenges in
the next couple of years ahead.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Well, this government still hasn't really stamped its mark to
say what they're about. We still don't really have any
great kind of ideological indepinds, branding or vision of what
this government's going to achieve. I mean, we hear that
Nikola willis and the next budget is going to deal
(16:10):
with economic growth. They're going to bring in a lot
more of the social investment program. It's yet to be
seen whether that's going to resonate with people. And in
the end, you know that they're going to be fighting
some of those cultural wars that we've seen, especially around
the Treaty. You know that's going to give this government
(16:30):
a lot of challenges because we're now seeing where the
resistance is coming to this government.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Now.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
When they first came into power, I sort of wondered, well,
who's going to be leading the fight back against this government.
To some extent, it's been the parties in Parliament, but
I don't think they've been particularly strong. I wondered whether
it was going to be the public service, the government
departments that would feel aggrieved about some of the reforms
(16:56):
this government are doing and as well as that all
the cutbacks to departments. But it hasn't really been the
public service. Likewise, academia, there's a lot of unhappiness in
the universities, etc. And the education system about this government,
but they don't really seem to be leading it. Leading
the resistance that is the media I think leading it
(17:17):
to some extent, but in the end it's turned out
to be Ewi Tiao Mai in general are the main
sort of focus for challenging this government, and of course
you're having lots of other sectors that are sort of
piggybacking on. But on top of the Hecoy etc. That's
going to continue over the next two years, I'm not
sure it's going to be a huge disadvantage to the government.
(17:41):
Sometimes governments like to have enemies that they can then
I guess demonize or get some sympathy because they're being
hated on by those movements. So yep, the next two years,
I think critics are going to point out some of
(18:02):
the vested interests, the lack of integrity in the way
that this coalition government is operating. Those on the right
are going to complain about the lack of reforms, so
the government really has to be more than a do nothing,
tinkering government.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Thanks for joining us, Bryce, Thanks Chelsea. That's it for
this episode of the Front Page. You can read more
about today's stories and extensive news coverage at enzadherld dot
co dot nz. The Front Page is produced by Ethan
Sells and Richard Martin, who is also a sound engineer.
(18:40):
I'm Chelsea Daniels. Subscribe to the front page on iHeartRadio
or wherever you get your podcasts, and tune in tomorrow
for another look behind the headlines.
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