Ryan Bridge: Labour lost the country's trust, can they get it back?

Politics is largely about trust. 

When you break it down to its most simple terms, it's about trust. 

If you see a bloke or a woman on the telly trying to get your vote, you try and work out what sort of person they are? Do they think like me? Are they smart? Are they thick? Can I trust that they'll make a good decision at an important time?

It's a magic thing that takes a lifetime to earn in a second to plunder. 

And so as the Labour Party faithful filed in for their annual conference gearing up for another year and then probably another term in opposition, voters won't be thinking about anything to do with politics right now because we're mid cycle. 

It's way too early. It's like fretting over a birth before you're even pregnant. 

But when they do, they will ask whether they can trust Chippy. Like a sugar daddy Santa he was doling out the cash quicker than you could rake it in at the weekend. 

A full price new hospital in Dunedin. How much exactly will it cost? Well, we don't know, but we don't care, they're getting it.

Same goes with the rail enabled ferries. Hipkins says he'll make it happen.

How are you going to pay for all of that is the question when, as we learned last week, our growth outlooks have been downgraded. 

Nicola Willis has hinted that we'll probably be looking at, at pushing the surplus even further out into the future, which makes you wonder whether it's ever even going to happen, no matter who's in government, it's that bad. 

So how do you spend all that money, commit to spending all that money, commit to reversing all the cuts that National has made as well and then still balance the books. 

It's like wizardry and that's where trust comes into it. 

After six years, Labour lost the country's trust on many issues because as many people have said they couldn't deliver a pizza or run a bath.

They've been quiet on tax for now, but the remit did pass at the election. 

So the question is whether Labour should at this point be promising much in the way of anything to anyone when they've lost so much capital on delivery.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Politics is largely about trust. When you break it down
to its most simple terms, it's about trust. If you
see a bloke or a woman on the tally trying
to get your vote, you try and work out what
sort of person they are. Do they think like me?
Are they smart? Are they thick? Can I trust that
they'll make a good decision in an important time. It's

(00:21):
a magic thing that takes a lifetime to earn, in
a second to plunder. And so as the Labor Party
faithful filed in for their annual conference, gearing up for
another year and then probably another term and opposition, you'd
have to stay on balance. Voters will be thinking about well, actually,
voters mon't be thinking about anything to do with politics
right now, because we're mid cycle. It's way too early.

(00:42):
It's like freshing over a birth before you're even pregnant.
You know, it's just way too in the future. But
when they do, they will ask whether they can trust
Chippy Like a sugar daddy Santa. He was doling out
the cash quicker than you could wake it in at
the weekend, a full new hospital into need. And how
much exactly will it cost, Well, we don't know, but

(01:05):
we don't care. They're getting it, saying what goes with
the rail enabled fairies, They're on their way. The price
was in the billions for the landside parts of that
doesn't matter. It's happening. How are you going to pay
for all of that is the question when, as we
learned last week, our growth outlooks have been downgraded. Nikolas
is hinted at a when we find out finally, when

(01:25):
we get the Hayfu numbers, that we'll probably be looking
at at pushing the surplus even further out into the future,
which makes you wonder whether it's ever even going to happen. Ever,
no matter who's in government, it's that bad. So how
do you spend all that money, commit to spending all
that money, commit to reversing all the cuts that nationals

(01:46):
made as well, and then still balance the books. It's
like wizardry, and that's where trust comes into it. After
six years, labor lost the country's trust on many issues because,
as many people have said, they couldn't deliver a pizza,
or run a bath or pick here, you know, pick
your number of metaphors. They've been quiet on tax for now,

(02:10):
but the remit did pass at the election so the
question is where the labor should at this point be
promising much in the way of anything to anyone when
they've lost so much capital on delivery. For more from
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