At last a clear set of comments that Labour need to take to their caucus and ram it down if we are to ever break the neoliberal stranglehold on our politics. I’m too old (75) to commit to activism on the streets again. We need to convince Labour to get the younger generations on board and quickly. The messaging needs to well targeted. My big fear is whether Chippy is the man for this.
Great analysis of Hipkins and Labour Party conference Sapphi! We are in danger of becoming a country where the only enacted policies are band-aid that can be ripped off by successive governments. Labour squandered a unique opportunity in their last term and managed to alienate a sizeable chunk of the country with overbearing lockdowns that I suspect many voters will NEVER forgive them for. A fairer taxation system should be as basic an agenda as any promises to rebuild this or that, because without a revenue stream hitting the ultra rich in this country Labour will always end up targeting middle New Zealand for their fiscal needs, and that demographic has been bled dry for too long! As for America..........
Labours invisible party routine will not win the election. If they can't get a clear policy and start ramming it home shortly, they will not be in a position to right the wrongs of the current government. They have some good talent in the Party, way better than the clowns in the coalition but that won't be enough without direction and clarity.
Oh well… not that I’m a fan, but if politicians started mentioning it, it might become more open to media scrutiny and criticism and just maybe we could move on. I just sick of its “elephant in the room” status.
Brilliant analysis. So insightful. I too am so frustrated with Labour in NZ and their apparent timidity. I was frustrated too by UK labour’s campaign and resultant government. There seems no appetite to engage in developing a coherent, reasoned narrative for genuine change that they can sell to the voters. My hypothesis is that it is because: they lack imagination and courage; it’s difficult to sell big change in the era of soundbites and rightwing weaponised mainstream and social media; a switched off electorate. But that is no reason not to TRY.
“If you vote for Labour,” Chippie promises, “we will undo the awful decisions National has made in the single year they’ve been in government so far and return us to a path of left-wing neoliberalism.”
Why?
Because Chippy did not say it. That's your impression of his speech, which was incredibly uplifting after the previous 12 months. Everyone in the room was bouyed up.
We all need to do our bit to ensure this coalition government is a one term government and the next government is ready to take New Zealanders with them and achieve what New Zealanders want.
Labour and National are inherently do nothing governments. The only reason National looks like they are pushing the agenda is because they are being pushed by the their junior fringe coalition partners. Luxon is just the breakfast director ( like in being had for breakfast) . If we want to move away from our failed neoliberal reality and want real change then we need a new ‘left’ party that actually creates a vision for this country to be a better place for everyone and develops policies to get us there. At the moment we only get dopamine hit tactics. We want a fairer tax system and Labour just jumps to a solution with CGT without actually exploring all the options and taking the voters with on the ride. Because of that they will fail again and then they can say ‘See it doesn’t work. The people don’t want the wealthy to pay more tax. Nothing to see here , move on’
At last a clear set of comments that Labour need to take to their caucus and ram it down if we are to ever break the neoliberal stranglehold on our politics. I’m too old (75) to commit to activism on the streets again. We need to convince Labour to get the younger generations on board and quickly. The messaging needs to well targeted. My big fear is whether Chippy is the man for this.
It will be interesting to see how it goes with Kieran McAnulty’s involvement with the next campaign.
I often wonder if our politicians are aware of the Substack articles from writers such as Sapphi, Mountain Tui, Bryan Bruce, Nick Rockel, etc?
If not, they should be.
Your never too old and it's never too late 😃
Great analysis of Hipkins and Labour Party conference Sapphi! We are in danger of becoming a country where the only enacted policies are band-aid that can be ripped off by successive governments. Labour squandered a unique opportunity in their last term and managed to alienate a sizeable chunk of the country with overbearing lockdowns that I suspect many voters will NEVER forgive them for. A fairer taxation system should be as basic an agenda as any promises to rebuild this or that, because without a revenue stream hitting the ultra rich in this country Labour will always end up targeting middle New Zealand for their fiscal needs, and that demographic has been bled dry for too long! As for America..........
Yep, time to put trickle-down, neo-liberalism town, in the rear view window. Chippy, doesn’t get, never going to get it, move on. Next punter.
Rear view mirror. 😁
Labours invisible party routine will not win the election. If they can't get a clear policy and start ramming it home shortly, they will not be in a position to right the wrongs of the current government. They have some good talent in the Party, way better than the clowns in the coalition but that won't be enough without direction and clarity.
Did Chippy really use the phrase “left wing neo- liberalism”? If he did, at least it was honest for a change…
Ah no, he didn’t, that was my paraphrasing of his speech. 😅
Oh well… not that I’m a fan, but if politicians started mentioning it, it might become more open to media scrutiny and criticism and just maybe we could move on. I just sick of its “elephant in the room” status.
He didn't.
Brilliant analysis. So insightful. I too am so frustrated with Labour in NZ and their apparent timidity. I was frustrated too by UK labour’s campaign and resultant government. There seems no appetite to engage in developing a coherent, reasoned narrative for genuine change that they can sell to the voters. My hypothesis is that it is because: they lack imagination and courage; it’s difficult to sell big change in the era of soundbites and rightwing weaponised mainstream and social media; a switched off electorate. But that is no reason not to TRY.
This quote annoyed me:
“If you vote for Labour,” Chippie promises, “we will undo the awful decisions National has made in the single year they’ve been in government so far and return us to a path of left-wing neoliberalism.”
Why?
Because Chippy did not say it. That's your impression of his speech, which was incredibly uplifting after the previous 12 months. Everyone in the room was bouyed up.
We all need to do our bit to ensure this coalition government is a one term government and the next government is ready to take New Zealanders with them and achieve what New Zealanders want.
Labour and National are inherently do nothing governments. The only reason National looks like they are pushing the agenda is because they are being pushed by the their junior fringe coalition partners. Luxon is just the breakfast director ( like in being had for breakfast) . If we want to move away from our failed neoliberal reality and want real change then we need a new ‘left’ party that actually creates a vision for this country to be a better place for everyone and develops policies to get us there. At the moment we only get dopamine hit tactics. We want a fairer tax system and Labour just jumps to a solution with CGT without actually exploring all the options and taking the voters with on the ride. Because of that they will fail again and then they can say ‘See it doesn’t work. The people don’t want the wealthy to pay more tax. Nothing to see here , move on’