Fresh from u-turning so much in one week that he’s lost political traction and is now endlessly spinning doughnuts over all National’s tax policy, Chis Luxon has struck a fairly lame note at this years conference.
The Party internally is riven by factions angry that the Auckland big money part of town now has total dominance over the internal processes of the Party.
This fight for power will emerge in the new appointment of the Party President.
The Blue Dragons (the Chinese faction of the National Party), are frustrated with the current Government’s siding with America and want more international policy but with the current donations scandal in Court, they can’t get any traction.
The rural faction and South Island factions are furious Big money Auckland has taken over while ignoring their culture issues.
The internal factions haven’t gone away because the hatchet was buried alongside Judith Collins lead lined coffin, Luxon won because Collins told her thralls to spite vote him to block Simon Bridges.
Luxon isn’t the best candidate, he was the compromise candidate, and what a compromise it’s turned out to be.
Look beyond the faction in fighting and Luxon’s tendency to blunder and U-turn every week, just look at the policy failure!
Not one of you can seriously believe that National’s economic ‘plan’ is anything other than total bullshit that won’t in any way shape or form solve the complex problems in front of us!
Let’s look at the above ‘plan’
‘Stop adding costs to business’ – You mean like the extended sick pay that we needed because of Covid? You mean like allowing workers who have been beaten during domestic violence time off work? You mean like Matariki? You mean like the minimum wage increases? If your business is on the verge of collapse because of sick days during a pandemic, allowing your workers to heal their domestic abuse bruises at home, basic pay rises and the only Māori public holiday, could I humbly suggest you shouldn’t be in fucking business! The low wage economy that National and ACT live for is the problem here, not extra days off that attempt to provide better work conditions.
‘Remove bottlenecks to the economy’ – Oh you mean mass immigration, the very mass immigration that crushed Auckland, sparked the housing crisis and forces domestic workers to compete against cheaper migrant labour? That’s not a solution, that’s the problem! It’s like National are the Dr and they’ve suggested amputating the body away from the Tumour so the Tumour can keep growing!
‘Disciplined Government Spending’ –National always tell us that will cut spending, but never actually explain where that spending cut will come from because you the voter will shit yourself when you see how much they want to slash and burn out of welfare, education and health.
‘Tax relief for hard working Kiwis’ – The average worker will get less than $1000 in National tax cuts, Luxon will take home $18 000 in tax cuts! Poor people aren’t stupid, they see through that!
‘Focus the Reserve Bank solely on inflation’ – So remove the welfare of the citizens and just focus on inflation? What a great step backwards!
NONE and I mean NONE of this is a solution! Cutting sick days, dumping public holidays, stopping minimum wage increases, mass immigration, tax cuts for the rich, vast slash and burn campaign on public services (but not telling you what those public services will be) and forcing the Gods of NZ Capitalism to focus solely on inflation are not solutions, they are a joke looking for a punchline.
You can be shitty with Labour, but don’t dare pretend Aloha Luxon has any answer!
The reason National pretended he was in Te Puke and not holidaying in Hawaii was because they knew how politically damaging it would be for him to manipulate everyones cost of living pain juxtapositioned with him sunning himself in Hawaii!
That juxtaposition would make his concerns look fake because My 7 Properties isn’t actually impacted by the cost of living crisis and National knew that kind of hypocrisy would indelibly stain his brand.
That he then had the audacity to bash beneficiaries and then double down and bash youth beneficiaries is the real Luxon and National Party at play, using their positions of privilege to shit on people less fortunate than them and mask that arrogance as ‘hand up not hand out’ charity.
This conference is coming across as desperate, because that’s what it is. Desperate!
If that analysis of National is correct, and a party of self serving personalities like National could be that factional, then I’m not surprised. Collins was so very bad her replacement simply couldn’t come fast enough and drilling down into silly things like references was never going to happen, such was the pure desperation.
Luxon is a duffer, used to either getting his way through his title or subordinates obsequiousness does not maketh a Prime Ministers personality that appeals to the public. Plus his unaware/out to lunch style is hopeless. And don’t his MP’s know it! I think some of their raw anger displayed at their conference (Chris Bishop) is because of that.
Nationals ruinous “tax relief for hard working kiwis” aka The Lux and his cronies, is so 90’s. These morons appear to be as dumb on how things work as Labour!
But…
I agree with Ryan Bridge. On every measure we are worse off than before Labour was elected. The stats in this case do not lie. With the exception of Willie, a cabinet of polished school leaver politicians who offered so much promise but who otherwise could not work out collectively how to change a light bulb. And worse what we see is the cream of the crop. There may be the odd MP apart from Willie there who has been around enough outside of university to know how things work but we dont get to see them.
Both major parties are near indistinguishable and both mirror each other for giving an honest appearance of incompetence. And neither deserve our votes!
Well said Xray. Neither of those two parties will get my vote.
that’s right mein Krautenstein–an even worse party will will get your tick–ACT!
A penetrating radiograph of NZ politics! Pretty hard to argue with that, Xray. One conservative commentator described Americans’ “walk of shame” home after voting in the 2016 presidential elections, hoping nobody asked them whom they voted for. Next year is shaping up a bit like USA 2016. In all his life, Luxon’s probably never had an idea worth tuppence. His only redeeming features are:
– he’s not Jacinda Ardern
– he’s not planning to turn NZ into a nepotistic ethnostate
– his likely coalition partner is fiercely opposed to the ethnostate agenda
You need to stop and consider the amount of time and effort that Labour has had to expend on the pandemic. Couple this with the fact they were hobbled by the megalomaniacs of NZ First and who knows what they may have achieved.
The anger shown by Bishop and the attack speech from Willis both showing a lack of coherent policy and costings shows how desperate they are to cover up the mess they are in.
I wonder what their internal polling is showing.
Its obviously not telling them that attack is not the best form of defense.
The headline on Stuff is telling ” the 70s are back and want their policies” shows a complete lack of forward thinking. Next they will want to ban laptops and give the police powers skin to the night raids in Sth Auckland in the fight against overstayers
“You need to stop and consider the amount of time and effort that Labour has had to expend on the pandemic”
Nice try. The pandemic didn’t stop them developing unmandated plans for an ethnostate behind closed doors.
“Couple this with the fact they were hobbled by the megalomaniacs of NZ First and who knows what they may have achieved.”
Desperate stuff – who do you think you’re fooling? Winston’s long gone, but where is our CGT? What we learned after Peters’ departure from parliament is that he was a handbrake on LINO’s obsession with identity politics – not on their economic policy.
Yes Pope he was also the handbrake on benefit increases his best policy was the regional development policy other than that he was a hand brake full stop.
Thanks XRAY for putting sensible balance in this discussion.
We are worse off by every measure under the current high school team.
Willie Jackson is there for Willie.
Really? Is the unemployment rate worse than when Labour came to power? If you are going to use metrics then I would suggest that child poverty is not actually “worse” ( while clearly not being acceptable) than we labour came to power either. Sorry but sweeping statements like “every measure” from a man that found man buns acceptable, needs scrutiny.
And exactly why no one takes Bob’s “opinions” seriously.
Man buns?
Interesting, that photo came up in my Facebook feed the other day. I guess by the time National takes over from Labour, they’ll have some pretty big fires to put out.
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/history/big-wind-firefighting-vehicle.html
The story is repeated that Luxon is in power to hang the tax system to make an extra 18000 a year . To me it is strange to think a man will give up a job paying 4 plus million a year to do so .Once in those type of CEO roles he could have just moved to another one after Air NZ . I am also surprised that so many left wing writers have such an inside knowledge of the National,party.
He’s given up a ginormous salary for more widespread power & influence. Ego gratification, in other words. His political career is only for the short term before he returns to corporate life.
Starting to sound like his mentor, hmmm?
Trevor they spend more time reading, listening, and thinking than you spend in being surprised – that’s why they know stuff. And they get told by others doing the same if they make mistakes so the crew of thinkers keep each other sharp. You can be part of it if you just re-examine your own ideas and thoughts regularly and then apply your critiques to what is swirling around in the political mist and you will rarely have missed anything of note.
Sensible comment Trevor much better than a silly left wing rant for rant’s sake.
Agreed with both of you – XRAY and Sour Kraut….I wonder if both parties are going to actuality listen to Kiwis before the election…
A holiday in Hawaii for Luxon would have been okay if he actually was rich. John Key was rich. He was house in Hawaii rich. Luxon is just some ex-CEO with a minor property portfolio on a House of Travel deal in a second rate hotel making sure he takes advantage of the all you can eat buffet breakfast.
The poor guy cannot win . Many on this forum slam Luxon for being rich and actually daring to own 7 properties but for you he is too poor to be of any concequence.
We had a month long holiday in Hawaii a while back, stayed on the big island, did a few tourist type things like flying over an active volcano in a helicopter, snorkeling around where Captain Cook met his end, visiting the Mauna Kea observatory etc, but mostly explored by ourselves in a hire car and staying in reasonable accommodation (hotels, resorts & cottages). It was a pretty awesome trip and we really enjoyed it, carrying many memories from it to this day and did things that very few people have the opportunity to do. At the time I was earning less than $60k/year, so a holiday in Hawaii isn’t just for the rich.
The poor guy cannot win . Many on this forum slam Luxon for being rich and actually daring to own 7 properties but for you he is too poor to be of any concequence.
What some of you dipshits fail to comprehend is that the status quo that is the politic that’s embebded within our democracy hopes to Christ you DON’T vote. What, about not voting as essentially being a vote for the neoliberal fascist-capitalist status quo don’t you understand?
We’re still bedeviled by fucking neoliberalism for Christs sake. And while we remain being bogged down by neoliberalism we’re fucked. Unless you’re bob jones, the brand new billionaire or one or more of the four foreign banks that take billions of dollars out of our AO/NZ in NET profits annually.
That Lange Labour Government.
Sensible comment countryboy, much better than a silly right wing rant for rant’s sake.
Theyre getting ready to carry on with labours Cut, Slash & Burn neoliberal programme of incompetence!
Two sides of the same arse!
I think had Roger Douglas not happened upon the scene the neoliberal word would not have evolved and that would seriously limit comments on theTDB.
Haha you had me at “the hatchet was buried alongside Judith Collins lead lined coffin” – lol! Sunday Funday 😉
My prediction… Willis is on the move to take over from Luxon next. She’s Judeath 2.0. Better get the lead lined coffin ready. Rinse and repeat. That’ll be National for the next decade at least. That’ll be every political party for the next decade. Meanwhile, the voting base grows, and grows younger every year. Bring it on!
Pity the left in Christchurch couldn’t organize a few demos to give the Nats the disturbed sleep they deserve
And that will achieve? Last time I looked they’re not in power.
Or is it that left haven’t had something to protest about for sometime, because housing, poverty, education, health and crime are all fixed under the current govt?
Labour did well on covid but other than that they struggle to organise anything of note that is why there is so much disappointment and dissatisfaction
Exactly Trevor they are unable to manage or organise.
Are people dissatified they didn’t die (from covid ) or are they dissappointed Trev lives are worth more than any amount of money
Why do they deserve disturbed sleep?
Labour have made many mistakes, and the Caucus just loves their neo Blairist “stuff you” contraryism. But, they have also made hundreds of useful incremental changes from Paid Parental Leave increases and Minimum Wage hikes to implementing micro economic measures via the PGF.
So while the key political task is still to boot Rogernomics in the next few elections one way or another, voting Natzo is not an alternative anyone with even half a brain would consider unless they are selfish old tory blokes!
So the rhetoric of the rabid ranting right wing nut jobs like Bob that Labour have achieved nothing is just silly, childish innuendo? That’s what we all knew.
Cringeworthy. Not an original thought or a solution in sight. Yes, stuck in the 90’s but without the discipline and experience of those like Bill English.
Tear down, criticise, worship at the altar of demeaning the opposition (Not that it isnt deserved).
If I was a right wing voter, ACT is where I’d be going with my vote.
I’m surprised bishop didn’t swallow his tongue during his the nation interview motor mouth spewing vile creature.
I’m surprised bishop didn’t swallow his tongue during his the nation interview motor mouth spewing vile creature.
It’s probably too late to drop in another leader.
And who would it be, anyways?
Yes we are stuck with Jacinda there is no alternative in the Labour Government.
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