Barry Soper: Government needs 'a good oiling' in order to keep promises

Opinion

The wheels might not be coming off the coalition Government but they're certainly in need of a good oiling and the tyres need to be inflated.

We're told to give them the benefit of the doubt that they've got a plan, even if the doubts continue to grow.

How was Jacinda Ardern to know when she was being interviewed on a television debate last year that this time next week nurses could be downing their stethoscopes?

She was asked under a Government led by her whether the country would go back to the days of national, industry-wide strikes and she was adamant: "No we will not."

Pressed on whether she was giving a rock-solid guarantee she was equally adamant, answering in the affirmative.

You could have expected her to know with the trade unions exerting much more power in a Government than they've ever been allowed to in the past that was always going to be a risk, which is now being realised.

But in fairness she was hardly going to admit to that during an election campaign.

But this Government is increasingly giving the appearance of being in a position that they never thought in their wildest dreams they'd be in, and that's calling the shots.

That's probably why they went out and fervently promised they had the answer to the housing crisis, to build a hundred thousand over the next 10 years.

There was a deafening chorus of "what about the workers", or more correctly, where were they going to come from, especially when Labour was promising to cut immigration, which to New Zealand First was a mating call that worked?

The Minister now in charge of the grand housing plan, Phil Twyford, was on Tuesday being confronted by his opposite number in Parliament's bear pit, the sneering Judith Collins, who wanted to know what part of Kiwibuild is Kiwi.

Twyford assured her they weren't planning on bringing in workers from overseas to complete the ambitious project but then the very next day that's exactly what they announced, making it easier for building firms to bring in skilled foreign hired hands to make up the shortfall of thirty thousand construction workers.

A shortage of skilled plumbers, sparkies, builders, engineers and project managers was holding up the rapid progress they need to make, we were told.

And they're certainly right about that if they have any chance of reaching their target, the first 18 Kiwibuild houses were under construction in south Auckland, they proudly announced in April, leaving just 99,982 to go.

But then like a lot of announcements with this Government, this one still has a way to go. The immigration gates will remain only slightly ajar for the next six months, with final decisions "following consultation".

Announcing it now is a bit like opening the front door to an empty section.