Editorial: National kicks off another match in the election campaign series

National is promising to four-lane highways from Whangārei to Tauranga, which it has costed at $6 billion. Photo / Michael Craig

EDITORIAL

Elections lend themselves to sports analogies, sometimes to a distracting degree.

They range from horse races (the entire thing) to boxers squaring up in a focus on the party leaders (especially during debates).

It’s part of the mix of events and issues, personality and character, style and substance, news cycles and background that make up campaigns.

And the parts of it that may annoy some people, such as the endless speculation about what might happen in two and a half months when there are still 10 weeks to go, haven’t stopped useful information from getting out to the public.

We’ve learned a lot about what the parties would like to do, what they focus on, how they present their programmes, how the main leaders handle pressure on their own side and from their rivals.

Sports may even have an influence on the public mood with the All Blacks likely playing in the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup on the Sunday or Monday after the election on October 14.

In sporting analogies, the Government has lately looked more like the hesitant, unconvincing, down-on-form-and-teamwork All Blacks of last year.

They’d no doubt prefer to be the confident, decisive All Blacks of this year, who appear as though they’re on the same page of a plan they understand and have just picked up two trophies.

The word that currently applies to the rugby team is sharp. They don’t just run into space, they attack it.

Labour is a long way off that acuity. Getting its act together is necessary before the party can put consistent pressure on their rivals, who have been able to feed off Labour’s mistakes without feeling a blowtorch themselves.

The Government has been passive in allowing opponents and political influencers to define its policies, even the unconfirmed fresh one of removing GST from fruit and vegetables. Potentially promising ideas apparently can be grounded by wails of “it’s unworkable” - even though deployed in working order in other countries.

National has been able to release potentially voter-pleasing offerings without explaining how it arrived at costings, and with vague explanations of where the money is coming from. The party still has to explain a central feature of its policy platform - its proposed tax cuts.

Now with National’s transport policy, the party has outlined a goal of four-lane highways from Whangārei to Tauranga for $6 billion - which appears to be a low cost for what’s involved. More highways are promised elsewhere, including one from Wellington to the airport. Light rail would be axed in Auckland and Wellington.

Some of the cost of new roads would be paid for by tolls - an idea shared with Act.

Public transport gets some attention in Auckland with a northwestern rapid transit corridor, a busway from the airport to Botany and the completion of the eastern busway.

National’s transport policy exemplifies an important choice for voters in this election - do we as a nation continue to tackle climate change by widening choices away from vehicles?

Better infrastructure is required but climate action proponents say so is more use of public transport and fewer cars on the road, even with growing use of electric ones.

Labour’s previously announced aims include better infrastructure, another Auckland harbour crossing and light rail.

National has just kicked off a major match with its main rival on infrastructure and transport.