Labour ruling out wealth or capital gains tax makes the four way divide clearer. The two political blocs are not just distinctly different prospects, they also are each made up of two wings.
One on each side leans towards the status quo and pragmatism, and the other is more keen to shake things up and to push forward ideas that might end up gaining acceptance at some stage.
New Zealanders, like people in other countries, have been dealing with an oppressive cost of living and housing issues for well over a year, but a few of those pressure points appear to have eased slightly, even as economic conditions might worsen later in the year.
On Wednesday the official cash rate was kept at the same level. New Zealand’s inflation rate of 6.7 per cent is better than the European Union (7.1), Australia (7) and just above the OECD average of 6.5. Our unemployment rate (3.4) looks good compared to the EU (5.9), OECD (4.8) and Australia (3.6).
But the cost of living is up 12.5 per cent in a year. The OECD food inflation average is 11, with Australia (9.6) and EU (15).
In a recent opinion poll, a majority of respondents believed the country is on the “wrong track”. The view that Australia is a nearby escape route is symptomatic of general uncertainty.
All the major parties are riffing on uncertainty in different ways in attempts to connect with voters’ mood.
From Labour, it’s that only they have the experience and can be relied upon to look after your interests responsibly in tough times. The Green Party are tapping into anxiety over the warming planet, asking whether enough is being done and how we’re going to pay for it.
National and Act are chasing people’s worries over crime, promising more punishment and prisons. But they are also competing on the economy, and on topics that matter to their party bases.
Amid these agendas, the Greens and Act stand out with their very different platforms. Since both could be in coalition depending on the topline result, they make the voting choice stark. And they have stirred debate over tax reform.
On the other side of the revenue question - increasing the country’s productivity - the Prime Minister’s trip to Europe has brought the idea of research and development projects into focus.
While attention was on the signing of a free trade deal with the European Union, New Zealand also joined the Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme.
That means greater access to Europe’s largest science collaboration platform for our researchers. “This will widen the scope and allow them to work more closely with their European counterparts on some of our most pressing problems, such as climate change and energy,” Chris Hipkins said.
Potentially, that means business opportunities down the track in green technology as the EU tries to compete with the United States and Asia-Pacific countries in this growth area. It’s a win for the country regardless of which political side is running it.
New Zealand is linked to Pillar Two, which has current funding of €53.5 billion. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen noted that “this is the first association agreement with a country that is not geographically close to Europe, but very close in so many other ways”.
It’s ironic that this is happening while Kiwis are heading across the ditch, and there are clouds over university programmes and science teaching in schools.
It is an interesting model of using extra outside investment to help our own situation. We are, of course, a lot closer to Australia than Europe. Instead of the perpetual brain drain, there should be more transtasman joint-investment projects based here.
Even as people are consumed by current problems, there are still future possibilities to think about.
