National Party leader Judith Collins with Auckland Central candidate Emma Mellow during their walkabout along Ponsonby Road, Auckland on October 7. Photo / Brett Phibbs
National Party leader Judith Collins with Auckland Central candidate Emma Mellow during their walkabout along Ponsonby Road, Auckland on October 7. Photo / Brett Phibbs
OPINION:
The National Party has introduced some much-needed dramatic tension into the campaign in the closing days by training their guns on themselves.
Usually, oppositions wait until after they lose to start the blame game, but the party's coming defeat is so obvious, the malcontents can't wait until Sunday toget it started.
I thought National was taking a risk by emphasising its "Strong Team" after cycling through three leaders in a matter of months, but the tagline seems even sillier in light of the leaks, gaffes and unforced errors that have marred National's campaign.
In the last weekend before the election, the contrast between the mood in the Labour and National camps couldn't have been clearer.
In Māngere, the PM was surrounded by more than a thousand adoring fans; in Pakuranga - which, let's face it, is Māngere for Tories - barely a couple of dozen bothered to keep Judith Collins company.
At least they didn't try the rent-a-crowd stunt from earlier that week. The Ponsonby walkabout with loyalist embeds created one of the most memorable, and easily the most excruciating, moments of an otherwise lacklustre campaign.
Lacklustre suits Labour, of course. When you're nursing a 20-point lead, the less that happens, the better. It's also why Labour has studiously avoided making itself much of a target.
It makes sense as a campaign strategy, but this "softly, softly" approach has frustrated me as a lifelong party supporter. Bluntly, I'm concerned the party isn't making the most of the political capital Jacinda Ardern has earned for it. Power for the sake of it has always struck me as the province of the other side of politics.
Nonetheless, when I sat down with Finance Minister Grant Robertson over the weekend, I was pleasantly surprised by the expansiveness of his next term agenda. We met over coffee a couple of hours before he was to introduce the boss at a rally held at the Michael Fowler Centre.
Projecting forward three years, I asked Robertson what he would like his legacy to be. Citing his Labour predecessor as finance minister, he noted "Michael's [Cullen] legacy was across a lot of areas, not one big thing - and that's the approach we need to take as well".
But he then surprised me with his specificity, naming social insurance as a key policy aim for the next term. The idea for an ACC-style approach to funding jobless benefits has gained considerable traction, winning support from business groups and unions alike.
The trends Robertson identified through his Future of Work study in opposition have only accelerated with Covid, and he is animated by the chance to push through this kind of reform.
He was also bullish on the prospects for sector-based reform, citing tourism as the obvious example. "We didn't get it right before," he said, "now we can." That's an approach to the next term I can get behind.
Ko Ngā ringa raupā te manawa o te ao tōrangapū. Ko koe tēnā I whakanuia I te wiki nei e Rudy. Ngā mihi aroha ki a koe me tō whānau.
I want to recognise Rudy Taylor of te Tai Tokerau who is unwell. A well-respected hapū and community leader.
