Jonathan Milne: Few of Labour’s changes will stand the test of time

Working for Tomorrow boasted the bright red Labour Party election billboard, surreptitiously snuck into the caucus room for excited MPs.

Tomorrow? Next year? Next generation? Labour shows little evidence that it is looking beyond today.

As the party concludes its election-year congress today, there has been a lot of "rah rah" about how well Labour is doing in the polls, how well it is doing at staying in government.

The theme of the congress, says president Mike Williams, is that Labour is a competent party and a competent Government looking for a third term.

Well, whoop-de-do.

Instead of patting themselves on the back, Labour delegates should be asking themselves: a generation down the track, what has this Government done to be remembered by?

The Cullen Superannuation Fund, it has to be said, is pretty much all. And Finance Minister Michael Cullen would be first to admit that the fund, while important, will not provide a full or lasting solution to supporting the country's ageing population. It is a band-aid, albeit a big one.

Beyond that, there are few social or economic changes that will stand the test of time. Civil unions, for all the howls of protest from the Destiny Church, are a relatively insignificant administrative adjustment. The Foreshore and Seabed Act confiscated from Maori a right they would never have been able to exercise, and makes no difference to who can use the beaches.

On Friday the Government celebrated the roll-out of its billion-dollar Working for Families package, the flagship policy of last year's Budget. While many middle-income families will receive a nice weekly cash injection into the household finances, National and Act correctly point out it provides little incentive for low-income families to improve their situation, because what the Government gives with one hand will be largely taken away in taxes with the other.

The Opposition goes too far when it implies the Government is perpetrating a deception on middle New Zealand: Mr and Mrs Middle New Zealand will open their Working for Families bank statement - tax deducted at source - and competently judge whether they feel as warm and fuzzy this election year as Labour hopes.

Meanwhile the flagship policy of next month's Budget - the grand plan to help New Zealanders save for tertiary education, a first home and retirement - is fast beginning to look like a tinpot dinghy flying the white flag of surrender.

With Dr Cullen giving vague acquiescence to a figure around $50m as the cost of the entire package, and warnings from the Treasury that he must cut back on spending, it seems unlikely the Government will do anything memorable to encourage Kiwis to save.

The New Zealand Institute is to report back on Wednesday on how the Government can encourage saving. Its target of several billion dollars public support annually for private savings throws down the gauntlet to the Government.

But with a voting public that is sceptical of grand gestures, this is not a Government willing to take that kind of risk. This is a Government more interested in what the pollsters say today than what the historians say tomorrow.