Former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Changing the Labour narrative
Labour’s election loss has been mostly a negative narrative — with very little balanced appraisal.
My perspective is that Jacindamania, and by extension appreciation for the Labour leadership, is alive and strong. They governed with a “They Are Us” range of values. Leadership that focused on empathy and opportunity for the less-privileged and wider community. We are proud that kindness was the keynote focus in her United Nations address. Not surprisingly, she towered on the world stage characterised by might, plunder and division.
Jacinda’s farewell interview should give her haters some reflection. When asked about the onslaught of hate mail, she said that criticism was a given in politics so she would choose to remember meeting New Zealanders who were more often than not generous and kind. The world community is largely congratulatory of Labour’s leadership through Covid. An evaluation based on big-picture realities — thousands of dead; doctors and nurses dying in droves treating the unvaccinated; economic ruin in the absence of government support. International citizens were aware that lockdowns, closed borders and vaccine mandates were the norm, so unlike many Kiwis did not evaluate on the basis of personal peev — lockdowns too long; family Xmases missed; personal freedoms lost. Why the total absence of recognition for Labour’s responses in 2023 to the climate disasters? That the workload was giant; the huge handouts to so many made inevitable the diversion of dollars from other projects. Instead, Labour had lost its way; Labour had done nothing; the economy was in tatters. Ironically the big news now is that Labour has bequeathed New Zealand an economic upturn.
Angela Yatri, Oratia.
Swinging right
Many commentators in the public and in the media are still wondering why Labour lost the election so badly.
The Labour Government had an agenda, confirmed by the He Puapua document, which all of Jacinda’s tight scrum contributed to and agreed with her. That agenda, which was not in the public domain until late in the piece, was designed to take our lovely country to a place that was simply unacceptable to most.
All of the original Labour scrum are still in place and their ultimate agenda is still the same — but thank God approximately half of the people who voted Labour in 2020 came to realise the dangerous path we were on and swung away. And that is why we have a new Government.
Steve Clerk, Meadowbank.
Ardern’s record
Johan Slabbert has a distorted view of Jacinda Ardern. He makes statements that don’t make sense.
Jacinda took over the party, tried to achieve the things that are important to Labour, such as tackling child poverty, but was soon faced with the most horrific terrorist attack in New Zealand’s history and showed leadership and compassion unparalleled by other world leaders. This was followed by the worst pandemic in a century. Her decisiveness here while other nations prevaricated saved thousands of lives.
Jacinda was one of the most popular leaders in the world then, which was deserved. Meaning she was qualified for the job. Her downfall came from a concerted campaign by extreme right-wing (mostly foreign) organisations which exploited the disaffected anti-vaxxers and other vulnerable people and created the monster which became the parliamentary protest camp, leading to a proliferation of false information, subsequent vitriol and death threats toward Jacinda. This when the country was starting to hurt economically from the long-term effects of the pandemic. Jacinda then wisely gave her party a chance to renew itself for this last election by stepping down. I never saw Jacinda as incompetent, although some of those surrounding her were.
Niall Robertson, Balmoral.
Leadership qualifications
Johan Slabbert (NZ Herald, October 25) asserts Jacinda Ardern did not have a regular job and so therefore was unfit to be prime minister.
For the record, Bill English spent a year working on the family farm, then headed off to Wellington to work as a researcher for Jim Bolger.
As for Ardern’s legacy, how about thousands of apprentices? Thousands of children lifted out of poverty? Some 6000 social houses and raising the number of police? As for the incoming Government, it’ll be interesting to see what their legacy will be given that their tax cut numbers, their major promise, are already looking shaky.
John Capener, Kawerau.
Given the push
In answer to Johan Slabbert’s letter, “Who pushed Jacinda?”
I think it was Hayden Munro, the Labour Party 2020 and 2023 election campaign manager. Media and polls have been slow to recognise that the Labour Government lost huge nationwide support towards the end of 2022 for policy announcements without delivery.
Hayden Munro and Mike Munro are very experienced Labour campaigners who understood the mood of the nation and I believe that they concluded that Ardern had so polarised the country that she had become a liability to Labour’s re-election chances.
Gary Carter, Gulf Harbour.
Doomsday disaster
Once again a Herald climate reporter reminds us of our heating planet and the consequences of carrying on regardless.
This time Seth Borenstein reports on the ice melt in western Antarctica, nicknamed “the doomsday disaster” because of its ability to add 1.8m to sea levels (NZ Herald, September 25). This study only covers the period to the year 2100, because melting huge ice shelves takes time.
But do we care about our descendents? Will those running our country now see the need to provide a liveable planet? Should we ignore them anyway and decide for humanity ourselves? We could make a stand on how often we fly (maybe once or twice per year per person, which could be transferable), how we use public transport more often and move away from fossil fuel usage. This could be an easy contribution to stop the planet heating and a guide to our leaders of what we see as important.
Emma Mackintosh, Birkenhead.
Labour pains
Good old Simon Wilson. “Why didn’t Labour do more?” he asks — (NZ Herald, Oct 24) — and then (unlike fellow columnists) provides much evidence of policy implementation that they actually did do, that was most constructive, progressive and extremely beneficial to the population at large.
Wilson was the only Herald columnist who consistently found, and commented unequivocally on, all the positives for the country and its people embodied in Labour’s legislative moves.
From all the other commentators there was nothing but negativity. Even Wilson seems now to be unsympathetic to the extremes of the pandemic, and all the climate catastrophies we and the world have undergone.
Labour saw us through with huge life-saving priorities, better than any other country. Financially, also — businesses saved, and wages protected — as well as lives. These crises, one on top of the other, rendered other considerations less urgent, and shortened the time left in each electoral cycle for formulating more legislative change in other policy areas. Media commentators now seem to bitterly resent Labour’s success in dealing with the pandemic — or disregard it altogether when analysing Labour’s performance while in government. Wilson talks about what Marx would have done. That would have played even more into the brayings of Labour’s media critics. Perhaps Wilson himself should have done more to combat these aggressive and unbalanced media attacks and spoken up more vehemently on Labour’s behalf. But then again, maybe he’s always too concerned with the facts, and believes (wrongly) that by just presenting them as they are, their benefits should then be obvious to everyone. Which may well have been Labour’s biggest problem also.
Clyde Scott, Birkenhead.
Coach class
I admire Ian Foster and his mental strength in overcoming months of negativity regarding his ability to take his team to the RWC final. This huge step forward could not have been achieved without a classy group of co-coaches. I was lucky enough to be in Johannesburg in 1995 and 28 years later I feel that with all those coaches they have every chance of reversing the 1995 RWC final outcome.
Lyndsay Morgan, Tauranga.
Stop the wastage
The fact that Government entities the incoming administration has already said will be abolished are still spending money like there is no tomorrow is a disgrace and reflects poorly on those organisations. New Zealand just cannot afford the wastage we have experienced over the past six years.
Mike Baker, Tauranga.
Trip to Paris, anyone?
I am wondering if the Prime Minister-elect is planning a quick trip to Paris for the final of the Rugby World Cup. Who knows, his presence might even inspire an All Blacks’ victory. Then again ...
Greg Cave, Sunnyvale.
Deficit shows decline
How can Massey University suddenly announce they have a $50 million deficit. This reinforces our absurd decline in education. No one will be held accountable likely, par for the course.
Ian MacGregor, Greenhithe.
Cup confidence warning
There seems to be a lot of confidence among All Blacks fans for the RWC final. Remember, it ain’t over until the last whistle’s blown.
Jeremy Coleman, Hillpark.
How much time do you need?
Simon Wilson’s opinion piece about Labour’s wellbeing Budget shows his delusion with his comment “Labour just needed more time”. How much can you justify spending with no evidence of outcomes?
Emma Wilson, Bayview.
Call on new government to tackle $200 billion infrastructure investment abyss
Some parliamentarians, in their wisdom, cancelled a lot of infrastructure projects about six years ago, that would have cost about half what they will cost now. Can we not have another election for another 10 years, so we can get this country out of its, almost, Third World status. Jill G.
Every government has been handing hospital passes to the next government for decades when it comes to lack of investment in infrastructure. Thomas M.
Imagine what 160,000 people on Jobseeker given a shovel could do if they had the motivation to work. James M.
Roads, highways and rapid transit should be the job of local government and their transport agencies. And they will also be responsible for collecting fuel tax, road tolls along with transit fares. This would better deliver the transport infrastructure needs of each region. John M.
Bring back the Ministry of Works, who focused on delivering infrastructure! David C.
New Zealand seems to have a total inability to develop any sort of comprehensive infrastructure plan. John Brian J.
Overseas, most roads needed to be built to increase traffic flows are tolled. Why does New Zealand have such a bad attitude to tolled roads? They seem to forget the Auckland Harbour Bridge was tolled, enabling it to be built. Steve J.
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