Christopher Luxon seizes the wheel with ‘tough love’ speech, benefit crackdown - Audrey Young

OPINION

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Welcome to the Politics Briefing. It was about time Christopher Luxon seized the wheel and started setting the Government’s agenda. That is what he has done in the past couple of days, with a decent State of the Nation speech and a bit of tub-thumping on unemployment (jobseeker) beneficiaries.

The Opposition has responded with disproportionate declamations of “cruelty” to what is, in essence, a letter by a minister, Louise Upston, to the Social Development ministry. It sets out expectations and a new procedure from June to check on people’s work readiness if they have been on the unemployment benefit for more than six months. It does not sound unreasonable and certainly goes nowhere near the threshold of “cruelty”.

Claire Trevett has summed it up well, saying it was part-theatre and a lot of politics.

But what was disturbing was some background information in Upston’s press statement yesterday. It says: “Of the roughly 189,000 people currently on jobseeker benefits, MSD only has strong visibility over the 60,000 or so who are receiving case management, including whether they are regularly applying for jobs.”

That is quite a revelation. Only 32 per cent of all of those receiving a jobseeker benefit are being case-managed. If this move gives MSD “greater visibility” over the people it is meant to be helping and over what help they need, there is nothing wrong with that.

Robertson leaves big shoes to fill

Finance Minister Grant Robertson is preparing to leave Parliament, as Thomas Couglan reports. Robertson will leave a huge gap in the Labour caucus as a force of stability, compassion and institutional knowledge. There will be plenty of time for reflection on his important role in the party before he leaves at the end of March. Unfortunately, in his new job, he won’t be able to play an active role in the party.

The popular Mana MP and former tax lawyer Barbara Edmonds will replace him as finance spokeswoman. Before entering Parliament, she worked in the offices of both Judith Collins and Stuart Nash when they were the ministers for Revenue. She comes with finance credentials but she will need to hone her political credentials and skills in order to execute the job well.

Last night’s 1News Verian poll - its first since the election in October and showing a drop in support for Labour leader Christopher Hipkins by 10 points may have seemed a bit dramatic, but it would have been odd if his support had remained the same. His party was roundly rejected at the election. And incumbency matters. By way of comparison, Sir Bill English’s ratings dropped nine points in the same poll between the one before the election and the first one after the election.

Meanwhile, the House is expected to endorse membership of the Intelligence and Security Committee on the nomination of the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition, who are already statutory members. Luxon has nominated NZ First leader Winston Peters, Act deputy leader Brooke Van Velden and Attorney-General Judith Collins; Hipkins has nominated Labour MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan and Green MP Teanau Tuiono.

Quote unquote

“We’re a country with a glint in our eye and fire in our soul... We climbed Everest. We split the atom. We charted waka across the ocean to come here, and we’re blasting off to space to compete with the best in the world” - soaring rhetoric from the Prime Minister in his State of the Nation speech.

Micro quiz

National’s Louise Upston successfully took a member’s bill through the last Parliament regarding insane offenders. What did it do? (Answer below.)

Brickbat

Christopher Luxon at the Big Gay Out in Auckland. Photo / Alex Burton

Goes to those pro-Palestinian protesters who ruined Christopher Luxon’s visit to the Big Gay Out on Sunday. Why? There’s a right time and place and that wasn’t it.

Bouquet

Act leader David Seymour - champion of cold and flu medicines.

Goes to Act for introducing a bill today to lift the ban on pseudoephedrine on flu and cold medicines. It will come as a relief to many, literally.

Latest political news and views

Welfare: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has defended the Government’s move to toughen sanctions for jobseeker beneficiaries who are taking advantage of the system.

Opinion: Talking tough about the unemployed is almost always good politics for a National Party leader - and Christopher Luxon does it well, writes Claire Trevett.

Robertson retirement: Former Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson is retiring from politics and has taken up the role of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Otago.

Polls: Labour leader Chris Hipkins’ popularity has taken a big hit since last year’s election, the latest 1News-Verian poll shows.

State of the Nation: Tough love and tough choices are what’s needed for a “fragile” New Zealand, Christopher Luxon said in his first State of the Nation speech as PM.

Transport funding: Chris Hipkins has fired back at Christopher Luxon’s claim that Labour left a $200 billion hole in its transport commitments, calling it “absolute nonsense”.

Transport funding II: Christopher Luxon says Labour underfunded its transport promises to the tune of $200b. Thomas Coughlan looks at the evidence.

Opinion: The Prime Minister says he’s a fan of telling it like it is, writes Simon Wilson. If that’s true, he’ll need to level with his own supporters.

Māori Health Authority: The Government’s plans to scrap the Māori Health Authority will be formally investigated by the Waitangi Tribunal.

Opinion: The tide has started to turn on Finance Minister Nicola Willis as KiwiRail paints a grim picture of her decision to call time on its mega-ferry project, writes Georgina Campbell.

Wellington Port: Part-privatisation and public-private partnerships are on the table as the Government considers the future of Wellington Port.

Quiz answer: The Rights for Victims of Insane Offenders Bill changed the verdict in such cases from “not guilty on account of insanity” to “act proven but not criminally responsible on account of insanity” so victims did not have to hear the verdict of “not guilty”.

Audrey Young is the New Zealand Herald’s senior political correspondent. She was named Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards in 2023, 2020 and 2018.

For more political news and views, listen to On the Tiles, the Herald’s politics podcast.