A month after Minister of Finance Nicola Willis delivered her second budget, the expected poll bounce for the National-led coalition has failed to materialise. I look at the reasons why.
When New Zealand voted out the 6th Labour-led Government, it was not so much that the National-led coalition had sufficiently better ideas as to justify the departure of the Labour majority government. Nor was this about Mrs Willis or her ministerial colleagues being more competent than those of the outgoing Government at the time.
It was in large part because Labour, having won a majority in 2020, had then preceded to squander it in the most inept way possible. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins might have been a darling of the Labour party, and while he came across personable and friendly in public with the ability to give clear and reasoned answers, he was completely directionless in terms of where he wanted to take the Labour Party. Very much a supporter and enabler of the neoliberal status quo, Mr Hipkins managed to stall the Labour party.
So, what has this got to do with Minister of Finance Nicola Willis?
In many ways Nicola Willis is a 2025 Ruth Richardson. Mrs Richardson was responsible for what was known as Ruthenasia, the fiscally extreme hard right philosophical approach that:
- Cut the unemployment benefit by $14 per week;
- Cut the sickness benefit by $27.04p/w
- Cut the family benefit by 25.04 to $27.00 per week
- Completely abolished universal payments for family benefits
- Introduced user pay requirements in hospitals and schools
- Public services such as state housing were devolved into companies under government contract
The New Zealand public hated it to the point that National almost lost the 1993 general election – its comfortable 18 seat majority was cut down to just 1 seat.
Fast forward 30 years to the year National nearly got booted from office we see a similarly grinchy Minister of Finance. So far, Prime Minister Nicola Willis has – with the help of various Ministers who have implemented widespread job cuts in their Ministries:
- Widespread job cuts across the Ministries of Health, Social Development, Business Innovation and Enterprise, Education, Environment
- Widespread slashing of services and programmes in health, education, environment, social development, justice, police, transport, conservation,
- 33 pay equity claims were brought to a slamming halt in early May, despite warnings that it would do much to undermine the Governments supposed commitment to women
All to find $3 billion in tax cuts for landlords and a huge increase in motorway spending.
Who gains from this? Not the many New Zealanders that Mrs Willis clearly thinks will do so. The majority of New Zealanders won’t really care for the landlords who many think earn too much from their property investments anyway. Nor will most appreciate getting to a destination on a 3 billion motorway a few minutes earlier, if it means running the risk of there being motor accident.
The budget also has many non-financial challenges that it failed to address.
One that has rankled me for a while is immigration/emigration. The brain drain – which has continued unabated across successive Governments – continues to see our best and brightest head for Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries. Simplifying the route to citizenship is one; prioritizing skilled migrants is another and – following the expose on American businessman Peter Thiel – requiring that wealthy applicants spend a minimum time here, are sure to help. Increasing the number of immigration agents working for Immigration New Zealand instead of viewing them as “expenditure” will also help.
A second is our tendency to distrust scientists and science, especially in the fields of environment, and natural hazards. It is backed up by a minimalist funding approach (a separate subject), compounded by instead of focussing on a few select areas and getting results, the little available funding is dispersed across many area of research
Mrs Willis has about 11 months act if she wants to help get National into a position where they can win the next election. Otherwise, the same public disgruntlement that ousted Labour in 2023, may turn on her and her government colleagues with a vengeance.
Leftist Kiwi Writes 