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Francesca Rudkin: It's been a busy 12 months for the new Government

Author
Francesca Rudkin,
Publish Date
Sun, 13 Oct 2024, 10:11am
Support for the Government has slumped. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Support for the Government has slumped. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Francesca Rudkin: It's been a busy 12 months for the new Government

Author
Francesca Rudkin,
Publish Date
Sun, 13 Oct 2024, 10:11am

Tomorrow marks 12 months since the election which saw the country take a step to the to the right, with Christopher Luxon鈥檚 coalition coming into power.

During the week, I've read numerous opinion pieces reflecting on politics in NZ under both Hipkins and Luxon鈥檚 leadership.

We know it has taken the Prime Minister time to grasp the nuances of politics - but credit where credit鈥檚 due, he鈥檚 rip-roaring through his to do list. So, it seems odd there鈥檚 chat about how long he will last in the job, or who else should be leader. That these topics keep popping up suggests the leadership of both National and Labour isn't quite hitting the mark.

Peter Dunne wrote a piece on 九一星空无限room titled Why Luxon Won鈥檛 Outstay his Welcome, sharing his thoughts on why Christopher Luxon is unlikely to be a long-term Prime Minister. He also points out the pros and cons of having non-career politicians in power.

Dunne wrote - 鈥淭he positive aspect of this non-careerist approach is politicians who are focused on achieving the policy goals dear to them, and not outstaying their public welcome鈥. He went on to say, 鈥淭he counter is that the value of political experience in resolving awkward situations is insufficiently appreciated.鈥

Off the back of the Mood of the Boardroom survey, which ranked Luxon sixth in the rankings of Cabinet Ministers鈥 KPI鈥檚, Matthew Hooten, writing in the Herald, suggested some alternative leadership names.

 He wrote that neither Luxon nor Hipkins seem up to the leadership required 鈥 but he was impressed with the seriousness shown by National鈥檚 Nicola Willis and Labour鈥檚 Barbara Edmonds in their portfolios. 

Looking back on the political year, it鈥檚 been fast and furious. It takes some effort to keep up with what has been repealed, paused, fast-tracked or implemented. We鈥檝e had tax cuts, inflation drop, the return of roads, changes to the Smokefree policy, benefit reform, public service cuts, the Fast Track Approvals Bill, Law and Order legislation, replacement of the RMA, budget blowouts at Health NZ, a reset for education - and more besides.

If you had to describe the last 12 months, I鈥檇 call it busy. The coalition has done a good job identifying the core issues facing the country, but whether their approaches to fixing these problems will be successful - only time will tell.

The Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll released on Friday showed support for National and Christopher Luxon dropping. I tend to take polls with a grain of salt, but it鈥檚 another indication New Zealanders aren鈥檛 entirely convinced about National鈥檚 leadership.

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