We do all appear to be slow off the mark today. Bernard, your analysis of the outcome is spot on, as usual, but passes over the role of the mainstream media. So much of the media coverage focused just on personalities and polling support for individual parties. Apart from your efforts with Kaka, where was the substantive debate on policy…
We do all appear to be slow off the mark today. Bernard, your analysis of the outcome is spot on, as usual, but passes over the role of the mainstream media. So much of the media coverage focused just on personalities and polling support for individual parties. Apart from your efforts with Kaka, where was the substantive debate on policy issues?
A lot of us who read here, will agree that Hipkins made a mistake back in February by dismissing much of Labour's leftist programme. There were, however, still matters which identified them as different from National/ACT. If there was any media coverage of these, it was just cursory.
So, with an electorate grumpy from lockdowns and inflation, it was always going to be an uphill battle, when Labour failed to sell its vision and demonstrate how National and ACT policies would take the nation backwards.
For the future, the really good thing about the upswing for Te Paati Maori, is that unlike the other occasions when Labour has lost MPs in the Maori electorates, on this occasion TPM has a clear progressive policy stance that means it will continue to advocate strongly for the actual needs of tangata whenua, and not sell out as happened on earlier occasions. This means Labour, TPM and the Greens have to work out how to function collectively, maintaining their identities, while sharing common ideals such as elimination of poverty, measures to achieve climate change goals, maintain full employment and infrastructure resilience.
We do all appear to be slow off the mark today. Bernard, your analysis of the outcome is spot on, as usual, but passes over the role of the mainstream media. So much of the media coverage focused just on personalities and polling support for individual parties. Apart from your efforts with Kaka, where was the substantive debate on policy issues?
A lot of us who read here, will agree that Hipkins made a mistake back in February by dismissing much of Labour's leftist programme. There were, however, still matters which identified them as different from National/ACT. If there was any media coverage of these, it was just cursory.
So, with an electorate grumpy from lockdowns and inflation, it was always going to be an uphill battle, when Labour failed to sell its vision and demonstrate how National and ACT policies would take the nation backwards.
For the future, the really good thing about the upswing for Te Paati Maori, is that unlike the other occasions when Labour has lost MPs in the Maori electorates, on this occasion TPM has a clear progressive policy stance that means it will continue to advocate strongly for the actual needs of tangata whenua, and not sell out as happened on earlier occasions. This means Labour, TPM and the Greens have to work out how to function collectively, maintaining their identities, while sharing common ideals such as elimination of poverty, measures to achieve climate change goals, maintain full employment and infrastructure resilience.