Posts by John Palethorpe
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Hard News: 2015: The Budget of what?, in reply to BenWilson,
They can, and National can say ‘we’ve started doing this, let us finish the job’ in 2017. Keep the team that’s working revisited.
National recognise that 47% number is soft, and Labour's policies appealed to them. By implementing the National version, they're going after their own vote from 2014 who could swing.
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Hard News: 2015: The Budget of what?, in reply to Bart Janssen,
You're right about Labour being far too hatstand as a potential Government in 2014, it's clear from National adopting their policies that the ideas were good and necessary for the country.
The need for difference comes down to the choice voters will have. Labour look slightly more together than seven months ago, but need to work on being a Government-in-waiting. This, all by itself, is a huge challenge if you just think presentationally. When you start talking policy, it now gets harder.
If you go into an election not offering competency as politicians AND something genuinely different from the current government, the then the voters who chose National last time will do so again. Why go for diet coke when you can have full fat?
Little's talk of means testing the Super shows they recognise they need to be criticising the Govt on something DIFFERENT, not just arguing that it's too little. Means testing means there'll be a line, and you can exploit those who just about don't qualify to attack their policy ideas from the right. However, the retirement age argument has the potential to explode in the faces due to the disparity between life expectancy of the (mostly) Labour supporting Maori & Pasifika and the Pakeha population.
This is going to be a tightrope walk, and one fraught with danger.
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Strategically, this is bad news for Labour. Their policies have been National'd, which means that despite the furore, they're going to have to accept that their clear dividing lines on policy are now merely a discussion about the extent of National policy.
What do Labour do? They need clear policy to differentiate themselves from National, but Nats are occupying that centre right ground and reaching into Labour's policy to incrementally swipe their territory. They're no fools over on the Government benches. They want to retain the soft % of their 2014 support, those who could vote Labour - by blueing up red policy, they're trying to firm up that support.