Ready To Govern?
29/1/2025
Yesterday, two speeches caught my attention in response to the Prime Minister’s statement to the House about his priorities for 2025. Chris Hipkins and Chlöe Swarbrick, both leaders in the opposition, stepped forward to share their thoughts about the future. Their words painted a picture of what they believe should change in our country.
Both leaders spoke about how many are struggling with today’s challenges. They pointed to rising costs that make it hard for whānau | families to buy groceries and pay rent. They talked about rangatahi |
young people leaving Aotearoa New Zealand to find better opportunities overseas. These problems, they argued, show that the current government needs to try different solutions.
When it comes to public services – things we all share like railways, power companies, and hospitals – both speakers stressed the importance of keeping these in our hands. They reminded listeners about times in the past when selling these services led to higher prices and poorer service for many communities.
Looking toward the future, the speeches tackled big challenges we face. Climate change featured prominently in their discussions, as did the need to support scientific research that keeps us competitive in the world. Swarbrick outlined ideas about renewable energy and creating new jobs in environmental protection. Hipkins focused on making sure economic growth helps everyone, not just a few.
Both leaders brought different strengths to their speeches. Hipkins used concrete examples that helped explain complex problems in ways that many people could understand. When talking about the economy, he shared real stories and numbers that showed how government decisions affect everyday life. Swarbrick introduced fresh ideas about protecting the environment while creating new jobs, showing how solving one problem might help fix others too.
However, some questions remained unanswered in both speeches. While they clearly pointed out problems, voters often want to know exactly how leaders plan to fix these issues: even if they are in opposition. For example, how much would these plans cost? Who pays? How long would they take? These are the kinds of details that many want to hear. Not the detail-details, but enough information to be comfortable that the promises are not just rhetorical.
The speeches also revealed different approaches to similar problems. While both leaders want to improve life for us, they sometimes suggest different paths to get there. This raises interesting questions about how opposition parties might work together to create change. Voters might wonder how these different ideas could come together into one clear plan for the country.
Several promising ideas emerged from both speeches. They talked about creating new jobs in environmental protection, investing more in scientific research, and making sure economic growth helps everyone. They discussed developing renewable energy and protecting public services that all New Zealanders rely on.
These speeches show that both opposition leaders are thinking deeply about the country’s future. They’ve spotted important problems and suggested ways to solve them. The next step will be turning these ideas into detailed plans that can work for everyone.
People like me who study Westminister systems are always asking: are the opposition leaders ready to govern? The speeches show they understand the country’s problems and have ideas for fixing them. Their experience in Parliament means they know how government works. But running a country in the current context needs more than good ideas – it needs detailed plans that explain exactly what changes would happen, how to pay for them and what difference it makes in the world – as in not just he poneketanga.
Delivery has been every Cabinet’s weakness for a decade. Right now, the opposition leaders are like Phd students who have studied the theory of governance but have not defended their conclusions – yet. They know what they want to do, but they still need to show us exactly how they would do it, and how they would govern the delivery models and produce outcomes.
The path forward isn’t simple, but these speeches give us a glimpse of possible solutions.
As we face enormous challenges in the years ahead, voters will be watching closely to see how these ideas develop into plans for the country’s future.
The Implosion of the US Administrat …
The collapse of the US administrative state is not just an American problem, it carries important lessons for Aotearoa New Zealand. As Washington grapples with political dysfunction and the erosion of public institutions, we should pay attention to how a weakened state apparatus invites economic instability, political turmoil, and diminished democratic control. For Aotearoa New Zealand, th...
Read moreReady To Govern?
Yesterday, two speeches caught my attention in response to the Prime Minister's statement to the House about his priorities for 2025. Chris Hipkins and Chlöe Swarbrick, both leaders in the opposition, stepped forward to share their thoughts about the future. Their words painted a picture of what they believe should change in our country. Both leaders spoke about how many are struggling with t...
Read moreAmbition meets reality
When a government promises transformation, the smart money watches what they prioritise, not what they promise. Today's Statement to Parliament is big on ambition - but separating the achievable from the aspirational will require a clear eye. Let's cut to the chase. The infrastructure push has real teeth. Those 149 Fast Track projects aren't just numbers - they're backed by expert panels an...
Read more