Feel good speech skirts ticklish issues
You could be forgiven if you thought Prime Minister John Key’s state of the nation address this week was an early curtain raiser to campaign 2017. Packed with significant big-ticket announcements and a glowing report card of his government’s performance so far, it looked every bit a mid-term missive to constituents. And it came just days after media and commentators reported that it was quite clear now that he is eyeing a fourth term.
His announcements on $4.2 billion worth of investments in Auckland in the next three years and plans to start projects earlier will undoubtedly help dispel long-standing criticism about Wellington’s continuing cold shoulder to the nation’s economic powerhouse, which Mr Key described as New Zealand’s shop front to the world.
Mr Key’s speech has made the perceived delays in Wellington’s support for what has often been known as ‘Mayor Len’s train set’ in beltway speak thing of the past. Over the past several months, capital boffins have worked closely with the Auckland Council to iron out matters related to the rail link, boosting the government’s confidence to back the project, a far cry from its position when the project was first announced years ago.
Aucklanders will see a light at the end of the tunnel of their commuting woes with those announcements. As well as trains, the Prime Minister has promised a speedy consenting process for the long-planned east-west road link and announced fast tracking of upgrades to existing motorways and other projects—all sweet music to the Auckland commuter.
The much discussed second harbour crossing has not found mention, which could well be because of its nascent stage of planning and it being a fair way beyond the time frame of election 2017. Mr Key also spoke at some length on infrastructure projects elsewhere around the country.
Mr Key’s pronouncements on Auckland’s biggest issue, housing, though, are less gung-ho. Severely constrained by the badly-in-need-of-reform Resource Management Act and other assorted decades-long bureaucratic tunnel vision, band-aid measures to address ballooning accommodation shortage have unsurprisingly come a cropper.
Nothing significant can really be achieved without an overhaul of the act, but the Prime Minister has alluded to the possibility of playing catch up by 2020. He has underscored his government’s willingness to step up efforts to address the issue effectively even as international surveys reported this week that Auckland was the fifth costliest city in the world to buy real estate.
Indications are that the government’s measures to tackle perceived foreigner-driven property speculation that kicked in from October last year have somewhat cooled off the Auckland property market. The Prime Minister made a point to mention these measures as well as the extra funding to IRD for enforcing tax compliance.
What he left unsaid is the progressive reforms his government has implemented in the welfare space, which would draw brownie points from the hardworking, taxpaying average Kiwi but certainly not so from the welfare dependent. In fact, he did not mention ‘welfare’ even once in the speech.
Also left unsaid were the country’s security concerns around international terrorism, the refugee issue and the involvement of its armed force in the Middle East, and of course, the flag. These are all polarising issues and best left to themselves rather than risk opening the proverbial Pandora ’s Box to spoil the warm fuzziness of the largely feel-good speech.
But one contentious issue he had to comment on is the TPPA (Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement) the signing of which is to take place next week in Auckland with 12 countries participating. The Prime Minister extolled its benefits to New Zealand business and industry in his speech but it remains to be seen if he succeeds in convincing factions that are opposed to it including groups of Maori.
The Waitangi observances next week are expected to see protests from Maori against both the TPPA and the flag when groups will confront the Prime Minister and his entourage. Mr Key did get a foretaste of it all at the annual Ratana Church event last week.
However, at the time of writing comes the news that senior Labour Party leaders Phil Goff and David Shearer have both broken ranks with their party in support of signing the TPPA, which should be music to the Prime Minister’s ears. But this is not surprising as both leaders were involved with the deal when negotiations first began more than a decade ago and they have better global trade perspectives than many in the Labour Party. And, oh yes, Mr Goff has his hat in the ring for Auckland’s Mayoral elections later this year. He simply can’t afford to look business unfriendly.
You could be forgiven if you thought Prime Minister John Key’s state of the nation address this week was an early curtain raiser to campaign 2017. Packed with significant big-ticket announcements and a glowing report card of his government’s performance so far, it looked every bit a mid-term...
You could be forgiven if you thought Prime Minister John Key’s state of the nation address this week was an early curtain raiser to campaign 2017. Packed with significant big-ticket announcements and a glowing report card of his government’s performance so far, it looked every bit a mid-term missive to constituents. And it came just days after media and commentators reported that it was quite clear now that he is eyeing a fourth term.
His announcements on $4.2 billion worth of investments in Auckland in the next three years and plans to start projects earlier will undoubtedly help dispel long-standing criticism about Wellington’s continuing cold shoulder to the nation’s economic powerhouse, which Mr Key described as New Zealand’s shop front to the world.
Mr Key’s speech has made the perceived delays in Wellington’s support for what has often been known as ‘Mayor Len’s train set’ in beltway speak thing of the past. Over the past several months, capital boffins have worked closely with the Auckland Council to iron out matters related to the rail link, boosting the government’s confidence to back the project, a far cry from its position when the project was first announced years ago.
Aucklanders will see a light at the end of the tunnel of their commuting woes with those announcements. As well as trains, the Prime Minister has promised a speedy consenting process for the long-planned east-west road link and announced fast tracking of upgrades to existing motorways and other projects—all sweet music to the Auckland commuter.
The much discussed second harbour crossing has not found mention, which could well be because of its nascent stage of planning and it being a fair way beyond the time frame of election 2017. Mr Key also spoke at some length on infrastructure projects elsewhere around the country.
Mr Key’s pronouncements on Auckland’s biggest issue, housing, though, are less gung-ho. Severely constrained by the badly-in-need-of-reform Resource Management Act and other assorted decades-long bureaucratic tunnel vision, band-aid measures to address ballooning accommodation shortage have unsurprisingly come a cropper.
Nothing significant can really be achieved without an overhaul of the act, but the Prime Minister has alluded to the possibility of playing catch up by 2020. He has underscored his government’s willingness to step up efforts to address the issue effectively even as international surveys reported this week that Auckland was the fifth costliest city in the world to buy real estate.
Indications are that the government’s measures to tackle perceived foreigner-driven property speculation that kicked in from October last year have somewhat cooled off the Auckland property market. The Prime Minister made a point to mention these measures as well as the extra funding to IRD for enforcing tax compliance.
What he left unsaid is the progressive reforms his government has implemented in the welfare space, which would draw brownie points from the hardworking, taxpaying average Kiwi but certainly not so from the welfare dependent. In fact, he did not mention ‘welfare’ even once in the speech.
Also left unsaid were the country’s security concerns around international terrorism, the refugee issue and the involvement of its armed force in the Middle East, and of course, the flag. These are all polarising issues and best left to themselves rather than risk opening the proverbial Pandora ’s Box to spoil the warm fuzziness of the largely feel-good speech.
But one contentious issue he had to comment on is the TPPA (Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement) the signing of which is to take place next week in Auckland with 12 countries participating. The Prime Minister extolled its benefits to New Zealand business and industry in his speech but it remains to be seen if he succeeds in convincing factions that are opposed to it including groups of Maori.
The Waitangi observances next week are expected to see protests from Maori against both the TPPA and the flag when groups will confront the Prime Minister and his entourage. Mr Key did get a foretaste of it all at the annual Ratana Church event last week.
However, at the time of writing comes the news that senior Labour Party leaders Phil Goff and David Shearer have both broken ranks with their party in support of signing the TPPA, which should be music to the Prime Minister’s ears. But this is not surprising as both leaders were involved with the deal when negotiations first began more than a decade ago and they have better global trade perspectives than many in the Labour Party. And, oh yes, Mr Goff has his hat in the ring for Auckland’s Mayoral elections later this year. He simply can’t afford to look business unfriendly.
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