Leader of the National Party Chris Luxon continues to make a case that his party is already doing and will do a better job in presenting alternative views on managing the pandemic, economy, borders and immigration for New Zealanders.
The question is how many New Zealanders believe him.
This week the Indian Weekender had the opportunity to sit down with him (Walk in the Park literally) and ask questions about some of the most compelling issues facing the country, including the Kiwi-Indian community and the wider ethnic migrant minority communities.
One thing that came out emphatically out of the robust conversation was Luxon’s assertion that National under him was already doing a better job, particularly in ideating on how to manage the Covid-pandemic in a better way and had a clearer overall plan for taking New Zealand forward in the current uncertain times.
While it is indeed too early to rate his self-assessment about his party, the outcomes of two recent successive (1News-Kantar) polls, where National is polling ahead of the Labour and sitting at 39 per cent for the first time in two years, it is also not possible to brush aside the claim.
One of the key highlights was Luxon’s unabashed support for more than 20000 temporary migrant workers locked out of NZ’s closed borders with a pledge to restore their expired visas and let them in the country – something which even his two immediate past incumbents had never dared to do in a clear and coherent manner that Luxon did.
To be fair to them, two years into the global pandemic and the relatively less-painful experience of seeing through the peak of the latest Omicron pandemic, the political environment is less punishing than those two previous leaders of the National Party had to endure.
However, despite the seemingly less punishing current political environment, the government continues with its royal snub of temporary migrants stuck overseas and has even stopped showing any pretence to care for them - who are seeing their dreams of a life in New Zealand being exterminated in front of their helpless eyes - after having invested tens of thousands of dollars and many valuable years of their working life in the country.
To shed ambivalence at this level for a constituency, who are not even eligible to vote in NZ, requires significant political courage, and Luxon would be hoping that it would be rewarded adequately by augmenting his already growing popularity as preferred Prime Minister in the next polls.
Importantly, Luxon was able to back up his call for restoring the expired visas of temporary migrant workers with the crisis of acute shortage of skilled workforce in New Zealand’s economy.
There are already growing calls from businesses and industry stakeholders that any post-Covid recovery cannot happen without a reliable supply of skilled workforce.
While the Labour govt continues to see immigration as a source of the cheap workforce as distorting New Zealand’s labour market and hence unwelcome, the businesses continue to cry out for an adequate supply of workforce as New Zealand adjusts to its immigration settings under different governments.
Small businesses are already facing the maximum brunt of Covid-pandemic related uncertainties, and the government’s now seeming over-conservative response to a pandemic that is appearing to be less threatening than what its earlier variants in 2020 and 2021 posed.
Luxon makes a point by acknowledging the government’s rockstar performance in managing the pandemic in early 2020 (and thereby quietly conceding where National lost the plot and began to be punished in successive polls), but simultaneously argues that the govt’s performance in 2021 & 2022 had been shambolic and less impressive.
By doing this, he is keen to tap into the growing frustration and jadedness of New Zealanders who have been stuck from August 2021 in either lockdown or in what seems to be a confusing traffic light system.
Even the latest announcement of continuing with the current Red-Light as announced by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday, April 4, the incoherency in the key messaging has become obvious, unlike in 2020.
Earlier, the Prime Minister had assured the nation on many occasions that different regions of the country could be moved in different traffic light systems depending upon the spread of the pandemic in the region, yet she has chosen to keep Auckland, which has been witnessing a gradual decline in the rate of hospitalisation in preceding weeks, in the red light system – a decision that will potentially cause death blow to many struggling retail businesses – particularly in the hospitality sector.
Similarly, on the one hand it seems that the government is asking for a little bit of more time before it decides on changing the traffic light system, then simultaneously Covid-Response Minister comes out and says that NZ had to remain in red light till winter peak, and additionally when the new transmissible variant eventually presents itself on our shores.
Clearly, there seems to be much confusion, despair, and lack of clarity in the way the govt is willing to open up and manage the Covid pandemic. The National Party, on the other hand, wants the traffic light system scrapped completely.
Luxon also reiterated that lately, his party is coming up with more and better ideas on how to manage the pandemic at home, including opening borders sooner than it is actually opening, removing MIQs for returning Kiwis and bringing RATS testing into the community.
He also emphasises that his party’s views and response to the Covid situation is both timely and mindful of not punishing the business sector, particularly the small business sector, disproportionately – which would be key for any post-Covid economic recovery to happen.
Even on the question of NZ missing out on many trade opportunities overseas, including the recently signed Indo-Australia Comprehensive economic engagement, Luxon’s argument that building and maintaining regular contacts around the world was paramount – something that seems to be missing in the current government’s overly conservative approach in connecting with the world - makes sense.
Although it is a long time till the next elections, it is safe to conclude that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern needs to be on their toes, and National Party under Luxon closes the gap in polls.
However, notwithstanding anything said above, Luxon will also be held equally accountable for all the promises and pledges he is making, including restoring expired visas of temporary migrants stuck overseas in pursuit of the elusive access to power in government.