AND THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME

OK, not the best Led Zeppelin song but the title suits this post.

"I had a dream
Oh, yeah
Crazy dream, uh-huh
Anything I wanted to know
Any place I needed to go
Hear my song
Yeah, people don't you listen now?
Sing along
Oh
You don't know what you're missing, now
Any little song that you know
Everything that's small has to grow
And it's gonna grow, push push, yeah"

That could have been said by Chris Luxon who's currently singing some of the same old song he sang back in 2023.

 Do you remember this?

THE 100 DAY PLAN - WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRON

National has just released its 26 action plan that it promises to make happen in its first 100 days if re-elected to government. It promises a growing economy, improved public services and a crackdown on crime.

Well, as they say: "the proof will be in the pudding.

National Leader Christopher Luxon said:

“In 13 days, New Zealanders will choose the next government. The election will be tight, and Kiwi have a clear choice,” 

“It’s between sticking with National’s plan for a more secure future with a growing economy, or going back to the high-spending, high-taxing approach that drove up the cost of living and weakened the economy.

“Three years ago, National was elected to fix the basics. Labour had left behind the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation. Inflation hit 7.3 per cent, spending was out of control, debt had soared, kids weren’t in school and crime was surging.

“Kiwis have done the hard yards over the past three years and our plan is working, with the economy growing faster than Australia and the UK, inflation and interest rates down from the record highs reached under Labour, kids back in school and learning the basics, and safer streets with fewer victims of crime.

“But turning around Labour’s mess was never going to be a three-year job and National needs more time to finish it. Our 100 Day Plan sets out what we will prioritise if re-elected to build on our progress.

“That includes introducing National’s KiwiSaver changes, locking in no new taxes, passing the rates cap, extending paid parental leave, widening access to 5 per cent deposits for first home buyers, boosting Pharmac funding for cancer and life-changing medicines, and establishing an Auckland Transport Police Team.

“We haven’t come this far to let Labour send us backwards again. Hard-won gains are easily lost, so we need to stick with the plan that is working.

“The choice is clear. National has a positive plan to grow the economy, with less debt, more jobs, higher wages and no new taxes. Labour, propped up by the Greens, Te Pāti Māori and Opportunity, would wreck the economy all over again by spending more, borrowing more and hitting Kiwis with nine new taxes.

“Stick with the plan that is working, and party vote National.”

OK Chris. Let's see what you are promising to do.

National’s 100 Day Plan

1. Introduce our KiwiSaver changes to Parliament.
2. Launch our first trade mission to India, with food, beverage and seafood exporters.
3. Issue a Budget Policy Statement showing a return to surplus and lower debt and spending.
4. Lock in no new taxes and our Budget Responsibility Rules.
5. Pass the rates cap, keeping council rates increases within 2–4%.
6. Introduce legislation to extend paid parental leave to 27 weeks from July 2027, the first step on the way to 30 weeks, and let parents take leave together.
7. Pass legislation to power up the Commerce Commission, and requiring them to report separating Foodstuffs within six months.
8. Progress work to finalise new safety rules for plug-in solar, so Kiwis can generate their own cheap power.
9. Lift the First Home Loan income cap to $300,000, so more Kiwis can buy with a 5% deposit.
10. Reduce student loan repayments from 12 to 10 cents in the dollar.
11. Implement changes at Immigration NZ to prioritise and expedite visas for partners of New Zealand citizens.
12. Progress development of National’s Home Energy Fund for low-cost solar, battery and insulation loans.
13. Boost funding for Pharmac to fund more cancer and life-changing medicines by redirecting foreign aid money.
14. Deliver free cervical screening for all women aged 25 to 69, so cervical cancer can be stopped before it starts.
15. Set a national clinical trials target, so 5% of cancer patients have part of their care through a trial within ten years.
16. Expand the Maths Acceleration Programme.
17. Begin work to end the use of screens in early childhood education and limit device use in Years 1–3.
18. Develop an implementation plan for a School Start Check, so every child’s strengths and needs are understood before they start school.
19. Pass the first reading of the Online Safety (Minimum Age and Child Safety Risk Assessment) Bill and progress it to select committee.
20. Progress the Government’s Public Service Transformation programme.
21. Adopt legislation to ban taxpayers’ money being used to fund gangs.
22. Begin work on a new offence for staying silent when a child is killed, with up to 10 years in prison.
23. Introduce legislation to modernise consent laws, so consent must be actively given.
24. Begin work to toughen sentences for sexual offending, so good character or public standing can no longer reduce a sentence.
25. Establish a dedicated Auckland Transport Police Team to make buses, trains and ferries safer.
26. Introduce legislation to get tough on overseas student loan defaulters, with penalty interest, KiwiSaver restrictions, tougher arrest settings and charges over New Zealand assets.

So how does this compare to all those promises that he made in 2023?

In 2023 National's plan, after taking over from a Labour-led  government was similar to Donald Trump's take over of the Biden administration in USA whereby most of the actions were simply undoing and dismantling most of what the previous administration had enacted such as repealing the Auckland Regional Fuel Tax, scrapping the Clean Car ("Ute") Tax, repealing Fair Pay Agreements, disestablishing the Māori Health Authority, and reversing speed limit changes.

The list of things to do was 49-item coalition compromise that tried to knit together the three different coalition parties' manifestos which basically were at odds with each other.

Luxon and National hold that the 2023 100-day plan was an initial step that successfully put New Zealand "back on track". They credit the early actions with breaking down regulatory barriers and starting a reduction of annual inflation (which has moved to 3.7% now, down from its 7.3% peak following the Covid years. It was hardly an actioned plan and more like a list of on-going promises.

Hipkins and Labour Party argue that the 2023 plan failed the public on the issues that mattered most and that the rapid execution of the 49 points consisted primarily of "big promises and headlines" while failing to provide concrete, immediate relief for the cost of living or long-term public service improvements.

A non-partisan review of the 2023 plan (RNZ Report Card) suggests that the scorecard was softer than advertised.

Of the 49 commitments the report card found that most were repeals or promises merely to begin work, and that some items, including work on renewable energy and a National Infrastructure Agency, were ticked off because ministers had received advice from officials.

NZ Industry also took this view calling it a "band-aid" approach and that important infrastructure initiatives were being downplayed because of the short political cycle of government. The NZ Health Reform Collective in the same vein warned in March that the need for speed carried policy and political risks, after sector groups had no chance to give input on major changes.

To be fair, and, you know me I always like to look on the bright side and give people a fair go, it's difficult to enact long-term plan in our short (3 year) governing term.


Luxon and National's 2026 promises are to "build on our progress" if 'progress' has been dismantling social legislation, health initiatives, relief for the cost of living and long-term public service improvements. It all sounds a bit weasley really.