Hooton on gap with Australia
Matthew Hooton touches on several issues in his fortnightly column in the SST:
John Key’s DVD is actually quite good. Of course it contains the usual political puffery, but photoshop was not used to reshape Key’s face, nor re-colour his eyes, nor straighten his teeth. The words were not scripted. Key on the DVD is pretty much the real thing.
National even paid for the DVD with its own money, rather than the taxpayers’, something which Labour activists, bizarrely, have attacked on their blogs. Truly, our governing party has become demented over campaign finance reform.
Demented seems a suitable word.
… It’s an international trend and Australians have similar concerns. But unless we recognise it as real, New Zealand will become to Australia what Samoa, the Cook Islands, Tonga, Niue, Fiji, Tokelau and Tuvalu are to us: a source of labour, a nice place to go on holiday or retire and certainly where you would want to go home to die.
As so often, Helen Clark’s government has modelled itself on Muldoon. Michael Cullen has said those moving to Australia are functionally innumerate and that we are better off without them. In any case, he says, there’s no need to worry because there will always be those who prefer to live here anyway. When will we be rid of this smug, supercilious old bastard?
Now in case people think Matthew’s rhetoric is somewhat harsh, all I’ll say is go to this TVNZ page and watch Dr Cullen in Part 2 of the State of Taxes video. Smug doesn’t even come close.
After one year as National’s leader, Key has not yet offered a solution, but nor has Clark after 14 years at Labour’s helm. National’s critics are right that tax cuts alone are not enough, but with even Labor’s Kevin Rudd offering Australians another $NZ35 billion in tax cuts, it is difficult to see that they could hurt. Key also targets infrastructure, and it is ridiculous that it is easier for an Aucklander to get around town in Shanghai than at home.
Ultimately, perhaps, the most important thing is national attitude. New Zealanders who depart for Australia usually find they earn more money but, more importantly, they are often overjoyed to be free of our soul-destroying tall-poppy syndrome, currently manifesting itself in Labour’s constant attacks on “National’s rich mates” and its shrill complaint that tax cuts might benefit “the rich”.
No government in our recent history has done more to build a culture where economic success is distrusted and despised, but just what does Labour mean when it attacks the “rich”? How poor do those who remain in New Zealand have to get to be socially acceptable to Clark and Cullen?
Matthew obviously does not understand the benefits of equality of outcome.
A DVD is not a programme, but it is a start. It signals that National has at least identified the right issues. Reversing a global trend will not be easy. Key’s government may even fail. But it will be nice to have a prime minister who will at least try.
Indeed. Of course tax cuts alone will not reverse the trend, but it can be part of a programme. An increased focus on labour productivity would also help – for that will allow higher wages.