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5:16 pm, March 22nd, 2026 - 9 comments
Categories: chris bishop, covid-19, economy, grant robertson, jacinda ardern, john key, national, nicola willis, same old national -
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It’s hard to be misunderstood, and perhaps there are no greater politicians that were unfairly maligned and attacked than Grant Robertson and Jacinda Ardern.
Today I learned that during Covid, economic forecasts at the time predicted bond markets could dry up, business fail en masse & unemployment climb to 13.5%.
Labour’s “go hard, go early” approach that Ardern and Robertson championed meant unemployment stayed below 5.5% & international rating agencies even upgraded NZ credit worthiness (versus National has just seen our credit rating decrease under them)
As an aside, I also learned today thanks to Frank Macskasy who has a great Substack that all but one Labour government achieved credit rating increases, and nearly all National governments got credit downgrades for the country.
How’s that for economic credentials?
Back to Robertson, he stated:
“When we entered government in 2017, government spending was 27% of GDP. That’s not enough.”
“It’s the reason why we had sewage running down the walls of hospitals, it’s why nurses and doctors were so underpaid, it’s why we saw a growth in homelessness and more kids in poverty”.
Dan Bruskill reported that Labour’s spending peaked at above 34% of GDP during the pandemic and was forecast to slowly shift back towards 30%.
And Robertson warned of being prudent with our fiscal spend to take care of the country and Kiwis:
“The long run average is a bit over 30%. Anything less is in my mind austerity. We are still dealing with the inter-generational damage from that approach in previous decades. We must not repeat the same mistakes”.
Under Labour, police numbers had been restored after John Key broke them down. Labour had built and overseen over 14,000 homes, while John Key sold thousands. Despite Willis admitting that National had done a disservice to the country over this, Chris Bishop is now selling thousands of land and homes around the country in what has been described as a “developers’ lolly scramble.”
Bishop, unbeknownst to most, has also effectively stopped state housing – aiming for a net 400 increase or so until a cap in 2026 even as at least 20,000 languish on the state home list and homelessness doubles and triples across the country.
Under National, Health NZ’s situation is increasingly dire, with multi-million dollar contracts now going to corporate healthcare providers like Tend Health & private hospitals. Legends in the medical community have warned that we are heading straight down the US path of healthcare – which is more deaths, more bankruptcies, more profit driven healthcare professionals and more crumbling of public health capacity.
There’s more of course, but today I just want to say thank you to Grant Robertson, he who was frequently mocked, chided, abused, simply for not being as polished and PR spoken as the right wing. But from what I see, honest, affable, intelligent, strategic and above all caring for those who live in this country.
Labour saved lives, and as two Royal Commissions now confirmed at a cost of $30 million to taxpayers, we had the best pandemic response among the whole world and the best economic and social outcomes coming out of Covid thanks to Labour.
As Robertson said:
“[All results] of course pale into insignificance in the face of the one statistic that matter: the number of lives saved. On that measure New Zealand stood head and shoulders above others, with lower death rates than in normal years”.
We owe them a huge debt
We always will
Thank you Mr Robertson, Thank you Dame Ardern.
PS On the numbers, John Key borrowed about $50 billion, Ardern ran surpluses until Covid hit and they borrowed about $80 billion managing a worldwide pandemic that killed millions, and Luxon is on track for $120 billion ($100 billion because they stole pay equity from nurses, carers, cleaners etc) before the Iran-Israeli US war.
Yes, we have much to thank Grant and Jacinda for. Sadly many have bought in to the spend story.
The significant number of lives saved during Covid started with a reduction in deaths below the rates of previous years – we had lower deaths from other infectious diseases and lower rates of road deaths. The graphs of lives lost compared with expected based on previous years mortality shows that New Zealand stayed better than the rest of the world for a significant length of time. The policies of the current government have resulted in a loss of population to a greater extent than Covid, with the result of a lot more businesses closing, and large numbers emigrating to Australia – a land with higher income tax rates for the wealthy than New Zealand . . .
Business closures continue at a greater rate than under a Labour Government – making most New Zealanders worse off financially has reduced customer spending for a lot of small companies, and high electricity prices have been a factor in some some large closures – but the Tobacco companies are generating large profits – possibly outside of New Zealand – and donations to the Atlas Network continue at historically high levels . . .
The loss of Ardern and Robertson is very sad, but the deliberate sabotage and lies of the far right made those departures regrettably understandable – while the three "leaders" in the current government appear to be taking their lead from Trump and his social media nastiness. Most people are economically worse off under the current Government – with far too many in real poverty, while our government debt keeps growing and growing . . .
Yes. I totally agree. Grant and Jacinda had the health and well-being of all New Zealanders at the heart of their government. The right-wing liars should be rolling in shame at the falsehoods their parties fomented, including NZLast!! Act is an abomination. National totally fails. Thank you Grant and Dame Jacinda, Chris Hipkins and all of that Labour government. I wish you had more terms and less international interference from the right-wing.
Yes. I totally agree. Grant and Jacinda had the health and well-being on all New Zealanders as the heart of their government. Thank you Grant, Jacinda and all the previous Labour government. I want you back!!
Good work.
Also massively expanded the Bright Line Test which got us as close to a Captal Gains Tax as we've ever had.
And increased taxes on high income earners.
I am not convinced that capital gains taxes are generally and consistently taxed, but that is best left to experts – I have been told that capital gains on Kiwisaver investments (eg sharetrading) are taxed, but that may not be consistently applicable to shares traded through trusts and on personal account in all cases – for those that own a few shares, many would not remember what they paid for them in the first place . . .
Regarding tax on high income earners, the far-right will tell us that high tax will make it harder to recruit highly qualified doctors etc from coming to New Zealand – but during the term of the current government, many New Zealanders, including many high income earners, moved to Australia where the highest income tax rate is 40% compared to New Zealand's 33%. I think Australia has a higher minimum income before tax starts as well . . . – but the Grant and Jacinda Government did look after low income earners and those not earning hugely better than NAct1st is doing.
Oz not only has a higher marginal income tax rate, but also capital gains taxes, inheritance taxes and don't forget state taxes also.
I was at a Bats gig the other night, and there was Grant Robertson minding his own business in the audience. I'm not sure whether nobody noticed him, or whether people were just giving him some room. How many other politicians of national significance could endure going unnoticed like that, or would show any enthusiasm at all for New Zealand music, unless for a photo op? I hope Grant enjoys his retirement from politics.
Bats are indeed Good : )
And as a comparison example of someone completely the negative opposite of Grant, was Chris a load of crap Bishop. (Note his support by at least two NAct1 dickheads…)