Excellent analysis but I'm surprised you write: "Kiri Allan was a good start, but it was clear she was not supported and her ego got the better of her."
Allan represents everything that is wrong with Labour. They imagined a gay female Maori would be a winner on her identity credentials alone when it was clear she wasn't smart or wily enough to even be a senior minister — let alone a PM or his/her deputy.
Allan couldn't defend hate speech laws she promoted; didn't understand why she might have had to declare donations from Meng Foon when she became a minister; and thought she could instruct RNZ about how to deal with Maori staff (particularly her then partner, Mani Dunlop). She didn't see any problems in encouraging the trans lobby to drown out Posie Parker, when her role as Justice minister included promoting the right to free expression.
Until Labour abandons identity politics, it is doomed. Leave that to the Greens and shift to reflecting the concerns of ordinary people.
Allan was a walking disaster from the get-go — despite the media massively talking up her potential. And then, of course, it turned out she couldn't contain her bullying/ anger problems with staff.
Very good - Labour is hamstrung by division now, and in the future, as are all left wing parties worldwide. So called 'populism' is on the rise, primarily because politicians have advanced policies that are either obviously divisive and chaotic or just stupid. Faced with that Luxon and his 2 deputies, with Jones as point man look good.
And where is our PM? Not given a mention on the 3pm Radio NZ news. Reckon Haimona makes a good point except I would suggest National's slide will be terminal unless one of the women step up
Moving back to class concerns above id-pol would be a huge net vote positive for Labour. But as you point out Haimona, at a policy platform level, it is in part the MPs with their fiefdoms and bunkers that get in the way of it, and Willie Jackson is certainly a prominent example of it. It was the same thing in the post-Clark years, with holdovers looking out for their own interests and playing shadow king-maker or king-breaker, above doing the work to ensure the party rebuilt and refocused.
However, what I think you miss from this article, is that the rot goes a lot deeper than the MPs. LECs (electorate committees) are often run by petty powerbrokers, who themselves have carved out a micro-fiefdom that gives them a sense of authority and agency which is ultimately more important to them than the health of the organization and promotion of the best candidates. In a well run LEC, these people may be effective leaders. But just as often they are not the best of us, just the most cunning and brown nosing. Then there is the governing body of the party, the NZ council, and as one can see, a lot of the positions are explicitly identity focused, which while not a bad thing per se, does come with it's own set of problems (something Chris Trotter addressed in his recent article 'Going Bloke' on Democracy Project). There is the Māori senior VP, the Women's VP, Pacific VP, Youth VP, Multicultural VP, Rainbow Rep, Two Te Kaunihera Māori representatives. It's a lot of special interests to cater for, and from my vantage contributes to a focus on identity and intersectionality, over class issues.
Another wrinkle is that Labour party policy is crafted using previous electoral campaigns as the basis, and then new policies are voted up the chain from membership to Annual conference. In theory this provides quite a democratic platform, but in practice it means that policy can be hamstrung by what both MPs and the party faithful are interested in, rather than what the voting public is interested in.
This all contributes to a edifice that is slow to turn, like the titanic.
I remember Hipkins telling us how the Covid vaccine mandates were voluntary, and that people decide what sex they are as they grow up, not at birth. Who was going to choose him for leader ? National isnt responsible for the shitshow we are in now.
Ex-Labour voter here. Labour did sometime that crossed a red line for many of us by mandating lockdowns and vaccinations. There's NO coming back from that. It took politics out of parliment and into our personal lives to an intrusive degree that had never occurred before. Labour could put Mother Teresa in as leader and I would never vote for them again.
Willie Jackson has always been an oppitunist and as much as Te Pati Maori have left a bitter taste in the mouths of the average Kiwi his double standards have marked his true character. People should be asking what backroom deals has he done, why was he and other MPs flying on the private jet and helicopter of Talley's, what did he have to give away or did he get in return? The big C word of Corruption has invaded this nation and NO Willie is not on his own [Luxon has his own skeleton's] but it is time this is stopped.
I think the precedent they'd be looking for would be the third Labour government. Significant economic deterioration and selling themselves as the safe pair of hands that could fix it. If the economy doesn't feel better by 2026, drill home the "austerity", talk about how you'll bring it under control and paint the government as driven by "radical free market business interests".
Great read Haimona, I will not be voting left again, not for sometime for many reasons some that you mention above. Labour have become a version of the party that I dont recognise and while they are captured by a range of activitists its just toxic mate and alot of us left shaking our heads in disbelief. Good luck in getting that retainer they need someone like you to have those hard conversations....
Excellent analysis but I'm surprised you write: "Kiri Allan was a good start, but it was clear she was not supported and her ego got the better of her."
Allan represents everything that is wrong with Labour. They imagined a gay female Maori would be a winner on her identity credentials alone when it was clear she wasn't smart or wily enough to even be a senior minister — let alone a PM or his/her deputy.
Allan couldn't defend hate speech laws she promoted; didn't understand why she might have had to declare donations from Meng Foon when she became a minister; and thought she could instruct RNZ about how to deal with Maori staff (particularly her then partner, Mani Dunlop). She didn't see any problems in encouraging the trans lobby to drown out Posie Parker, when her role as Justice minister included promoting the right to free expression.
Until Labour abandons identity politics, it is doomed. Leave that to the Greens and shift to reflecting the concerns of ordinary people.
Allan was a walking disaster from the get-go — despite the media massively talking up her potential. And then, of course, it turned out she couldn't contain her bullying/ anger problems with staff.
Gosh, are there still working-class people in Labour?
Very good - Labour is hamstrung by division now, and in the future, as are all left wing parties worldwide. So called 'populism' is on the rise, primarily because politicians have advanced policies that are either obviously divisive and chaotic or just stupid. Faced with that Luxon and his 2 deputies, with Jones as point man look good.
And where is our PM? Not given a mention on the 3pm Radio NZ news. Reckon Haimona makes a good point except I would suggest National's slide will be terminal unless one of the women step up
Moving back to class concerns above id-pol would be a huge net vote positive for Labour. But as you point out Haimona, at a policy platform level, it is in part the MPs with their fiefdoms and bunkers that get in the way of it, and Willie Jackson is certainly a prominent example of it. It was the same thing in the post-Clark years, with holdovers looking out for their own interests and playing shadow king-maker or king-breaker, above doing the work to ensure the party rebuilt and refocused.
However, what I think you miss from this article, is that the rot goes a lot deeper than the MPs. LECs (electorate committees) are often run by petty powerbrokers, who themselves have carved out a micro-fiefdom that gives them a sense of authority and agency which is ultimately more important to them than the health of the organization and promotion of the best candidates. In a well run LEC, these people may be effective leaders. But just as often they are not the best of us, just the most cunning and brown nosing. Then there is the governing body of the party, the NZ council, and as one can see, a lot of the positions are explicitly identity focused, which while not a bad thing per se, does come with it's own set of problems (something Chris Trotter addressed in his recent article 'Going Bloke' on Democracy Project). There is the Māori senior VP, the Women's VP, Pacific VP, Youth VP, Multicultural VP, Rainbow Rep, Two Te Kaunihera Māori representatives. It's a lot of special interests to cater for, and from my vantage contributes to a focus on identity and intersectionality, over class issues.
Another wrinkle is that Labour party policy is crafted using previous electoral campaigns as the basis, and then new policies are voted up the chain from membership to Annual conference. In theory this provides quite a democratic platform, but in practice it means that policy can be hamstrung by what both MPs and the party faithful are interested in, rather than what the voting public is interested in.
This all contributes to a edifice that is slow to turn, like the titanic.
I remember Hipkins telling us how the Covid vaccine mandates were voluntary, and that people decide what sex they are as they grow up, not at birth. Who was going to choose him for leader ? National isnt responsible for the shitshow we are in now.
Ex-Labour voter here. Labour did sometime that crossed a red line for many of us by mandating lockdowns and vaccinations. There's NO coming back from that. It took politics out of parliment and into our personal lives to an intrusive degree that had never occurred before. Labour could put Mother Teresa in as leader and I would never vote for them again.
Willie Jackson has always been an oppitunist and as much as Te Pati Maori have left a bitter taste in the mouths of the average Kiwi his double standards have marked his true character. People should be asking what backroom deals has he done, why was he and other MPs flying on the private jet and helicopter of Talley's, what did he have to give away or did he get in return? The big C word of Corruption has invaded this nation and NO Willie is not on his own [Luxon has his own skeleton's] but it is time this is stopped.
Heaven help us if they did!!!
I think the precedent they'd be looking for would be the third Labour government. Significant economic deterioration and selling themselves as the safe pair of hands that could fix it. If the economy doesn't feel better by 2026, drill home the "austerity", talk about how you'll bring it under control and paint the government as driven by "radical free market business interests".
Great read Haimona, I will not be voting left again, not for sometime for many reasons some that you mention above. Labour have become a version of the party that I dont recognise and while they are captured by a range of activitists its just toxic mate and alot of us left shaking our heads in disbelief. Good luck in getting that retainer they need someone like you to have those hard conversations....
Yes pie in the sky wishful thing