Richard Swainson

The normally astute Richard Swainson seems to have been beguiled by the stardust and fallen heavily for flowery rhetoric and so-called ‘vision’, whatever that is in Labour’s la-la land.

Has he not a niggle of doubt that, after nine years on a fat salary in Parliament, Ms Ardern has nothing at all to show for it, not even the faintest idea of what taxation should be levied – except for more of it?

Her embarrassing captain’s calls have become an epic fail and Mr Swainson should really be asking where on earth are the policies Labour has been developing during their years in Opposition because it seems as though they are making it up as they go along. Grant Robertson has either been very lazy or is concealing his true fiscal intentions.

In contrast, we know that for this whole period Bill English and his team have devoted every waking hour to steadying a rocky economy, slashed Labour’s legacy of a decade of deficits, brought us through the GFC and the devastating earthquakes, strengthened public services, increased operations, promised and built new hospitals and schools, given Waikato the infrastructure to grow and prosper, reformed social welfare, secured low inflation, low unemployment and low interest rates etc etc - the list is a long and proud one.

Starry-eyed Mr Swainson may want to throw all this away for a puff of fairy dust but I would rather place my faith in a