Can’t take it with you
Ardern has wasted these honeymoon years... She will never be as popular as she is now.
crisis and opportunity to pursue those reforms.
The Welfare Advisory Group published a report last year, which advised changes that came with an astronomical price tag: $5.2 billion a year.
It was argued that there wasn’t enough money to carry out all of their recommendations.
But the pandemic has turned the world, including politics, on its head. The way we think about Government finances has changed radically: a few billion dollars is only a fraction of what will be spent in the fallout.
In response to the crisis, the Government increased all core payments by $25. Even that was a scanty rise of between 6 and 11 per cent – the advisory group had recommended between 12 and 47 per cent.
Beneficiary advocates are unhappy with a new payment that will give $490 per week to those made redundant because of Covid-19. The existing jobseeker allowance is $250, creating a two-tier benefit system and exacerbating inequity.
Last month, the Ministry of Social Development was preparing for an extra 300,000 benefit applications.
With many more people navigating the cruel labyrinth of the welfare system, there will be increased empathy with the struggles of those living on a benefit. The Greens will argue this is the window of opportunity for large-scale reform of the safety net.
In a prime minister’s first years in office, approval ratings are often higher than could be accounted for by actual performance. Ardern has wasted these honeymoon years.
Her handling of successive crises (the March 15 terror attack, White Island tragedy and coronavirus pandemic) have banked her even more of this informal power. She will never be as popular as she is now.
John Key used his capital to raise GST and privatise state-owned assets. But he failed to invest it in anything truly meaningful.
Lifting people out of poverty is intrinsic to Ardern’s brand. Staring down NZ First on this issue will require courage where she has so far shown only caution.
You either use, or lose, political capital. The Greens are right to ask what good is popularity if you fail to do anything with it?