CARMEN PARAHI

OPINION, SUNDAY POLITICS, LETTERS & SHARON MURDOCH’S CARTOON

‘‘There are large numbers of undecided voters on the Maori roll the Maori Party could swing their way and it could give them a realistic chance to win in Waiariki and Te Tai Hauauru.’’

I’ve got no predictions – only a plea for whoever leads the next Government after Saturday.

Don’t be a hostage to ideology

This is not the time. Look for answers outside your inner circle and from people whose political views may not necessarily match your own. Reach out to other parties for consensus where possible.

Sure, your people are smart, competent and experienced. But there are many more people out there – whether in politics, business, the public service, academia or the community – who are even smarter, more creative and have huge brains. Use them.

Deliver meaningful change

As the saying goes – if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.

The pandemic has exposed many of the deepseated problems we’ve known about for years, for instance chronic underfunding of essential infrastructure and services – such as hospitals, which had so few ICU beds a level 4 lockdown was probably unavoidable. It also exposed our overreliance on immigration and mass tourism to bolster the economy, and a housing crisis so deep-seated that prices keep soaring, even in the midst of recession. These are all problems that transcend successive governments.

The lockdown unleashed a wave of longing to do things differently. People don’t want the same old solutions. They want real change. Respect that.

Understand that we are placing huge trust in you to get us through this

To repeat a well-worn cliche: we are living in uncertain times; the world we knew at the end of last year is gone and the shape of our future world is still being decided. Whatever you do during the next three years could decide the course of the next decade or more, and whether we come out of this in better or worse shape as a country, and as a society.

So however we vote on Saturday, the next prime minister should know that we are placing huge trust in them to get the next three years right. That doesn’t mean there won’t be mistakes – this pandemic ambushed us in a way that none of us were expecting, and we are learning new things about it every day. There will be stumbles, but it’s how you front up to those and rectify them that will count.

Hit the ground running

There are some tough conversations to be had and some big decisions to make. And there is no time to waste. If the economy spirals, it could lead to entrenched poverty and generational unemployment.

Whoever loses this election might be secretly glad to sit it out. But you won’t have the option of avoiding the tough calls. Accept that you are going to have to make some unpopular decisions and the polls may not reward you. But history will not judge you by the polls – it will judge you by the post-pandemic legacy you leave for future generations.

Keep coalition negotiations short and sweet

Voters have no patience for weeks of haggling and watching politicians bustle importantly past the cameras to negotiate $1 billion here, and $2 billion there. The country needs better from our minor parties than a list of pet projects and coalition bottom lines.