Nicola Willis: National gave “tens of dollars” to Kiwis

Listening to the Morning Report political panel (video here) is a painful exercise.

Not only did Ingrid Hipkiss allow Willis to talk over and effectively berate Carmel Sepuloni with “How are you going to pay for it?” six times within a minute, Hipkiss also threw two undeniable assists to the Finance Minister.

One (3 minutes and 8 seconds)

As Sepuloni talks about National handing out money to the tobacco industry and landlords, and Kiwis struggling with the cost of living, Hipkiss suddenly pivots to:

“Those agencies, though, were saying… that you either need to spend less or tax more.

So where would you be going?”

Which agencies said that?

There is no agency which has pointed out handing out $300 million to tobacco multinationals and ~$3b to landlords is about spending less or taxing more.

It is however a beloved ACT and National narrative.

And within that split second, Hipkiss puts the heat entirely on Sepuloni, who is taken aback with this binary notion she is presented with.

The moment also gives Willis the opening she needs, and the Finance Minister spends the next minute berating and talking over Sepuloni, as Sepuloni answers the question.

Two (4 minutes and 46 seconds)

The second assist is when, as Sepuloni tries to explain National’s tax cuts are money given with one hand, but taken away with the other, Hipkiss suddenly interrupts – directing a question to Willis:

“Even with that, we’ve had the interest rates going down.

That’s been gobbled up by rates, insurance and food and mince and butter.”

To which Willis picks up another favoured National Party talking point and starts criticising councils for “their rate rises” and how National have been instructing councils to stop it.

Hipkiss also ignores the $671 million loss by Willis on i-Rex.

That was a thoroughly dissatisfactory listen.

---

Labour versus National

On their own, the skills between Labour and National are clearly on display.

Labour are pragmatic, understand what’s going on, are generally intelligent, and close to the peoples’ feedback.

National excel at the lobbying and PR skillset. Soundbytes prioritised. Facts, roadkill. Everything is about the spin. Anecdotes are used to impressive effect.

Willis starts with a practiced zinger:

“We’re spending enough to service our debt to build around six water view tunnels every year into the future.

That’s how much we’re having to pay for the debt that we built up during COVID.”

The interest bill is ~$9b against government tax revenue of around $115b a year.

As I said to someone this morning, if you knew your child was in danger, would you spend $10K to save them? And having saved them, would you cry about the $1K bill on your $100K income?

Let alone a government has many options, and Willis borrowing more in less time without a pandemic, is rather hypocritical.

Sepuloni, a great advocate in Parliament, tried, but against a seasoned lobbyist, her messages would not have stuck as well as Willis’ did.

National are a well oiled corporate machine and their war chest is undeniable. There’s hardly been any furore about the $671 million Kiwirail fiasco but the media headlines are wall to wall on Labour’s Covid bill and “reckless spending”.

Labour – You need to get a lot more PR and strategy coaching. I say that with regret as you shouldn’t have to, but when you’re surrounded by skunks, if you don’t come out stronger, they will bury you.

---

The Peculiar Case of Thomas Manch & the Nicola Willis Leadership Rumour

Yesterday The Post reporter Thomas Manch leaked a rumour “Auckland gossip journalist” Rachel Glucina.

He shared that Glucina noted some saw Willis as the next PM of NZ.

However, after some digging and tips, it was revealed Glucina is a John Key associate, and named in Nicky Hager’s “Dirty Politics” as one of several journalists who helpd the National Party smear opponents.

The Guardian:

Rachel Glucina was among several journalists implicated in Nicky Hager’s book Dirty Politics, which alleged senior government officials were executing smear campaigns against opponents with the help of media.

Hager said he tried to avoid shaming journalists in the book, with the exception of Glucina, whom he described as “despicable”.

I tried to ask Manch why he didn’t mention this history – or the John Key connection – but didn’t receive a response.

The point is: John Key seems to be connected to a lot of National Party media moves e.g. Crimson Education appearing on Q&A and the next day Stanford cancelling NCEA. (John Key works for and with Crimson)

Now we have another associate of his leaking Willis rumour to the press.

It served as RNZ’s Morning Report headline too: “Leadership rumour laughed off as Willis and Sepuloni clash”

There’s so much happening, so many laws being passed, so much money wasted now, but it’s so easy for National to create the precise distractions they desire.

Above is an excerpt from the Mountain Tui substack