The government’s polling numbers are crashing, and it
almost seems the avalanche of ridiculous headlines about
their school lunch program will never end. This mess is a
problem they created for themselves, and they thoroughly
deserve it.
While the mainstream media has made the
current government look like heroes, by screaming about
largely imaginary cuts to the public service and other
tokenistic changes, the venerable Taxpayers’ Union frequently
reminds
us
that it is spending even more money than
its predecessor. It has also notoriously doubled
down on the program of economic sabotage in the name of
“climate”.
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The situation is of course entirely
unsurprising. Conditions were more favourable for parties on
the right in 2023 than they have been (or are likely to be)
for generations, as shown by the huge swing away from Labour
and the left. But the new coalition government has chosen
not to take this opportunity to make real positive changes,
instead extending the “Labour Lite” politics of John Key
– locking in or even expanding just about every policy
pushed by the anti-family, “big government” socialists
who voters just threw out.
The ideological decay in
the major parties is so bad that 2023 saw the incredible
spectacle of not only National, but also Act, choosing to
campaign on the basis that they would run Labour’s school
lunch program more efficiently. In other words, from the
start they promised only to do big government better
than Labour.
What has happened to our
society, and why has government grown so much that we now
rely on it to feed our children? No wonder government
spending doubled in just a decade, and keeps on growing. We
are stuck in a vicious circle of ever-increasing dependence
on government, which is a sure way to destroy a nation. This
has to end – we must build back a society where individuals
take responsibility for themselves and their own
families.
How can we fix this situation?
Luxon, Seymour and co don’t want to know – they’re quite
happy bribing us with our own money. One of National’s
other key promises in 2023 was the so-called “Family
Boost” – yet another layer of subsidy for families who
choose to put young children in childcare while both parents
work. National may have had the best of intentions, but if
so, they didn’t think this through – it will inevitably make
life even harder for those families who still sacrifice a
second income so they can bring up their own
children.
Voters who find themselves
disappointed in the current government should realise that
these parties are actually delivering what they promised –
for all the talk of efficiency, they never promised real
change. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Overseas
leaders have shown us that government doesn’t need to
constantly grow – its spending, its borrowing, and its
control over our lives. All that is required is a mindset
change.
The Conservatives offer that mindset change.
We will:
- Radically reduce government by
abolishing useless departments and ending wasteful spending
and unnecessary regulation. - Get its fingers out of
our lunchboxes and wallets. - Restore rational
economic policy, including ending all climate-focused taxes,
subsidies, and regulations. - Reform funding of
welfare (including Working For Families – to be replaced by
our Family
Builder income tax reform) and education (including
ECE), to support
the family instead of undermining
it.
