National leader Simon Bridges sent one of his own staff to help on the Scott Morrison campaign. Photo / Alan Gibson
National leader Simon Bridges sent one of his own staff to help on the Scott Morrison campaign. Photo / Alan Gibson
National Party leader Simon Bridges said the result in the Australian election was remarkable - and was good news in some respects for his own party.
"You can never make a perfect comparison with what's going on in New Zealand. Each country is a bit different, but I think itdoes show us in National that good campaigns really matter," Bridges told the Herald at the party's lower North Island conference in Lower Hutt.
Bridges believed that the Liberal policies appealed to blue-collar workers.
"There is no doubt that Aussie battlers, those quiet Australians, they might not be on Twitter, they may not be in the media much, but actually they have got a voice at the ballot and they spoke reasonably clearly.
"They are, I think, becoming more fiscally conservative.
"I think they have learnt the lesson over the past few decades that big flabby Government that taxes too much, that gives money to shirkers, not workers, isn't the way to go and isn't good for them.
"We saw that in Australia and we will be making the same messages clear in New Zealand."
Both Bridges and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern have texted messages of congratulations to Morrison.
With final results still to be confirmed, Labor cannot form a Government, despite having been ahead in opinion polls for most of the last term. Bill Shorten, who has been leader for almost six years, is stepping down.
The Coalition of Liberal and National will be able to form a majority or minority Government under Scott Morrison, the former Treasurer who became Prime Minister only in August last year.
"I wouldn't overplay it but it is pretty good for us because it does mean we are building up strong experience from the successful centre-right campaign that we will want to be using here," Bridges said.
Bridges said the Liberals had campaigned on a strong economy and against more tax and that had parallels in New Zealand.
"People will respond if you do the right thing and you have the right policies and people.
Both Jacinda Ardern and Simon Bridges have texted messages of congratulations to Scott Morrison. Photo / AP
"And I see in policies a Liberal Party that, like us in New Zealand and National, believes in a really strong economy, thinks we are the best people to manage that, [believes in] less tax, less regulation, in letting people get on with their lives, and we are not for and will never be for a bigger Government, wasting taxpayers' money and unions running the show, which may, by next year, be worrying New Zealanders."
Asked if National might be tempted to make political capital over climate change, which has been an especially divisive issue in Australia, Bridges said the issue had been a test for centre-right parties around the world.
"We will run our own race on climate change in New Zealand. We are not going to necessarily follow what they have done," he said.
"I think it has been unhelpful for the Liberal Party over a long period of time now to be so divided on that.
"I think it is a bit of a test for right-of-centre parties right around the world, [for] their sense of modernity on climate change.
"We clearly believe it is an issue. We think action is required. Our position was the same yesterday as it is today after this election in Australia and that's that we want to be bipartisan.
"We think the Government has got, with our help, a lot of it right although we don't support the methane targets being as high as they are because that is no in accordance with the science.
"We know for New Zealand's economy we need to stay strong in farming. It is over half our exports.
Bridges said one of his own staff members had been helping on the Liberal campaign in Australia running Morrison's social media, and members of the wider party had volunteered.
"We are sister parties. You couldn't find parties that are closer between the Liberals and the National Party and New Zealand. "
Morrison ran a great campaign on issues that mattered, said Bridges.
"I think there is also a bit of a 'bugger the pollsters' factor here as well. It is not that they got it badly wrong but I think the conventional wisdom was whilst it will be close, this was Labor's to lose.
"There's a lesson in that for us here in New Zealand as well. These things aren't always won on Twitter or by commentators but by getting out and reaching middle New Zealand."
