Willis merrily gave National ministers all the credit for the pruning of government spending – as if Act and NZ First’s ministers had not done the same thing.
“National Party Ministers have taken extremely seriously their obligation to be good custodians of public money,” she assured them, adding that the National Party was on “a perpetual mission to drive better value from public spending” - which may come as a surprise to Act leader David Seymour who has spent a lot of energy on his own perpetual mission cuts to go deeper.
It was perhaps fair enough, given it was the first time the party had met together since the election that resulted in that three-headed unmentionable coalition.
Willis and Luxon’s job is to convince them National Party policies are being implemented and that there haven’t been too many compromises as a result of the coalition. Pretending they don’t exist is one way to do that.
One rare reference to the coalition was in party president Sylvia Wood’s written report, which sold it as a rare and unique thing: “the first of its kind three-way coalition.”
The lack of mentions will not have fooled the party faithful, who will be well aware that as a result of that the National Party has more diluted power than any previous National government has had.
The mood at the conference was positive but not euphoric. It had the usual trappings of a National conference. A lot of blue clothing, fundraising raffles for Bluff oysters from the Invercargill crowd and an auction for an autographed photo of Sir Robert Muldoon – along with a letter from Sir Robert authenticating his signature. Bidding was up to $500 by the end of Saturday.
There was the obligatory bagging of the former Labour government and the state it apparently left things in. There was a red-blooded National roar on law and order when Tauranga’s Andrew von Dadelszen berated the “soft on crime, woke and divisive Labour government” while urging his own lot to give security guards some powers akin to the police (that remit passed).
However, the biggest reminder of National’s current diluted power was in the room: former PM Sir John Key, who managed to get by for three terms without needing a coalition or having to include smaller parties in his cabinet.
It is his polling figures the party now hopes to build back to – in the mid-40s.
The Key years remain the National Party members’ happy place.
He certainly delivered them a blast from the past, judging from the loud and frequent laughter coming from the conference room during a closed session in which Key and Luxon held court together on stage. One MP later reported it had predominantly consisted of Key and Luxon taking the mickey out of each other.
It was a moment of light relief in a day in which Luxon, Willis and other ministers reported on progress in “getting New Zealand back on track.”
The election slogan is still on high rotation but must surely be starting to wear even on the most diehard of party faithful by now.
It is still too early to have solid evidence that New Zealand is back on track so the phrase du jour was “green shoots” as Luxon and Willis set out what the party (or rather, the coalition government sssshhh) had done in the seven or so months since getting into Government – and assured them “green shoots” were emerging to give people hope.
Willis pointed to the “green shoots of the economic recovery” (inflation easing, and the potential dropping of interest rates if Adrian Orr agrees later this month.)
Health Minister Shane Reti pointed to small dips in the waiting times for specialist treatment and surgical waiting lists and claimed it was a result of intense focus on the government’s health targets and “regular scrutiny” from himself.
The party faithful will be hoping for green shoots in the party’s polling as well – one way to ensure the three-headed unmentionable coalition is not repeated.
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