It is often said that being in opposition is awaste of time. As someone who spent nine years in Opposition during the 1990s, I can vouch that sometimes it feels that way. But the Opposition has a job to do.
It must hold the Government of the day to account and get ready to offer a compelling, workable alternative to voters come the next election.
Holding the Government to account is the easiest of the two tasks – it is more difficult to say what you will do.
To say what you will do, hard work on policy is required. In fact, it is essential, because once in government, ministers will be asked by their officials: “What do you want us to do?” A clear direction-setting answer is required if everyone is to get off to a good start.
As soon as the ministerial warrants are issued, the clock starts ticking. The election is three years away. Policies must be refined, legislation passed, resources allocated, and implementation begun. The time it takes to put new policies in place is why there is so much pressure when a government takes office.
To be blunt, despite six years in Opposition, it is becoming obvious that this Government did not prepare.
The decision by the National Party to fund 13 cancer medicines that the Cancer Control Agency said were available some years ago in other countries, was a reaction to public debate, not a well-thought-out policy. Having made the commitment, it had to follow through.
After a great deal of confusion and claims that there was no money, the Government was forced to announce that it would be giving Pharmac $604 million over four years, which it says will fund a specific list of cancer and other medicines. How it knows this when Pharmac’s options-for-funding list is a commercial secret is anyone’s guess.
The Government wanted to look like it knew how to handle the cash card. It may have had a point about the cost of the project, but by cancelling it completely, the Government has put off a decision that grows more urgent by the day.
The Government's decision to cancel the purchase of new Cook Strait ferries was "posturing", says Steve Maharey. Photo / Tim Cuff
In opposition, members of the current Government relentlessly attacked their predecessors for using “the Prime Minister’s plane”. They said they would fly commercial.
Once in government, they discovered that the Government needed a plane not only so they could transport large delegations, but also because other governments would not take them seriously if they had to meet around the baggage carousel in the arrivals hall. They now use the plane, but it keeps breaking down.
Opposition to Three Waters must have sounded like a political winner when in Opposition. But arriving in government without a workable replacement policy was irresponsible. The policy that is now being offered sounds very close to what is already in place and does not deal with the central issue of how to pay for the enormous cost of water infrastructure.
Health was the biggest issue on the political agenda during the election. The previous Government’s centralisation of the public system was attacked as unworkable.
Yet, six months into the new term, it is difficult to see what difference the Government intends to make. It has abolished Te Aka Whai Ora and established a Māori leadership team in Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora. Everything else appears to be business as usual with the Health Minister continuing to say the health system is in crisis.
The common thread here is that the Government did not prepare.
It was clear on what it opposed (the easy bit), but not on what it is for (the hard bit). Saying that it did not have all the facts before it became the Government is not an excuse for poor policy.
All of this might be a source of amusement if it were not so important. New Zealand desperately needs a sustained period of good policies, good decisions and good implementation.
We are in no way a Third World country as so many people are now saying, but we are not doing the things we need to do to be a successful nation in the 21st century.
Given the difficult situation the Government has created for itself, the way forward is not easy to see. Modern politics stops for no-one.
Somehow the Government needs to create space for itself to do the preparation it should have done in Opposition.
If it does not, the bad decisions will keep coming and as a breakfast radio host was heard to say recently, they will be “toast”.
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