Opinion: Political nastiness is distracting us from real issues

Iain Lees-Galloway was sacked by the Prime Minister after news of his office affair broke. Photo / File

COMMENT

What a turbulent time in politics.

One could be forgiven for thinking politics is a quagmire of scandals and nastiness, because from the outside it certainly looks that way.

I recently heard Parliament described as being like a co-ed boarding school but with alcohol.

Disgraced former National MP Hamish Walker sends private Covid-19 patient details - sent to him by and former National Party president Michelle Boag - to media outlets. Both have resigned.

An office affair leads to the sacking of Minister for Workplace Safety Iain Lees-Galloway.

The brief rise and fall of Nats' leader Todd Muller, who after nearly two months as leader stepped down and took time off to recover.

Muller's resignation sent the National Party into a tailspin, with the eventual emergence of Judith Collins as leader.

National frontbenchers Nikki Kaye and Amy Adams were also left in Collins' wake.

The leaked photo of a young National candidate posing as Hitler when he was 14 - something many politicians have come out defending him for – including Winston Peters saying "We all make mistakes when we are young – I would think it's part of the growing up process".

The recent resignation of former National MP Andrew Falloon, who is under investigation by police after several women came forward claiming to have received pornographic photographs.

Even at a local level, our candidates have reported hoardings and billboards targeted by vandals. Incumbent Waiariki MP Tamati Coffey has reported his hoardings destroyed.

And even more sinister is Bay of Plenty list MP and candidate Angie Warren-Clark's hoardings that were spraypainted with Nazi symbols and her eyes blackened.

It's a nasty, abhorrent move – whatever colours you fly.

The turmoil can make your head spin.

But what is left after the smoke has cleared and the bodies counted?

The New Zealand public may want to know what our politicians' real priorities are.

We are 50 days out from the general election and there's a lot to consider.

I would suggest our economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic - supporting our jobless and homeless - needs to take a front seat.

We need to weigh our parties' plans and promises for a safe border re-opening, managing returning Covid cases, foreign trade in a post-pandemic world, and re-positioning ourselves globally as a country to reckon with.

Let's try to see through these distractions and get down to brass tacks.

They have seven weeks to convince us.