Apparently, there’s always cash for cannons, but when it comes to hospital beds, feeding kids or affordable homes, the piggy bank’s mysteriously empty. Talk about a steaming pile of contradiction, Judith.
Collins justifies this military splurge by pointing fingers at China, claiming their missile tests and Tasman Sea antics mean New Zealand must “step up” or be left defenceless. It’s classic fearmongering...paint the dragon as the big bad wolf, and suddenly, billions for warships seem reasonable. Never mind that escalating tensions with our biggest trading partner might not be the brightest idea. Collins seems itching for a scrap, or at least a Cold War sequel, with New Zealand bowing down to every whim of the United States. Meanwhile, her government’s slashing public services faster than you can say “AUKUS.”
On Saturday, RNZ reported:
The multibillion-dollar boost for New Zealand's military: What you need to know
Luxon has said the plan can be funded from within the current spending track: "We can afford this, we know this is a big step up and a big commitment but in our current fiscal track we can afford this."
How do we know it's affordable?
Here, it's important to distinguish between operating allowances and capital allowances. Or, day-to-day government spending on goods and services, versus long-term investments in assets.
The hypocrisy in Luxon's insulting waffle is galling. The National Party, alongside their corrupt ACT and NZ First mates, has spent months and months preaching to voters about fiscal restraint. They’ve bungled their meaningless tax cuts, gutted public sector jobs, squeezed health funding, and left housing initiatives to wither...because, you know, “times are tough.” Yet, when it’s time to flex for the Five Eyes club, the wallet magically opens. We'll materialize out of thin air $12 billion for defence? No problem! But ask for a few million to fix mouldy state houses or hire more nurses and doctors, and you’ll get an unending lecture about “living within your means” or pointless instructions about proper pronoun use. It’s almost like the coalition’s priorities are less about people and more about posturing on the world stage.
Let’s not kid ourselves...this isn’t just about preparedness; it’s about Collins and National grandstanding to distract from their domestic failures. While Kiwis struggle with skyrocketing costs, Collins is dreaming of her very own military fiefdom. The coalition’s happy to let kids sleep in cars, but God forbid we miss out on some big boy toys, a frigate or two that aren't going to stop some Chinese destroyers exercising in the Pacific anyway. So what is that $12 billion really for? To placate the David Seymour's fears that China will suddenly bomb New Zealand for no reason, even though 5.4% of our population is Chinese? Get real! To placate the United States and their intent to start a superpower war with China in a conflict that will only have losers? If this isn’t a case of misplaced priorities, I don’t know what is.
The real kicker? Collins has form dismantling social safety nets with one hand while misspending taxpayers' money with the other. You can’t have it both ways, Judith. If there’s money for missiles, there’s money for medicine. If you’re ready to fight a war with China, how about fighting for all the Kiwi kids who are going hungry because of your austerity?
This coalition of chaos needs a reality check. New Zealanders deserve a government that invests in its people, not pipe dreams of military glory. Collins’ budget priorities aren’t just hypocritical...they’re a betrayal of the Kiwi dream, a dream that is slipping further away for most law abiding citizens because the National Party is breaching the social contract.
