Christopher Luxon’s neoliberal government is lurching from one communications disaster to another, making a complete mockery of their promise to govern with transparency and competence. The PM’s incessant bleating about “turbocharging the economy” is laughably detached from reality, while Ministers such as Brooke van Velden and Tama Potaka trip over their own rhetoric, trying to ignore the damage done by their regressive policies. From Auckland to Invercargill, this government’s ineptitude is on full display.
Let’s start with Luxon, the self-anointed economic guru, banging on about his coalition’s supposed turbocharge of New Zealand’s economy. Whether he’s in Wellington or Waikato, the man’s spruiking growth like a used-car salesman flogging a lemon. Yet Business NZ’s latest stats, covering regions from Canterbury to Northland, paint a grim picture: business confidence is in the gutter, activity’s stagnating, and employers are again bracing for tougher times.
Last Friday, Business NZ reported:
New Zealand’s manufacturing sector fell back into contraction during May, according to the latest BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI).
The seasonally adjusted PMI for May was 47.5 (a PMI reading above 50.0 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was down from 53.3 in April and a return to contraction after four consecutive months of expansion. The survey was also well below the average of 52.5 since it began.
On Monday, Business NZ also reported:
Service with a slump
New Zealand’s services sector continued to show further decline in activity during May, according to the BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI).
The PSI for May was 44.0 (A PSI reading above 50.0 indicates that the service sector is generally expanding; below 50.0 that it is declining). This was down 4.1 points from April and well below the average of 53.0 over the history of the survey.
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BNZ’s Senior Economist Doug Steel said that “the fall in the PSI follows the sharp decline in the Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) from 53.3 to 47.5. Together, they are consistent with the economy returning to recession. We’re a long way from forecasting this, but the data are a reminder of just how vulnerable the economy currently is”.
Even babbling fools like right-wing propagandists Duncan Garner, Ryan Bridge and Mike Hosking have noticed and are starting to grumble. Luxon’s rhetoric isn’t anywhere near the reality of what people are seeing on the ground.
Luxon’s either willfully blind or genuinely out of his depth, and neither bodes well for a bloke who sold himself as New Zealand's corporate saviour. This isn’t just spin; it’s a delusion that insults every Kiwi who is currently struggling to pay the bills.
literally four days ago, he was saying the economy is booming https://t.co/xvPZIrciD2 pic.twitter.com/ZVPwSdJRuH
— Clint Smith (@ClintVSmith) June 16, 2025
Then there’s the sick leave debacle. Luxon, shooting himself in the foot, claimed that the government was looking at halving sick leave from 10 days to five, an optically terrible move given they'd just gutted Pay Equity Claims, which will disproportionately effect women's pay packets.
After some fallout, enter Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden, stage left, frantically insisting there’s “no intention” to do any such thing. So, Brooke, is your boss making it up, or are you papering over a policy that’d impact low income women workers again?
Brooke van Velden's attempt to pivot to “pro-rated sick leave” for part-timers only muddies the waters further, leaving businesses equally baffled at the government’s mixed messages. This isn’t leadership; it’s a comedy sketch, and the punchline’s on us.
On Monday, 1 News reported:
No plan to halve sick leave, minister says after Luxon's comments
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was asked during an interview with Morning Report whether his Government was looking at reducing the number of leave days from 10 to five.
"That's something that I know [Workplace Relations and Safety Minister] Brooke van Velden is looking into. She looks at a whole raft of workplace relations," Luxon replied.
"It's a bit premature for now."
But van Velden told RNZ it was not something she was looking into.
The increased number of homeless people in New Zealand isn’t easy for the public to ignore, and the government is desperate to blame anything other than their socially destructive policies.
Taking over from Chris Bishop, whose credibility is currently in the gutter after his drunken and racist outburst at the AMA, Tama Potaka is dodging responsibility by pointing to “market pressures” and lying about “rental shortages” as if National’s austerity obsession hasn’t caused the housing crises to considerably worsen. Potaka’s refusal to own this crisis is a gut-punch to the vulnerable, and will not be easily ignored by voters come election time.
Yesterday, RNZ reported:
Homelessness increase not necessarily due to government policy changes - minister
The minister in charge of emergency housing has been unable to say whether homelessness has increased under this government, saying frontline providers have made "a variety" of comments to him.
Providers and advocates have told RNZ they have been seeing a spike in homelessness, with some blaming changes the government has made to emergency housing access.
But Tama Potaka told a committee of MPs there were "a lot of other contributing factors," such as the state of the economy and the supply of rentals.
How is a Minister of the Crown even able to be completely ignorant of the fact that the number of rental listings is up 25% nationwide, largely due to overpricing and everybody moving to Australia?
The government has dismissed concerns that stricter emergency housing criteria has led to an increase in homelessness.
However, Auckland Council's Community Committee recorded a 53 percent rise in people sleeping rough, from 426 people last September to 653 people in January, while data from Wellington's Downtown Community Ministry showed an increase in the number of people rough sleeping from October to December 2024, by about a third in comparison to the year before.
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As part of the gateway changes, MSD staff have been assessing whether an applicant has "unreasonably contributed" to their situation, or whether they had taken "reasonable efforts" to find other options.
Some advocates have told RNZ it has led to survivors of sexual or domestic violence being turned away from emergency housing because their decision to leave their situation was seen as "contributing" to their homelessness.
National’s emergency and state housing charade is a disgrace! Potaka crowing about new builds in Rotorua, Hamilton, and Porirua, conveniently forgetting these were funded by Labour’s budget, isn't just stupid, it's so opaque it's practically glass.
Potaka’s press releases might dupe the odd brainless punter, but anyone with a pulse knows this is Labour’s legacy, not National’s largesse, especially as homelessness climbs under their watch.
On Sunday, 1 News reported:
Nearly 200 new homes for Rotorua in affordable housing push
Nearly 200 new affordable homes will be developed in Rotorua by mid-2027 under a community-led housing initiative backed by the Government, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka announced.
Of the 189 homes, up to 150 would be social housing to be delivered by June 2027 by the Rotorua Lakes Council, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, and community housing providers.
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The 150 social homes would be funded through $140 million allocated in Budget 2024 for 1500 new homes across the country.
Please correct your propaganda, @1NewsNZ. It’s 1,500 new social housing PLACES (paid for by @nzlabour) nationwide over four years, not 1500 new state houses. National has cancelled 1019, demolished 700 and sold 800. Another 672 are under review. #nzpolhttps://t.co/PKZXJQzpy5
— Jackal (@Jackalblog) June 15, 2025