It's been over two years since the National Party-led government slithered into power, promising a solution to the cost of living crisis.
Remember that old chestnut from their campaign trail? Well, fast forward to 2026, and what we've got is more like a rock bottom fiasco with no solutions in sight.
Last week, RNZ reported:
Unemployment rate highest in a decade as it rises to 5.4%
Unemployment rose to its highest level in more than a decade, with more people chasing work than jobs created, while wage growth slowed further.
Stats NZ numbers showed the unemployment rate rising to 5.4 percent in the three months ended December, from 5.3 percent in the previous quarter. It was the highest level since March 2015.
"Over the quarter, we saw higher levels of engagement in the labour market as both employment and unemployment increased," macroeconomic spokesperson Jason Attewell said.
A total of 165,000 people were unemployed, a rise of 4000 on the previous quarter and 10,000 on a year ago.
The signs are clear to see: a prolonged downturn that's squeezing the life out of ordinary New Zealanders, skyrocketing unemployment, stubborn inflation creeping above the Reserve Bank's target, and a surge in homelessness that's as predictable as it is heartbreaking.
If this is what governing looks like, then Christopher Luxon and his crew are woefully out of their depth, unfit for a second term, and frankly, a danger to the nation's wellbeing.
Let's start with the economy, shall we? Since National took the helm, GDP has contracted repeatedly, with the latest figures showing a dismal 0.9% drop in the June 2025 quarter alone. Projections for 2026 aren't much brighter. The OECD forecasts a meagre 1.8% growth, barely enough to crawl out of the hole they've dug for ordinary New Zealander's.
The current government is taking no responsibility for their economic mismanagement. Unemployment has hit 5.4% in the December 2025 quarter, the highest in a decade, leaving 165,000 Kiwis without work. That's not just a statistic; it's families struggling, young people scarred by joblessness, and a generation burdened with an average $26,000 student debt while facing double the national unemployment rate at 12.5% for under-30s.
If you think that National keeping people poor is good for the nation, then be my guest...keep voting for a government that is hellbent on inhibiting our young citizens and our great countries future potential.
Inflation? It's at 3.1%, again edging above the RBNZ's 3% upper limit, fueled by government-administered hikes in fees, rates, and utilities (read taxes) up 10% in 2025 alone. What was it that National promised again?
Wage growth lags at a pitiful 2%, meaning real incomes are shrinking while costs soar. How convenient for a government that blames everything from the previous administration to global tariffs, but never their own slash-and-burn austerity that is driving down wages and forcing people overseas.
At the centre of this mess is Finance Minister Nicola Willis, a woman whose qualifications for the role seem as thin as the excuses she peddles. Economists should be lining up to call for her resignation, but once again the mainstream media is falling in line with the status-quo and not properly reporting.
Even the right wing is getting sick of the incompetence. Former Finance Minister Sir Roger Douglas labeled her "not up to the job," while University of Auckland's Robert MacCulloch accused her of having "no plan" beyond slashing public services. A group of 20 prominent economists penned an open letter in October 2025, slamming her policies as short-sighted and contributory to the recession, but a toothless mainstream media hasn't put any pressure on this complete failure of a Minister.
Under Willis, borrowing has ballooned more than under her predecessor Grant Robertson, despite a lack of any actual economic disasters or worldwide crisis. What exactly is her excuse?
Public debt is on track to hit 100% of GDP in decades, and the bureaucracy she promised to shrink has barely budged. Her response? A flimsy denial: "I don't agree," as if this is enough of a response while New Zealand's economy goes down the drain.
This is the same minister who claimed she was building a "rock solid" economy, while critics, including those on the right side of politics like the Taxpayers' Union accused her of fiscal fudgery. Unqualified? Absolutely. Inept? Undeniably.
And then there's Prime Minister Christopher bloody Luxon, the former airline CEO who can't seem to land a coherent sentence let alone a credible vision for New Zealand.
His popularity has tanked amid economic woes, with hecklers at Waitangi Day 2026 shouting "treason" over Treaty rollbacks and indigenous rights erosion. If tanking New Zealand's economy without any reason isn't treason, what is?
It's the same old chestnut of divide and rule. There is no doubt that the National Party and their coalition partners have used Māori as a bogyman to try and gain support from the racists and white supremacists. But that tactic will hopefully do more damage to their brand in the long-term.
It's not just left-wingers like myself who've noticed. Critics such as political commentator Matthew Hooton have eviscerated the so-called Prime Minister, calling Luxon lacking in intelligence, depth, and connection with Kiwis, reduced to empty slogans while the coalition fractures.
Luxon's response to coalition infighting and an economy in decline is to regurgitate the same old and tired business speak that nobody understands. A complete failure to connect with everyday Kiwi battlers who are just trying to survive.
But how can he manage New Zealand out of recession when he can't even manage his own speech paralysis, incompetent economic Minister or inept government?
Under Luxon, we've seen no real plan for prosperity, just more pain for the vulnerable. The human cost is stark. Homelessness has doubled in Auckland, thanks to National's cuts to emergency housing grants...down 65.5% in applications approved. Funding slashed by $78 million, leaving thousands exposed to the gruelling prospect of living on the streets.
The Cost of living crisis? Groceries, rents, and utilities keep rising, with no relief in sight as the RBNZ holds rates steady into late 2026, with Luxon's big plan for energy security a sunset industry of LNG imports at taxpayers' expense. So much for cheaper power prices.
Meanwhile, poverty surges, with over 410,000 on welfare benefits. Imagine if resources were shared more equitably instead of persecuting vulnerable families by removing benefits just to provide landlords with $2.7 billion in freebies.
Imagine if the government was actually doing what we employ them to do like boost social housing targets, fund preventive homelessness programs such as expanding Housing First beyond its paltry 300 new spots, and invest in public services rather than tax cuts for the wealthy and already bloody sorted.
We could halve rough sleeping, stabilise rents, and lift wages through fair redistribution of the great wealth that New Zealand actually has, creating a society where quality of life improves for all, not just the sorted and elite.
But under National, that's a pipe dream. This government wasn't ready to govern in 2023, it isn't ready to govern now, let alone for another three year term. Kiwis deserve better than Nicola Willis' economic mismanagement and Chris Luxon's weak word salad.
