We were delighted to be able to get into our previous issue a roundup of some of Grey Power’s key lobbying efforts as we worked to find out exactly what the various political parties were promising older members of the electorate in the recently concluded election. We trust this was of use in guiding your choices.
Whether what was promised by the various parties comes to pass remains to be seen.
As this issue went to print, it still remained unclear exactly what the shape of the new New Zealand government would be, but it was clear it would be led by new National Party Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, supported by ACT Party leader David Seymour.
As is often the case, NZ First party leader Winston Peters is likely to play a role, though as of writing it remained unclear exactly what that role will be. Or how the government will turn out to operate in practice.
It is no secret that Peters and Seymour do not seem to enjoy the best of relations, so we can expect an interesting time as the various parties jostle for position.
It was also clear that it was difficult to read the meaning of the final result as an overwhelming victory for National – and there will still be various recounts to be resolved. However, what it did seem to represent was a move away from the left-wing groups that had previously dominated recent politics in New Zealand.
Our own soundings of the electorate suggested that, while Labour was generally considered to have done a good job in helping the country survive Covid 19, there was some disappointment that it was unable to turn its overwhelming recent electorate mandates into positive outcomes.
It failed to achieve what it had promised and initiated too many ambitious projects that never seemed likely to be realised. Clearly it was a left-wing government that wasn’t fully united across its supporting parties. And the unfortunate public demise of a large number of senior Labour MPs just before the elections certainly didn’t help the outgoing government.
More to the point for our readers and the wider community, there remains a huge amount to be done in supporting our older people in particular. We look forward to continue examining what the electoral and other changes are likely to mean for our readers.
