Chalk and cheese (Patreon)

In the last 24 hours we saw the launch of the Labour Party's campaign, the National Party release its list, and the Green Party announce another in its big policy pushes.

Putting aside the National Party list announcement because yawn, I wanted to focus on the Labour campaign launch and the Green's housing policy announcement.

The difference is stark.

In my "How to campaign" series on Labour, I said the party should take the safe route and focus on its COVID response. And boy has it ever. There has been several weeks of criticism of Labour going out with no policy and then it's the campaign launch and the Prime Minister is speaking and we might just get some policy! And what is it? Why it's an extension and refinement of a National Party policy from 2012. And it's using money that had already been tagged for the wage subsidy but wasn't used. 

Wow!

Hold. Me. Back.

This startlingly boring policy was announced with insane amounts of pomp. The iconography of the Prime Minister standing, arms outstretched, bathed in red lights, church organ framing her, with a well chosen diverse audience behind was pretty startling. If you're into that sort of thing.

Across town, and held today, the Green co-leader Marama Davidson announced to a handful of people on a street corner the Green Party's housing policy.

Just one line item aimed to end homelessness. 

Another talked about freeing up Kainga Ora to borrow $5B more than it is currently allowed to so it can scale up its housing production.

The policy includes the establishment of not-for-profit community rental homes.

The Greens would allow Local Territorial Authorities access to accommodation subsidies, so those subsidies don't just go to shitheel property managers like  Quinovic and drive up rents.

You want big transformative ideas? You go to the Green Party. You want the centerest of centrism, you've got Labour. You want roads, you go National.

It is no surprise that Labour is pushing on with the least transformative policies it can. It's polling above 50%. It's holding on to voters who are probably easily scared away. Why rock the boat? It's why National's social media lies are focused on the Green Party. It knows that there's not much to attack Labour with because there just isn't anything there. So go after its probable coalition partner.

In a weird way, Labour owes a debt of gratitude to NZ First. Because NZ First stopped some of Labour's more progressive policies, it allowed soft-National voters to think that Labour isn't so bad, and a vote for them won't bring in Marxism and see landlords put up against the wall. Labour has thanked NZ First by devouring it.

Sure, Jacinda Ardern is a remarkable politician. A gifted speaker and hugely empathetic human being, but the policies her and her party are putting forward are ... meh. 

For policies with heart, policies with smarts, and policies with ambition you need to look further to the left at the Greens.