NZ Labour Party is stupid

I’m a member of the New Zealand Labour Party. Beginning in 2002, the first NZ general election in which I could vote, I’ve always given two ticks to Labour. I mention all this first to put this in context: I’m angry with Labour and its stupid, pointless tactics in Parliament today.

As I write, the New Zealand Parliament is considering the Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill under urgency. The National-led Government has the votes to pass the legislation and there’s nothing that Labour, as the Opposition, can do to stop it.

So Labour’s tactic is to muck up the process. Their caucus members proposed hundreds of mostly trivial amendments, including a series of identical nonsense, meaningless amendments calling for proposals like that this be known as the “Auckland supercity proposal” until a future date. Each amendment is soundly defeated, one after the other. On many votes, Labour—inexplicably and for the first time in my limited memory—has cast their votes in Maori. Last night this tactic managed to stop the process as Parliament had to bring in an official translator.

What on earth does Labour think they can win by doing this? They can’t stop this bill being passed, and these tactics make them look like childish brats who, knowing they can’t get their way, are throwing their toys all over the room. Do they think they’re being clever?

Labour and the Green Party object to what they see as the lack of opportunity for Aucklanders to have their say. The kicker is, I more or less agree with them on that. For reasons I’ve made clear in this blog, I don’t trust the National Party—and definitely not its allies. So what? This bill will pass.

It would’ve been better to propose a handful of substantive amendments—ones that could make a difference, amendments of principle—but Labour thought that game-playing was a better idea. They could’ve worked on organising opposition at the Select Committee where, if National listens to voters, there might be a chance to make meaningful changes. Or, Labour could've tapped into the concerns of ordinary Auckland voters and supported organised citizen protest. Instead, Labour has merely managed to steel the reserve of the Government to do as it pleases.

And what of the people of Auckland—one third of all New Zealand—who have to sit and wait to find out our fate while Labour’s games play out? How does Labour’s tactic help ordinary people? What of the some 6,000 employees of all the councils in the Auckland region? Their lives are on hold and the future of their jobs unknown until these games are over. How is that caring for the needs of workers?

So Labour, aided by the Greens, just looks negative and stupid, and like they don’t care about the people this affects. Continuing my membership in the New Zealand Labour Party isn’t looking like a very good idea at the moment because I’m not stupid.