In response to scaremongering by (highly-paid) journalist Patrick Gower, (highly-paid) Labour leader Jacinda Ardern and (highly-paid) finance spokesperson Grant Robertson have just ruled out any prospect of tax increases on highly-paid people like themselves. By doing so they've chained themselves into National's current fiscal straitjacket, under which the government can not collect enough revenue to properly fund our health, education, and welfare systems, and effectively ruled out any real chance of making any progress if they become government.
If people wonder why I have nothing but contempt for the Labour Party, this is why. They talk a big game about fixing things, but refuse to embrace the necessary tools to do so. Instead, they're just the smily face of the austerity status quo, unwilling to really change anything.
But its not just a betrayal, its also simply fucking stupid. There is absolutely no political downside to making MP's and corporate bigwigs pay more tax. To the contrary, Helen Clark ran on a platform of taxing the rich, and she got elected on it. But now Labour has just made it look like they've put their own personal greed ahead of the public's needs. And they deserve to be punished for it.