So, here we are: in accordance with constitutional convention. Luxon has announced the election date as 7 November. Meaning that his regime has only 290 more days before we get to vote it out on its arse.
But while the regime will hold office right up to election day (and a little beyond, under the caretaker convention, if things go well), its effective power to enact policy will end sooner. Parlaiment will likely rise on 24 September, so no more new laws after that. And if this was a normal, democratic government which respected the parliamentary process, that would mean that legislation would have to be introduced and sent to committee by March to be passed by the end of September. But this isn't such a government. Instead, it is an anti-democratic one, which seems to positively revel in abusing urgency and passing legislation with no notice - so they'll be ramming shit through all the way to the end. But even then, the ability of the public service to write policy is limited, and while the regime likes to shorten that as well, there's still a minimum amount of time - probably about six months if they want it done well, or maybe three if they're happy for a complete shitshow which has to be fixed later. Which means that if policy isn't announced by April or June, it probably isn't happening this term. And if we de-elect the regime, it probably isn't happening at all.
Even if the regime abuses urgency all the way to the end, everything they do can be reversed. Its fundamental to our constitution that no parliament can bind its successor, so what they enact can simply be repealed. That doesn't undo the harm caused in the interim, but if legislation hasn't come into force, then it can be as if it never happened. The next government needs to make this a core part of its programme. Labour will have a big agenda here on restoring workers' rights, and good on them for that, but immediate repeal also needs to extend to National's flagship policies of destroying te Tiriti, fast-track, voter suppression, climate denial, and of course the Regulatory Standards Bill. It all needs to go, as quickly as possible. We need a Treaty Restoration Bill, a Corruption Repeal Bill, a Democracy Restoration Bill, a Climate Defence Bill, and a Constitution Restoration Bill. Or just shove it all in one as an Omnibus Repeal Bill. Do unto National what they did unto Aotearoa, and chuck everything they did out on the first day. And if they don't like it, well, they chose to govern like that, so they can have it right back.
People are sick to fucking death of austerity and NeoLiberalism, of government that simply makes excuses rather than solving problems. We've seen both here and overseas that government can get shit done when it wants to. We want it to. It is time for the opposition to rise to that challenge, tell us how it will use government power to make our lives better. And if it can't, well, fuck them; they'll lose to the most hated and incompetent regime in living memory, and they'll have no-one to blame but themselves.
