Wrecking Ball Politics - the reality
Democracy Flattened For Efficiency
Once upon a time, in a modest little democracy at the bottom of the world, laws were built to last. Governments handed over the keys with a polite nod and the next tenants might have rearranged the furniture but generally left the foundations alone.
That quaint little fiction is now six feet under.
Today, we live in the era of Wrecking Ball Politics™, where every electoral cycle is a home renovation show hosted by a demolition crew. National, ACT and NZ First didn’t just win the 2023 election, they brought crowbars, angle grinders and an unquenchable thirst for policy arson.
In just eight short months, they’ve torched over 20 major reforms - laws barely dry on the parchment, drafted with the hope of longevity, now repurposed as kindling. Māori Health Authority? Gone. Fair Pay Agreements? Dead. Smokefree generation? Go buy your ciggies, kids. Auckland Light Rail? Vapour. Housing standards, climate tools, even free prescriptions - all chucked on the bonfire of “Labour bad.”
The Select Committee process, once a kind of democratic pitstop, is now a cardboard cut-out with a loudhailer taped to its mouth. Public consultation is for losers. Consensus? That’s for cowards and Scandinavians.
“Mature MMP environment,” says Christopher Luxon, as his government governs like a pissed-off stag in a china shop. Minor parties, once charming little accents on the democratic sentence, now wield the red pen. David Seymour has effectively replaced the Cabinet Manual with his Twitter account, while Winston Peters haunts the halls like a vintage poltergeist muttering something about cultural Marxism and the Treaty.
ACT is open about its mission to “reverse the reversals,” and the Greens have said the same. This isn’t a pendulum anymore. It’s a legislative yo-yo that gives whiplash. Businesses, community groups, councils - all left wondering if the rules they plan around will survive the next news cycle, let alone the next election.
It’s not governance. It’s Game of Thrones: Select Committee Edition.
And worse, it's contagious. The whole political class is now infected with performative belligerence syndrome. Ministers snarl at journalists. Chris Hipkins has gone full conspiracy theorist, accusing NZME of being Tory sock puppets. Te Pāti Māori MPs treat Standing Orders like optional WiFi agreements. Even Youth Parliament turned into a partisan food fight.
What does that leave the public? Disillusioned, disoriented, and disengaged. Because if everything is reversed every three years, what’s the point of participating? If every promise is provisional, every plan political, and every institution up for grabs, what’s left?
Certainly not trust. Certainly not stability. Certainly not democracy in any meaningful sense.
Just a crater, a slogan and the faint echo of “we’re delivering for New Zealanders.”
🗞️ GOVERNMENT PRESS RELEASE
From the Ministry of Streamlined Outcomes and Strategic Backburning
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION TO THE LOYAL AND GRATEFUL
Title -
“New Zealand - Faster. Freer. Frequently Reversed.”
The Coalition Government is proud to announce a groundbreaking acceleration in legislative turnover, positioning Aotearoa as a global leader in Dynamic Deregulation™.
Minister Luxon today welcomed the results of the Repeal and Replace Blitz, which has delivered record-setting levels of policy decimation. “New Zealanders asked for change,” he said. “What they didn’t expect, and frankly didn’t deserve, was how good we are at undoing things.”
Key outcomes -
Over 20 major reforms eliminated before breakfast.
Select Committees streamlined (now operating on a brisk 90-second "vibes-only" model).
Public consultation replaced by targeted inbox deletion.
New targets set - Legislate. Repeal. Repeat. All within one electoral cycle.
Associate Minister for Institutional Disruption David Seymour hailed the approach as “the ultimate expression of personal liberty - the freedom to never know what tomorrow’s laws will be.”
Winston Peters could not be reached for comment but was seen whispering into a fern about the Magna Carta.
ENDS.
📮 LETTER TO THE EDITOR – FROM AN AFFECTED ORGANISATION
From: Dr Aroha Reihana, Executive Director, Aotearoa Public Health Network
Subject - Whiplash Democracy and Smokefilled Futures
Dear Editor,
We worked for years on evidence-based policies to prevent smoking uptake among our rangatahi. We were ready to roll out a smokefree generation, a world-first legacy of health equity.
This month, the Government burned it down in under 48 hours. No warning. No consultation. No care.
This is not policy-making. It’s vandalism. The message to every community health worker, volunteer, and iwi partner who poured their hearts into this kaupapa is loud and clear - “Your work is disposable.”
The social cost of smoking is over $2.5 billion a year. But the human cost? Funeral after funeral after funeral. And for what? To defend Big Tobacco’s right to make more money.
Enough. A functioning democracy honours the mahi of its people. It does not erase it with a signature.
Ngā mihi,
Dr Aroha Reihana
📮 LETTER TO THE EDITOR – FROM AN AFFECTED INDIVIDUAL
From - Jimmy Ngatai, Wellington plumber, dad of two
Kia ora,
I’ve never written to a paper before. But I’ve had enough.
I voted National. I wanted them to fix the economy, maybe help with mortgage rates. I didn’t vote for them to take away my kids’ smokefree future. Or reverse climate action. Or make it easier for landlords to boot tenants. My sister got evicted last week, no reason given. Just gone.
This isn’t what I thought “change” meant. It’s not just the big stuff. It’s everything. The rules keep changing. The future keeps disappearing. My kids ask if the government even cares about them. I don’t know what to tell them.
If we don’t speak up now, what kind of country are we leaving behind?
Jimmy
📞 Phone +64 275 665 682
✉️ Email john.luxton@regenerationhq.co.nz
🌐 Contact Form www.regenerationhq.co.nz/contact
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