Hello New Zealand! I’m reviving my old blog with a National Party Manifesto Review!! There are like 500 policies though so I will just go through the interesting ones until I get bored. The views expressed in this are mine and may not reflect those of the Green party as a whole.

Bring back lootboxes and downloadable content.

No! I will protect gamers by ensuring they are not exploited through lootboxes. Downloadable content cannot be ‘brought back’ because it was not banned like lootboxes, there are only restrictions that they can’t be released in the first 28 days after a game’s release which I support.

Work towards ensuring all Government services and publications are disability friendly and accessible to all.

Hear hear! The Greens will also champion important disability policies in the next Parliament including establishing a Disability Issues Commission so I hope we can see some bipartisan progress with National in this area.

Give Seniors the dignity they deserve.

This is very vague so I don’t know what it is specifically referring to however the Greens have previously in government taken steps to give Seniors the dignity they deserve such as reforms to the End of Life Care Act to ensure people can die with dignity.

Negotiate SuperGold Card discounts for vision, dental, and hearing care, together with legal support for wills and powers of attorney.

The Greens have made these services free so a SuperGold Card discount is not required!

Raise the retirement age to 67.

Just on the last page you opened this section with giving “Seniors the dignity they deserve” and now you want to raise the retirement age to 67? Nothing says working for seniors like raising the retirement age!

Improve our Games of National Significance legislation.

I can’t comment on this as I have no idea in what way they want to improve the GONS legislation!

Encourage the teaching and promotion of more obscure sports in schools.

I am intrigued by this idea!

Construct the Sir Peter Jackson New Zealand Film Museum.

Assuming this is a museum about all New Zealand film and not just Sir Peter Jackson’s work, I do welcome this initiative. I love a good museum!

Work with Skyline to promote tourism and build Gondolas on Mount Taranaki.

Wha- what. Mount Taranaki is an iconic part of New Zealand, its untouched landscape can be seen from space! I will oppose any attempts to build tourist attractions on such an important landmark to our natural environment and to Māori.

Support e-Scooter and e-Bike options for travel.

Ok this is epic.

Reduce paper money in favour of electronic transactions.

The current trend is certainly in favour of electronic transactions but I hope that National do not take steps to eliminate paper money as there are still many people that prefer to use paper for day-to-day transactions. Seniors are a typical demographic that are like this so it is ironic that National wants to protect Seniors’ dignity but also wants to reduce the usage of paper money!

Support the rollout of 5G networks and ensure rural areas of New Zealand get sufficient access to fibre, 4G, and 5G networks.

The Greens have also always stood in favour of ensuring high speed internet reaches the rural areas of New Zealand. We have funded initiatives for broadband and mobile towers in previous budgets so it is no surprise that I am also in support of this.

Reverse the Left's cuts to Defence expenditure so we can upgrade our fleets to protect our pacific neighbours in humanitarian crisis effectively.

We should be funding our future, not our destruction. We should be funding free university, not fighter jets. We should be investing in our health system, not putting millions into missiles! I recognise the need for a strong navy to protect our pacific neighbours but the current level of funding is sufficient which was proven by our work in the Minerva Reef Crisis.

Maintain a policy of upgrading current systems and phasing out unnecessary equipment to cut unnecessary defence spending and improve diplomatic relations.

The war on blimps continues, Uncooked would be saddened!

Crack down on illegal drug dealers and treat illegal drug usage as a health issue.

I’m glad we can at least agree that drug usage is a health issue.

Introduce legislation to implement a comprehensive roadside drug testing regime within 10 days of forming Government to keep New Zealand families safer on our roads.

Roadside drug testing is arbitrary and unreliable, and I will oppose any attempts to implement it. Some drugs can be detected for up to 30 days after use, meaning motorists can face a massive fine and disqualification even though the effects of the drug have worn off days ago. It would be ridiculous to smoke a joint and lose your licence because you drive a few days later despite no longer being impaired by the drug. Roadside drug testing has nothing to do with improving safety and is merely another policy of the failed war on drugs. This policy would unfairly wreck people’s lives, clog up our courts, cost enormous amounts of money and waste police resources.

Remove a different tax upon the introduction of a new tax.

Kinda cringe and limits the ability of the government to respond to any unforeseen circumstances.

Cut the income tax measures by nearly $2 billion.

The last budget had to have its income tax raised at the last minute due to the unforeseen event of the Land Value Tax being repealed so I would welcome an income tax cut. However, this is very vague and does not specify who would receive the benefit of this cut.

Oppose any increases in Land Value Taxation measures.

This will be an easy policy to achieve as the Land Value Tax was repealed last term!

Abolish the Carbon Tax and re-introduce an Emissions Trading Scheme.

This is a terrible policy when climate change is such a crucial issue in this time. Climate change is fueled by carbon emissions and, as seen in Australia, the replacement of the Carbon Tax undid all progress the Carbon Tax did in reducing carbon emissions.

Privatise the New Zealand Post and Television New Zealand.

This is needless privatisation of key government services. New Zealand Post and TVNZ will have no incentive to provide services to remote communities if they are seeking profit.

Cut down bloat by reforming LGNZ to save $10.8 billion per annum

That would require quite a large reform which intrigues me on what they have planned but it is another very vague policy!

Introduce no new taxes or tax increases.

Well I guess it will be easy to achieve their earlier policy of “Remove a different tax upon the introduction of a new tax” then.

Reform council rates to go through central government following local government abolition.

Following the what?? So this is the reform they are planning for LGNZ? Just straight up abolishing it? Wanting the central government to control rates is terrible enough without completely abolishing local government. This is a terrible policy that I hope will never be implemented as local government is a key level of our democracy.

Repeal the Regional Fuel Tax as it has no true use in a 21st century economy.

This is another terrible idea as Regional Fuel Taxes are important for funding road projects that cost huge amounts of money. Abolishing them is not feasible without raising taxes elsewhere which National has already promised not to. National claims to be the party of strong and stable budget management but they appear to be anything but!

Introduce a new budget in the first two weeks of the parliamentary term for the security of business confidence.

A noble goal but I fear for business confidence with the policies of this party!

End the war on business by cutting the Corporate Income Tax.

What “war on business” are National referring to? New Zealand already has an incredibly low corporate tax rate compared to OECD standards.

Repeal restrictions placed on the flow of foreign capital into New Zealand businesses.

While foreign investment is always going to be an important part of our economy, I hope that National does not go too far and risk New Zealand being owned by foreign investors and the profits of our labour going overseas.

Repeal two regulations for every one introduced.

Another dumb commitment that will only lead to important regulations being repealed!

Support tourism in the regions.

Could be good as tourism is an important sector for our regions but it is very vague in how this would be achieved!

Pilot a Mobile Rural Health Clinic to help service isolated communities.

I always welcome new funding for our rural health system. The government has taken steps towards this and we have seen record funding for rural health but there is still much to do.

Loosen the restrictions on Charter Schools.

Increase participation in schools.

Support disadvantaged children.

Wow three empty slogans as policies! The last two sound good but there is no elaboration on a plan to achieve them!

Reduce teacher to student ratios from 1:29 in Years 4 to 6 to 1:25 and from 1:23 in years 2 to 3 to 1:20.

We can at least agree on the merits of reducing teacher to student ratios!

Provide greater opportunities to study and upskilling opportunities.

Hear hear! Linking this to my own Future of Work Commission Bill, the future of work is uncertain and this generation of workers will likely undergo many career changes in their lifetimes. Providing more opportunities to study and reskill/upskill is an important step to alleviating the issues that technology and automation could cause in the future.

Support principals in small rural schools to a greater extent.

This is an important initiative but surely there is more we can do than just “supporting principals”

Invest in initiatives to identify and support aspiring principals.

This is such a niche policy initiative but I do welcome more support to our school leadership.

Increase the number of leadership advisors to ensure there is greater support for beginning principals.

Wow! Don’t get me wrong I love our principals but there are so many policies in this manifesto about principals that you would begin to think they might just be bloat!

Invest in decodable texts.

A good policy but oddly specific.

Invest further in support of the rollout of the Digital Technologies curriculum and provide further support for girls to be involved in STEM.

Definitely support! It’s important for girls to get involved in the male-dominated industries that will define the workforce of the future.

Why are these images all so blurry anyway.

Reverse bans on offshore oil and gas exploration.

National, it’s 2020. The time for oil and gas is long gone. Renewable energies like solar and wind are far cheaper and efficient, and less environmentally-impactful. National claims to be the better choice on climate but this policy proves they are anything but.

Support a container deposit scheme.

I’m glad that it has your support, but it already exists. This is such a meaningless policy lol.

Support the Climate Change Commission.

What? Another “support x” policy? What do these even mean?

Remain committed to the CPTPP.

Cringe.

Massively increase funding for Ambulances.

I’m glad to see the days of National opposing public funding of Ambulances and making them rely on donations are over!

Increase housing construction, lower prices through increased supply.

Nice! National are going to continue the Green’s work of building over 10,000 new houses?

Abolish KiwiBuild and leave the construction sector entirely to the private market.

Oh…

Re-introduce Three Strikes Legislation.

Three strikes was a terrible policy that disproportionately impacted on Māori people. Myself and the Greens will oppose any attempts to re-introduce it.

Bring in Cashless Welfare for Beneficiaries.

I will oppose any efforts to implement cashless welfare here in New Zealand. Trials in Australia have shown that it is ineffective at what it tries to achieve and has received widespread criticism.

Ok it’s getting late so I am going to put up this blog post now! If there any other policies I missed that you think are important to share, please do so in the comments below!