Often when folks ask me what we can do about this government’s short sighted and often dubious policies1, I frequently veer to a similar answer:
Share information, stay aware, act locally where you can, stay positive, and wait.
Wait - for what?
Well tonight it became clear.
On 1News tonight, it was revealed Health NZ, now led by Luxon’s man. Lester Levy, recommended that the way to manage things going forward including Dunedin hospital’s “cost blowout” was to privatise our hospitals.
Before we proceed and to be clear -
1. There is NO “cost blowout”.
As the Mayor of Dunedin noted, the government intentionally increased the scope of the project and inflated costs:
2.. The government is refusing to release the rest of the Dunedin hospital estimates, citing it as commercially insensitive. That is very suspect - especially as their first tranch was revealed as bogus accounting.
3. NZ has the money. It is just being used for other priorities: tobacco, roads, charter schools, tax cuts, landlords, trusts etc.
[In addition we have the option of debt, although personally I think that this has been a simple case of extreme economic mismanagement from the start.]
Maybe the “wealthy and sorted” Prime Minister Luxon should have listened to his Trump loving idol, John Key and held off on the $35bn of tax cuts over 10 years?
Yet, this government is a true disciple of privatisation, corporatisation and the wealthiest.
Yes, even their tax cuts benefited the wealthiest disproportionately, just as Donald Trump will do for his billionaire backers.
Before the election, Taxpayers Union’s Jordan Williams told his Atlas Network Alliance the right wing parties would win and Taxpayers Union would be helping them to “formulate policy positions”, and take advantage of it all to “restablish New Zealand as a leader of freedom” i.e liberatarianism - which is just trickle down economics and pro-capitalism
They haven’t set a foot wrong - for their goals.
At every single turn, we see Luxon and co. narrate and parrot after the likes of NZ Initative and bow at the feet of capitalistic thought.
Alan Gibbs, the mega-donor and Godfather of ACT once told his party to be more radical and privatise everything in NZ - education, roads, hospitals.
But he’s not the only mega-wealthy one behind this government.
NZ’s richest man Graeme Hart donated $700K in donations to National, ACT and NZ First.
Best Start’s The Wright Family who fund The Platform - listen to Sean Plunkett and you will know what the politics is.
“What is this crazy fixation, love affair, with the the state running things?" Alan Gibbs had lamented years ago.
And the time for them is now.
All that is happening has been sequenced like a business playbook.
For example, this government initially wanted to scale back Nelson hospital (May). However a couple of months ago, they came back saying the cost could be the same, but they still refused to adopt the large scale build that was optimised and designed for Nelson. Instead the government proposed smaller builds, leading to some head scratching on why.
The ‘why’ became clear with Dunedin hospital. i.e. They could not allow Nelson hospital to set a precedent for a large model build because the government needed an excuse to tap down Dunedin.
As those of you who read here know, I have been following Health NZ developments very closely.
From their manufactured $1.4bn “miraculously appearing” deficit [not - Luxon knew about it in October 2023] to the somewhat sham crisis appointment of Lester Levy from Chair to Health Commissioner, to the Nelson hospital decision, to the Dunedin $1.3bn blowout lie, this has always been a series of steps to privatise health.
And today they showed their hand.
TVNZ was happy to echo communications for the government (emphasis mine)
The health agency is suggesting the Government to consider allowing private companies to build – and potentially run – the country’s public hospitals…
On the suggestion, Minister of Health Shane Reti said: "..The most obvious [advantage] is the freeing up of capital that the Crown can then deploy elsewhere."
And more capital is needed.
Much to the dismay of Dunedin, it was revealed last week their future hospital will be downgraded due to a budget blowout. However, it’s not the only project with issues.
Yes, Reti has spoken. And the media is helping to spread the communique.
This signal is unequivocal.
They want NZ to transform itself, over time, to the UK and the USA health system.
Ditto our education system. Ditto roads. Ditto infrastructure. They are playing the long game.
For those of you who have not, follow the deterioration of the NHS from a world class health system to a broken and replete shell to see why it’s a bad idea.
It started breaking from austerity policies, which are always used as an excuse to privatise.
The implications to all of us are very real…even as record numbers of Kiwis continue to join private health care.
And I should have known - this government had already started planting the seeds of privatised health to its base weeks ago:
While the left run after every ball, bone and outrageous statement from this government, their operatives work strategically step by step like a business playbook.
We’ve been asleep. We’ve been naive.
So - it’s time for action now.
We need our political parties and communities across NZ to protest for health.
Yet stay focused, alert, informed and most of all - peaceful.
To demand this government amend its priorities and budgets for the well being of Kiwis, and not corporate interests such as tobacco, private schools, private hospitals, private prison operators, and other extraordinary costs such as ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill.
Our task is not easy when corporate media dominates - too many believe their lies. But it can be done.
Our task is hardest because the government has a clear playbook it needs to run through - and believe it or not, we are not even a year in yet.
Yet their strategy is clear: do not back down, do not apologise, do not admit error, stay your course.
Please - can the parties that disagree with this government unite for once?
Let’s act, Aotearoa NZ - the time is now or never.2
Please pass this message on to those in your network and communities that may benefit from participation, awareness, co-operation and action.
And remember: action and messaging should be on-point, effective, and clear.
Examples: Repeal smoke free, give $216mn to tobacco companies, bring back live animal exports, bring back oil & gas offshore mining, underfund health etc.
Privatisation is actively occuring in all angles - they are moving to privatise our education system with charter schools (taking 35 state schools and state resources/funding for it), privatising our roads with public-private partnership models, privatising our prisons with a consortium of companies including multinational Honeywell building the Waikato mega-prison, they are now moving on Health.
It kills me to think NZ could go down the US pathway in privatisation. Americans who couldn't afford to pay the exorbitant costs don't go to hospital. They just die. Goodness knows what could happen when you add pharmaceuticals into the mix.
Unfortunately this is what happens when competing interests of left and right kick the can down the road rather than risk unpopular decisions like coughing up to fix broken infrastructure.
NZders need to kick complacency to the curb. Look at what's happening in America. A 78 year old felon is who the former NZ PM John Key WANTS to win...WTAF. LET'S GET WITH IT before it's too late.
The thought of NZ becoming a mini USA in it's social systems of Health, Education, Prisons etc is absolutely abhorrent; it has no concern for the overall welfare of all citizens and is a naked grab for riches by and for a few. The Coalition we we were calling a Coalition of Chaos is anything but. Their ambitions are as clear as day. The majority need to be woken up to see what is unfolding before their eyes. Don't wake up soon enough, they're not gonna like what they see.