Political & economic week ahead: Labour conference analysis
Rob Hosking gives his in-depth analysis on the big stories to watch out for this week on NBR Radio and on demand on MyNBR Radio.
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Politically, the week will see more post-Labour Party conference fireworks in Parliament.
It was a good conference for the party: there were no splits or divisions and some of the more problematic policies were either dropped or shoved into a box until it is safe to come out.
Leader Andrew Little delivered a good speech which roused the party faithful and he and his MPs will return to Parliament, when sitting resumes this week, buoyed up by the experience.
National will, in turn, be keen to puncture this new air of optimism amongst Labour. It can be expected to turn up the heat on Mr Little and also seek to exploit any divisions over – for example – Labour’s still fudged position on the Trans Pacific Partnership.
The issue of tax – promises of no capital gains taxes or other wholesale tax reform in a first term raise the issue of how Labour would pay for any new spending policies it might like to introduce.
But there was the crowd pleasing – if vague – promise to make government agencies choose New Zealand firms when making procurement decisions. The potential extra cost of that is something National ministers might be tempted to have some fun with at question time.
Economically, the week will be dominated by two reports: the regular look at the country’s economy by the International Monetary Fund, to be released tomorrow, and the Reserve Bank bi-annual financial stability report.
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NBR Radio
Mon, 09 Nov 2015
Mon, 09 Nov 2015
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Political & economic week ahead: Labour conference analysis
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