Tell us what you really think

I was surprised to hear National Party leader Christopher Luxon’s recent thoughts on the country’s psyche – I suspect he was just as surprised to hear them himself.

Because openly stating: “We have become a very negative, wet, whiny, inward-looking country and we have lost the plot and we have got to get our mojo back” is dangerous territory for a politician even if you don’t get caught by a “hot mic”.

Mr Luxon was announcing National’s agriculture emissions reduction policy when Newshub camera audio caught that unscripted moment.

Similarly, the then prime minister Jacinda Ardern, late last year was caught on Parliament’s audio system, in an aside to finance minister Grant Robertson, describing ACT Party leader David Seymour as an “arrogant prick”. She apologised for her hot mic moment.

Mr Luxon later told 1News he was a big believer in New Zealand, which had some “amazing people”. He blamed Labour for the country’s low-go mojo, while promising National will set things back on track.

Are we whiny and negative? That probably depends on where you are standing

Wet, we definitely are. But unless National has discovered a means of stuffing the climate change genie back in the bottle, its chances of dealing to those atmospheric rivers are nigh on nil.

As for inward thinking, a little introspection on how we have got to where we are after three years of COVID-19 is not necessarily a bad thing as we look to what worked, what didn’t, who was harmed and who was not.

Are we whiny and negative? That probably depends on where you are standing. If you’re a central or local politician strapped for cash, I expect you might be feeling a little overwhelmed by the lack of public sympathies for your plight.

As for losing the plot, I would suggest anyone who gets hung up on te reo Māori in road signs, as expressed in some of the recent National Party discourse, has not merely lost the plot, they’re reading the wrong book.

There are plenty of people working in the health sector and beyond who, far from having lost the plot, are making progress, but it is irrespective of what politicians do.

However, I think Mr Luxon is correct regarding mojo.

I’ve talked to a lot of people who are feeling a lack of something to keep them buzzing and engaged. Individually, and collectively, the mojo has been pummelled and bruised in the past few years.

Politicians won’t fix that; good leadership on the other hand can make a difference, be it in health and social reform, climate change, or the drawing together of what makes our country tick.

Numerous voices coming from all directions might sound whiny, negative and plotless to those at the receiving end, but a few strong voices coming together in harmony is hard to beat.

Witness the rejection by the General Practice Leaders Forum of the 5 per cent capitation increase. That was not unexpected. But the offer of a 20-point plan towards salvaging general practice services for the community was a welcome development.

Sure, some of those points have long been self-evident, but for too long only to those in the primary care sector. Few national or local politicians have a clue about what happens in primary care, let alone how it needs to change.

A strong voice is critical, as is an engaging plot. There should be no fear of hidden microphones; the discussion should be robust as the primary care voice builds its mojo.