When “Descriptive” Becomes Evasive: A Government That Won’t Take Responsibility

The Coalition Government repeatedly reframes crises without confronting their underlying causes. Across portfolios, from housing to health, education to equity, key figures describe policies using euphemisms like “efficiencies,” “clarity,” or “stability,” instead of acknowledging mistakes, real impacts, making evidence-based statements, or providing transparency on effectiveness.

Gaza & Palestine: Neutrality or Silence?

While countries like the UK, Canada, Australia, and others have imposed sanctions on far-right Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben‑Gvir, New Zealand has only endorsed such pressure at the personal level—not on state policy overall (The Guardian). Activists, academics, student groups, and frankly most New Zealanders recognise Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide, but the Government declares itself “neutral,” claiming support for international law without concrete action (Civicus Monitor, Greenpeace). The Government continues to espouse and assert a posture of “neutrality” and “support for international law,” all the while avoiding firm policy responses or sanctions(The Guardian).

The result is public outrage over moral ambiguity and deflected international responsibility.

Cost of Living & Homelessness: Words Without Relief

Promised “tax relief for the squeezed middle” and cost-of-living adjustments have failed to match reality. Public sector cuts—exceeding NZ$6 billion and thousands of job losses—are touted as fiscal discipline. Dismantling essential services is portrayed as “necessary consolidations(Wikipedia, Wikipedia). Housing and homelessness advocates decry slashed funding: one billion removed from Kāinga Ora, NZ$40 million off Māori housing supply, and cuts to emergency housing plans, despite escalating need (Wikipedia). Housing advocates highlight that homelessness continues to rise while the Government offers platitudes about “efficiency gains” rather than investment or community-driven solutions, with low-income communities bearing the brunt. Media coverage notes that rising homelessness is often downplayed or concealed, with little recognition of government shortcomings (YouTube and any Parliament TV housing question time!!!).

Mental Health & AOD: Cuts Over System Building

Despite a clear workforce crisis, with thousands of unfilled mental health and addiction roles (including psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and specialist nurses), the Government continues to delay recruitment and uphold hiring freezes under the logic of austerity (PSA). Promises to bolster wellbeing have largely disappeared from budget and policy documents, replaced by economic language(New Zealand Parliament). Resources to address addictions, community rehabilitation, and early intervention remain inadequate (Government under fire after Health NZ hides worker shortage data).

Ministers describe the issue as “complex,” but offer no concrete plans beyond broad commitments to “boost wellbeing,” even as the evidence of a frightening mental health crisis, along with an increase in self-medication, is evident for our youth, rural and older populations. (NZ Meth Crisis, RNZ)

Major youth development initiatives like Kick Back’s response to child homelessness were downgraded in favour of punitive “boot camps,” or “child prisons” as described by domestic charities, a shift justified as restoring order, not a social wellbeing policy (Wikipedia). Meanwhile, system reform is deferred while ideological talking points dominate...

Pay Parity

In early 2023, Education Minister Jan Tinetti assured Parliament of the Government’s commitment to pay parity for early childhood educators relative to kindergarten and primary school teachers. She stated funding had been allocated—$321.6 million over four years—to apply parity rates across qualified educators (New Zealand Parliament). Yet implementation has lagged, staffing shortages persist, and no clear timeline has been provided for full parity—even as protests continue and petitions gain traction from more than 11,000 signatories from NZEI Te Riu Roa (nzeiteriuroa.org.nz). The Government’s failure to fully commit to pay parity across sectors, particularly in education, health, and community services, continues to reinforce systemic inequities. Although lip service is paid to the principle of “fair wages,” essential workers such as early childhood educators, mental health support staff, and social service kaimahi remain notably underpaid compared to their public sector counterparts. Māori and Pasifika women, who constitute a large part of the community and NGO workforce, are disproportionately affected. Despite long-standing advocacy and strong evidence demonstrating that pay parity enhances workforce retention, service quality, and community wellbeing, the Government has delayed or watered down funding commitments.

This undermines equity objectives and signals ongoing devaluation of care work, often dismissed as “soft” or “non-essential,” despite its vital role in social cohesion...

The Language of Clarity, the Culture of Silence

Across portfolios, ministers repeatedly describe rather than address...or respond with any truth ... The Minister of Revenue and his parliamentary allies recycle slogans like “getting New Zealand back on track,” while thousands in construction and the public service lose jobs and morale remains low (New Zealand Parliament).

When confronted with cuts to Māori health or education programmes, ministers assert that equity is “complex” and claim services are being “consolidated,” without data or community evidence, fuelling distrust among communities (Wikipedia, Wikipedia).

This pattern of describing policy without substantiating it leaves gaps, or endlessly responding to social issues and questions by stating that "We know/feel for the kiwis who are doing it tough" is hurting communities, who have the right to expect investment and action to alleviate the 'tough' times.

Equity & Wellbeing

The Government reversed the Equity Adjustor Score used by Health NZ—an algorithm meant to prioritise Māori and Pasifika patients—calling it “ethically questionable” and failing to replace it with any evidence-based plan (Greenpeace, Wikipedia). Budget documents reveal only approximately NZ$38 million in new Māori-specific funding, significantly less than the previously claimed NZ$700 million, and have drastically slashed important housing and health initiatives (Wikipedia). Ministers continue to describe equity initiatives as “complex” and “transitional,” while de-prioritising critical services to vulnerable communities (The Guardian, 2025).

Electoral changes

The latest changes to New Zealand’s election registration laws, removing the ability for voters to enrol and vote on the same day, represent a significant step backwards for democratic participation. Previously, same-day enrolment helped ensure that thousands of marginalised voters cast their ballots even if they missed pre-election deadlines. By eliminating this option, the Coalition Government has effectively erected new barriers to voting under the guise of “efficiency” and “integrity.” However, there is little evidence of widespread voter fraud in Aotearoa to justify such restrictions. Instead, the change undermines accessibility and appears to disproportionately impact those already underrepresented in civic processes, weakening the legitimacy of electoral outcomes and disenfranchising those who may need the system most. The recent amendment to the Electoral Act eliminates same-day enrolment, citing administrative burden and speed concerns. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith framed the removal as necessary to prevent delays in vote counting, stating that late enrolments caused actual counting to stretch for weeks(The Beehive). Despite Attorney-General Judith Collins' warning that the change likely breaches the Bill of Rights and could disenfranchise over 100,000 voters, particularly younger people and Māori, Pacific, and Asian communities(The Guardian), the Government continues to insist the reform is focused on clarity and reliability instead of accessibility.

Is this election rigging to prevent those who wouldn't traditionally vote for them from casting their ballots?

The Government’s policymaking is frequently criticised, by both parliamentarians and media, for operating with scant regard for future social, environmental, or reputational consequences. MPs repeatedly warned that fast-track regulatory reforms proceed without adequately considering long-term impacts on communities or Te Tiriti commitments, undercutting intergenerational planning and democratic process (New Zealand Parliament).

Greenpeace and other advocacy groups condemned the Fast-track Approvals Bill as dangerously anti-democratic, giving ministers the power to bypass environmental scrutiny and erase meaningful public or iwi consultation, jeopardising natural ecosystems for short-term profit (Wikipedia). Similarly, Reuters reported that the rollback of climate commitments, including reversing an offshore petroleum ban and delaying agricultural emissions pricing, significantly increases the risk that New Zealand will miss its 2035 and 2050 carbon targets, raising serious questions about economic expediency over environmental integrity (reuters.com).

Any Genuine Accountability: Some of What’s Missing

Baseline studies showing pre- and post-policy impacts on homelessness, health outcomes, and well-being.

Transparent reporting: No systematic publication of consultations, public submissions, or cross-party reviews.

Investment in people: Job cuts across public services are being implemented without impact studies to assess the consequences.

Open debate: Decisions presented as economic pragmatism, rather than choices involving trade-offs that are openly shared and presented.

A Road Forward: From Rhetoric to Responsibility

1. Access to all public submissions and consultation inputs for bills affecting health, housing, education, and Te Tiriti.

2. Independent housing and wellbeing audits in partnership with Māori and Pacific researchers.

3. Māori health infrastructure with mandated community oversight and funding based on equity.

4. Condemn and sanction Israel, refuse entry to any members of the IDF and recognise Palestine as a state consistent with our international law commitments.

5. Prioritise the recruitment and resourcing of 1,500+ mental health and AOD professionals, lifting the public service hiring freeze and honouring commitments to communities in need.

Empty Rhetoric Won’t Fix It

Descriptive ministerial language is being espoused daily as a substitute for action. Yet policies shaped without evidence, delivered without care, and defended as inevitabilities betray the very communities they claim to help. Whether on Gaza, housing, mental health, or equity, leadership demands answering three questions:

1. What measurable outcomes are you tracking?

2. How will today’s policy serve those most vulnerable tomorrow?

3. Whose interests are really being served

If the Government refuses to answer with data, community engagement, or transparent accountability, it risks losing credibility, the trust of the people it still claims to serve, and ultimately destroying the institution that enables its own creation. Perhaps that isn't a bad thing ...