New Zealand’s Coalition Government and the Warriors rugby league club should compare notes on their tough start to 2025.
The Warriors looked strong in their pre-season outings in February but crashed to a 28 – 8 defeat to the Canberra Raiders in the first game of the 2025 National Rugby League (NRL) competition. To make matters worse, a Warriors coach is being investigated for alleged assault of a journalist during the match in Las Vegas.
Not an ideal start to 2025.
As for the Coalition Government, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon made a strong statement about “going for growth” in 2025, but soon became embroiled in questions about dress sense, poor poll results, problems with government-funded school lunches, and China flexing its naval capabilities in the Tasman Sea.
The Prime Minister also failed to communicate clearly about the resignation of Commerce Minister Andrew Bayly for “overbearing” conduct towards a staff member, raising a few concerns in the National Party caucus.
As if these distractions weren’t bad enough, recent poll results show low levels of voter support for the Coalition Government– with two polls in February showing the centre-left opposition could form a government.
Meanwhile, ACT Leader David Seymour has enjoyed wall-to-wall coverage of his Treaty Principles Bill, raising questions about why and how Mr Luxon agreed to the Bill during the coalition negotiations in late 2023.
Mr Seymour has also publicly questioned the Prime Minister’s authority on several occasions, and is soon to become Deputy Prime Minister, when he takes over the role from Winston Peters at the mid-way point of the current Parliamentary term.
The cumulative effect of these events is worrying for a government trying to boost confidence in its “year of growth”.
They also highlight the importance of tight political management needed to maintain voter confidence.
The National Party Caucus will be expecting a much better performance from the leader’s office in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Mr Luxon will be hoping to deliver some wins this year on the back of his growth agenda and an improving economy with business confidence returning, despite a few dark clouds on the horizon.
As for the NRL, “Up the Wahs”.