Kerre Woodham: Gone are the days of the waffle

I do wish that I could go around each and everyone of you handing out the government's press release, still warm off the gestetner with that delicious smell of meths (hold it up to your nose and inhale), so we could all have it in front of us to refer to.  

It is a work of art when it comes to a press release. Oh my goodness, companies, government departments, communications staff, take note. Two pages and it outlines their 100- Day Plan, and how does it do it? It lists them. It lists the 49 points that it's going to cover off in its 100 Day Plan.  

There is no bureaucratese. The aims, the intentions, the hopes, the dreams, none of that. The language is simple to the point of being blunt, and if this is the way of the future, praise to all the little baby Jesus’ is in the whole wide world because you don't have to wade through it. It couldn't be clearer.  

For example, if you've got your hymnbooks in front of you, if we go to Page 1. Number three: Stop work on the Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme. There is no we are going to appoint an independent review to have a look at whether the viability of blah, blah, blah. No. Stop work on the Lake Onslow scheme.  

Number four: Begin efforts to double renewable energy production.  

Number 17: Introduce legislation to restore 90-day trial periods for all businesses.  

If we could turn to page 2, Number 29: introduce legislation to extend eligibility to rehab programs for remand prisoners.  

Number 34: Improve security for health, workforce, and hospital emergency departments, and so on and so forth, down to the final agenda item. Number 49: Commission an independent review into Kainga Ora’s financial situation, procurement, and asset management, which is sorely, sorely needed.  

There is no faffing. And indeed, no faffing will be tolerated. The PM said this morning that he would be meeting every week for progress reports on each of the 49 measures that have been announced and prioritised. This coalition government has nowhere to hide. There's no obfuscation. There is nowhere for them to fudge it and fake it.  If they don't deliver on their 100 Day Plan, everyone will know about it. They've made that perfectly clear. So, there is much much, much, much, much, much, much to unpack here. In fact, all 49 points could be worthy of an hour’s talkback each.   

Stopping work on the Auckland light rail? I mean that makes sense. All we were doing was shovelling millions and millions and millions of taxpayer dollars into an ideological pit. And it was a bottomless pit of ideology. Where does that leave all those businesses though, that have limped their way through the project just clinging on to the hope that one day to be finished and hordes of people would be coming into their shops as they waited to catch the light rail to nowhere?  

I mean, there is a time where you have to decide, okay enough. Yes, we've put in enough money. You can't go on chasing 29 red on the roulette table. You just can't. You have to cut your losses and walk away. Where does that leave all the businesses that have limped their way through the project?  

And Let's Get Wellington Moving. Number five on page one. They've said right, Central Government will no longer be involved in Let’s Get Wellington Moving, so where does that leave those projects? The 90-day trial, does that mean you're going to take more of chance on potential employees? In the past it too difficult to get rid of them, with all the requirements for minimum pay and for annual leave, and for compassionate leave and all that sort of thing, hard for employers to justify taking on somebody brand new, inexperienced, somebody that might have had a checkered work history. With a 90 day trial, are you more likely to take a chance on people?  

I would very much like to hear from you, those of you who have had the opportunity to see this. It's very clear you can Google it up. It's two pages, doesn't take long to read and even the most reluctant of readers should be able to get through these two pages. The language could not be more clear and I hope this is a sign of things to come.  

Gone are the days of the waffle. That would be great. 

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