The PM Abrogates Leadership of NZ: Today he hid from Parliament whilst the Most Vital (Treaty) Issue Affecting our Economic Future was Debated.

This comment is far more about economics than politics. Today ACT's Treaty Principle's Bill was debated in Parliament and the Prime Minister didn't turn up. Why? He doesn't want anything to do with it. He just wants to talk about the economy. He wants you and me to talk about the economy. Well, here's a message from an economist, not a politician. The Treaty debate IS an economic debate. It will determine the entire economic future of NZ. The PM's idea the two can be separated is fiction. His job was to lead the nation. Should he not like Seymour's Treaty Principles Bill, then it was a requirement for him to produce an alternative that would have settled the division and uncertainty that is the status quo. My view is that he lacks the conviction to do so, and revealed himself as intellectually incapable of it. Who cares about who wins the next election? Its not the Labour Party or National Party that the good citizens of NZ care about it. Its their own lives & nation.

Why is the Treaty debate an economic debate? Because our economic system is built on the ideal of equal opportunity; of the ideal that hard work & ability will be rewarded. In America they call it the American Dream. The 2nd line of the US Declaration of Independence states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". It is considered one of the most significant lines in world history. Its the basis of the creation of wealth in the world's biggest economy. President Xi of China has developed a similar ideal, which he calls The Chinese Dream. It is the reason behind why Chinese have been striving to make themselves and their nation better off. It is why President Xi is fighting corruption, since that endangers the belief in the ideal of equal opportunity. Should that belief fail, China will fail. Today our PM didn't want to debate that fundamental driver of world economic growth - the belief we're created equal so our efforts will be rewarded and not taken away by others. Which spurs our very will to achieve.

The PM thinks the economy has nothing to do with the Treaty Principles Bill. He thinks the Treaty debate, which is about defining the inalienable rights of every Kiwi, and whether or not we are created equal, has nothing to do with NZ's economic prosperity. The PM wants to walk away from the Treaty. He wants everyone to talk about foreign investment, tariffs and trade deals. This economist says to him - you've missed the point about what ultimately drives economic growth. Resolving Treaty disagreements will determine how our economy performs, now and in the future. It determines whether our youngsters and top talent stay in NZ or leave. Misleading us into believing the Treaty is irrelevant to the economic reforms required to create more wealth in NZ is to play us for fools. When the PM walked away from the Principles Bill debate, he walked away from sorting out NZ's economic future. He walked away from helping write our own Declaration of Independence. He abrogated leadership.