For example, it intrigues me that while Bob Hawke and Paul Keating are regarded by the Labor movement in Australia as heroes, and receive standing ovations at Labor Party conferences still to this day, New Zealand’s own Labour reformers are essentially pariahs from their party. Well, duh. That would be because the Hawke government enacted its reforms on the back of a wages accord with the Australian trade union movement that delivered a far better outcome from their reforms, while Roger Douglas and his colleagues took a far more socially and economically destructive route to reform. The resultant damage to New Zealand society is still being felt.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 05:09:21 +0000