Josie joined Heather du Plessis-Allan and Tim Wilson on Newstalk ZB's Huddle to discuss new data showing older police officers are concerned about the skills demonstrated by the younger graduates.

Housing Minister Chris Bishop recently said it was a good thing that house prices were dropping. Prime Minister Chris Luxon claimed he would have liked the Reserve Bank to cut the OCR more.

And, do we go on holidays with our friends?

Listen here.

Tēnā koe Prime Minister,

#WinElections would like to thank you for reaching out for our advice. As global consultants, we are accustomed to our help being commissioned immediately after leaders struggling in the polls utter the telltale phrases, “polls always bounce around a bit”, and “the only poll that matters is election day”.

If you turn to the first slide, it asks: How would I beat myself?

Let us suggest an answer.

• Your opponents will remind voters that your Government promised to fix the economy, but spent its capital rearranging the order of te reo and English on passports.

• You promised to bring down the cost of living, but voters had to remortgage the house to buy butter.

• You promised strong, competent government but... well, you get the picture.

We disagree with your critics who claim you are not being bold enough. Just this month, you got rid of NCEA, modernised petrol tax, brought back gas, and added more cops. When we say “you”, we mean Erica, Chris, Shane and Mark. For a conservative Government, whose values are rooted in prudence and stability, this is a pacy agenda.

What you are missing is an authentic story about what the Government is doing. Change always requires taking on those who are invested in the status quo. A successful leader cannot be popular with everyone. Tony Blair said being loved by the people is a wonderful thing, but it isn’t the objective of governing. “Making change which improves their lives materially, economically and socially. This is the purpose.”

The root cause of political instability is the failure of governments to deliver. You must deliver not only your own priorities, but voters’ too. Delivery requires results, not just announcements.


Jose's Post column is here.

Josie joined Ryan Bridge and Dileep Fonseka on the Herald Now panel to discuss the stories of the day, including defence spending and our defence strategy.

Watch here.

Josie joined HDPA and Trish Sherson on Newstalk ZB to discuss a satirical look at the workplace in a book called 'Wankernomics', the US imposition of 15% tariffs on New Zealand and the government axes NCEA.

Everywhere, cultural snobbery has been alienating the working class from the parties of the left that began as parties of workers.

President Trump's critics have positioned as snobs who think they are better and therefore deserve more power.

Social power is divided, not between the haves and have nots, but between the knowledge class and the old property class.

Public servants vote left, and worry about school lunches, but have mostly ignored the crumbling quality of education. School failure has created a long tail of poor kids who have no hope of competing with the kids of the educated elite. Well-paid stars cheer the high price of butter as good for farmers, but prices well above the cost of production are not bringing in new, lower-priced competition. Consumers understand we are paying too much, while the highest paid executives in the country have been closing dairy factories in towns like Paraparaumu.

All societies have been led by elite groups.

The “symbolic capitalists” should be honest about the profound gulf between their rhetoric of care, and their de-prioritisation of class and inequality in the real world.

Josie's column is here.