SPECTATOR AUSTRALIA The Kiwis need a David Cameron ‘Their conservative PM isn't doing much to reverse New Zealand's economic decline. Still, he seems nice JAMS ALLAN lived in New Zealand for 11 years Ties ie Saree Anumber of ines mot seven ot fortnight ag, twas the South oad, down uh cartauakert Chstchueh inDuneain ‘Atlas the Kivi peopl re wonder tly tendly, nd reer and epbeat But ater neatly yur lng aero the Tas io Brisbane you ca ep notes ing that New Zentand soem poor And the economy Yoks ta estaed. Wnt of al he Ri rine Minster cones scons Asan all things taal men sort of poy Who an in poi ao much opt hes done and inprve the prospect of met Now Zealanders sto be Hed and not Tock the boat. Tie’ slowly owl prapmatt rough and through, When te err lean {ahour government of Helen Clark won ole, in party suber two man Mihl Clea sumed up what the tebour ‘oprosch would be ith his hy Hel Whatever yo think of tha approach, you could aver pin on Key tnd a National party government, Having sone ino ace hey hve done remark te that you might expect om aghe- centre party. They fl in pce te aw Cciminaisng pares whe snack eee eh, merely elaming tha the police Would enforce seat = meaning on ‘umes the lay nou ot ened cauay Wo everyone Zand wha ofthe massive government spending an porentage of gas domes te product they inherited? Ab wl thoy Sih’ do anya aout tT at tey Inrate iteverssligy, hough tld the pas fow day hey hve made Doles shout eticing i Psy "hen there’ the ite incest ece loa fora university stent posbly themost ein ny tospend monty on terry inutons ever devine by ose The Key government hain plogeran Same poe for Working for Fae for of mid-cae weno selene Keyoncedesribeditisasor of eonumiy nism That oil n place Sonat Inport respect ite abou gveen snes Employment Relations Ace Oh and the Key government even legislated an Emissions Trading Scheme, as though this would do anything other than further impoverish New Zealand ‘Let me put it this way. Key is perhaps the only politician on the planet from a right-of-centre party who can make British Prime Minister David Cameron look like a small government, low-spend- ing man of action, Key seems simply to float above it all as a genuinely likeable man whose greatest asset is, wel, that he’s not former Labor PM Helen Clark. He may govern not too differently from the way she did, But he's nicer and gives off the aura of moderation, So the fiscal deficit in New Zealand is forecast soon to hit 9 per cent. That’s not Greece, of California, but i's not far off either. And the goal Key and his govern- ‘ment made an explicit priority on frst tak ing office, tocatch up with Australian living standards, wel, that’s now a lost cause. In faet the 2025 taskforce set up by Key to How am I doing? PM Jol Key announces New Zealan!’s November election date recommend how to achieve that goal in ‘couple of decades has had its recommen dations almost wholly ignored. ‘They've mostly been rubbished by the people who asked for them. Meanwhile, he government itself offers up basically nothing, It clearly has no ides bout how (o catch up with Australian liv ing standards, not least because being seen to be nice overrides all other concerns. It's not even clear that it has any intention of wanting (0 do so any more, You see, that would require having to implement things that some people wouldn’t lke And through itall Key remains immense- ly popular. He is miles ahead of Labour leader Phil Goff. If elections were simply about choosing the most affable guy going \who won't ever frighten the horse, then it's hard to see Key losing to anyone, ever. For those, though, who think winning office is just a prelude to implementing ‘an overarching and philosophically-based Program that improves things for most peo- ple, Key isan awful prime minister. It's hard {0 sce what his legacy will be, other than winning a few elections and leaving things Pretty much as he found thems before hand ing back to Labour at some point. It's not why everyone goes into politics, Tet me put it that way. ‘Which brings us to the big referendum fon the voting system that will be held later this year at the same time as the election. Nearly 20 years on, Kiwis will get another say on the 1993 decision they made (53 per cent 1047 percent) to move to the German: style MMP voting system, This is a highly proportional system, and in my view one of the reasons for New Zealand's poor eco ‘nomic performance since that time. You see, some people get into parlia ment under MMP without actually winning seat and just because their party leader puts them at the top of a list, And small er parties have a highly disproportionate say, as anyone watching the Foreshore and Seabed saga from afar would observe. It's a system that forees compromise no mat ter the dire economic straits. I's one that favours those who aim to be nice and not cause trouble, ‘That may be why Key is taking no steps ‘ocampaign against MMP ia this upcoming referendum. His core National party voters are the most anti-MMP voters in New Zea land, But the system suits Key just fine Meanwhile, MMP advocates talk vague ly of fixing up unspecified aspects of MMP in unspecified ways at an unspecified time should they win on this referendum, Personally, if MMP does win later this year, I think pessimism for the long-term economic future of New Zealand will be very hard to avoid James Ailan is Garrick Professor of Law the University of Queensland,