Truss move starts finger pointing

OPINION: Let the United Kingdom be a warning to us all. The grave situation of the British economy is clear evidence, according to one side, that the other side’s policies could throw us into a similar predicament.

Politics is often a game of finger pointing, accusing another of the same thing you’ve been accused of. Whether the topic is economic, social or cultural, politicians will find a way to turn an argument back on their opponent.

Look no further than Finance Minister Grant Robertson and National’s Nicola Willis. They watched the horrified response to newly minted UK Prime Minister Liz Truss’ ‘‘mini budget’’ and couldn’t help but try to profiteer politically. They say it’s proof of the viability of their own policies, but not of their opponents. Truss’ major tax cuts have sent the markets into chaos and prompted a warning from the International Monetary Fund.

Robertson was straight off the mark in the House on Wednesday, dubbing it a ‘‘cautionary tale about proposing untargeted tax cuts’’. ‘‘ We are seeing today, in the United Kingdom, just what can happen when ideology buys into the reality of a constrained Covid world. The National Party’s recipes never change: trickledown economics and giving tax cuts to the wealthiest.’’

Undeterred, but possibly sensitive to the criticism, Willis launched into an unprompted monologue at the end of a stand-up on Thursday. ‘‘The United Kingdom in particular is a salient reminder of the importance of fiscal responsibility,’’ she told reporters.

‘‘We would ask the finance minister to consider once again, whether there was any illdisciplined government spending that he could reprioritise at this time.’’ You can expect to hear more from both about why the deterioration of global economic conditions is only evidence for why [insert party’s name here] shouldn’t be voted for.

In the culture wars, the ACT Party accused the Māori Party of racism – having found a document where they say Māori are genetically better sportspeople. Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi often criticises ACT for ‘‘divisive’’ politics and ‘‘appealing to racists’’. This week, ACT’s David Seymour used his general debate slot to accuse them of racism. Given Waititi was in Canada, nobody took the bait.

The ugly issue of ‘‘race-based slurs’’ dominated the last days of this sitting block. Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis apologised to ACT’s Karen Chhour for saying she sees the world through ‘‘ a vanilla lens’’. Davis was making a point he’s well known for. But this time he picked the wrong target.

Chhour was questioning him over Oranga Tamariki contracts with Te Whānau Waipareira Trust. It’s a charity which hit headlines this week for giving endorsements and interestfree loans to its chief executive, John Tamihere’s political campaigns. Davis said the charity was effective, but went further to criticise a bill Chhour has introduced to remove a reference to Te Tiriti oWaitangi from the Oranga Tamariki Act. He said she ‘‘ was raised in a Pākehā world’’. Prime Minister

Jacinda Ardern said he had crossed a line, becoming too personal. As a child, Chhour was moved around families under the direction of social services. She said Davis’ attack was distressing and questioned her whakapapa.

It’s not uncommon for politicians, including Davis andWillie Jackson, to critique others’ proximity to the te ao Māori. Davis was clearly expressing his frustration at the ACT party’s approach to the politics of race – which is directly oppositional to his own. But ACT picked up on the comment, with a succession of press releases, an ‘‘ open letter’’ to Ardern, and questions from Nicole McKee to Robertson during question time. Chhour, who said she accepted the apology and was moving on, later published an op-ed on the matter.

No-one defended Davis’ comments on Thursday. He apologised and said it was too personal. But what about Jackson, who called Seymour a ‘‘useless Māori’’ in May? Asked if he would apologise, Jackson chuckled: ‘‘Definitely not.’’