Papakura Labour Supporters Club

14/06/2026

I think Jack Tame was very snobby and unfair towards Labour over the $20 public transport cap interview with our Tangi Utikere this morning on Q+A.

It will save Commuters in Auckland $120 per month, in Wellington $160 per month and $40 a month in Christchurch.

That will put money directly into the pockets of our poorest workers while taking more cars off the road so our tradies and self-employed can use the roads easier to get to the work they need to do.

This policy aims to build our public transport patronage and if it proves popular, we can make the case for more buses, trains and ferries.

Jack feels that public transport isn't a good use of public money which is funny because he's paid for by public money on the public broadcaster!

Trying to trip Tangi up on the cost and ferry use in Wellington is the kind of snobby double standards always placed on Labour's polices vs what level of scrutiny the Right get.

Where was the scrutiny of the Right's $200million subsidies to oil and gas or the $300million they gave To***co?

Labour always get a harder time from the media when we attempt ideas that benefit everyone.

Reducing cost for Commuters in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch is the right thing to do, sadly class snobbishness against public transport users erodes that.

Labour stands for reducing the cost of living on workers in our cities.

14/06/2026

Nicola, I don't know who your comms person is, but word of advice: sack them.

Because girl, they have done you dirty by allowing you to give the speech you gave yesterday.

Now, I know I give Nicola Willis a lot of flack for being a bad Finance Minister.

But honestly, I don't think we give her enough flack for also just being a bad politician.

Because during her snap 10-minute stand-up before the press gallery, where she spent the entire speech packing a sad about Labour's public transport cap, she thought it would be a good idea to warn Kiwi voters about all the things Labour would reinstate if re-elected.

Things like:

Reindexing benefits to wages.

Reinstating free prescriptions.

Reinstating the full Government KiwiSaver subsidy.

Restoring the final years of the Fees Free scheme.

More generous operating allowances in future Budgets.

Reinstating the Giddy Fund, which supported community initiatives.

Reinstating the Māori Health Authority.

Seriously, tell me you're completely out of touch with average everyday Kiwis without telling me you're completely out of touch with average everyday Kiwis.

Because in Nicola Willis’s mind, these are meant to be unpopular things.

When in reality, most New Zealanders actually liked these things.

Nicola, those of us who don't have rich daddies, we WANT support for public services.

We WANT our tax dollars going towards investment in communities.

We WANT our tax dollars funding programmes designed to help people who are struggling.

The fact that Nicola Willis thought listing these things would scare people tells you everything you need to know about how disconnected she is from ordinary New Zealanders.

And maybe that shouldn't be surprising.

Nicola Willis has never had to exist in the same reality as most New Zealanders.

She was born into significant privilege.

She has spent her career in politics and political circles.

Despite her highest formal qualification being a degree in English Literature, she has been given high paying roles in Fonterra and effectively given her Minister role because she's a list candidate!

Never in Nicola's life, has she even had to put in the work in PRETENDING to understand the struggles of everyday kiwis.

And the result is speeches like this.

A politician standing there with complete confidence, listing off things ordinary New Zealanders value as if they are some kind of attack.

When in reality, all she doing is threatening us with a good time.

The irony is that Nicola Willis thought she was making the case against Labour.

Instead, she accidentally reminded people of exactly what has been lost.

14/06/2026

Nicola Willis MP I think I speak for every journalist who gave up their Sunday afternoon to attend this press conference when I say this could have been an email.

This has to be one of the most surreal press conferences I have ever seen in New Zealand politics.

Here’s the context you need. Nicola Willis is the Finance Minister.

She should be one of the busiest people in the country.

Yet here she is calling reporters into a room on a Sunday afternoon, asking them to give up their time for exactly what?

A 20-minute whinge session about Labour’s public transport policy announcement.

If you were an outside observer, I would forgive you for thinking Nicola Willis was the Opposition Leader.

I’m not exaggerating. The only reason she called this press conference was to attack Labour.

And here’s what made it so surreal.

The fact that if you were to copy and paste the speech she delivered and replace every mention of Labour with National,

And swap Nicola Willis out for Barbara Edmonds, it would line up perfectly.

Because almost every single thing Nicola Willis accused Labour of doing can very easily be applied back to her own Government.

She said Labour cannot make promises without showing how they’ll pay for them.

Brave card for you to play, Nicola.

Just last week you were defending the $1 billion gap in “secret” or unaccounted spending in your own Budget.

That’s $1 billion less for next year’s Budget, by the way.

As well as the Government very expensive LNG terminal.

Tell me, Nicola have you shown the costings for that yet?

How about the Roads of Significance? Any postings there

She said Labour’s public transport policy was unaffordable.

Do you know what else is unafforable? The $5 billion carbon credit bill tied to emissions shortfalls under that have happened under this Government. - Again announced just days ago

Do you know what else is unaffordable? David Seymour’s charter school vanity project.

Do you know what else is unaffordable? Scrapping Three Waters.

Do you know what else is unaffordable? Scrapping the inter-islander ferry projects.

She claimed recent improvements in the economy are a result of this Government’s discipline and careful budgeting.

NICOLA! literally the day of budget Treasury showed that forecasts from before this Government took office projected a significantly stronger economic position than where we are now, even accounting for global conditions.

Meaning any improvements we are seeing are happening in spite of Nicola Willis’s policies, not because of them.

This whole press conference reeked of projection.

Because almost every criticism she made of Labour could be reflected straight back at her own Government.

If Im a New Zealand National Party voter, this press conference did not inspire confidence

Because make no mistake the reason Nicola Willis sounded like she was in Opposition mode

Is because she already is.

Because she sees the writing on the wall and has made a conscious decision to behave like she’s preparing for it.

14/06/2026

'Good lawmaking, like cheese, takes time.' New questions are being raised about the Government's backdoor for bypassing select commitees.

14/06/2026

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14/06/2026

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14/06/2026

Anahila Kanongata'a for Papakura
Daily bilingual update (Saturday)

14/06/2026

New Zealand Labour Party