Sowell says

People who have long been sheltered from mortal dangers can indulge themselves in the belief that there are no mortal dangers.

— Thomas Sowell Wisdom (@TheThomasSowell) November 7, 2023

Stability vs speed

The chances of Prime Minister elect Christopher Luxon making it to Apec aren’t high.

Is it drawing too long a bow to wonder if setting the election date for October 14 was intended to make it difficult for a new PM to go?

Whether or not it was, the PM elect is right to put getting the coalition agreements sorted ahead of a trip to San Francisco.

The press gallery and some other media aren’t alone in thinking post-election negotiations are taking too long.

While I am very keen for the incoming government to get in and start cleaning up the many messes it has inherited, the need for stability is more important than speed.

We can’t afford to have the messy arrangement the 2017 Labour government let itself in for whereby New Zealand First insisted anything not expressly in the coalition agreement was up for debate.

The coalition arrangements must provide a strong foundation for the rebuilding the country needs and a few days more to get that right won’t matter, especially if the foundation is strong enough to ensure more than one term of a National-led government.