Now, listen, just indulge me for a minute or two, because I'd love to address the worst idea of the week.
 
No disrespect at all to Guy Haddleton, who I have a lot of respect for and credit with some very good ideas.
 
But his idea of Labour and National working together in government is the worst idea of the week. Every time I hear it, it annoys me so much. I can't even tell you how much.
 
I can see where Guy is coming from. His argument is basically that a two-party system managing the country would be better than four parties, ACT, New Zealand First, National and Opportunity, all trying to figure out how they're going to work together without the whole thing blowing up.
 
But the only good thing about Labour and National working together would be the relative stability. Beyond that, it would be absolute rubbish for this country.
 
If you want to sleepwalk into national poverty, go ahead and suggest this idea, because both of those parties actually lack the courage to address the gnarly issues we're dealing with.
 
And if right now you're going, "Oh, yeah? Give me an example", let me give you one: superannuation.
 
We have been warned about the cost of superannuation to this country since the 1970s. Think about that. For 50 years, this country has been governed successively by Labour and National governments. And which one of them has done something to deal with the superannuation problem?
 
Oh, that's right. For one hot minute, Roger Douglas of the Labour Party did.

And then what happened? It got reversed. And what do we think of Roger Douglas now? Everybody hates him.
 
Honestly, I would rather have the so-called lunatic ideas of the Greens than the incrementalism of Labour and National combined in some sort of grand coalition for three years.
 
Because at least if we took a punt on the Greens' ideas, at least they would change things up. That would be better than doing nothing and sleepwalking into poverty.
 
I think we should actually be grateful for the minor parties and the courage they bring to politics. I don't think we should be thinking about ways we can exclude them.

Now, listen, just indulge me for a minute or two, because I'd love to address the worst idea of the week. &nbsp; No disrespect at all to Guy Haddleton, who I have a lot of respect for and credit with some very good ideas. &nbsp; But his idea of Labour and National working together in government is the worst idea of the week. Every time I hear it, it annoys me so much. I can't even tell you how much. &nbsp; I can see where Guy is coming from. His argument is basically that a two-party system managing the country would be better than four parties, ACT, New Zealand First, National and Opportunity, all trying to figure out how they're going to work together without the whole thing blowing up. &nbsp; But the only good thing about Labour and National working together would be the relative stability. Beyond that, it would be absolute rubbish for this country. &nbsp; If you want to sleepwalk into national poverty, go ahead and suggest this idea, because both of those parties actually lack the courage to address the gnarly issues we're dealing with. &nbsp; And if right now you're going, "Oh, yeah? Give me an example", let me give you one: superannuation. &nbsp; We have been warned about the cost of superannuation to this country since the 1970s. Think about that. For 50 years, this country has been governed successively by Labour and National governments. And which one of them has done something to deal with the superannuation problem? &nbsp; Oh, that's right. For one hot minute, Roger Douglas of the Labour Party did.
And then what happened? It got reversed. And what do we think of Roger Douglas now? Everybody hates him. &nbsp; Honestly, I would rather have the so-called lunatic ideas of the Greens than the incrementalism of Labour and National combined in some sort of grand coalition for three years. &nbsp; Because at least if we took a punt on the Greens' ideas, at least they would change things up. That would be better than doing nothing and sleepwalking into poverty. &nbsp; I think we should actually be grateful for the minor parties and the courage they bring to politics. I don't think we should be thinking about ways we can exclude them.

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Can we please stop talking about this grand coalition idea?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/11824f65-5970-49ef-ab32-b501005f68ee/transcript