I don't see either of the dominant political parties making any meaningful changes to address these issues. The current government acknowledges the issues in their Budget Policy Statement 2025 but then acts in contradiction to their own statements, by disestablishing Callaghan Innovation and gutting CRIs. Their Strategy for AI is basically a "legal thumbs up" with no incentives for businesses to move into this sector.

Instead of investing in public schools, they are allowing charter school which will make education pay-to-play, which will grow inequality at a time when young people are already locked out of the housing market. All while teachers are walking out in protest over low wages.

My fear is that when many young people are disenfranchised and aren't offered a "good deal" to participate in society, then we will get more crime and more drugs.

Labour isn't going to fix it and National seems to be actively sabotaging it.

I just read the book "Abundance" and I can see many of the partisan issues described in the book in the New Zealand context. We're cooked.

[–] BalpeenHammer@lemmy.nz 2 points 1 month ago

I haven't read that book but I have heard the authors speak and my take is that they are kind of delusional and I didn't take them seriously.