Kate Hawkesby: Are the rest of the country as sick of the political sideshows as I am?

I think what we’ve seen this week is indicative of what we’re going to see for the rest of the election campaign from now until October. And that is – sideshows. And that’s the real let down for us the voters. We are being done a disservice not only by the politicians themselves but also the media covering them. What this country urgently needs is the basics. Roads fixed, hospitals functioning again, schools with students attending and passing, and crime sorted out. What we don’t need is the sideshow on bilingual road signs, who gets a free prescription and who doesn’t, who’s dog whistling and who isn’t. We deserve better. We have also got to stop this collective attack on anyone who dare question anything to do with Maori culture or Te Reo, it is not racist to say you don’t think bilingual road signs are a priority right now. To question the Government’s desire for this and then be deemed racist and a dog whistler when you do, is pathetic. This government has developed a modus operandi of lecturing us on how we should behave, how long we should spend in the shower, how we should read our road signs. They’re good at telling us what we should do, because they know best and us mere mortals are just not as enlightened as them. These are fringe issues at a time where we as a country are facing far more serious ones. Crime, for a start, looks like it’ll be kicked to touch until after the election. There are very few sitting days left for the Government to actually enact much - and that should worry all of us because what it means is that what we currently have is it. If you were hoping for more or better or different between now and October, you’re probably going to be disappointed. They’ll announce stuff, they just won’t be able to do much about it. But the pettiness of politics in election year is such a turn off. Doesn’t the name calling and the descending into side shows just put voters off? Politicians looking to bait opponents, media looking for ‘gotcha’ moments - a lot of it is beltway and a lot of it is BS. It doesn’t serve us, and it certainly doesn’t move this country forward. National would do themselves a favour by not allowing themselves to get dragged into the sideshows; my advice to them would be take a stance and stick to it - believe in your policies your pledges and your platitudes, and stick to them. People don’t like uncertainty and they don’t like wishy washy. But I think we deserve better from the political media too. Gotcha moments like turning up with Te Reo signs at Parliament and asking MP’s what they mean - really? Is that your best coverage? Newshub’s Jenna Lynch, who I think is their senior political reporter, wandered round with Te Reo signs asking MP’s what they meant and when she asked Chris Hipkins what Waka Kotahi meant, he knew it was NZ Transport but he couldn’t translate exactly what Waka Kotahi means. But when he served it right back at her and said, ‘well what does Te Papa mean?’ She of course couldn’t answer because she didn’t know either. Is this the best political news coverage we can get? Or is this school playground rubbish? My husband described the country this week as weary, angry and punch drunk. I think it’s true. But we need to sober up between now and October or we’re in real trouble.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.