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“Government Economic Spin: More Spin Than A Front Load Washing Machine” - 29 July 2025

The Neoliberal Washing Cycle: How Luxon and Willis Whitewash Economic Failure

Ivor Jones The Māori Green Ltn

29 Jul 2025 — 14 min read

Kia ora whānau.

Three RNZ articles from July 29, 2025 reveal the disturbing depths of this government's commitment to neoliberal ideology over the wellbeing of tangata whenua and all working New Zealanders. Through careful analysis of the Luxon-Willis spin machine, we see a government that has mastered the art of political gaslighting while systematically undermining the economic foundations that support whānau Māori.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/568241/watch-christopher-luxon-faces-questions-at-post-cabinet-briefing

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/568294/businesses-should-pass-paywave-costs-on-through-prices-nicola-willis-says

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/568281/government-s-cost-of-living-speech-more-spin-than-a-front-load-washing-machine-labour

Background: The Neoliberal Inheritance

The current economic crisis facing Aotearoa cannot be separated from the forty-year legacy of neoliberal policies that began with Rogernomics in 19841. As Jo Waitoa explains, these policies have created vast economic inequality among Māori, with neoliberal reforms leading to "a tremendous rise in inequality and widening gaps, not necessarily between Māori and Pakeha, but within Māori society as well as within Pakeha society"2.

Christopher Luxon and Nicola Willis represent the latest iteration of this neoliberal project, wielding the same tired rhetoric while pursuing policies that fundamentally attack Te Tiriti o Waitangi3. Their approach follows the classic neoliberal playbook: privatisation, deregulation, and the transfer of wealth upward while ordinary whānau bear the costs.

The stakes for tangata whenua are particularly high, as Māori unemployment sits at 10.5% - double the national average4, while unemployment among rangatahi Māori aged 15-24 reaches a devastating 19.1%5. This economic violence against our people provides the backdrop for understanding the government's latest propaganda offensive.

Three Articles, One Neoliberal Message

The three RNZ articles from July 29, 2025 present a coordinated government response to mounting criticism of their economic record. Labour Opposition leader Chris Hipkins has described the government's messaging as having "more spin than a front load washing machine"6, while recent polling shows Labour has overtaken National on the cost of living issue for the first time since October 2021 7.

The government's defensive posture becomes clear when examining their policy announcements. While promising to ban PayWave surcharges by May 20268, Willis simultaneously tells businesses to simply pass these costs onto consumers through higher prices. This encapsulates the neoliberal shell game: create the appearance of helping consumers while ensuring corporate profits remain protected.

Most tellingly, while ordinary New Zealanders struggle with inflation and job losses, the government has quietly approved increases of up to 80% for Crown director fees 9, with some board chairs now earning over $160,000 annually. This represents a clear transfer of wealth from struggling whānau to the elite class that Luxon and Willis represent.

Comparison table showing the disconnect between government economic claims and actual reality

The Language of Deception: Analysing Government Rhetoric

Economic Gaslighting and the "Oil Tanker" Metaphor

Nicola Willis's assertion that "economies are like oil tankers, you can't turn them around on a dime"10 represents a masterclass in political gaslighting. This metaphor serves to absolve the government of responsibility for current economic conditions while positioning themselves as patient stewards of inevitable improvement.

The oil tanker metaphor is particularly insidious because it naturalises economic policy as something beyond human control, obscuring the reality that 27,850 jobs were lost in the past year 11 as a direct result of government policy choices. When Luxon speaks of "doubling down" on cutting spending and debt, he's describing deliberate policy decisions, not natural economic forces.

This language draws from classical neoliberal discourse that presents market outcomes as natural and inevitable rather than the result of specific policy choices that benefit capital at the expense of workers. As 15 economists warned in their open letter to Luxon 12, the government's fiscal policy is "needlessly exacerbating the current recession."

The Mythology of Trickle-Down Benefits

The government's claim that their tax changes have delivered "an average of $60 a fortnight"10 to households exemplifies how statistics can be weaponised to obscure inequality. This "average" conceals the reality that tax cuts disproportionately benefit property owners and high earners while providing minimal relief to low-income whānau.

Meanwhile, inflation has increased for three consecutive quarters to 2.7%13, with food prices rising 4.2% and local authority rates up 12.2%13. For whānau already struggling with the basics, these increases far outweigh any tax relief received.

The government's approach reflects what the NZCTU describes as workers "paying the price of the cost-of-living crisis," noting that 48% of workers received pay rises of less than 2%, while 59% got less than 3%14.

White Supremacist Economics: The Invisibilisation of Māori

Perhaps most concerning is the complete absence of tangata whenua from the government's economic narrative. Across all three articles, there is no mention of Māori-specific impacts, no acknowledgment of the disproportionate effects of their policies on Indigenous communities, and no recognition of Te Tiriti obligations in economic policy.

This erasure is not accidental but represents a deliberate white supremacist approach to economic policy that treats Māori concerns as peripheral to "mainstream" economic discourse. When Māori unemployment sits at 10.5%4 - more than double the national average - this should be central to any honest discussion of economic performance.

The government's approach exemplifies what Neal Curtis identifies as the neoliberal attack on Te Tiriti, where economic individualism is used to undermine collective Indigenous rights3. By framing economic policy as racially neutral, the government obscures how their policies systematically advantage Pākehā wealth holders while disadvantaging Māori workers and whānau.

The PayWave Deception: Corporate Welfare Disguised as Consumer Protection

The government's announcement of a ban on PayWave surcharges represents neoliberalism's ability to package corporate welfare as consumer protection. While the policy appears consumer-friendly, the devil lies in the implementation details that reveal the government's true priorities.

Finance Minister Willis explicitly tells businesses that they should "pass on the cost to customers as they would any other business cost"8 if they cannot absorb the fees. This admission reveals the policy's fundamental dishonesty - consumers will still pay these costs, but now they'll be hidden in higher prices rather than transparent surcharges.

Retail New Zealand chief executive Carolyn Young warned that retailers will increase prices as a result8, while Night 'n Day general manager Matthew Lane noted that one store paid over $80,000 to merchant providers last year8. These costs don't disappear - they're simply redistributed in ways that benefit financial services companies while harming transparency for consumers.

For whānau Māori, who are disproportionately represented among low-income consumers, this policy represents a regressive transfer of wealth. Hidden price increases impact all consumers equally regardless of income, while transparent surcharges at least allow people to make informed choices about payment methods.

Elite Enrichment While Workers Suffer

The most damning revelation in these articles is the government's decision to increase Crown director fees by up to 80%9 while ordinary New Zealanders face job losses and rising costs. This represents the clearest possible example of neoliberal priorities in action.

Luxon's justification that public sector director fees had gotten "completely out of whack compared to private sector fees"10 reveals his class allegiances. While 156,000 New Zealanders remain unemployed and wages struggle to keep pace with inflation 14, the government's priority is ensuring wealthy board members receive market-rate compensation.

Treasury data shows that 83% of Crown boards had fees below 70% of market rates 15, but this "problem" only becomes urgent when it affects the elite class. There's no similar urgency about the fact that Māori workers are predominantly in low-waged and relatively insecure jobs2.

The increases will see some governance board chairs earning over $160,000 annually 9, while minimum wage workers received just a 1.5% increase in April 14. This represents a clear statement of government priorities: ensure the wealthy are well-compensated while workers bear the cost of economic adjustment.

Implications: The Deeper Pattern of Neoliberal Violence

These three articles must be understood within the broader context of neoliberal assault on working people and tangata whenua. The government's economic rhetoric serves to obscure a systematic transfer of wealth from workers to capital, from Māori to Pākehā, and from the poor to the rich.

Research shows that New Zealand experienced the highest increase in inequality in the developed world following neoliberal reforms2, with Māori bearing a disproportionate burden of this inequality2. The current government's policies continue this trajectory while using increasingly sophisticated propaganda techniques to obscure their true nature.

The invisibilisation of Māori in economic discourse represents a form of statistical colonisation that denies the specific impacts of economic policy on Indigenous communities. When Māori comprise a significant portion of construction workers 16 and 12,169 construction jobs were lost in the past year 11, this represents a targeted assault on Māori economic wellbeing.

The government's approach exemplifies what scholars identify as the neoliberal capture of Indigenous policy 17, where traditional collective approaches to Māori development are replaced by individualised market-based solutions that serve capital rather than communities.

Exposing the Neoliberal Shell Game

These three RNZ articles reveal a government committed to the neoliberal project of wealth concentration while using sophisticated propaganda techniques to obscure their true agenda. From the "oil tanker" metaphor that naturalises policy choices, to the PayWave policy that privatises costs while socialising benefits, to the massive increases in elite compensation while workers suffer - every element serves the same fundamental purpose: protecting and enhancing the wealth and power of the capitalist class.

For tangata whenua, this represents not just economic policy but a continuation of colonial violence through different means. The systematic exclusion of Māori concerns from economic discourse, the disproportionate impact of job losses on our communities, and the complete absence of Te Tiriti considerations in policy development all demonstrate how neoliberalism serves as a vehicle for ongoing colonisation.

The government's "more spin than a front load washing machine" represents something far more dangerous than mere political rhetoric - it's the ideological justification for an economic system designed to extract wealth from working people and transfer it to capital. Understanding this reality is the first step toward building the alternatives our whānau and communities desperately need.

Nō reira, let us see through the spin cycle and recognise these policies for what they truly are: neoliberal violence disguised as economic necessity. Our people deserve better than this systematic assault on our wellbeing and our future.

Kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui.

I am deeply humbled to share this mahi with you all. For those whānau who find value in my content and have the capacity to do so, please consider contributing a koha to support this kaupapa: HTDM: 03-1546-0415173-000. I understand these are tough economic times for many whānau, so please only contribute if you are able and wish to support this mahi.

Ivor Jones The Māori Green Lantern

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“The Pātaka Beside the Strait” - 25 March 2026

"THE PĀTAKA IS ASH: How Nicola Willis and Christopher Luxon Poured Petrol on the Poor and Called It Relief" - 25 March 2026

"THE POISON PEN MINISTER: How Erica Stanford Weaponised the Taxpayer-Funded State Against Her Own Critics — and Why a Wounded Luxon May Be Letting Her Burn" - 25 March 2026