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Perspective with Ryan Bridge: Barbara Edmonds and Labour were wrong about the tariffs

Author
Ryan Bridge,
Publish Date
Thu, 10 Apr 2025, 5:10pm
 Photo / Mark Mitchell
Photo / Mark Mitchell

Perspective with Ryan Bridge: Barbara Edmonds and Labour were wrong about the tariffs

Author
Ryan Bridge,
Publish Date
Thu, 10 Apr 2025, 5:10pm

Trump's tariff backdown proves that Nicola was right and Barbara was wrong.

Willis took the cool, calm, collected approach. Take advice, watch closely, don't react with haste, don't spook the horses even more. Trump's already doing that.

Barbara Edmonds and Labour were hitting the panic alarm - firing off a press release yesterday saying that this is a crisis and that we need to up spending. Borrow more. Bigger Government will save the day. Which is nuts. Premature and nuts.

Barbara came on this show last night and said Willis was sitting on her hands while the world crumbled around her.

Earlier in the week, Hipkins said we needed to stand up to Trump a bit more - how's that working out for China?

The last thing we need is self-serving politicians, or former politicians in the form of Phil Goff, grandstanding for their bash-the-bully-moment on television.

This is the time for quiet diplomacy. It's time for your Winstons' and Rosemary Banks types - she's our Ambassador to Washington - get them out there.

The bigger problem for Labour and the way they've reacted so far is that it reminds us why we didn't like them in the first place.

When Covid hit they doled out the cash. They couldn't give it away fast enough. Grant spent from the country's purse like a housewife on holiday.

And Barb - she wants her time with the Visa. Right when our Government debt is about to hit 46 percent of GDP - remember, it was 20 percent pre-Labour - and right when we're getting closer to at least balancing the Government books.

This is a timely reminder from Labour that their fundamentals haven't changed.

When a crisis comes, when storm clouds gather, their go-to plan is to make it rain cash.

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