Why are we allergic to working together?

Otago Daily Times

7 days ago

At the NZ Hi-Tech Awards, from left, Sarah Ramsay, Careerwise founder Marian Johnson, Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Space minister Judith Collins. Photo: supplied
"The world is a vampire." That line's been looping in my head for weeks.
Not because I've got a '90s playlist on repeat, but because it sums up how I've been feeling about politics lately: drained, cynical, and stuck in a loop.
The truth is, I've been in a bit of a rut. Writer's block, political burnout, and a nagging sense of pointlessness. It's political nihilism — that feeling of "what's the point?''. Politics feels less like a forum for ideas and more like a never-ending shouting match. And that's exhausting.
But here's the thing: I still care. Underneath the frustration, I believe good people exist across the political spectrum — even if the system they work in is broken.
I appreciate National's focus on social investment and focus on productivity growth. I share the Greens' view that we need a serious conversation about wealth tax and capital gains. I'm concerned about losing our strong co-governance and representation of tangata whenua that Labour and Te Pāti Māori led.
I can't say I agree with much at all from Act New Zealand, and I find David Seymour's approach particularly offputting. Winston and New Zealand First? He does a good job representing regional New Zealand, even if I disagree with their mining stance.
And I wrestle with my own political identity. I'm a capitalist who cares deeply about social justice. I believe in business, innovation and growth — but I also believe in fairness, equality, and community. It shouldn't be a contradiction. Yet our system forces us to pick sides.
Which brings me to this: our two-party system is outdated. We inherited it from the UK — a model based on old class divisions, workers v landowners. Over time, it's hardened into tribal warfare.
But what if there's another way? Switzerland and Denmark show us how democracy can work differently, and better.
Denmark uses proportional representation, meaning no one party rules alone. It forces coalition-building, compromise, and broader representation.
Switzerland goes even further with its concordance democracy. All major parties share governance. There is no official opposition. Policy isn't about point-scoring — it's about consensus. Imagine that.
These systems aren't perfect, but they work. They're stable. They deliver. Denmark and Switzerland consistently rank among the world's best for GDP per capita, trust in government, education, and social equity.
They are capitalist at their core, just like us, but pair market economies with strong public services and a deep commitment to democratic participation.
And yet, here in New Zealand, we treat it like a trade-off: you can have strong business, or you can have social support. As if it's either-or.
But it's not. If you build trust in the system, spend wisely, and treat people like adults, you can absolutely have both.
Both Labour and National have name-dropped Denmark and Switzerland over the years to justify their policies. They also both refer to Singapore a lot, but you can't just cherry-pick tax ideas or social programmes and ignore the structure that makes them possible. These countries succeed because of their systems — collaborative, representative, and built for the long term.
If we want what they have, we need more than a few policy tweaks. We need transformation.
And they are big on productivity. Switzerland supports startups and small businesses with smart incentives, low red tape, and targeted tax breaks. They've strategically focused on producing high-tech, high-quality and high-value goods, which makes them globally competitive beyond their scale.
They apply this to government too: public spending is lean, just over 30% of GDP versus New Zealand's 42.75% in 2024.
They recognise that to be globally competitive and fund the social services they care about, everyone needs to work smarter — and work harder too. A recent Reuters article coined it as Swiss Exceptionalism.
And speaking of work — politics is work. Hard work.
I recently got a photo with Judith Collins, Nicola Willis and Marian Johnson at the NZ Hi-Tech Awards – a celebration of the companies leading New Zealand's productivity battle and generating huge value economically, socially and environmentally.
I was proud but I hesitated to share it publicly — not because I was embarrassed, but because I knew it would invite hate.
That's how bad things have become. We can't even be seen with politicians without triggering a backlash.
When did we get so allergic to respectful disagreement? That moment of hesitation is the inspiration for this piece.
For the record, both Judith and Nicola are impressive women. I've spent time with both and really enjoy their company, they're actually human and have great banter.
I've also spent time with people in Labour — Jacinda, Rachel Brooking, Grant Robertson, Stuart Nash. All good people. I hope to meet Chloe Swarbrick and Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke sometime too.
We have got smart, thoughtful leaders across the board. What if we stopped dividing them into teams and asked them to work together — like an actual team New Zealand?
Instead, we've turned politics into a nasty sport. One where politicians are constantly on edge, scared to say the wrong thing. Imagine running a business like that — where your team openly undermines each other and the focus is on tearing people down. You'd go bankrupt.
We also need to talk about how politicians behave. We expect our kids to be respectful, empathetic, and composed. Yet we tolerate tantrums and bullying from our elected leaders.
Leadership is supposed to mean something. It's not about who can shout the loudest — it's about who can listen, build, and lead by example.
I've worked with both Labour and National governments, and I've seen the difference in how they operate. Labour has big ideas — but they often struggle to execute. National is more decisive — but they can seem cold and too commercially focused.
Neither is perfect. Both have good people. So why do we keep pretending one side has all the answers?
Politics shouldn't be about winning. It should be about solving.
We've got problems — big ones. Climate. Healthcare. Housing. Inequality. We won't fix them by yelling. We'll fix them by working together.
We need to stop picking sides and start picking values. We need leadership that blends bold ideas with practical action. That builds, not just blames.
Are we ready to grow up politically and try something different — or are we just going to keep hitting play on the same old broken record, hoping the next verse sounds better?
• Sarah Ramsay is chief executive of United Machinists.