Christopher Luxon speaks to media at Parliament. Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker
Analysis: There's a lot riding on the success of the government's Investor Summit and the Prime Minister's trade trip to India.
A new poll out this week showing just 35.6 percent believe New Zealand is headed in the right direction while 48.9 percent said it was headed in the wrong direction speaks to the economic rut the coalition is still facing as the mid-point of its first term rapidly approaches.
The Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll did note right direction was up 1.4 points while wrong direction was down 1.1 points - but even still, close to half of those polled don't feel like things are getting any better, in fact they think they're getting worse.
When RNZ asked Christopher Luxon on Tuesday what the short-term fixes were to get the gloomy economic outlook and cost of living crisis turned around, the prime minister fell short.
"It's about making sure we deliver for New Zealanders - the economy and cost-of-living is the number one issue - it's about believing there is a plan and better future here in New Zealand, and there is," Luxon told RNZ.
"That's why we're working hard on lifting trade in India and the same with the Investor Summit."
Any trade deal with India, which Luxon himself has pivoted to being more about a "deepening" of the relationship between the two countries, and any overseas investment to come from this week's summit are unlikely to have any impact on the cost-of-living crisis facing New Zealanders now, or in the next year.
When RNZ pointed out those were more long-term fixes Luxon responded saying the short-term was about "making sure we get the economic basics and fundamentals right".
"It's important to see our economy coming back, we're seeing that with agriculture and red meat, there's some good signs there.
"Actually we have to push through now and get to the other side, and people have to see and feel it in their own backpockets, and that's what they're not feeling at the moment."
Luxon is correct when he says New Zealanders aren't feeling it - the cost-of-living crisis and inflation continues to be the number one issue in any regular polling, with health and access to primary care closely following.
Any relief Kiwis felt from the coalition's tax cuts looks to have been shortlived and is failing to have ongoing cut-through.
Supermarket competition, or the lack of it, and the need to address it to ultimately bring down the cost of food is looking more and more like a lofty goal and not practically achievable.
Any work that Andrew Bayly was doing in that area as Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister hasn't been passed on to his replacement, Scott Simpson, who registered a conflict on the matter.
Finance and Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Finance and Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis - probably the busiest and most loaded up member of the executive - has been given the job instead.
Business leaders have been quite open about the fact they don't think much will change in that space and while Willis has had some fighting words and tough talk on the issue, it's not expected to have a significant impact on the duopoly the country has long-endured.
It's a criticism that can be directed at the previous government too, which put very little effort into breaking the duopoly up and as a result the supermarkets continued to make excessive profits over the six years Labour was in power.
Banking, energy gentailers, and petrol providers could all easily fall in the same camp - lots of rhetoric about making change to increase competition in those sectors over successive governments with little to no improvement.
With daylight saving coming to an end in a few weeks and night temperatures quickly dropping Kiwis are also looking down the barrel of another winter power crisis.
Dry conditions across the country have significantly impacted hydro storage already.
Energy Minister Simon Watts has a government market review underway into the four generator-retailers - Genesis Energy, Mercury, Meridian and Contact - but the final report won't be delivered until the end of June - well into winter.
That's bad news for anyone hoping the winter energy price spikes of last year might not be repeated.
None of this is good news for a coalition holding out for a change in economic fortunes to turn the polls.
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