GORDON LIGHTFOOT | Politics
BAN KIDS OR DIE TRYIN’
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently told reporters “we’re gonna die trying to do something” on social media ban, which most will agree was a weird thing to say.
And while critics will say no one asked him to ban social media for under 16s, and that no one has ever campaigned on a promise like that, Luxon maintains that the key strength of the policy is that it’s easier to do than make people’s groceries less expensive.
“Look what I will say is that this is about protecting our young people from social media. And although we said we’d sort the cost of living, turns out that’s quite hard and it’d be easier to just ban kids from Instagram,” he said, ignoring the fact that Australia has already tried and failed to do the exact same thing.
“What I will say though is that this is all absolutely to keep our kids safe, and it has nothing to do with social media being a place where teenagers might see weird opinions like thinking National or Labour might not be a good thing for the country,” he said with his hands deep in his pockets, as is his trademark.
“And LOOK, what I WILL SAY, is that I haven’t seen any evidence that says we’re developing digital ID so we can track the online behaviour of every single New Zealander.”
With the election just round the corner, Luxon seems keen to impress kiwis with his ability to deliver something, anything, whether people asked for it or not.
“Look the theme of this coalition government is delivery, and what I will say is that we have absolutely delivered on that promise to deliver lots of delivery.”
More to come.
