What Christopher Luxon got right in his state of the nation speech was severalfold.

You have to accept that Governments lose elections and the current Government will lose this election in October because of some of the stuff Luxon outlined yesterday.

It is hopeless at delivering stuff and the stuff it did deliver very few wanted, or even asked for.

It's easy pickings for an opposition to outline a litany of failure and it will serve them well if they keep reminding voters just how bad it has gotten —from the MIQ debacle to the vaccine roll out, to the Kiwibuild shambles, to the light rail waste to the cycle bridge— and Luxon spent a decent amount of time on wastage, of which there is mountains.

It's one of the advantages they have in announcing policy. The obvious question as to where the money is coming from is easily answered - consultants and waste.

The actual policy they announced will appeal because childcare is ruinously expensive and by taking money off consultants and giving it to low and middle-class parents, it can't do anything but be popular.

But the bits that will really resonate is the message of hope and aspiration.

This country, not so long ago, was winning. It had a rock star economy and a spring in its step and was a can-do country.

In five and a half years it's been trashed. Those who want better have been side-lined for those who don’t care or can't be bothered.

It's a very good example of how hard it is to do well but how easy it is to give up and let it all slip.

This is a country riddled with malaise, there has been an avalanche of working groups and committees that have twiddled and tinkered and thought-bubbled - and come up with next to nothing.

Those health stats we talked about last week are all the proof you need. 67,000 waiting longer than four months for an appointment, the four months this Government set as unacceptable, and yet the numbers grow.

Only 71% are being seen in ED in six hours. It used to be 76% but under National it was 95% - you can't hide from those stats. And yet to get there they have spent hundreds of millions to re-organise the letterhead and introduce some co-governance.

In some respects the pressure is on National. Not only is the victory there for the taking, it's just how large the thrashing is going to be.

But the trick is to keep reminding us what a mess it is and keep telling us how much better it used to be - and will be again.