As a Kiwi, what catches my attention about this discussion is that "raising the standard of living" in pure economic terms is still a primary political campaign

As a Kiwi, what catches my attention about this discussion is that "raising the standard of living" in pure economic terms is still a primary political campaigning tool in NZ. How do you measure the great things we already have and value that aren't so easily shown on a balance sheet and can't be shown on an emotive graph that trends up towards the right hand side? The voter supported political agenda (whichever party it comes from) seems to often involve economic activities that don't hold to the long term values of the average Kiwi or the things that the rest of the world love our country for but we're temporarily blinded by the prospect of a shiny new car so make concessions in the short term. I love the fact that so many people want to come and enjoy our home, but please understand that NZ is this way at least in part because we haven't focussed on growth at all costs. It may not always be this way.