in modern NZ culture, there's this idea that if you say a public figure can do better that means you hate them.

like there's only two options:

option one: believing a politician/public figure is either perfect or unable to ever be criticised

option two, you hate them.

for these people, there's no in between, and there's no room for talking about improvements to policies, culture, and leadership. And there's also no room to ever admit a mistake.