One of the most important things teachers can do to help their students improve is to give them feedback on their work. To be effective, feedback must be timely and specific.

As the election campaign gathers pace, it is timely to give the political parties some feedback on their policies. They certainly need improvement.

Labour, you got off to a slow start this year. Frankly, you’ve been coasting. You’ve finally discovered some motivation but your work remains sloppy. 

Your proposed capital gains tax would be a tax on inflation. This has been explained to you before and I think you understand it, but you have resisted making the necessary revisions.

New Zealand First, I get that your voters like you banging the anti-immigrant drum. But your proposal to take National Super away from non-citizen residents who have paid tax in New Zealand for decades just makes you look like a bully.

Focus on whether New Zealand’s immigration settings provide value to the economy. I know you think all that economics stuff is boring, but sometimes you just have to knuckle down.

ACT, you promised to abolish the Permanent Resident visa category. Later you at least made an exemption for existing residents and incoming investors.

This work bears the hallmarks of homework started five minutes before the deadline. In other areas your work has been more diligent, but next time, please try to think before you write.

Greens, no one can doubt your good intentions. And I understand your impulse to hang with the cool kids. But just because the Mayor of New York wants to run supermarkets doesn’t make it a good idea.

Before most of you were born there was a place called the Soviet Union where the state owned all the supermarkets. People had to queue to buy bread. Try to concentrate during history lessons.

On the subject of supermarkets, National, I despair of you. Despite some solid work on education, you’ve spent far too much time squabbling with your mates.

And now you want to forcibly split up a major supermarket company? The Greens at least have the excuse of being young and naïve. You are supposed to be the mature one.

Most of you will be back in Parliament next year, although few of you deserve to be. On the other hand, based on your work this year, you’d struggle to find jobs anywhere else.