Category: imported_weekly
It’s not often that a government appointment ignites major controversy, but last week’s announcement that Dame Susan Devoy was to step into the role of Race Relations Commissioner did just that. The Race Relations Commissioner is one of six commissioners employed by the Human Rights Commission, an independent Crown entity established in 1977 that currently functions under the Human Rights Act 1993.
The IT revolution is dramatically changing how we live, in a way that is probably just as profound as the agrarian and industrial revolutions of previous ages. This new revolution has given people control over the way they communicate - in a manner that few of us could have ever imagined. As with all revolutions, change has casualties.
A World Bank Report published in 1998 ranked New Zealand second in terms of ‘natural capital, behind Saudi Arabia. However, while we have a wealth of land, minerals, water, and good clean air, our bureaucratic planning and resource management laws have hindered New Zealand’s ability to use many of those resources effectively. The well-being of our communities has suffered as a result.
The Maori Council’s claim over the ownership of New Zealand’s fresh water was a blatant attempt by a powerful political group to seize control of a public good natural resource. New Zealanders are angry about it and so they should be. The opportunistic endeavours by tribal corporations to seize control of public good resources such as air, wind, the electromagnetic spectrum – maybe even sunlight itself – are outrageous but very real.
Over the last few years, there has been a growing consensus amongst the leaders of western nations – including the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Holland, Belgium, and Australia - that policies and practices that divide citizens along ethnic and cultural lines are dangerous. In Holland, the Dutch government decided to abandon the long-standing model of multiculturalism that had created a parallel society within the Netherlands: “It is necessary because otherwise the society gradually grows apart and eventually no one feels at home anymore in the Netherlands.”
The report by Fairfax media that Crown negotiators working for Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson on the Treaty settlement process have picked up million dollar fees shows the Treaty of Waitangi grievance industry has become an insatiable gravy train not just for the iwi elite, but also for ex-politicians and the ‘in’ crowd. The 14-strong negotiating team has been paid a total of $5.5 million. Michael Dreaver, an Auckland consultant was the highest earner at $1.5m.
During last week’s discussions at Waitangi, the Prime Minister stated that he favoured a four-year term for Parliament and a fixed election date. Labour’s David Shearer, the Green’s Metiria Turei, New Zealand First’s Winston Peters, and United Future’s Peter Dunne all agreed. ACT’s John Banks said he didn’t think the public would support a move to increase the job security of politicians, and the Maori Party said they didn’t have a view.
As expected, the Waitangi Day conflicts have already begun. This year there is tribal warfare over who will escort the Prime Minister onto the lower marae. Titewhai Harawira, the mother of Mana Party leader Hone Harawira, wants to keep the job, in spite of repeated attempts to replace her. Her advancing years are not an impediment to her fighting for the role either. By all accounts in 2009, when the organising committee decided to give Nellie Rata a turn in honour of her late husband Matiu Rata - a former Labour Minister and leader of the Mana Mutuhake Party - Titewhai Harawira elbowed her out of contention!
It was a week for political speeches. It began last Monday with the soaring rhetoric of US President Barack Obama’s inaugural address, which included inspirational references to nationhood and equality: “Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people… We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own”.
As with overseas aid, such welfare programmes often do more harm than good. Instead of pouring funds into questionable schemes, governments should focus their efforts on lifting economic growth and creating an environment in which small business can flourish, since these are the only proven pathways for improving outcomes for the disadvantaged.
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