Category: imported_weekly
The start of a new year is an opportune time to reflect on what lies ahead. Parliament resumes on January 29 and will rise for Christmas on December 12, with a total of 93 sitting days scheduled. One of the first tasks of Parliament will be to elect a new Speaker. The partial sale of three state-owned assets will dominate Parliamentary business this year – assuming, of course, that the Supreme Court quashes the Maori Council’s claim for the ownership of freshwater.
In a recent editorial on his Newstalk ZB Breakfast Show, Mike Hosking made the point that in spite of paying out billions of dollars in settling claims and giving numerous apologies over a 30 year period, Treaty of Waitangi grievances are showing no sign of ending. He called the Waitangi Tribunal a circus and the whole process a farce, saying that the public are completely sick of it all.
In New Zealand, although we have a long and stable democratic tradition, astonishingly, the Government has not ruled out completely bypassing the public over what could become the most radical constitutional change in our history. Instead of guaranteeing that any major constitutional change would only be approved as a result of a binding referendum of voters, it look likely that the majority will be locked out from having a say.
In 1999, the National government sold the state owned electricity generator Contact Energy, which owned hydro, geothermal and gas-fired power stations in the North and South Island, including the Clyde Dam, in a public share offering. At that time, there were no calls for the tribal ownership of water, no claims to the Waitangi Tribunal, no special deals for iwi. Over 220,000 investors bought shares and life went on.
Housing affordability is shaping up as a defining political issue - probably an election issue in 2014. The problem is that housing costs in Auckland in particular are rising so rapidly that many low income families are being locked out of home ownership. While the reasons are complex, a major burden of the responsibility must lie with central government.
In his victory speech, newly re-elected US President Barack Obama expressed his hope for the future, saying that what made America great was love, duty, sharing and patriotism. “Tonight, more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward. It moves forward because of you. It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to the great heights of hope, the belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family, and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people.”
After a year of operation, and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of spending of public money, most New Zealanders still have no idea that a government review of our constitution is underway. Two recently held Focus Groups confirmed that fact. A professional facilitator guided discussion around a series of questions about the state of race relations in New Zealand and the government’s constitutional review. On the issue of race relations, the groups were very well informed. They were emphatic that the Treaty of Waitangi was no longer an historic symbol of unification but had become a political weapon of division. The Waitangi Tribunal was also seen as divisive and backwards looking.
Despite political sideshows, the economy remains the key issue of concern for most voters. It’s also top of the agenda for most political parties - for their own self-serving reasons. Surprisingly, it’s the Green Party that is gaining the most traction on the issue – this is despite advocating policies that lack credibility and realism. The economy is high on their agenda because they want to broaden their constituency into Labour’s left flank.
The Independent Constitutional Review website at ConstitutionalReview.org will be the focal point for our campaign. It contains a wide range of background information - on the constitution, the plans by the iwi elite to gain constitutional status, the government’s deceitful review process, and what it all means for our future. The website outlines numerous ways that supporters can get involved and help, including how to donate to the campaign and how to volunteer and assist.
A debate is currently raging over the underlying cause of child abuse. It follows the disturbing revelation that five out of every six children who are abused or neglected before they are five years old, live in families on welfare. This rate of abuse is ten times higher for children living in families on welfare than for children whose parents had never been on welfare. It shows what the advocates of welfare reform have always known, that long-term welfare is a serious risk factor for children.
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