Category: imported_weekly
“The face he showed to the country this week was that of a man who didn't give a stuff what people thought. It may be one that his colleagues and National supporters hope he will not be revealing too often.” Herald Editorial, Sunday 20 February, 2011
It appears that unless there is intense public pressure NOW, John Key will pass the Marine and Coastal Area Bill into law under urgency this week. Why else would the Bill have been rushed back from the Select Committee two weeks early, before members of the committee had even read the officials’ 500-page report, obtained crucial legal advice, or made amendments to the bill? Why else would National have refused to rule out urgency when asked in the House on Thursday whether they intended using urgency to pass the bill into law this week?
Michael has been in the hospitality industry for 30 years. He’s a good operator. The awards displayed on his wall prove it.
Last week the National and Labour Party leaders gave their State of the Nation addresses. Squaring off in the first bout of the contest that will end on election night, it was disturbing to see that neither dwelt on the urgent need to dramatically reduce government spending. In spite of the government now having to borrow $300 million a week to cover its spending commitments both leaders focused mainly on their plans to raise extra cash. For Labour it was tax increases for the rich. For National it was asset sales.
A modern day extension of biculturalism is multiculturalism, the notion that many cultures can exist side by side within a society. This is in contrast to the more traditional belief that a nation can only function cohesively if the different groups within adapt to the cultural values of the society at large.
As we step into election year, it is surely time to take stock of what the National Party said it would do, and what it has actually done.
With the general election now less than 12 months away it is time to reflect on whether the National Government has lived up to expectations in the first two years of its term.
The National Party has a problem, thanks to their list MP Christopher Finlayson. He no doubt promised his Caucus colleagues that he could deliver on a bill to replace Labour’s Foreshore and Seabed Act that would satisfy the Maori Party’s desire to address perceived injustices in the Act and in a manner acceptable to National’s voting constituency. He would have persuaded them that with the help of John Key’s assurances that non-Maori have nothing to fear from the changes, a public backlash could be avoided.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”.- Martin Luther King
Maori protest action has created a pall over the Far North community of Taipa. It’s the one that is in the news at the moment, but everywhere Maori activists have been allowed by the authorities to take the law into their own hands, the community has been forced to suffer the consequences. Invariably, the protesters bully and intimidate local residents, making their lives a misery. Fuelled by the government’s proposed foreshore and seabed law, which would see Maori gain ownership of vast tracts of New Zealand’s coastline, such radical protest action may well become commonplace. If it is not nipped in the bud, locals will be denied the right to the peaceful enjoyment of their community through constant harassment and threats from Maori sovereignty activists, and local businesses will bear the financial cost.
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