Category: Politics
On Wednesday, eight central North Island tribes will take control of 170,000 hectares of forests in the Kaingaroa region in the country’s biggest Treaty of Waitangi settlement to date. The total cost of the claim is over $400 million of taxpayers’ money.
In 1998, when the Canterbury University Press published my book Truth or Treaty? Commonsense Questions about the Treaty of Waitangi, the public mood was somewhat different from today’s. I began my second chapter with a gloomy paragraph which, although it certainly contains much truth, nevertheless seems, in today’s climate, just a little over the top:
But this is about democracy, the right of people to be heard and it's the absolute height of arrogance that the prime minister is going to use a technicality within the law to circumvent people's rights to express their views on the issue. - John Key backs election smacking referendum, July 2008[1]
With the announcement last Monday by the Chief Electoral Officer that that they were beginning the process to hold a Citizens Initiated Referendum, the debate surrounding the controversial Anti-smacking law once again fired up. This time though, with a new twist, as the supporters of the law change directed their attack at the wording of the referendum, and the cost of the process.
“Mäori continue to experience relatively poorer outcomes than other New Zealanders, indicating that Mäori social potential has yet to be fully realised. In maintaining a focus on realising Mäori potential, the basis for the development of Te Puni Kökiri’s social policy advice and intervention is premised on what is important within a Mäori cultural construct… with a particular focus on the benefits that can be achieved through Mäori designed, developed and delivered initiatives”.
In 1967 Australians overwhelmingly supported a referendum that altered the Australian constitution in regard to Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. The strong support was a measure of mainstream Australia's belief that Australia's first migrants should be treated as equals. Substantial funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, dance, music, literature and film has seen their flowering and incorporation into a broadening stream of Australian culture. The land rights movement returned land to Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land holdings now total about 1.25 million km2, approximately five times the size of New Zealand.
While socialists have blamed capitalism and the free market for the global financial crisis, economist Richard M. Salsman holds “altruism” responsible. In his article “Altruism: The Moral Root of the Financial Crisis”, he explains that altruism, which is based on the notion that being moral consists of sacrificing oneself for the needs of others, has long been a driving force of government policy.[1] In the US, not only has this resulted in a burgeoning welfare state, but altruistic home ownership initiatives targeted at minority groups, created a house of cards of catastrophic proportions.
The Key government campaigned on reforming welfare, but as the recession bites deeper we shall see if John Key and Paula Bennett are serious or not. This government campaigned on the welfare state helping people, not trapping them in poverty. If this is to become a reality in New Zealand, international experience suggests that the government has its work cut out.
“This is the message to New Zealanders: under National, tax cuts are a priority—under National, personal tax cuts are a priority. Most of all, New Zealanders will be able to believe our tax cuts, they will be able to trust our tax cuts. Most of all, our tax cuts will not just be about putting dollars into the pockets of hard-working New Zealanders. They will actually be about delivering the right incentives in the economy. Tax cuts let New Zealanders get ahead in their lives. They encourage New Zealanders to work hard, to get extra responsibilities, to save, and to get further education. We believe in tax cuts, we believe in the power of tax cuts, and we will deliver them.”[1] - John Key.
The National-led government which came into office seven months ago inherited a difficult economic situation.
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