By Chris Trotter*
Jan Tinetti, Associate Minister of Education, is firmly of the view that those who subscribe to “an ideology of hate” have no place on a school board of trustees. So convinced is the Minister, that she is actively seeking administrative and/or legislative changes to prevent such persons from being nominated. Though doubtless undertaken with the best of intentions, Tinetti’s initiative is deeply troubling. In a democracy, the idea that the state is qualified to decide which ideologies are acceptable for candidates for public office to hold, and which are not, should be laughed off the political stage.
Prompting the Associate-Minister’s authoritarian musings, is the revelation that the convicted white supremacist, Philip Arp, the man sentenced to 21 months imprisonment for distributing terrorist Brenton Tarrant’s recording of the Christchurch Mosque Massacre, had been nominated for a seat on the Board of Trustees of Te Aratai College. Christchurch city councillor, Sarah Templeton, who has children at the school, angrily voiced her frustration that such individuals cannot be legally prevented from becoming trustees. Clearly, her objections have not fallen on deaf ears.
The problem with characters like Arp is that their behaviour is so prone to causing public outrage that it is all-too-easy for citizens to switch-off their critical political faculties and remain silent when politicians call for Nazis to be declared ineligible for public office. After all, who wants to be seen sticking up for antisemitic fascists?
The answer, of course, is: we should all want to be seen resisting any attempt by the state to weed-out “undesirable” ideas, and the dubious individuals who hold them, before they get anywhere near a nomination form. As democrats, our firm position must always be that the only body qualified to decide who should, and should not, be elected to public office is the electorate itself. That is to say, You and I – the voters.
Do Tinetti and Templeton seriously believe that the parents of Te Aratai College’s ethnically and religiously diverse student body are in the slightest danger of electing Arp to the school’s Board of Trustees? If they do, then they are guilty of offering them the most outrageous insult. If they don’t, then what they are proposing will rob those same parent electors of the opportunity to condemn in the most emphatic fashion Arp’s vile beliefs and actions.
That Tinetti, a Cabinet Minister, seems unwilling to affirm that, in a working democracy, it is the citizen who possesses the power of decisive political agency, is worrying. It is not, however, an deficiency peculiar to herself. For some time now, both the Labour and Green parties have struggled to acknowledge in the electorate a collective wisdom more than equal to the task of distinguishing good from evil, right from wrong, democrats from fascists. Indeed, both parties show signs of believing the opposite to be true: that the electorate is neither wise enough, nor resilient enough, to recognise Nazi bullshit when they hear it.
Nowhere was this fundamental lack of faith in the fundamental decency and wisdom of the ordinary citizen more distressingly on display than in the days immediately following the Christchurch Mosque Shootings in March 2019. Completely ignoring the evidence of their own eyes, the Greens’ Marama Davidson and Golriz Ghahraman not-so-subtly insinuated that the entire “white” population of New Zealand was in some way complicit in Tarrant’s “lone wolf” terrorist outrage. That tens-of-thousands of New Zealanders – of all colours and creeds – were filling parks and stadiums to express their solidarity with New Zealand’s Muslim community failed to impress them.
Labour’s response was less insulting but, in a way, more troubling. In spite of uttering her internationally-acclaimed refutation of Tarrant’s crime: “They are Us”; Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern clearly believed that neither “They” nor “Us” were strong enough to endure the harm, or resist the temptation, of “hate speech”. Seconded by the hilariously mis-named Human Rights Commission, the Labour-led Government set out to radically reduce in size democracy’s foundation-stone – the citizen’s right to free expression.
Sadly, Ardern was pushing on an open left-wing door. Once the most determined defenders of free speech, the New Zealand Left had, for more than a decade, been evincing less-and-less enthusiasm for the critical democratic insight that freedom of expression must never become a privilege, to be rationed amongst “our side’s” best friends, but remain a right, freely available even to our worst enemies.
The Covid-19 Pandemic made matters worse. When the fight is with a potentially fatal virus, individuals and groups communicating false information can endanger the health of millions. In these circumstances, the temptation is to rank the health of the democratic system well below that of the population as a whole. Or, even worse, to start seeing the key elements of democracy: freedom of expression; freedom of assembly; freedom of association; as the vectors of a dangerous political disease.
This is now the grave danger confronting New Zealand: a Labour Government which has convinced itself that people communicating lies can undermine the health and well-being of the entire population – rather than a tragic minority of it. Traumatised by the occupation of Parliament Grounds (by people already traumatised by the Government’s imposition of vaccination mandates) politicians and journalists, alike, have convinced themselves that the purveyors of “misinformation” and “disinformation” now constitute a direct threat to the security of the state.
Which takes us right back to Jan Tinetti and the “threat” of Nazis on school boards of trustees. The political class’s historical mistrust of democracy, long resisted by the Left, has now been embraced by what is left of it. No longer a “bottom up” party, Labour has grown increasingly fearful that its “progressive” policies are unacceptable to a majority of the electorate. Ardern’s government, and its supporters, are terrified that the Far Right will opportunistically seize upon this public unease and whip it into some sort of fascist majority. Hence their determination to shut them up, shut them down, and shut them out.
Except, as the recent history of the United States has shown, this determination to keep the “deplorables” as far away from power as possible, is actually the fastest and most effective way to bring on the destabilising lurch to the Right that the progressive Left most fears. Poorly educated though they may be, ordinary citizens are not stupid. They can tell when they’re not sufficiently trusted or respected to be given a decisive role in the government of their own country.
With distressing speed, New Zealand is dividing itself into two hostile, camps. The smaller counts within it the better part of the better educated, is positioned on the commanding heights of the state, and considers itself the brain and conscience of the nation. The larger camp, nothing like so clever, seethes with frustration and resentment, anxiety and rage. It fears that its world: the world it grew up in; the world it knows and trusts; is shifting on its foundations.
What remains to be seen is which outcome represents the greater catastrophe for New Zealand: that the policies of those occupying the heights should proceed unchecked; or that the depths should find a leader equal to the task of casting them down?
*Chris Trotter has been writing and commenting professionally about New Zealand politics for more than 30 years. He writes a weekly column for interest.co.nz. His work may also be found at http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com.
113 Comments
A good and timely warning CT. As indicated the politicians are exhibiting the hubris that is common of all politicians, actual and aspiring, in believing that somehow they are smarter, more perceptive and just better and more deserving that anybody else. And indeed in supposedly "defending" our democracy they in fact become the biggest threat to it.
And never to be forgotten the current Government is undertaking a review of our electoral system, including extending the electoral term. Another threat to our democracy.
The bigger threat to our democracy, Murray, is overlooked by Trotter - and ALL the NZ media/commentariat.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/477.Collapse_of_Complex_Societies
Download it. Read it. Democracy - at national level - requires complexity. It has also, this last 200 years, required a false narrative (we are virtuous, not sc---ing the people we are actually sc---ing) which is approaching its use-by date. Actually, past it. As that narrative disintegrates into invalid pieces, we see alt-rabbit-holes, surveillance, centralisation and most of all, mis-representations of what is caused, and what is causal.
I suspect this happened towards the end in Rome, with the Maya.....
This reminds me of the seminal essay Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam on the decline of social capital in the US undermining democracy. He wrote that in 1995, so we're seeing chickens come home to roost.
I suggest we are past it PDK. Yes the fall of the Roman empire seems to be very similar. But over the last two or three years we have watched unrest build around the world as the forces undermining democracy seek to entrench their power whilst keeping the people blind to their excesses until it is too late to act. I also agree the media are complicit as well. In an information age it is too easy to find out what is going on, but real investigative journalism is apparently rapidly becoming an endangered species. But then several of us, including you have been calling that for a few years now. CT, perhaps dues to his age still churns out interesting articles. I may be mistaken but more are seemingly without his historic bias's as an overt leftist, than there used to be.
And if you don't believe powerdownkiwi, maybe you will believe the president of France when he says the same thing: https://www.connexionfrance.com/article/French-news/Macron-France-is-at…
Here's the analysis of what he said to put it into stark context: https://eand.co/the-end-of-the-age-of-abundance-and-the-beginning-of-th…
Good point. Regrettably a couple of posts here already, have quite some intimation of “believe it or else.” That sort of push is in fact exactly what Mr Trotter has explained here with great care and concern and with which I for one, am completely in accord with his thinking. Valuable journalism, is as always most welcome. This is a well timed warning to us all and the accompanying criticism of the relative elements of our government even more telling in that, the author is a well established and recognised champion of the left side of politics.
Hello Mr Foxy : nice & sunny here in the Waimakariri : all good with you ? ...
... you're correct that there does seem to be anger expressed against those of us who are pragmatic optimists , who believe mankind will muddle through , despite a few major setbacks ( such as the war in Ukraine ) ...
Yeah, market access. Before you needed retailers, distributors, primaries, principals, and various other go betweens. An individual can command more for themselves without having to have as many intermediaries involved, to a wider audience.
Finite or no, there's opportunity there. For arguably less energy input than previously required.
In what you keep peddling, less so, other than a cool story.
I believe that you are 100 % correct .... just heard Bill McKay on Radio NZ extolling the benefits of cable cars ( gondolas ) ... and how we could cheaply provide 24/7 public transport with them , we could cross the Auckland harbour at a fraction of the cost of a new bridge .... Queenstown to Milford Sound ... Wellington to Nelson ...
... imagine that , NZ , the land of gondolas ... so much fun , so little impact on the land beneath them ... Wow !
So not monorails, or electric cars in tunnels, or ground effect electric seaplanes, but gondolas aye? Sounds legit. I assume he isn't intending for it to be self funding, so exactly how much Government funding is he wanting for this particular brand of white elephant?
... we could use some of the money the government is gonna save us , by more accurately targeting their next cost of living payments to us : deceased people will not receive a second or third payment .... unless they inform IRD that they're not totally dead , just a little bit so ...
There are a number of cities with gondolas. I have toured La Paz via gondola and it would have easily have been the fastest way around the city. I don't think Auckland is quite as hilly as La Paz or Colombia but being able to go over water where needed would be a bonus.
I fully believe it would be far more suitable than allowing cyclists and pedestrians on the bridge on windy and wet days.
Interesting points you rise Chris. I think democracy has been for many years seen as an inconvenience to the ruling wealthy elite. The ‘people’ to be manipulated by sponsored media based fear campaigns to entrench their ‘right to rule’. Right leaning in the case of Aotearoa. It is disturbing that there exists an equally entitled group of left leaning so-called well educated intellectuals who hold the same contempt for the voting public. I agree and also have faith in the voting public to ignore extremist viewpoints of any stripe.
This unfortunately can have negative outcomes. The ‘voting public’ also has entrenched entitlements. This is well known to minorities where they seek redress or social justice but come up short when their demands are ‘put to the vote’. Where the voting public measure these requests/demands against their personal priviledge and vote in the negative if these are threatened.
Good points. People with dubious views or stunted intellectual ability have always been out there, but now social media gives them a platform and allows them to find, influence and communicate with others. Does this require greater state intervention, I'm not sure. Identity politics has certainly shut down our ability to discuss issues, it divides society and is a medium of control.
I personally still have faith that as a society we can identify and weed out those with extreme views without the need for state intervention. I mean, if you have an anti-semitic councillor on your school board then I'm moving my kids.
You may not be comfortable with a racist person on a board but in a democracy its not up for you to decide. In a democracy the population decides and sometimes you don't like, that just too bad. What makes you more qualified to determine what is and isn't racist. The alternative is the ruling class decides, and if you don't like that's still too bad, its just that you don't even get the opportunity to state your case.
Philip Arp has convictions for racial hatred and wants to govern a school. He is not just someone with right wing views. He went well beyond what would be considered free speech.
What is more troubling, is that a Centre right party (National) instantly rules out a grand coalition with a Centre left party (Labour), but is unable to rule out working with Brian Tamaki. This kind of left vs right thinking belongs in the US not in NZ. We need leaders that are confident and mature enough to work across the floor for the good of the country. Polarisation of politics only benefits the self interests of the politicians.
Also problematic. Where's the threshold? A conviction as a 19 year old for dealing a small amount of cannabis 20 years in the past? If not, which crimes, how long ago? I have known an ex-Mongrel Mob boss (and convicted rapist) who completely turned his life around and is an asset, not a liability to society now.
I'm with Chris. Let the people judge, not some arbitrary laws which you'll never be able to make work so the 'desirable' people get the jobs.
I think you are taking me too literally. As a general principle I believe in reform and the ability of those that have served their time to be able to return to society. I am against harming anyone within civilian society and all forms of hatred.
In this particular case the individual in question wants an influential role in a school. He ran a Nazi themed business, has numerous convictions and has made recent threats to kill. The school is multi-cultural and the job of a school board member is to serve in the best interests of all students, which would be hard if you hate some of them due to their race or religion. It is ok to express differences of opinion on the subject of immigration and multi-culturalism, but outright racism and threats of violence have no place in our society.
He wasn't convicted for racial hatred. He was convicted for distributing objectionable materials then violating parole/bail conditions IIRC.
A grand coalition would just discredit the nats and suggest that both parties exist to preserve themselves against challengers, which is entirely true.
I agree that a grand coalition would look like a stitch up but Elections are normally won in the centre. National would share more in common with Labour than with the Freedom and Rights crowd.
The UK is a great example of where a lurch to the right, anti-woke sentiment and xenophobia get you. The country is a basket case and can’t blame the foreigners anymore.
Why is the UK a basket case again? It has a population that greatly exceeds it's resource base and has been in this situation for some time, yet the PTB insist, though some weird ideological contortions, that more and more people can be crammed into a very limited area with no apparent consequences, other than important people getting richer. Maybe the public saw this as a problem, in spite of the self interested telling them what to think? The UK is exactly where you would expect it to be,after decades of growthism on steroids. A basket case!
I'm in the UK visiting family. Some middle class areas but also Bradford. I lived in the UK 30 years ago and it has changed. As you imply politicians worse than NZ, serious economic problems ahead, far too large a population increase, high inflation and housing problems. However also noticeable is the wealth of average people is far better than my experience with average Auckland North Shore. Massive rebuilding of city centres and frantic building of extensions to old houses and new housing. Better cars, supermarkets stocked with mre items and more luxurious items. For most Britons they have never had it so good.
The UK still has the financial heft to extract resources from less "developed" parts of the planet. Should that flow be squeezed, things will become interesting. Seems energy bills are already applying pressure to a substantial number of people? If this isn't a manifestation of demand over supply, don't know what is?
There we go again, Arp has (past) convictions for racial hatred. Has he served his time? Is he a free citizen able to put himself forward for any public office? His fitness to be determined by a vote of his peers?
I suggest the drift of your comments is precisely those Chris is warning about.
Agree. I don't like National but they get my vote for Labour locking NZ Citizens out and then running a Hunger Games like lottery for those desparate to ge back to see whanau in some tragic circumstances. There has to be consequences, plus I'm tired of being spoken to like an 8 year old.
I don't really have a problem with that up to a point and that point was once the vaccine became available then those who didn't want it should not have been given any hospital treatment should they have caught the covids. I accept the mandated masks was necessary in order not to infect others. I still wear mine in nearly all indoor public places in order to reduce the risk of catching it from someone else. I'm nearly fully vaxxed but am holding off on the 2nd booster until a targeted vaccine becomes available in NZ for the more common recent variants. Hopefully in under 6 months time.
It's like Tinetti hates the people who hate...
There is definitely a concerning trend with this government (and their media lapdogs), the mentality is very much agree or else.
Just reading stuff, they have gone from mild bias, to outright dictating who we should vote for.
I don't expect any of this to end well.
I presume you're referring to Stuff's borderline McCarthy-esque coverage of the upcoming local elections?
I'm awaiting the next instalment - "don't vote for this agent of disinformation as he once downloaded an episode of the Joe Rogan podcast on his phone ... and he only got his vaccination so he could go to the gym!"
I've been reading those. But isn't that the point of the fourth estate - to provide factual information about those that hold, or seek to hold positions of power in a democracy?
Bearing in mind that, if they misrepresent information (i.e., tell untruths about someone) that is defamation. Hence, I would expect a media outlet to make sure they get their facts right about individuals that they are reporting on.
I have no issue with factual reporting. I do have issue with the apparent one-sided nature of the factual reporting.
Most, if not all of the candidates will have some background issues. Focusing on a single issue at the cost of all others is simply not fair or balanced journalism. If anything it is raising the profile of said crazies, and the inevitable will happen, a la Trumps victory.
Democracy from time to time serves me something I don't want.
Inconvenient, but a good process. I'm happy enough.
Then there are those who see those inconvenient outcomes as wrong. They have to have their way. They have no respect for the other view. Anti democracy arises.
.. in a nutshell , the totalitairnism exhibited by Labour & the Greens since 2017 , to crush us ignorant " deplorables " who don't subscribe to their woke new world ideologies & co-governance/te reo mantra , has deeply entrenched our anger , and expanded our numbers ...
We want you out , Jacinda : we want you gone as soon as possible ... we dont care who replaces you , we just want to see the back of your motley circus of clowns ....
I couldn’t agree more GBH, so tired of these sanctimonious pricks speaking down to their subjects like they’re better than everybody.
It’s time for them to be reminded who they work for and given a swift boot (politically) up the backside and out the door
Unfortunately I have little faith in the blue and yellow team, but it’s all we really have…
One of the issues being ignored is that our civil servants appear to have bought into the mantra as well. As a result they are no longer providing an agnostic civil service but one which serves the thinking of the current govt. A major clean out will be required after next years election
Good and fair article. As soon as the State determines who is acceptable and isn't, we're off down a dark path. Expose bad ideas to the sun and they will be burnt off. Once one side is condemned how long for the same call to ban unwanted/racist/illiberal ideas from the left eg. co-governance, and then we get paralysis a la USA
People are going to elect the anti vax people out of pure spite and hatred for the media. I will be voting for them simply to spite their disgusting witch hunting. If they had just built policy lists and allowed citizens to compare, instead of trying to personally attack these people, never report what they actually have to say and throwing a fit that they dare stand on local councils.
Gaurav Sharma demonstrated exactly how Ardern & her government operate : Obey us completely , or we will bully you into submission , or failing that , exile you !
... I'm fully vaxxed & boosterised , but I respect individuals to make their own choices , and to not be bullied by the state for their choices : shame on you , Jacinda ....
Actually Von Metternich, I don't want the anti-vax nutcases anywhere near my Council so although normally I might not bother voting in local elections I'm going to use the helpful lists to try and keep them out.
The danger with a lot of these so-called democratic elections is that very few people care - already nearly 250 people have been elected for local government without a single vote being cast as they stood unopposed. That apathy gives a hugely undemocratic opportunity to motivated people who have an agenda.
You miss the deeper question, which is why have we lost our virtuous spirit which made a vigourous democracy possible? The local council here has a rough exchange rate of 2 councillors per election, with multiple councillors on the council for the past 20 years continuously.
You should welcome this as a chance to reinvigorate local government. The nutters can't exactly do much, councils have relatively minor powers but lots of these people will filter out once they realise it is a very boring job reading reports and passing judgement once in a while.
Sparrow, as one of the "nutcases" you refer to, can you explain what agenda we have? I feel sorry for you as the narrative is crumbling worldwide and other government data is slowly released to confirm what all us conspiracy theorists, river of filth types were/are concerned about. Ie the in-effectiveness of the novel gene therapy (it's not a vaccine - look it up) Your blinkered perception and obvious narrow mindedness, (does sparrow reflect the size of your brain, maybe?) Anyway good luck with your next booster and I genuinely hope you don't become one of the 20-30% excess deaths we are experiencing in NZ at the moment, worst in the developed world (look it up)
If NZ avoided covid fairly well for 2 years, you would expect a spike in deaths once it became endemic.
Hard to guess anyone's agenda, but it sounds like most seem to want to avoid Occam's razor, common sense and the scientific method in favour of being the protagonist in a fictional story of a grand government conspiracy (whilst also finding the government to be incompetent and poorly led).
Also vaccines don't just come in one form of delivery method, pooh-poohing mRNA technology is tantamount to denying antibiotics and penicillin, because bloodletting with leeches is the natural way to deal with Pnuemonia.
Irony much? Occam’s razor, really? You’re ignoring the obvious temporal correlation between mrna “vaccine” uptake in countries and the cluster spike in excess deaths, declining birth rates, weakening of people’s immune systems leading to reactivated herpes, shingles, Epstein-Barr, and then there’s the heart attacks, the sudden spike in deaths of young people etc….. On top of all that the mrna “vaccine” does absolutely nothing to stop transmission, and in fact recent research shows that it may increase transmission. Nothing to see here – safe and effective.
I get it though. The stakes couldn’t be higher because the government basically pointed a loaded gun to people’s heads to get this thing (ie. no jab no job). Just keep ignoring all the scientific literature and epidemiology that doesn’t suit your narrative. Also, just keep gas lighting people who’ve been negatively affected - see where that gets you.
just keep gas lighting people who’ve been negatively affected
I guess one big problem I have is that anti-vaxxers want to think they have a monopoly on being negatively affected by the pandemic.
Low birth rates? How on earth would one be able to attribute that to vaccines, as opposed to, you know, the native social and economic impact of the pandemic. Not to mention the relatively small duration between widespread vaccine adoption, the 9 months it takes to make a baby, and the amount of time any half credible science would need to determine causalty.
Super hard to discuss medical science with people invoking god-of-the-gaps style logical deduction.
Next up: vaccines caused Gib board shortages.
One problem I have with people who use terms like "anti-vaxxers", "conspiracy theorists", "misinformation" and "disinformation”. Is the bias and agenda that these people have. Those propaganda words are designed to elicit an emotional response. Anyone using terms like that isn't interested in logical reasoning or debate because they'd rather discredit their opponent. Another strategy that I’ve noticed the media using is to align their opponents’ views with someone or a group who doesn’t have any credibility, like Brian Tamaki or QAnon etc. I believe that's the "guilt by association" logical fallacy. Anyway regarding the drastic fall in global birth rates, we'll see in time with a properly powered epidemiological study whether the mrna vaccines indeed caused that as many people suspect.
One problem I have with people who use terms like "anti-vaxxers", "conspiracy theorists", "misinformation" and "disinformation”. Is the bias and agenda that these people have. Those propaganda words are designed to elicit an emotional response.
When your argument goes from questioning science to trying to control what people call you, you know you're onto a winner.
Anyway regarding the drastic fall in global birth rates, we'll see in time with a properly powered epidemiological study whether the mrna vaccines indeed caused that as many people suspect.
But you seemed so sure, only moments ago?
And therein lies the rub; low birth rates is a problem with an origin that pre-dates the pandemic and vaccines by a significant margin, and rather than correctly address that issue, we have to expend energy entertaining highly unlikely knee-jerk scenarios by people who need to reinforce an already tenuous position.
There you go again - playing the man and not the ball. I never specifically said covid19 "vaccines" caused the dramatic drop in fertility, and spike in excess deaths. I merely pointed to the temporal correlation between their rollout and those declining health metrics. You're the one who mentioned Occam's razor...
By applying in your terms a temporal correlation of declining birth rates to the administration of the mRNA vaccine you are indeed connecting the two (or don't you understand the meaning of 'temporal correlation'?) to produce a false narrative of the second being a causal factor of the first. Else why even mention it?
That is the problem with the "anti-vaxx" groups rhetoric. They make statements, using fancy language and terminology that sound nice on the surface and pull together unrelated bits of information to try to make them look connected when they are not, or there is no evidence to indicate they are. And when challenged on that start backing out and using terms like 'temporal correlation' to justify the BS they spouted. But don't fret, the anti-vaxxers are not the only ones who use that tactic, so you're not alone..
The temporal correlation between vaccine rollout and adverse health effects is a cold hard undisputable fact.
You know the UK government has recently very quietly advised against pregnant woman taking the mrna "vaccine"
use of the vaccine in pregnant women cannot be provided at the present time....Women who are breastfeeding should also not be vaccinated
Here's the link. Perhaps that UK government website is conspiracy platform? Seriously though, this is just the beginning of walking back two years of nonsense health propaganda that came from governments all around the world.
No they are two separate events that are occurring at the same time. It doesn't mean they are related or connected. They maybe, but there is simply no evidence that has been released to prove they are. The UK Government may have that evidence or they may simply be being cautious. We don't know. Do you? I suggest that without any evidence, you're making an assumption and presenting it as fact using big words. End result is it is still BS.
If you want to learn more about the adverse effects of the mrna "vaccines" on pregnancy and fertility then I'd recommend reading this NZDSOS article. I thought the interview with Dr James Thorp, a well-respected obstetrics and gynecology doctor, was particularly interesting. What a heroic doctor who sacrificed his career to speak out about what he was seeing in his patients. (see here).
1) I don't think it's ever been promoted that any vaccine or medicine is totally without any consequences whatsoever.
2) interestingly, while global fertility rates continued on its declining path almost like clockwork from 2019-2022, Germany actually experienced an uptick.
I was wondering how many comments it'd take before an alternative facts website got produced. It's good they made the part of their graph red, to highlight the bad bit. Super sciencey.
Mainlander,
Right on baby. I for one am deliriously happy to now have 4 microchips-one for each dose of 'fake'? vaccine. This allows me to converse with not only aliens, but all the true patriots like those who are hunting for the infamous pizza parlour-there will almost certainly be one in Auckland too. Lock them up.
Great article Chris, you are 100% right, it's in times of confusion and chaos that laws get changed and human rights get chipped away using 'an event' as the excuse
Think the threat of... "terrorists, WMD's, virus, GFC and economic collpase" all of these are fear based excuses to make law changes that empower the state and weaken citizens rights
The GFC bailed out banks at the expense of taxpayers (middle class workers), the 2001 event enabled a war (with the associated deaths...) under false assumptions and spying on local citizens by the state and enabled the total elimination of human rights to 'suspects' without the normal legal process, the lockdowns took away our freedoms and human rights for sole purpose of 'saving lives' and not overwhelming our hospitals, something we still deal with 2 years later - with roughly 80-100 covid related deaths per week right now
Fear is used as a tool by politicians to inhibit and/ or limit citizens rights even going against the human rights act, which frankly is a bit of a joke in terms of enforcability and heirarchy in the legal world in NZ.
The time you need to be critical and cautious of what a government is doing is during a time of crisis - I'm sure there is some truth to the old saying of 'don't waste a crisis' in the political world....
Is CT stating a truism or just what his opinions are when he states?
'New Zealand is dividing itself into two hostile, camps. The smaller counts within it the better part of the better educated is positioned on the commanding heights of the state, and considers itself the brain and conscience of the nation.'
If you look at their results based on the implementation of the policies which are based on this 'better education,' isn't more of the Dunning-Kruger effect of the truly ignorant?
It is amazing how common the 'noble' clay is once you actually hit the master's/PhD level. Outside hard sciences/STEM/Ag, I've found most liberal arts/commerce postgrads were brainlets who were just really good at digesting and repeating points from classes. One exception was philosophy postgrads who were big brains.
The extent to which one makes it through the higher education system is far more a product of conscientiousness, even in Engineering from my experience. You just need to be able to work hard and consistently through boring material for long periods with a crescendo towards exams. The further on you get, the less creative/original/insightful the education became.
Good article CT. For once I can find myself in almost full agreement. Little evidence of your usual "Chardonnay Socialist " diatribes.
But one small issue. More than once CT equates being "fascist " with the "Right" of the political landscape. May I suggest fascism (aka 'nazi') and socialism have historically fought each other to institute control of the "people" by the "state". ie both are collectivist by nature and both certainly want to control or even eliminate the individual with anything resembling sovereign power expressed through a truly democratic system.
In fact both terms apply to our present government and even more to the Maori caucus trying to tie themselves in knots to suggest "co-governance" is something other than government by an elite.
Thanks for this article.
Regardless of whatever issues I think government should be focussing our resouces and taxes to fix and develop, it's this undermining of democracy that I find most worrying.
It's a sad indictment if any government thinks the people can't be trusted to decide. What does that say about how we value education in this country? If you can't trust the people, then how on earth would you expect them to trust you?
When the 'solution' is as blunt as some sort of hate speech law (wherever that is now), then it only results in driving the non-conforming general public sentiment underground. And then we're all surprised when they pop up again.
Only today, we have this reminder.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300672123/how-laws-to-strengthen-child…
And recently this.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300646536/how-a-law-change-si…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/129031126/new-law-could-undermine-confi…
I do often wonder how the child of that incident in Hawkes Bay is doing - not that we will ever know, nor is it appropriate that we do, unless of course the whanau wanted us to know. It just seemed completely bizarre that OT would attempt an uplift for no good reason - and on top of that a Family Court Judge would sign off on it. I certainly hope and pray the child is thriving.
And these types of law changes that get rushed through without proper scrutiny is a reflection of the tenuous set of checks and balances associated with our system of Parliamentary democracy. To my mind a second/upper house would certainly help in that regard. Given the statistics tell us that the current system discriminates against the poor and other minorities, a non-elected/appointed upper house - appointed by iwi and pacific and other minority non-profit, social-good organisations would be an ideal way to go. Clearly, we cannot fight poverty within the current decision-making system; if anything it just gets worse and worse.
"Given the statistics tell us that the current system discriminates against the poor and other minorities, a non-elected/appointed upper house - appointed by iwi and pacific and other minority non-profit, social-good organisations would be an ideal way to go. "
"an ideal way to go"...to destroy a couple of millenia of fundamental democratic principles that are the only sound basis of a just civil society.
"the statistics" used nowadays also tell us that the poor will always be with us - by designed definition. Poverty as defined in New Zealand are the households that make less than 60 per cent of the median disposable income. It means no matter how rich the country is and no matter how high the median household we will always have a class of people that are described as living in poverty.
Membership of the upper House in the UK is by appointment, heredity or official function (i.e., non-elected members). It has less powers than the House of Commons. To a degree our Law Society and the Attorney General both serve to scrutinize legislation for its compliance with NZBORA - and so that is, for example, one of the specific functions an upper house could perform - with the ability to send legislation back to the House of Representatives for amendment where breaches are identified.
Presently we do have the Select Committee process, but to my mind some additional checks and balances are needed as SC composition is still to a degree proportional to seats in the House.
Some complex issues here. The classic argument for free speech is that it's the best way for the truth to win out: wrong ideas will be criticized as such and ultimately better ones will prevail. Whether or not that's still true, it's pretty clear that a lot fewer people believe it's true in the age of social media.
However, as several people here have effectively noted, the right to free speech is not the right to incite violence. The whole point of the concept of hate speech is that some speech that would otherwise be politically inert (e.g., if it were published in an academic journal) can, in the right context, incite violence.
Arp's uploading the Tarrant video obviously qualifies as hate speech. Whatever his actual crimes, in a just society he would be deemed a criminal for that action and that should disqualify him from office for quite awhile, if not permanently. So Trotter is partly barking up the wrong tree here.
There's a thin dividing line.
Some vent their pent-up angst by directing it at others.
Some of us observe - and ask why the pent-up angst.
And at that point, we realise that Left and Right are the same problem; both are of a system which pushes unfettered growth withing a bounded system.
And need to rebut the fact that some are forced to have pent-up angst.
There's a hole in the neoliberal bucket, dear Liza.....
Sorry, I was talking about the ideas that might be extracted from hate speech, so in Arp or Tarrant's case, yes, from a written manifesto. We can imagine some of its core ideas being published somewhere, maybe in an academic journal that few would read; that would be the kind of thing that would traditionally be protected by free speech laws.
I can't imagine any circumstance where the video wouldn't be construed as hate speech.
I think the author has either missed or avoided the elephant in the room. Both the Aramoana massacre and the Mosque massacre were entirely due to both the Labour and National Government not wanting to upset a handful of gun shop owners who insist that farmers and assorted red-neck hunters need military-style automatic weapons to shoot rabbits, feral deer, and sundry other wild pests that were always adequately dealt with in the past by both farmers and amateur hunters using single-shot or semi-automatic rifles.
Thus a small number of gun shop owners have successfully held the both the Governments and the New Zealand populace to ransom. I believe this situation still obtains.
All of our commentators would be wise to read the following.
Apologies if this is not allowed. But it is very relevant
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/13-03-2022/sunday-essay-the-chain-acro…
AAA...thanks for the essay reference, very elegant and interesting. The author I believe, tries to get away from left/right stereotypes, to concentrate on the concept of "rent seeking", a process where those with power, either private sector or public, tend to erect barriers which may be phrased as producing productive benefits, but which in reality are mainly intended to increase the authority, power or comfort of those holding that authority.
If I have it right, the author's essay is all very elegant and thought provoking, but which might be more easily summed up in those few words of the 19th century author, Lord Acton, when he said..."power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely".
I think if we are honest we all suffer from that corruption to a greater or lesser degree when we have power,...in the home, the school room, the workplace, or more obviously, power in any major situation...big business or in government.
We see it commonly if we seek a local authority consent. Are the barriers raised intended to say, produce a better standard of building construction, (the common justification for exerting authority), or more subtley, the obstructive authority is just exerted to meet a departmental income budget; or even more blatantly simply because the holder of the power feels good just exercising the authority, or because he doesn't like you for some reason.
A more obvious example was when state majority owned power generator deliberately spilled water over the dam simply to create a power shortage to push spot power prices upward. And of course this Labour government has raised the concept of power producing corruption to an art form.
The big question asks whether there is any practical way to prevent corruption in both the private and public organs of a democracy. To catalogue it as a left or right political philosophy is to miss the basic point.
Mills I loved your comment. It goes right to the heart of many of the issues we see in society today. I would suggest the solution is what we call 'Democracy', but defined using Lincoln's words from his Gettysburg address - A Government for the people, by the people, of the people. It is very clear that our Government and many others in power don't get this, and see the people and an impediment to their right to wealth and privilege. True democracy is about everyone's right and ability to participate in society and the economy. Governments have a role around regulation, but that is being used to the wrong purpose these days as regulation, instead of being used to protect peoples rights to participate, is being used to protect vested parties to build their wealth, power and privilege at the expense of the people. That needs to change.
Yeah, he's a great writer.
Right with him on the ridiculous situation we've got ourselves in to with accommodation supplements and emergency housing costs. Government just needs to "intervene", as he says - and regulate the rent-seekers - but instead we subsidise them.
It's despicable - as Danyl points out well.
Great article.
Not sure how to articulate this. A threat to a teacher against a student's headset complain and costing him $55K end of the day, is not a good sign for future education of the country. Those responsible in the committee, I wish I could buy tickets for them to India or China to visit the schools there. Because end of the day, the companies will be hiring and government will be migrating people from those countries as well as will not be recruiting anybody who is not interested in study in New Zealand. I guess we know the reason why NZ is lack of skill shortage. However, do not want to touch the sensitivity of inside ourselves. It is like a cycle, you invite the tigers from the forest and let them occupy the human civilian area. Then they are over-populated and change the lives of civilians. What a shame!
I am not asking to stop migration. Rather to improve the culture and enforce the rules to fight against to become undervalued. There will have people who will not follow the rule. Perhaps, they want to follow only themselves. Let it be it and let them be out of the premise until they change their mind. Those who are willing to change the country for betterment, let them leverage another chance to change it. When shall we be tough enough to face the reality and fight against conspiracy?
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