In the first two decades of the twenty first century among the most misused words in New Zealand were racism, apartheid and separatism. Sometimes they were applied incorrectly or used interchangeably and too often they were used to stifle debate or denigrate people who dared to question a new political development
Are we losing our tolerance for the dissenting opinion? By world standards we New Zealanders are a very tolerant lot. We might grumble and even get a little outraged at what other people write, say or do if we disagree with them. However, provided they are within the law and don’t advocate illegality, we are usually prepared to let people express a different opinion.
It is written that a gifted young man in a land far away and long ago could walk on water. The Government might need a similar miracle with their controversial Three Waters restructure project.
The unpopular and controversial project began with the catastrophic failure of a Havelock North wellhead in 2016 which resulted in the death of four people and 5000 people falling seriously ill. A year later a comprehensive report revealed that a significant number of public drinking water systems, managed by district councils, were potentially unsafe through underinvestment in maintenance over many years.
One of the most common arguments against Maori wards is that they would be a racist development but that is a misuse of the term. Racism generally means to act against people simply because of ethnicity and Maori wards will not do that. They are a positive rather than negative concept but are they really justifiable? Many non-Maori don’t think so but seem reluctant to say so in case of accusations of racism.
Most hunters will have carefully read the hunting regulations which apply to their areas and have a shooting licence and firearms licence safely tucked away in a back pocket but few will yet have had the opportunity to read the damming report of a year long review of the organisation which manages their sport.
The so-called trans-Tasman relationship, which we will commemorate next Sunday on Anzac Day, has never been more abused than it is now. While the somewhat idealistic brotherhood in arms tradition was established by a previous generation on the bloody slopes of Gallipoli more than a century ago, there is now a new conflict festering beneath the surface which is raising temperatures and tempers on both side of the Tasman.
The appeal by the man convicted of the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre against his jail conditions and terrorist status was not surprising. He probably has little else to do and his action follows the pattern of many long-term prison inmates who have used their time to engage in ongoing litigation, often at taxpayer expense.
In a time of unprecedented uncertainty about our protection from a deadly disease and the future of the planet it can often be helpful to look back at how our parents and grandparents managed in the face of adversity. They fed and clothed often quite large families through the very tough times of the major economic depression of the 1930s and the dreadful uncertainties of two world wars. In addition, they helped others less fortunate than themselves in an age when that was a traditional responsibility.
Investors and speculators in real estate are equal contributors to a ridiculously overheated housing market and they should have seen these changes, or something similar, coming at them like a freight train at least five years ago. There have been warnings enough that the booming house market would not be allowed to continue without Government intervention. If anything, that intervention has taken too long.
It makes no sense to have hundreds of tourism industry staff in fretting about being out of work while the agriculture and horticulture industries are desperately short of the same number staff.