Stuart Smith
National MP Kaikoura
We have prided ourselves in New Zealand on our inclusiveness and generally easy going nature, if you want a go, you can have a go. But in the last few years things have changed and generally good race relations are being threatened by, of all people, the Labour Government. The Labour party has prided itself on inclusiveness and has a large Maori Caucus which in my view has been dragged into more radical territory due to the electoral success of the current Te Paati Maori MPs.
All political parties form their policies with their underlying ideology in mind, however the current government is driven purely by ideology. It does not matter to them if the benefits are not justified by the costs, they will do it anyway and it is taxpayers that suffer the consequences. We are entering a period of significant inflation stoked along by a profligate government pursing costly policies with doubtful benefits, such as restructuring our health sector in the middle of a pandemic.
Three waters reform is another case in point, this is a policy to enable Iwi elites to not only control these assets but to garner a good income from rate-payers investments. It is clear that this is aimed at enriching these elites at our expense and it is just plain wrong.
However a water users group which is made up of Auckland, Tauranga and Nelson ratepayers is taking a High Court case against Iwi Maori being given half the representation on the new water corporations. The Taxpayers Union has got in behind this and are raising funds to the tune of $200,000 from their supporters to ensure its success. While that sounds like a lot of money, they quite rightly fear that the Crown will try to burn them off with delaying tactics driving up the cost of the action. This tactic has been used before in such cases as the Crown has deeper pockets, which we taxpayers pay for and have no say in the process.
Former Act MP Stephen Franks, Gary Judd QC and Grant Illingworth QC will lead the case and I for one think they not only have a good case, I also believe they will win. They must win, the alternative doesn’t bear thinking about. If you can I urge you to support this case and together we can make New Zealand great again.